We have seen incredible contributions from members in 2021. The pinnacle of this is the APS Awards.
At the start of 2021 we re-energised the Awards, introducing four new categories and streamlining our science awards.
We received many excellent submissions and congratulate all who put themselves forward.
It is our pleasure to announce the twelve winners.
SHOWCASE AWARD WINNERS
President’s Award for Distinguished Contribution to Psychology in Australia
Professor Mark Dadds
Professor Dadds’ programs include parenting interventions for child conduct disorders, the first family-based intervention for child anxiety, and the first school-based prevention/early-intervention program for child anxiety.
NEW - APS Psychology Entrepreneur of the Year Award
Kathleen Davey
Kathleen Davey spearheaded the 6-month transformation of the Secret Agent Society’s Small Group Program into a sophisticated digital health system to mitigate the critical risk presented to child services globally by COVID-19.
NEW - Significant Contribution to Rural and Remote Communities Award
Dr Emily Berger
Dr Berger’s work evaluates the impacts of a disaster on children and families in regional Victoria, as well as farming families and families exposed to drought and disasters, such as bushfires and floods.
NEW - APS Significant Contribution of Psychology in the Public Sector Award
Jeffrey Bond OAM
Jeffrey Bond has had a distinguished public service career, having held the inaugural position of Head of Sport Psychology for the Australian Institute of Sport for 22 years, leading and developing a team of sport psychologists.
NEW - APS Outstanding Accredited Supervisor Award
Mark Donovan
Mark Donovan has trained over a thousand registered psychologists in competency-based clinical supervision and was part of the team that created the first competency-based supervisor training for Australian Psychological Society in 2013.
SCIENCE AWARD WINNERS
Award for Excellent PhD Thesis in Psychology
Dr Rachel Menzies
Dr Menzies’ PhD research examines the transdiagnostic role of death anxiety in numerous mental health conditions.
Early Career Research Award
Dr Ursula Sansom-Daly
Dr Sansom-Daly’s research spans the cancer trajectory, from diagnosis through to survivorship and end-of-life.
Distinguished Contribution to Psychological Education Award
Professor Emeritus Tony Machin
Professor Machin’s record of education activities demonstrates significant contributions at international, national and institutional levels.
Media Award for Public Engagement with Psychological Science
Professor Muireann Irish
Professor Irish’s research program explores how complex cognitive processes break down in neurodegenerative disorders, and the underlying neural bases of these impairments.
Distinguished Contribution to Psychological Science Award
Professor Adam Guastella
Professor Guastella applies knowledge from neuroscience to inform the theory and practice of clinical psychology and has shifted how we understand the neurobiology of social development in humans.
Outstanding Academic Mentor Award
Professor Jane Pirkis
Professor Pirkis’s approach to mentoring influences, motivates and inspires people who are at the formative stage of their careers to excel. Many of the people she has mentored have gone on to achieve great things, both within and outside academia.
Early Career Teaching Award
Dr Christopher Kilby
Dr Kilby supervises Honours and Master of Clinical Psychology research students and has repeatedly received student evaluations highlighting his high level of approachability, passion, knowledge and ability to convey complex ideas.
View 2021 awards