Award for Excellent PhD Thesis in Psychology

The Award for Excellent PhD Thesis is offered for the purpose of encouraging and rewarding outstanding research in psychology.

The Award may be offered at each Australian higher education provider that has an APAC accredited AOU.

Each year, up to three Awards for Excellent PhD Thesis may be conferred.

Eligibility criteria

Candidates need not be members of the APS.
The Award for Excellent PhD Thesis may only be conferred upon Candidates who have, within fifteen (15) months of the closing date for nominations, received written advice from the Candidate’s Australian tertiary institution confirming eligibility for conferral of the Candidate’s PhD in psychology.

Judging criteria

In judging Candidates for the award, the selection committee will have regard to:
1. The scientific creativity, quality and originality of the Candidate’s research
2. The recognition and impact of the candidate’s research
3. The level of research independence exhibited by the Candidate; and
4. The Candidate’s potential future contribution to the discipline.

Value of the Award

Successful Candidates for the Award for Excellent PhD Thesis will:
1. Receive $1000
2. Be offered membership of the Society for the following twelve (12) months at no cost.
3. Be invited to present a paper on their work at the APS Congress in the year following receipt of the Award or, in years when no Congress will be held, at another high profile event. Upon acceptance of this invitation, successful Candidates will be entitled to complimentary:
  1. Domestic economy class travel between their home city to the Congress/event destination
  2. Accommodation (room and breakfast only) for up to three (3) nights at a hotel near the Congress/event venue
  3. Congress/event registration.
4. Receive a plaque for the Award for Excellent PhD Thesis.

Administration

4.1 Nomination Process

A call for nominations for the Award for Excellent PhD Thesis will be:
1. Advertised in Insights
2. Provided to the Heads of School or Department of each higher education provider that offers the PhD in psychology.
Candidates must be nominated by the Head of School or Department of the higher education provider where their PhD was conferred. Candidates may self-nominate to their Head of School or Department, but it is the Head of School or Department (or nominated delegate) who must submit the nomination to the Society.
Only one Candidate can be nominated by the Head of School or Department of each Academic Organisational Unit at each Australian higher education provider. All nominations from a Head of School or Department should be prepared by the Candidate’s supervisor in association with the Head of School or Department and the Candidate.
Nominations should be submitted using the Society’s online nomination form and must include:
1. Title, abstract, table of contents of the thesis with appropriate supportive evidence such as publications or conference presentations arising from the thesis and a copy of each of the examiner’s reports
2. A copy of the Candidate’s written advice from their tertiary institution or higher education provider of eligibility for conferral of their PhD in psychology
3. A statement confirming that the PhD is in psychology (e.g. topic, supervisor)
  If short-listed, submission of the thesis may be required.
Nominations should be submitted electronically by the closing date.

4.2 Selection Process

A Selection committee will be responsible for
1. Determining a shortlist of appropriate Candidates for receipt of the Award
2. Recommending appropriate Candidates to the Board for endorsement.

4.3 Award Presentation

All Candidates (both successful and unsuccessful) will be formally notified in writing before any public announcement is made.
An acknowledgement of the successful Candidate will be published on the APS website and other relevant psychology and education publications following the receipt of their Award.
Each successful Candidate will receive an Award for Excellent PhD Thesis in Psychology plaque.

