Marles Medallists

Professor Michael Hofman of the Sir Peter MacCallum Department of Oncology in the Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences was awarded the 2025 Marles Medal in Health and Medical Sciences for his pioneering research into prostate cancer imaging and therapy, which has transformed global prostate cancer care. His work established new international standards of practice, led to major investments in precision medicine, and holds promise for addressing a variety of unmet needs in late-stage cancers.

Professor Brendan Wintle and Ms Natasha Cadenhead from the School of Agriculture, Food and Ecosystem Sciences were awarded the 2025 Marles Medal in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics for their profound impact on environmental policy and public awareness through their influential paper ‘Spending to Save: What will it cost to halt Australia’s extinction crisis?’ Their research provided a groundbreaking economic framework for biodiversity funding, shaping parliamentary inquiries, policy platforms and public debate. Professor Wintle’s leadership also helped secure a $200 million federal commitment to species recovery following the Black Summer bushfires.

Professor Jacqueline Peel of the Melbourne Law School was awarded the 2025 Marles Medal in Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences for her world-leading and transformative contribution to global climate governance through her pioneering research on climate litigation. Her work has directly influenced landmark legal victories, resulting in tangible reductions in coal power generation. Her publications have also guided philanthropic investment strategies and informed international judicial training and reforms. Extensively cited in the IPCC’s Sixth Assessment Report, Professor Peel’s work has had a global influence on climate governance and environmental protection.

Associate Professor Alysia Blackham

Associate Professor Alysia Blackham, Melbourne Law School, for her significant impact and outstanding contribution to our understanding of equality law. This achievement is exemplified by her highly praised 2022 monograph Reforming Age Discrimination Law: Beyond Individual Enforcement (Oxford University Press), which casts new light on how equality laws operate in practice, documenting fundamental gaps in enforcement, and putting forward a clear path for legal reform and change.  A/Prof Blackham’s original research is having a clear and sustained impact on equality law reform and legal development across Australia, helping to reshape equality law to better address discrimination in practice. Her advocacy and research have been described as ‘critical’ and ‘influential’ in shaping the development and drafting of the Gender Equality Act 2020 (Vic) and has proved highly influential in shaping legislation to increase its effectiveness and capacity to achieve positive social change.

Associate Professor Michelle Jongenelis

Associate Professor Michelle Jongenelis, Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences, for her tobacco control work which has had a significant impact on public health policy and practice. A/Prof Jongenelis’ research has gained national and international recognition and has informed government inquiries relating to e-cigarettes. The evidence she provided to the Senate Select Committee on Tobacco Harm Reduction and Queensland’s Inquiry into reducing rate of e-cigarette use was featured numerous times in the final reports tabled in Federal and State Parliaments and contributed to the evidence used to prohibit e-cigarettes from being regulated as consumer products. Her work exploring the challenges associated with e-cigarettes in Australia has been a critical part of policy discussions and formed the evidence-base that led to recent vaping reforms.

Professor Felicity Baker

Professor Felicity Baker of the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music was awarded the 2023 Marles Medal in HASS for her groundbreaking research, exemplified by her 2022 publication ‘Clinical effectiveness of music interventions for dementia and depression in elderly care’. This landmark study is the first to provide robust evidence of the effectiveness of music therapy in improving wellbeing outcomes for people living with dementia. Professor Baker’s interdisciplinary research has had a strong impact on national and international aged care policy and directly impacts some of society's most vulnerable members, significantly contributing to dementia care.

Associate Professor Brett Manley

Associate Professor Brett Manley of the Melbourne Medical School was awarded the 2023 Marles Medal in STEMM for his research in neonatology and infant health, focused on advancing respiratory support for preterm infants facing breathing challenges. Associate Professor Manley’s research findings have been integrated into clinical guidelines both domestically and internationally. His research has revolutionised treatment strategies for preterm infants, resulting in a notable fourfold increase in the adoption of nasal high-flow (nHF) therapy, cost savings, and the enhancement of established guidelines.

Professor Robert Crawford

Professor Robert Crawford of the Melbourne School of Design was awarded the 2022 Marles Medal in Humanities and Social Sciences for his research focused on improving the environmental performance of the built environment. Professor Crawford’s EPiC Database project is the first of its kind in the world; it is freely available and provides comprehensive, transparent, and comparable environmental data for over 280 common Australian construction materials. The EPiC Database is being widely used to inform construction project designs, select materials, prioritise environmental improvement efforts, and certify building projects.

Shared jointly

Professor Kim Bennell and Professor Rana Hinman (team award)

and

Professor Jane Hocking

Professors Kim Bennell and Rana Hinman of the Melbourne School of Health Sciences were awarded the 2022 Marles Medal in Science and Technology for their suite of published studies related to treatments and the use of technology to remotely deliver evidence-based care for knee osteoarthritis. This research addresses the problem that a lack of access prevents many people with osteoarthritis from receiving core treatments such as education, exercise, and weight loss. The “painTRAINER” program, developed by this team, has been accessed by 3,910 users from 77 countries and is changing practice world-wide. Their ‘PEAK program’ was released for free and accessed by over 10,500 users from 138 countries.

Professor Jane Hocking, from the Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, was awarded the 2022 Marles Medal in Science and Technology for a series of articles that highlight her contribution to advancing chlamydia treatment and screening policy. Professor Hocking’s nominated works represent landmark trials and a commissioned review that addressed key chlamydia control concerns, represent research of the highest quality, and will improve population health and wellbeing.

Professor Robyn Sloggett

Professor Robyn Sloggett of the School of Historical and Philosophical Studies in the Faculty of Arts was awarded the 2021 Marles Medal in Humanities and Social Sciences for her interdisciplinary and cross-cultural research in arts conservation which has had a significant impact on the communities with which she has collaborated. Her work led to the establishment of the internationally renowned attribution facility at the Grimwade Centre and attracted a generation of researchers in cultural materials conservation in Australia where few existed previously. Her work has enabled small, rural and remote communities to preserve significant cultural material that would otherwise have been lost through damage and deterioration and extended research capability in the discipline and profession in Southeast Asia and remote Aboriginal communities.

Professor Jane Pirkis

Professor Jane Pirkis of the Melbourne School of Population and Global Health in the Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences was awarded the 2021 Marles Medal in Science and Technology for her suite of articles related to the creation and evaluation of her widely impactful “Man Up” project which targets male mental health and suicide prevention. The three selected articles were chosen as they best accompany and explain the rationale and impact of the “Man Up” documentary project. The “Man Up” documentary had extraordinarily wide reach and increased men’s likelihood of seeking help in tough times and encouraging their friends to do the same, and shifted their views of masculinity.

Professor John Hattie

Professor Hattie of the Melbourne Graduate School of Education was awarded the 2020 Marles Medal in Humanities and Social Sciences for his highly influential publications on Visible Learning, which have had a significant impact on teacher effectiveness in school education. Professor Hattie’s work statistically synthesises the results of 160 meta-analyses involving more than 300 million students to build high-level understandings of what works best in schools. Developed from this research, the Visible Learning Model has been implemented in 10,000+ schools internationally since 2009, stimulating productive and sustainable changes in educational practices across the globe.

Professor Sharon Goldfeld

Professor Goldfeld, from the Melbourne Medical School in the Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences was awarded the 2020 Marles Medal in Science and Technology in recognition of her suite of breakthrough publications around the ‘right@home’ nurse home visitation project. The right@home project is a randomised controlled trial following 722 disadvantaged women and their families through two years of home visits by specially trained maternal and child health (MCH) nurses. The trial is the most robust of its kind in Australia with significant benefits to social, health and services for families.