Nancy Millis Award for doctoral theses of exceptional merit
This award is named after Professor Nancy Millis, who served as Chancellor of La Trobe University for 14 years from 1992 - 2006.
A 'legend' in the world of science, she was one of only five Australian scientists recognised on the 'Australian Legends' series of stamps in 2002. During her distinguished career, Professor Millis gained a string of scientific and civic accolades, including election to the Australian Academy of Science, an MBE and a Companion of the Order of Australia.
Selection process
The Nancy Millis Medal is awarded to the authors of outstanding doctoral theses. Prior to 2025, this only included PhD theses. Examiners are asked if they consider the thesis to be in the top five per cent of theses they have examined that demonstrate the significance or impact of the work in their field of research. Nominated theses are then recommended following the examination process and are considered for award through a selection process that involves the School's Director of Graduate Research endorsement and approval by the Board of Graduate Research.
2024 recipients
The following recipients received their award in 2024.
Awardee | School | Thesis Title |
---|---|---|
Gemma Davy | Psychology and Public Health | Participation and Quality of Life in Caregivers of School-Aged Autistic Children |
Sarah Gyngell | Humanities and Social Sciences | |
Renee Kam | Nursing and Midwifery | An Exploration of Breast Hypoplasia and Insufficient Milk Production |
Panos Elias Karanikolas | Humanities and Social Sciences | Managing Madness in the ‘Deinstitutionalised’ Community: Carceral Control Under Victoria’s Community Treatment Order Scheme |
Kamalpreet Kaur | Applied Systems Biology | New and Emerging Grapevine Viruses in Australia and their Control Measures |
David Lowden | La Trobe Business School | |
Jenna Macnab | Allied Health, Human Services and Sport | |
Jesse Martin | Humanities and Social Sciences | |
Akbar Lulu Marzan | Agriculture, Biomedicine and Environment | Investigating the Role of Extracellular Vesicles and its Cargo in Cancer-Associated Cachexia |
Sharon Miller | Allied Health, Human Services and Sport | |
Andrew Molino | Agriculture, Biomedicine and Environment | |
Rahul Sanwlani | Agriculture, Biomedicine and Environment | Role of dietary and probiotic extracellular vesicles in cancer progression and therapy |
Natalie Sheard | La Trobe Law School | Algorithm-Facilitated Discrimination: AI-Driven Hiring Systems in Australian Workplaces |
Jascinta Santavanond | Agriculture, Biomedicine and Environment | |
Boris Julian Sepulveda Molina | Applied Systems Biology | |
Atefeh Taghizadeh | Allied Health, Human Services and Sport | |
Brigitte Tenni | Psychology and Public Health | Trade policy, Intellectual Property and Access to Medicines in Southeast Asia |
Mark Tyler | Psychology and Public Health | Investigating the Influence of Severity of Depressive Symptoms on Thermoregulatory and Thermo-Affective Functioning |
Melissa Urquhart | La Trobe Rural Health School | |
Jessica Velasquez Urribarri | Education | |
Stanislaw Wawrzyczek | Agriculture, Biomedicine and Environment | |
Scott Williams | Agriculture, Biomedicine and Environment |