La Trobe University > Researchers > La Trobe Graduate Research School > Graduate research degrees > Finishing and thesis submission > Nancy Millis Award

Nancy Millis Award for theses of exceptional merit

2015 Nancy Millis awardee 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. Examiners are asked if they consider the thesis to be in the top five per cent of theses they have examined. Nominated theses are then assessed following the examination process and are considered for award through a consultative selection process that involves the supervisor, School Graduate Research Coordinator and Dean of Graduate Studies. Final recommendations are approved by the Board of Graduate Research.

2017 recipients

The following recipients will receive their award at a special event, held at the Graduate Research School in December 2017.

Awardee	School	Thesis Title
Slade Allen-Ankins	School of Life Sciences	Physiological Mechanisms Underlying Fish Distributions along Elevational Gradients: Estimating Fundamental Thermal Niches
Nang Seng Aye	School of Life Sciences	Impact of Liming Soil Organic Carbon Dynamics in Acid Soils
Amy Baxter	School of Molecular Sciences	Elucidating the Molecular Mechanism of Tumour Cell-Killing by Defensins of the Solanaceae Plant Family
Scott Doidge	School of Humanities and Social Sciences	The Anxiety of Ascent: Middle Class Narratives in Germany and America
Claudia Araceli Garcia-Solis	School of Humanities and Social Sciences	Archeology and Tourism: the Performance of Conservation at the World Heritage Site of Chichen Itza
Andrew Gilbert	School of Humanities and Social Sciences	The Crisis Paradigm: The Concept of “Crisis” and its Limits in Lukacs, Koselleck, Arendt and Habermas
Lisa Hanson	School of Allied Health	Field Exercise Tests Used to Measure Physical Fitness and Functional Capacity in Cardiac Rehabilitation
William Keeton	La Trobe Business School	Managing Community Engagement: A Cross-Case Analysis of Water Organizations in Victoria, Australia
Xuan Mai	La Trobe Business School	Understanding Performance Measurement Practice for Academics from a Social Interaction Perspective-a Vietnamese Case Study
George Mbogo	School of Molecular Sciences	ß-Adrenoceptor Mediated Bim Dependent Apoptosis Inhibitors as Novel Therapeutics for Heart Failure
Alice Mora	School of Humanities and Social Sciences	Reconstructing Human Diets at a Fine Scale: Sequential Measurement of Amino Acid D13C Values along Single Hairs of Pre-Columbian Individuals
Amie O'Shea	School of Psychology and Public Health	I’m Just a Rare Girl: Gender and Disability in Life Stories Produced with Young Women with Intellectual Disabilities
Thanh Kha Phan	School of Molecular Sciences	Phosphoinositide-Binding Molecules as Potential Multifunctional Anticancer, Anti-Infective and Immunomodulatory Therapeutics
Jayne Russell	School of Psychology and Public Health	Social Support and the Experience of Living with HIV for Women in Australia
Alex Schenk	School of Molecular Sciences	New Diamond Surface Terminations for Quantum Devices
Deborah Shnookal	School of Humanities and Social Sciences	Miami or the Mountains: Operation Pedro Pan and the Children of the Cuban Revolution, 1959 - 1962
Ju Lin Tan	School of Molecular Sciences	Exploring the Role of ClpS in the N-End Rule Pathway in Mycobacterium Smegmatis
Sarah Warby	School of Allied Health	The Effect of Rehabilitation Programs on Multidirectional Instability of the Genohumeral Joint
Jennifer Wood	School of Life Sciences	Ecology and the art of looking: incorporating ecological-frameworks into the analysis of soil- and rhizosphere-microbial communities

Previous Awardees

2016 recipients

The following recipients received their award at a special event, held at the Graduate Research School in December 2016.

Awardee	School	Thesis Title
Prue Atkins	School of Allied Health	The influence of organisational context in the practice implementation process: identifying influential aspects of design intent in an innovative therapeutic outreach program for child protection clients.
Emma Bland	School of Molecular Sciences	High frequency remote sensing of Pc5 ultra-low frequency waves using the Super Dual Auroral Radar Network
Wendy Bunston	School of Allied Health	How Refuge provides 'refuge' to Infants : Exploring the ways in which 'refuge' is provided to, and experienced by, infants entering crisis accommodation with their mothers after fleeing family violence
Imogen Clark	School of Allied Health	Music to support physical activity in older adults with health conditions
Shannon Couchman	School of Molecular Sciences	A theoretical investigation of novel main group organometallic compounds
Gary Devilles	School of Humanities and Social Sciences	City Sense An Interdisciplinary Approach to Sensing Manila
Joseph Evans	School of Molecular Sciences	The role of TRAFs and RIP kinases in regulating inflammatory signalling in vivo
Leesa Hooker	School of Nursing and Midwifery	Strengthening maternal and child health nursing practice for women and children experiencing family violence
Joe Rae Latham	School of Psychology and Public Health	Trans Men’s Realities : An Ontological Politics of Sex, Gender and Sexuality
Umar Lubanga	School of Life Sciences	Reproductive biology, signalling and sexual selection in the She-oak psyllid Aacanthocnema dobsoni (Froggatt) (Hemiptera: Triozidae)
Alison Lugg	School of Education	Remaking Futures: A Case Study of Pre-service Outdoor Sustainability Education Teachers
Gustavo Portes	School of Humanities and Social Sciences	Sacrifice in animation : Psychological development and relationship in the work of Pixar and Hayao Miyazaki
Alin Rai	School of Molecular Sciences	Role of extracellular vesicles in colorectal cancer progression
Mark Scillio	School of Humanities and Social Sciences	Making career stories : navigating work life and a sense of security
Holly Sellers	School of Humanities and Social Sciences	A linguistic approach to ethnobotanical plant name classification in southern Lisu
Aryeh Solomon	School of Education	The educational theory of Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson