UQ Research Partnerships & Translation Awards

The UQ Research Partnerships & Translation Awards recognise outstanding models of high-impact collaborative research partnerships. These awards celebrate the achievements and successes of UQ researchers who through industry engagement and research collaboration have achieved excellent outcomes and national and international research impact.

Award categories

UQ Partners in Research Excellence Award (by nomination).

This award recognises excellence in research partnerships and innovation activities that have delivered outstanding partner experiences and outcomes.

UQ Partners in Translational Research Excellence Award (by nomination).

This award recognises excellence in translational research partnership activities.

UQ Partners in Indigenous Research Excellence Award (by nomination).

This award recognises outstanding Indigenous-led research and innovation partnerships that have had a positive impact on Indigenous peoples and communities

The Award for Excellence in Industry Engagement in Graduate Research (UQ Graduate School)

This award recognises excellence in industry-based research led by the UQ Graduate School.

UniQuest Commercialisation Impact Award (UniQuest)

This award recognises the achievements and commitment of UQ researchers whose research has created impact through commercialisation of the resulting intellectual property, building on UQ’s reputation as a leader in this space. 

UQ Corporate Philanthropy Award (UQ Advancement)

This award recognises and celebrates partner organisations who have an extraordinary impact on research and innovation at UQ.

The Early to Mid-Career Researcher Industry Impact Award (Overall - DVCRI)

This award celebrates outstanding high-impact collaborations between early- to mid-career researchers (EMCRs) and industry partners. The overall winner is selected from the faculty and institute-selected EMCR Awards.

Enquiries: uqpartnerships@uq.edu.au

Find out more about Research and Innovation Week.

UQ Research Partnerships & Translation Awards - 2024 Winners

Congratulations to the winners of the 2024 UQ Research Partnerships and Translation Awards, recognised at a ceremony at Customs House on 3 October 2024.

The annual awards celebrate research excellence at UQ and demonstrate the value of translational, industry-led collaborative research partnerships.

UQ Partners in Translational Research Excellence

WINNER: Gurindji Language Documentation Project, led by by Professor Felicity Meakins, Professor of Linguistics, School of Languages and Cultures; in partnership with Karungkarni Art and Culture Aboriginal Corporation.

WINNER: Clinical implementation of prospective whole genomic sequencing-based surveillance to limit the health and economic burden associated with healthcare associated infections, led by Dr Brian Forde, Senior Research Fellow, Institute of Molecular Bioscience, in partnership with Pathology Queensland

UQ Partners in Research Excellence

WINNER: Rio Tinto – CSRM Partnership: Eighteen years of outstanding research outcomes and partner experiences, led by by the Centre for Social Responsibility in Mining team, represented by Professor Deanna Kemp, in partnership with Rio Tinto Communities and Social Performance.

WINNER: Fonterra-UQ Partnership for Advancing Dairy Industry Research and Innovation, led by Professor Jason Stokes, Professor, School of Chemical Engineering (EAIT), in partnership with Fonterra Research and Development.

Excellence in Industry Engagement in Graduate Research

WINNER: Dr Skye Doherty, Senior Lecturer in the Graduate School and School of Communication and Arts, Faculty of Humanities, Arts and Social Science, for the Global Change Scholars Program. Partners in this program include Cancer Council Queensland, Commons Social Change Library, CSIRO, Healthy Land and Water, Multicultural Australia, Queensland Theatre, Queensland Trust for Nature, Red Cross Lifeblood, Remote Area Planning and Development Board, World Wildlife Fund, and Y Queensland.

UQ Partners in Indigenous Research Excellence

WINNER: Binung Ma Na Du Cultural Stories and Living Histories on Wakka Wakka Country, led by Associate Professor Marnee Shay, Principal Research Fellow, School of Education with Cherbourg Elder, Chief Investigator and UQ Adjunct Fellow Mr Fred Cobbo, Professor Grace Sarra from QUT and Professor Margaret Kettle from Central Queensland University. The project was a partnership with Cherbourg Aboriginal Shire Council, Murgon State High School and Cherbourg State School.

UniQuest Commercialisation Impact Award

WINNER: Licence of avocado tissue culture protocols to major Chilean-based nursery, Grupo Hijuelas, led by Professor Neena Mitter, former Centre Director for Horticultural Science, Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation, in partnership with QAAFI, Grupo Hijuelas, and UniQuest.

UQ Corporate Philanthropy Award

WINNER: Google.org, represented by Ms Davina Shearer, Global Community Inclusion Program Manager at Google.

Early to Mid-Career Researcher Industry Engagement Award (overall)

WINNER: Associate Professor Yaqoot Fatima, Principal Research Fellow at the UQ Poche Centre for Indigenous Health, for her project, Let’s Yarn About Sleep. This project was a partnership with the Sleep Health Foundation, Mithangkaya Nguli Young People Ahead Youth & Community Services Indigenous Corporation, and Nagk Min Health.

WINNER: Dr Cristyn Meath, Hub Director- Sustainable Infrastructure Research Hub and Senior Lecturer-Sustainability and Strategy, BEL Faculty, for her project, The Infrastructure CoLab.

UQ Research Partnerships & Translation Awards - 2023 Winners

Congratulations to the winners recognised at the UQ Research Partnerships and Translation Awards on 31 August 2023.

We were thrilled to celebrate the achievements of UQ researchers, and the outstanding models of high-impact, collaborative partnerships that drive successful research outcomes.

UQ Partners in Translational Research Excellence

WINNER: Developing, implementing and evaluating training to enhance trauma-informed and victim-centric responses to victim-survivors of sexual violence by Queensland Police Service, led by Professor Blake McKimmie with colleagues Professor Barbara Masser and Dr Gianni Ribeiro in partnership with Queensland Police Service.

WINNER: New treatment strategies for mycoplasma genitalium: an emerging antimicrobial resistant superbug, led by Dr Emma Sweeney from the UQ Centre for Clinical Research in partnership with SpeeDx Pty Ltd.

UQ Partners in Research Excellence

WINNER: Life-saving therapeutics and eco-friendly insecticides led by Professor Glenn King, from the Institute for Molecular Bioscience, and accepted by Associate Professor Nathan Palplant from IMB, in partnership with Infensa Bioscience and Vestaron Corporation.

WINNER: Research Partnership with the Princess Alexandra Hospital Pharmacy Department, Metro South, led by Dr Nazanin Ghahreman-Falconer from the School of Pharmacy, in partnership with the Princess Alexandra Hospital.

Excellence in Industry Engagement in Graduate Research

WINNER: Biomedical and Computational Imaging Research Team, led by Professor Markus Barth from the Centre for Advanced Imaging and Dr Steffen Bollmann from the Faculty of Engineering, Architecture and Information Technology.

UQ Partners in Indigenous Research Excellence

WINNER: Let’s Yarn about Sleep Program, led by Professor Yaqoot Fatima from Poche Centre for Indigenous Health in partnership with Sleep Health Foundation, Young People Ahead Youth and Community Services Indigenous Corporation, Ngak Min Health.

UniQuest Commercialisation Impact Award

WINNER: Trioda Wilingi Project, led by Professor Alan Rowan from the Australian Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology, Mr Colin Saltmere AM of Bulugudu Ltd, and Mr Tim Case, Interim CEO of Trioda Wilingi and Dr Peter Devine, CEO of Uniseed.

UQ Corporate Philanthropy Award

WINNER: Westpac Scholars Trust, represented by Jane Calvert, Westpac Head of Community and Foundations, Corporate Affairs and Community.