Previous winners

2023	Dr Amie Foran MAPS Dr Omidreza Ghasemi Dr Simone Mahfouda MAPS Dr Melanie Muniandy
2022	Brittany K. Rurak, Murdoch University Dr David Foxe MAPS, The University of Sydney Hannah Jarman MAPS, La Trobe University
2021	Dr Rachel Menzies MAPS, Universiry of Sydney
2020	Ms Sasha Quayum MAPS, Flinders University Thesis title - An investigation into the mechanisms underlying the memory amplification effect Dr Eleni Demetriou MAPS, University of Sydney Thesis title - An empirical evaluation of executive function in autism spectrum disorder Dr Michael Wilson MAPS, University of Western Australia Thesis title - Executing deferred tasks in dynamic multitasking environments Dr David Reilly Assoc MAPS, Griffith University Thesis title - Sex differences in cognitive abilities and educational outcomes: Examining the contribution of sex-role identification
2019	Dr David Preece, Edith Cowan University Title - Measuring Emotional Reactivity, Alexithymia, and Emotion Regulation as Clinically Relevant Emotional Constructs: Theoretical Considerations and the Development of New Psychometric Measures Dr Gabrielle King, University of New South Wales Thesis - Individual Differences in Rate of Extinction and Relapse Dr Alana Fisher, University of Sydney Thesis - Enhancing Treatment Decision-Making In Bipolar Ii Disorder: Development And Evaluation Of A Treatment Decision-Aid For Patients And Their Families
2018	Dr Kate Bartel, Flinders University Thesis - Protective and risk factors for adolescent sleep health Dr Stephanie Wong, Macquarie University Thesis - The prefrontal cortex and episodic memory in dementia syndromes Dr Hannah Thomas, University of Queensland Thesis - Bullying and cyberbullying among Australian adolescents: Definition, prevalence, clinical correlates, and dimensional measurement
2017	Dr Caitlin Cowan, University of New South Wales Thesis - Microorganisms to the rescue: The use of a probiotic treatment to reduce developmental vulnerability in rats Dr Sophie Schneider, Macquarie University Thesis - Body dysmorphic disorder in adolescents: Presentation, correlates, and sex differences Dr Gemma Sharp, Flinders University Thesis - Predictors and outcomes of labiaplasty
2016	Dr Kelly Allen, University of Melbourne Thesis - In pursuit of belonging: A socio-ecological perspective of school belonging in secondary school settings Dr Jasmine Fardouly, University of New South Wales Thesis - The impact of appearance comparisons through social media on young women's body image Dr Travis Wearne, Macquarie University Thesis - Inhibitory regulation of the prefrontal cortex in an animal model of methamphetamine behavioural sensitization: implications of the maintenance of chronic psychoses
2015	Dr Michael Bowen, University of Sydney Thesis – Defensive aggregation to predatory threat in the laboratory rat: Behavioural, neural, pharmacological and epigenetic correlates Dr Amy Dawel, Australian National University Thesis – Face emotion processing and attention to eye-gaze: Typical development and associations with psychopathic traits and callous unemotional (CU) traits Dr Benjamin Grafton, University of Western Australia Thesis – Always look on the bright side of life: The attentional basis of positive emotional disposition
2014	Dr Tamsyn Van Rheenan, Swinburne University of Technology Thesis - Thinking, perceiving and regulating feeling: An investigation of neurocognition, social cognition and emotion regulation in bipolar disorder Dr Joanna Fardell, University of Sydney Thesis - Chemotherapy and cognitive function: An animal model of the long-term impact of chemotherapy on cognition Dr Fiona Kumfor, University of New South Wales Thesis - Emotion processing and its interactions with memory: Evidence from the dementias
2013	Dr William Harrison, University of Queensland Thesis – Influences on voluntary eye movements on object perception in peripheral vision Dr Caroline Moul, University of New South Wales Thesis - The Development and Assessment of a Differential Amygdala Activation Model in Psychopathy
2012	Dr Amy Lampard, University of Western Australia Thesis title - An evaluation of the cognitive-behavioural theory of bulimia nervosa Dr Amy Morgan, University of Melbourne Thesis title - Promotion of self-help strategies for sub-threshold depression: An e-mental health randomised controlled trial Dr Jillian Pearsall-Jones, Curtin University Thesis title - An investigation of motor and attentional deficits in children and adolescents using the monozygotic co-twin control design. Dr Quincy Wong, University of New South Wales Thesis title - The role of ruminative thinking in social phobia
2011	Renita Almeida, University of Western Australia Thesis title – An analysis of Embedded Figures Test performance in individuals with autistic-like traits Bronwyn Graham, University of New South Wales Thesis title – Fibroblast Growth Factor-2: A novel enhancer of memory Paula Wye, University of Newcastle Thesis title – Smoking in mental health hospitals: Policies, practices and perceptions
2010	Dr Phoebe Bailey, University of New South Wales Thesis: The social cognitive neuroscience of empathy in older adulthood Dr Elizabeth Newnham, University of Western Australia Thesis: Informing best practice in mental health: Using feedback to improve clinical outcomes Dr Kiley Seymour, University of Sydney Thesis: The neural basis of visual feature binding Dr Emma Thomas, Australian National University Thesis: Aligning identity, emotion and beliefs to boost commitment to international development and cooperation
2009	Dr Lauren Staples, University of Sydney Thesis: Predator odour-induced learning and anxiety in rats: A behavioural and neural investigation Dr Alishia Williams, University of New South Wales Thesis: Experiential Features of Intrusive Memories in Depression and the Role of Cognitive Avoidance in Intrusion Maintenance Dr Mitchell Byrne, University of Wollongong Thesis: Medication Alliance: Development and implementation of a mental health staff training program for the enhancement of patient medication adherence
2008	Dr Jason Bell, University of Western Australia Thesis: An analysis of global shape processing using radial frequency contours Dr Nadine Kasparian, University of Sydney Thesis: When melanoma runs in the family: An empirical examination of the psychological and behavioural characteristics of individuals with a family history of melanoma Dr Jee Hyun Kim, University of New South Wales Thesis: Extinction of conditioned fear in the developing rat
2007	Dr Wayne Warburton, Macquarie University Dr Simon Wilksch, Flinders University
2006	Dr Ruth Brunsdon, Macquarie University Dr Emma Collier-Baker, University of Queensland Dr Jason Gallate, University of Sydney
2005	Dr Rachel Guthrie, University of NSW Thesis: A prospective psychophysiological study of posttraumatic stress Dr Alina Morawska, University of Queensland Thesis: Efficacy and effectiveness of self-directed behavioural family intervention Dr Anina Rich, University of Melbourne Thesis: An investigation of the cognitive and neural mechanisms underlying lexical-colour synaesthesia (inaugural award)

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