The awards celebrate the contributions of WA’s brightest and most innovative minds through their respective STEM fields.  

Professor Rhonda Marriott AM was named inaugural recipient of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Scientist of the Year Award alongside Professor Stephen van Leeuwen from Curtin University.  

The Keep Carnaby’s Flying – Ngoolarks Forever project, headed by Professor Kris Warren, was awarded Science Engagement Initiative of the Year.  

Professor Marriott AM said the award was not just a recognition of her work, but a celebration of the strength and knowledge of Aboriginal communities.  

“It is an incredible honour that reflects not only my personal journey, but the collective wisdom of our mothers, families and Elders who have guided every step,” she said. 

Professor Warren acknowledged the power of collaboration, with the Keep Carnaby’s Flying project involving staff from Murdoch University’s Harry Butler Institute, Ngangk Yira Institute for Change and School of Veterinary Medicine working alongside 30 partner organisations, including Winjan Aboriginal Corporation, BirdLife Australia and Perth Zoo.  

“What a privilege it was to work with all of those organisations along with local governments and the broader community to help save our iconic black cockatoos – which touch our hearts and fill our skies with a cry that can’t be ignored,” she said.  

Deputy Vice Chancellor Research and Innovation Professor Peter Eastwood said the awards were a nod to the tireless work that goes into research. 

“Most researchers invest years of quiet determination and passion into their work, rarely seeking the spotlight,” he said. 

The recognition given to Professor Rhonda Marriott AM and the Keep Carnaby’s Flying – Ngoolarks Forever Project is an important reminder that behind every research success are individuals driven by a desire to build a brighter future and make a lasting difference to communities and the environment for generations to come.

Five decades of transforming healthcare  

Professor Marriott AM started her career as a nurse. Growing up, all she wanted to do was care for people.  

Her mother, aunty, and godmother were all nurses, and she said being around healing all the time created a deep calling within her. 

The Nyikina woman from Derby went on to realise that dream, with a career in nursing, and then midwifery. Later, her work in education and research helped establish a legacy that would make lasting, systemic change for Aboriginal women, babies and families.  

In 2014, she established the Aboriginal Health Research Group, which then grew into the Ngangk Yira Institute for Change, where she was appointed as Pro Vice Chancellor.  

During her 30 years working in the higher education sector, Professor Marriott AM has developed several critical projects to improve culturally safe care including Birthing on Noongar Boodjar and Baby Coming You Ready?  

“Through these initiatives, we have shown that culturally secure, evidence-based models of care can transform maternal and child health outcomes,” Professor Marriott said. 

She said at the Ngangk Yira Institute for Change, their mission was to embed Aboriginal voices and knowledge into research and policy, driving systemic change that benefits families across WA and beyond. 

Science, when grounded in culture and respect, has the power to transform lives – and that is the chance we strive for every day. 

Fighting to save our vulnerable species  

Professor Warren has worked in the field of wildlife, zoological, and conservation medicine for more than 30 years, and her research focuses on the health of threatened wildlife species within wider ecological contexts.  

She now helps train the next generation of wildlife veterinarians and postgraduate research students through the School of Veterinary Medicine and the Harry Butler Institute.  

Her research outputs have helped to guide and assist recovery efforts to conserve threatened species throughout Australia and internationally.  

The Keep Carnaby’s Flying – Ngoolarks Forever Project was a two-year science-led community engagement initiative, supported by Lotterywest, which raised awareness of the plight of Carnaby’s cockatoos and inspired the Perth community to protect them.  

In this short time, Professor Warren and her team worked alongside various NGOs, councils and the community to install Cockitroughs and around 50,000 black cockatoo food plants. 

The project also developed locality-specific Black Cockatoo Conservation Action Plans for councils, and partnered with Aboriginal organisations, NGOs and community groups to undertake revegetation and conservation work.  

“Funding from Lotterywest enabled our team to work alongside our partners to translate the findings of the science into tangible, on-ground conservation management. That’s not an opportunity you get very often,” Professor Warren said.  

Those Black Cockatoo Conservation Action Plans have continued ripple effects – Keep Carnaby’s Flying – Ngoolarks Forever is a living project; it continues to live on in the conservation activities undertaken by our team at Murdoch and all our partner organisations to help save our iconic black cockatoos.