The 2024 Scientist of the Year was awarded to 2 joint winners. The category recognises outstanding individuals for their excellence in a field of science, scientific research or technological advancement who have been active in their field, particularly in the past 10 years.
In the 23rd year of the Premier's Science Awards we celebrate the work of John Curtin Distinguished Professor Sharon Parker and Professor Markus Schlaich as our Scientist of the Year winners.
John Curtin Distinguished Professor Sharon Parker
Curtin University
The average person spends 90,000 hours working in their life, and this is increasing as the population ages. Poor quality work causes burnout, injury, family breakdown, and even premature mortality for people, as well as reduced productivity. Good work design helps individuals, teams, and organisations to thrive.
John Curtin Distinguished Professor Sharon Parker is helping to improve work quality across the globe through world-leading research on work design, which she is then directly applying in Western Australia. Professor Parker led a landmark study into mental health and workplace culture in the Western Australian mining industry, and advises health, aged and disability care organisations, amongst others.
Professor Markus Schlaich
The University of Western Australia – Royal Perth Hospital and RPH Research Foundation
Professor Markus Schlaich is the inaugural Dobney Chair in Clinical Research at The University of Western Australia. As a clinician scientist specializing in high blood pressure (hypertension) he and his interdisciplinary team provide a comprehensive service at RPH.
As Chair of Hypertension Australia and Co-Chair of the recently established National Hypertension Taskforce Professor Schlaich leads the nation in controlling the leading global risk factor for death. With more than 500 publications and 20 national/international awards, his translational clinical research has resulted in recent regulatory approval of several novel blood pressure lowering therapies including a new drug class and a revolutionary interventional approach to treat hypertension.
