Celebrating Western Health’s Research Recognition and Awards Ceremony 2025
On 30th October 2025, we had the opportunity to celebrate the outstanding achievements of its researchers and staff at the annual Western Health Research Recognition and Awards Ceremony, held in the WCHRE Auditorium at Sunshine Hospital. The event recognised the remarkable contributions of individuals and teams who are driving innovative research and improving health outcomes across Melbourne’s west. Guests, award recipients, and sponsors gathered to honour the impact of research and the transformative role of philanthropy, donors and corporate partners in making these advancements possible.
Jan Kilicaslan, Allied Health Research and Knowledge Translation Lead at Western Health, served as Master of Ceremonies, leading a series of award presentations that showcased the incredible breadth of research taking place across our healthcare network.
A special thank you to our supporters
Western Health gratefully acknowledges the invaluable support of our sponsors, whose generosity has made these grants possible. Their commitment to driving health research and innovation in Melbourne’s west is deeply appreciated:
Donors to the Arlene Wake Chronic Diseases Fellowships
Ian Rollo Currie Foundation
Footscray Rotary Aged and Community Service Fund
Medtronic
Plenary Health
BankVic
Maxxia
Congratulations to all our 2025 award recipients listed below:
Arlene Wake Chronic Disease Fellowships
Recipient: Dr Alex Besson for 'Artificial intelligence-based prediction of rectal cancer treatment response to total neoadjuvant therapy to guide non-operative management'.
Recipient: Dr Michael Fogarty for 'Utilising innovative models of care and digitally enhanced solutions to expand osteoporosis care at Western Health'.
Arlene Wake Chronic Disease Development Fellowship
Recipient: Martin Mitrevski for 'Transforming trauma-related theory into trauma-informed practice at Western Health’s specialised rehabilitation program: Innovating a person-centred healthcare model'.
Plenary Health ICU Nursing Grant
Recipients:
Karen Pena – Sunshine ICU
Luke Surman – Sunshine ICU
Ali Alharbi – Footscray ICU
Alanah Rossi – Footscray ICU
Plenary Health Innovation Grant
Recipient: Jack Kain for 'Illicit and legal cigarettes - a comparison by chemical analysis'.
Maxxia Research Grant
Recipient: Charis Brown for 'Assessing volume state in heart failure – a pilot study of nurse led point-of-care ultrasound in the outpatient setting'.
BankVic Emergency Department Innovation Grant
Recipient: Raymund Alelis for 'Emergency short stay unit for conferencing device compatible with AUSLAN interpreting services'.
BankVic Innovation and Research Grant
Recipient: Derek Chai for 'Creating sustainability practices by supporting an IV-to-oral switching initiative'.
Medtronic Kendall Francis Award Best Podium Presentation
Recipient: Alex Besson for 'Novel skeletal muscle grading system to predict treatment outcomes for rectal cancer'.
Medtronic International Fellow in Advanced Colorectal Cancer and Robotics
Recipient: Pradeep Janardhanan for 'Assessment of reliable ways to investigate endometriosis and bowel involvement to direct surgical options'.
Footscray Rotary Aged and Community Service Fund Inc
Recipient: Kellie Vivekanantham for 'Phase II - implementing models of care to improve the care experience of people living with dementia at Western Health'.
Ian Rollo Currie Foundation
Recipient: Kellie Vivekananthum for 'Phase II - implementing models of care to improve the care experience of people living with dementia at Western Health'.
Robert Smith Critical Care Prize
Recipient: Dr Elisa Harding for 'Selecting risk factors to inform violence risk assessment in the emergency department'.
Best Podium Presentation - Allied Health
Recipient: Vanessa Carter for 'Meal experiences and preferences of culturally and linguistically diverse hospital patients'.
Rebeca Pile for 'Improving fracture care for Australian paediatric patients utilising a virtual clinic'.
Best Podium Presentation - Nursing and Midwifery
Recipient: Loretta Williams for 'The PEACE Champions project, empowering nurses to provide optimal end-of-life care'.
Best Podium Presentation - Robert Helme Neurology
Recipient: Reuben Parama Iswara for 'Rewriting migraine research one case at a time: the hypo-migraine trial'.
Celebrating partner success
The success of these grants reflects the generosity of Western Health’s sponsors, whose ongoing support continues to fuel groundbreaking research and innovation. The day served as a powerful reminder of the importance of investing in our health workers, researchers, and community.
Kelvyn Lavelle, Chair of the New Footscray Hospital Project at Plenary Health, captured the community’s pride in Western Health’s people, noting that “respect and admiration for the work you do here is enormous.”
Anthony DeFazio, CEO of BankVic, echoed this sentiment, reflecting on the strength of partnership and shared purpose.
“Our partnership with Western Health is incredibly important to us. You are on the front line of caring for our community, and we are privileged to support you, especially through awards that recognise your innovation, research and service to others.”
Western Health CEO Russell Harrison shared his vision for the broader impact of these projects: “It’s not just the west of Melbourne that will benefit. We will be able to translate this to other health services.”
As these research initiatives progress, their impact will help shape the future of healthcare across Melbourne’s west and beyond. Western Health sincerely thanks all those whose ongoing support makes this possible.
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Community members can donate to Western Health Foundation and contribute to research initiatives at Western Health by visiting our Donate page.