2022 Prime Minister’s Prizes for Science Announced : MTPConnect

22 November 2022

PIctured above: Adjunct Professor Alison Todd and Dr Elisa Mokany, founders of SpeeDx, NSW

The 2022 Prime Minister’s Prizes for Science were announced at Parliament House on 21 November 2022 with guests from across the Australian science, research and technology community.

The Australian science community came together to celebrate the contributions of 12 of the country’s leading scientists, innovators and science teachers. Chair Sue MacLeman and CEO Stuart Dignam attended the event on behalf of MTPConnect.

This year’s recipients reflect Australia's commercialisation capabilities, with joint recipients in the Prize for Innovation and Prize for New Innovators categories – a first for the Prizes.

The 2022 prize recipients were announced by the Hon Anthony Albanese MP, Prime Minister of Australia and the Hon Ed Husic MP, Minister for Industry and Science.

Two prizes were awarded to scientists that are founders of SpeeDx and Seer Medical - innovative companies supported through our BTB and BMTH programs.

Prime Minister’s Prize for Innovation:

Adjunct Professor Alison Todd and Dr Elisa Mokany (SpeeDx) have been recognised for improving personalised clinical diagnosis and treatments for a range of diseases and cancers, using ground-breaking molecular diagnostics technology.

In 2009, the pair founded SpeeDx which creates faster, more accurate and cost-effective solutions to analyse and interpret genetic information. Its local manufacturing efforts have also meant the company is better placed to respond to instances of increased demand, such as during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Adjunct Professor Todd and Dr Mokany have also forged a trailblazing path for women in STEM and the biotechnology industry in Australia. Currently, 70 per cent of SpeeDx’s workforce and 50 per cent of its management are women.

Dr Pip Karoly, The University of Melbourne, co-founder Seer Medical

Prize for New Innovators:

Dr Pip Karoly (The University of Melbourne & Seer Medical) has been recognised for her life-changing discoveries that are improving the lives of millions of people living with epilepsy through never-before-seen seizure forecasting technology. As a founding member of Seer Medical, Dr Karoly led the development of a mobile app that enables people to monitor seizures at home.

The commercialisation of Dr Karoly's discoveries has had additional benefits for Australia’s economy, where the cost of epilepsy is estimated to be $12.3 billion each year.