Categories:
Mater Research's emerging leaders took centre stage at the 2026 Mater Research Showcase, with researchers, clinicians, students, donors and partners gathering at Brisbane's Princess Theatre to celebrate excellence in research and innovation.
The annual event highlighted the discoveries, collaborations and emerging talent driving the future of healthcare, while recognising outstanding achievements across Mater Research's higher degree research students, early and mid-career researchers and established research leaders.
From student travel awards supporting international collaborations to major research grants tackling some of today's most pressing health challenges, the 2026 Mater Research Showcase demonstrated the breadth and impact of research taking place across Mater.
Higher Degree Research students were acknowledged with Mater Research Student Travel Awards to share their work on the international stage:
- PhD candidate Saee Zambre was awarded a $3,500 Mater Research Student Travel Award, enabling her to attend the 61st European Renal Association Congress in Glasgow, Scotland, where she presented research investigating how RAGE antagonism may improve kidney function in diabetic kidney disease. During her visit, Saee also established valuable international collaborations through visits to research laboratories at the University of Glasgow.
- Fellow PhD candidate Thishan Illankoon received a $3,500 travel award to present his research on gut biology and healthy ageing at the Mucins in Health and Disease Conference in Ghent, Belgium. His work explores how ageing affects intestinal protein folding and barrier health.
- Kun-Di Lee was also recognised with a $3,500 travel award. She used her award to attend the Australian and New Zealand Bone and Mineral Society Annual Scientific Meeting, where she received the prestigious Roger Melick Young Investigator Award for her research using preterm piglets as a model to better understand and improve skeletal outcomes following preterm birth.
Double success for ovarian cancer researcher:
- Anastasia Gandini, was awarded both the $6,000 top student travel award and the $1,000 HDR Student Prize in the Biomedical category. The travel award enabled Anastasia to present her research at the European Association for Cancer Research Congress in Budapest and build collaborations with leading cancer research teams in Copenhagen and Lund. Her HDR Student Prize recognised outstanding PhD research focused on developing a novel combination therapy for ovarian cancer, with the potential to improve responses to immunotherapy and support future clinical trials.
The Showcase also celebrated researchers' ability to communicate complex science to broad audiences through the annual Three Minute Thesis (3MT) Competition.
- Catherine Lee was named the 2026 Mater Research 3MT champion, impressing judges with her ability to explain her research and its impact in just three minutes using a single presentation slide.
- Charles Roache was awarded runner-up, recognised for delivering an engaging and accessible presentation under the competition's demanding format.
Grants and prizes supporting our emerging leaders:
- The 2026 HDR Student Prize in the Clinical category was awarded to Mater neonatologist Dr Jasmine Antoine for her innovative work in neonatal critical care. Drawing on techniques used in aerospace and elite sport, Dr Antoine's research is transforming newborn resuscitation training and improving the safety and precision of life-saving procedures for vulnerable infants.
- The 2026 Early Career Researcher Prize was presented to Mater at Home occupational therapist Dr Aleysha Martin in recognition of her leadership in allied health research and stroke rehabilitation. By developing and implementing innovative models of care, Dr Martin's work is helping improve recovery outcomes for stroke patients across Australia.
- Dr Conan O'Brien received the Early Career Researcher Seeding Grant in the Biomedical category for his project Decoding the Messages in Mother's Milk. The research investigates how breast milk proteins influence infant immune system and organ development, with the aim of improving health outcomes for babies who cannot be breastfed.
- Dr Melanie Johnston, a Senior Medical Officer at Mater’s Queensland Centre of Excellence in Intellectual Disability and Autism Health, received the Early Career Researcher Seeding Grant in the Clinical and Health Services Research category. Her project, Asking the Right Questions: A tool to support mental health assessments for people with intellectual disability, seeks to improve the timely diagnosis of psychiatric conditions through a tool co-designed with people with lived experience, families and clinicians. The research aims to address significant health inequities faced by people with intellectual disability and improve access to appropriate care.
The event concluded with the announcement of the prestigious 2026 Mater Research Future Leaders Fellowship recipient:
- Supported through the generosity of Mater Foundation donors, the 2026 Fellowship was awarded to Dr Rabina Giri, whose rapid rise as an emerging research leader has already seen her publish 22 peer-reviewed papers, secure more than $600,000 in competitive funding as a lead Chief Investigator and contribute to more than $6 million in collaborative funding just two years post PhD.
Her Fellowship project will investigate the growing incidence of bowel cancer in people under 50 by examining the relationship between diet, gut bacteria and intestinal barrier health. The research seeks to identify early microbial warning signs and lay the foundations for personalised prevention strategies that could help stop bowel cancer before it develops.
