Professor Carmela Pestell
President's Award for Distinguished Contribution to Psychology in Australia

Award type: Showcase

Professor Pestell, a first-generation migrant from Italy, was one of the first in her family to enter university. She earned a Bachelor's degree in Psychology (UWA) in 1989, receiving the APS Student Prize, and later completed a Master's in Clinical Psychology (UWA).

Over the next two decades, she worked in government and private sectors, including as Director of the Neurosciences Unit. While working full-time, she earned her doctorate, as well as another Master's in neuropsychology. Carmela has been at UWA since 2013, involved in post-graduate psychology training, teaching, clinical supervision, research, and leadership roles.

Carmela’s clinical background has informed her research focus, investigating neuropsychological outcomes of neurodevelopmental disorders and brain injuries across the lifespan to improve diagnosis and interventions; with nearly 80 research outputs to date and over 7 million dollars in grant success. Carmela has contributed to the profession of psychology in many ways over the years.

For example, in the 1990s, she was part of a successful effort to improve psychologists' salaries in the health department. She has also successfully advocated for the establishment of numerous psychology positions and diagnostic clinics across Australia. Notably, in 2017, she led the creation of a Graduate Certificate in Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder at UWA, the only one of its kind globally. She is an invited Ambassador for NoFASD Australia and contributes her psychological expertise to Commonwealth advisory panels as well as by providing expert testimony.

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