A Deakin researcher has been awarded a veski ‘Inspiring Women’ Fellowship, for the second year in a row.
Dr Emma Sciberras, a senior lecturer within Deakin University’s School of Psychology and a practicing child psychologist, has received a coveted veski ‘Inspiring Women’ Fellowship.
The award was presented at Government House today by the Governor of Victoria, the Honourable Linda Dessau AC.
Dr Cara Doherty from CSIRO also received a veski Inspiring Women Fellowship at the ceremony. Deakin’s Dr Emily Nicholson, a conservation scientist, was one of four women to receive the inaugural award last year.
Deakin Vice-Chancellor Professor Jane den Hollander AO congratulated Dr Sciberras on her Fellowship.
[testimonial_text]This is a tremendous recognition of Emma’s achievements as a researcher and her leadership as a role model for women in science[/testimonial_text]
[testimonial_picture name=”Professor Jane den Hollander AO” details=”Deakin University Vice Chancellor”]
[/testimonial_picture]“Deakin is passionate about changing existing inequities and supporting our researchers to juggle the challenges of family and career. We are absolutely delighted that two of our outstanding women researchers have received this Fellowship in consecutive years.”
Dr Sciberras is also an Honorary Research Fellow at the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute. She said that the Fellowship will make all the difference in her ability to remain competitive, now that she has a three-month old daughter, Charlotte, to care for.
[testimonial_text]It is really exciting, particularly by allowing me to appoint a post-doctoral fellow to continue my work while I’m on maternity leave and helping me when I return to work part-time in November. That will give me extra time to develop my leadership skills and work on higher level projects when I return.[/testimonial_text]
[testimonial_picture name=”Dr Emma Sciberras” details=”Senior Lecturer”]
[/testimonial_picture]The veski Inspiring Women Fellowships recognise and celebrate exceptional women researchers and their accomplishments in science. They aim to support the Fellows to juggle family and carer commitments and assist them to remain competitive in their fields of endeavour.
The Fellowships provide flexible funding of up to $150,000 each over three years, as well as financial support from their institutions and a commitment from management to support their leadership potential.
Dr Sciberras received a 2016 “Young Tall Poppy” Science Award. Her research is internationally recognised and has already informed the development of two new interventions for children with Attention-Deficit/ Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), focused on managing sleep problems and anxiety. The condition affects around 300,000 young people in Australia.
The veski will support Dr Sciberras to establish her own ADHD research lab across two institutions and enable her to foster the career development of 20 early career researchers working across her research program.
She also plans to attend a leading international conference in her field with her baby. The veski fellowship will allow her to travel with a family member who can care for her baby while she attends the conference.
As a researcher and clinical psychologist, Dr Sciberras’ program has a strong translational focus. The support of the veski fellowship will help to ensure that Victoria, and Australia more broadly, remains at the forefront of research into ADHD, particularly life course epidemiology and psychological interventions.
Published by Deakin Research 21 June 2017.
