Presented by ANZCA President Professor David Story at the 2025 ANZCA ASM in Cairns.
The foundation’s named research awards encourage and recognise investigators, assist their career development, and encourage and recognise donors and the support of research. Professor Story presented a total of 12 awards this year.
2025 Harry Daly Research Award
The Harry Daly Award is presented each year to the highest ranking study in the ANZCA Research Committee peer-review process. This year's award, as well as an ANZCA Professional Practice Research Grant, went to:
Professor Jenny Weller, University of Auckland, and her team
for the study: “Creating psychological safety in healthcare teams: a multicentre, mixed methods study to improve patient safety”.
2025 Douglas Joseph Professorship
The prestigious quadrennial Douglas Joseph Professorship was established in 1991 to endow a fellowship or grant in aid for research in human anaesthesia. This year's award went to:
Professor Alicia Dennis, Joan Kirner Women’s and Children’s Hospital, and her team
for the study “The Hopeful Hearts Project - Evaluation of haemodynamics in women with untreated preeclampsia using echocardiography”.
2025 Academic Enhancement Grant Award
This award aims to foster the advancement of the academic disciplines of anaesthesia and/or pain medicine and enhance foci of research activity. This year's award went to:
Associate Professor Forbes McGain, University of Melbourne, and his team
for the advancement of the program “The Environmental Life Cycle Inventory of Anaesthesia, Intensive Care, and Perioperative Medicine”.
2025 Russell Cole Memorial ANZCA Research Award
A pain related research grant, with a preference for the relief of cancer pain. This year's award went to:
Professor Andrew Somogyi, Adelaide University, and his team
for the study “Optimising oxycodone pain management in cancer patients through metabolic, proteomic, genetic and immune biomarkers”.
2025 Robin Smallwood Bequest
Granted to anaesthesia, intensive care or pain medicine research. This year's award went to:
Dr Raymond Hu, Austin Health, Melbourne, and his team
for the study “Feasibility of randomization to different flow targets for cardiopulmonary bypass”.
2025 Elaine Lillian Kluver ANZCA Research Award:
Granted to anaesthesia, analgesia or pain-related research. This year's award went to:
Dr Jessica Barry, University of Sydney, and her team
for the study “Changes in on-going and evoked brain activity during the transition from acute to chronic neuropathic pain”.
2025 Patricia Mackay ANZCA Research Award
Supporting research into quality and safety in patient outcomes and the related identification and reduction of adverse events. This year's award went to:
Professor Britta Regli-von Ungern-Sternberg, Perth Children’s Hospital, and her team
for the study “Evaluating extubation criteria in children less than 10 years of age undergoing intravenous anaesthesia (the EXTUBATE study)”.
2025 ANZCA Innovation and Technology Research Award
Supporting research involving the innovative use or development of technology. This year's award went to:
Professor Jamie Sleigh, Waikato Hospital, New Zealand, and his team
for the study “Novel ketamine analogues; Computer modelling to predict side effects and in vivo testing of analgesic efficacy”.
2025 W. John Russell ANZCA Research Award
Supporting research in anaethestic engineering, education, or patient safety. This year's award went to:
Associate Professor Vahid Mohabbati, and his team
for the study “Investigating the Effects of Spinal Direct Current Stimulation on Glial Cells for Chronic Pain Neuromodulation”.
2025 John Boyd Craig Research Award
Supporting research in pain medicine. This year's award went to:
Dr Marc Russo, University of Sydney, and his team
for the study “PET in persistent pain: Imaging neuroinflammation after limb trauma from acute injury to Complex Regional Pain Syndrome”.
2025 ANZCA Patrons Emerging Investigator Research Award
A dedicated grant to encourage and support emerging investigators as they transition from the novice investigator grant level. This year's award went to:
Dr Hannah Braithwaite, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, and her team
for the study “DEpth of Anaesthesia in Females – Eeg biomarkers, Anaesthetic/hormone relationships and Recovery Score: a mechanistic, blinded, non-inferiority randomized controlled trial (the DEAF EARS study)”.
2025 Skantha Vallipuram Research Scholarship
Established to assist fellows or trainees to help establish their research careers. This year's award went to:
Dr Earlene Silvapulle
to support the objectives of a PhD at the University of Melbourne through her study “Integration of the Duke Activity Status and Frailty Indices into cardiac evaluation before high-risk noncardiac surgery (the ENDURANCE study)”.
Acknowledgements
Professor Story concluded by thanking:
- All research grant applicants for their significant efforts in preparing applications. Eligible applicants are encouraged to continue to seek funding for high-quality studies in future grant rounds.
- All our dedicated voluntary reviewers, without whose expert contributions our research program would not be possible.
- ANZCA Foundation donors and the ANZCA Council for making this possible.
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