Mentorship, discovery and community impact: Eureka Prize finalists

Researchers from the Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences and partner organisations have been recognised for impact across mentorship, leadership and research discovery, with four finalists listed in the 2025 Australian Museum Eureka Prizes.

Associate Professor Karen Lamb, a biostatistician from the Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, was named as a finalist for the University of Technology Sydney Eureka Prize for Outstanding Mentor of Researchers. Meanwhile, Dr Brooke Conley and her team of health professionals and researchers were named finalists for the Aspire Scholarship Eureka Prize for Excellence in Interdisciplinary Scientific Research. Professor Jason Trubiano, an Infectious Diseases Physician and Director of Infectious Diseases at Austin Health, was named a finalist for the 2025 Eureka Prize for Emerging Leader in Science, and the Beating Buruli team, led by The Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, were named finalists for the Australian Infectious Diseases Research Centre Eureka Prize for Infectious Diseases Research.

Associate Professor Karen Lamb was the sole creator of a national mentoring program for statisticians through the Statistical Society of Australia in 2020. “Since 2020, we've supported over 200 statisticians across the country through this program," she said. Karen has also advised local, national and international organisations on the development of mentoring programs, including the Royal Statistical Society, New Zealand Statistical Association, Statistical Society of Canada, Australian Health Economics Society, Doherty Institute and the Melbourne School of Population & Global Health.

Dr Brooke Conley and her team of Indigeous and non-Indigenous researchers co-created the first clinically and culturally-informed arthritis education resources for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. “We worked in partnership with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, health services and creatives to co-design a website, brochures and videos that educate and support Community to live well with arthritis,” Dr Conley explained.

Professor Jason Trubiano has transformed antibiotic allergy management, helping patients access safer treatments and tackle antimicrobial resistance" One in four hospital patients report an antibiotic allergy," said Professor Trubiano. "My work reduces the impact through clinical trials, decision tools, and novel diagnostics for true allergies."

The Beating Buruli team solved an 80-year mystery, uncovering how mosquitoes spread Buruli ulcer from possums to humans through fieldwork and genomics research. Buruli ulcer is a flesh-eating disease that, if left untreated, can lead to severe skin lesions and spread deep into tissue, including muscle and bone.

"With Buruli Ulcer cases rising alarmingly in south-eastern Australia, our research provides the first evidence for action to control the rise of this disease," said Professor Tim Stinear.

The 2025 Eureka Prizes winners will be announced on Wednesday, 3 September, at a ceremony in Sydney. An online livestream of the awards will also be available for the public to view, to register visit australian.museum/eurekaprizes.