UQ Research and Innovation Awards for Excellence

Congratulations to our 2025 award winners.

The University of Queensland Research and Innovation Awards for Excellence recognise and celebrate the exceptional research, researchers and contributions that drive research excellence across UQ and their impact on our diverse community. The awards are presented as part of Research and Innovation Week.

We were thrilled to celebrate research impact and recognise UQ's remarkable researchers and research training leaders across categories including early career research, research supervision, leadership, industry engagement, programs and support, and Indigenous graduate research and empowerment.

UQ Foundation Research Excellence Award winners

The UQ Foundation Research Excellence Awards (UQ FREA) celebrates the exceptional research achievements and leadership potential of individual early and mid-career researchers (EMCRs). By recognising and supporting EMCRs this prestigious award aims to foster their development as research leaders, accelerating their career development and enabling them to make a sustained impact in their disciplines.

Dr Rosemary Cater

Institute for Molecular Bioscience
FLVCR2 as a novel target for treating Glioblastoma Multiforme.

Dr Ariel Isaacs

School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences
Understanding Henipavirus Entry Mechanisms at the Molecular Level.

Dr Stefanie Plage

School of Social Science
How can we meet demand for social housing to end homelessness? Towards greater social license for affordable housing developments.

Dr Jessica Schults

School of Nursing, Midwifery and Social Work
Co-designing a Rapid Detection and Response Pathway for Bloodstream Infections.

Dr Zhe Yang

School of Chemical Engineering
Novel Li-ultraselective nanofiltration membranes for highly efficient lithium extraction.

Dr Dan Yuan

School of Mechanical and Mining Engineering
Microfluidic Platform for Viscoelastic Isolation of Immune Cells from Saliva for Early Disease Diagnostics.

Dr Jian Zeng

Institute for Molecular Bioscience
Integrating individual genotypes and phenotypes with single-cell transcriptomic data to enhance disease risk prediction.

Dr Cheng Zhang

Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology
Efficient Destruction and Utilisation Technology for Per- and Poly-fluoroalkyl Substances.

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UQ Awards for Excellence in Graduate Research Training winners

We're committed to recognising and rewarding outstanding performance in the supervising, mentoring, and training of HDR candidates. The UQ Awards for Excellence in Graduate Research Training provide an opportunity to publicly celebrate the achievements and initiatives of our academic and professional colleagues who enable our HDR candidates to achieve their highest potential.