This International Women’s Day, the Holsworth Biomedical Research Centre recognises Associate Professor Donna Whelan, whose leadership in biophysics is helping reshape how expertise and authority are recognised in STEM. Reflecting on her early career, Associate Professor Whelan recalls attending international conferences where women were well represented in the audience but largely absent from keynote roles. “That disconnect between participation and authority was hard to ignore,” she says, noting that it fundamentally shaped how she thinks about representation and leadership in science.
After completing a postdoctoral appointment at New York University, Associate Professor Whelan returned to La Trobe University in 2018. She has since built an internationally recognised research program spanning molecular biology, DNA damage response, biophysics, and the development of super‑resolution microscopy technologies now used across Australia and internationally. Her work is driven by “a deep curiosity about how cells respond to stress and damage” and a commitment to giving scientists new ways to observe biological processes.
As her career progressed, Associate Professor Whelan became increasingly aware of how gender shapes the scientific landscape. In one defining moment, her research team was described not for its scientific achievements, but for being “all women.” “The most noteworthy feature, in that moment, wasn’t our science, it was our gender composition,” she says, highlighting how easily women’s expertise can be reframed.
Today, Associate Professor Whelan’s leadership extends across research, mentoring and professional service. She has supervised 17 Honours and PhD candidates, developed programs for disadvantaged regional students, and serves as Secretary of the Australian Biophysics Society. In 2026, she will host the Society’s 50th annual conference at La Trobe Bendigo.
For Associate Professor Whelan, International Women’s Day is both a celebration and a reminder that progress in equity has required sustained effort. “Diverse teams don’t just signal fairness,” she says. “They produce more rigorous, creative and impactful science. That is not aspirational; it is evidence‑based.”
