Congratulations to prominent consumer advocate Catherine Hughes and The Kids Research Institute Australia honorary researcher Dr Noula Gibson, who have been named finalists in Research Australia’s 2023 Health and Medical Research Awards.
The annual Health and Medical Research Awards recognise the outstanding efforts and achievements of individuals and teams who drive and support health and medical innovation in Australia.
Health Services Award
Dr Gibson – a senior physiotherapist and research co-ordinator within the Physiotherapy department at Perth Children’s Hospital, an Honorary Research Associate with the Child Disability research team at The Kids and an adjunct research fellow for the Curtin School of Allied Health at Curtin University – was named a finalist for the Health Services Award in recognition of her internationally renowned contributions to cerebral palsy research.
Dr Gibson’s work has been instrumental in improving the management and quality of life of children with cerebral palsy and other neurological conditions, enhancing physical activity and participation and helping to prevent life-limiting disease.
Her contributions have included the development of international clinical guidelines and protocols, novel mobility interventions, and intervention delivery platforms, with her work not only changing clinical practice globally but strengthening research collaboration in centres within Australia to enhance research impact internationally.
Advocacy Award
Mrs Catherine Hughes, who holds multiple consumer advisory roles at The Kids Research Institute Australia including Chair of the Vaccines and Infectious Diseases Advisory Group, has been named a finalist for the Advocacy Award for her tireless advocacy around immunisation, particularly whooping cough.
Mrs Hughes started the award-winning Light for Riley campaign after losing her four-week-old son, Riley, to whooping cough in 2015, with the campaign not only leading to rapid policy change but also significantly boosting whooping cough awareness.
Her advocacy, which has helped ensure Australia now has among the world’s highest rates for pertussis vaccination in pregnancy, has since expanded to other vaccine-preventable disease, with the Hughes family establishing the Immunisation Foundation of Australia to provide evidence-backed resources and inspire community-based advocacy around diseases including whooping cough, flu, RSV, meningococcal and pneumococcal.
She has also become a sought-after consumer investigator, contributing to research projects and ensuring research has a strong consumer involvement component.
Dr Gibson and Mrs Hughes will join Members of Parliament, key sector influencers, and fellow Research Australia members at a gala dinner in Sydney on Thursday, November 2, when the winners and highly commended recipients will be announced.