2026 Our Awards and Impact

Professor Sandy Middleton was recognised as a finalist in the 2026 Health Employees Superannuation Trust Australia (HESTA) Australian Nursing & Midwifery Awards. These prestigious awards acknowledge the exceptional contributions of nurses, midwives, nurse educators, personal care workers and researchers in improving the lives of others. The award ceremony was held in Melbourne on 14 May 2026, with Professor Middleton's selection as a finalist reflecting the high regard for her leadership and impact within the profession.

Picture Left to Right: Distinguished Professor Sandy Middleton, 2026 Winner - Helen Lamech and finalist Lauren Elizabeth Lines

On 22 April we celebrated the appointment of Australian Catholic University's (ACU) Inaugural MacKillop Distinguished Professors. Named for Saint Mary MacKillop, the Distinguished Professorship recognises not only sustained scholarly excellence, but leadership, generosity, and service to others. It reflects our belief that academic work is not only about what we know, but about how we lead, how we disseminate our discoveries, and how we elevate others.

Congratulations to Professor Sandy Middleton, Professor of Nursing and Director of the Nursing Research Institute; Professor Herb Marsh, ACU MacKillop Distinguished Professor in the Institute for Positive Psychology and Education; and Professor John Hawley, Director of the Centre for Human Metabolism and Performance at the Mary MacKillop Institute for Health Research, scholars of national and international standing who exemplify purposeful scholarship in health and education.

Picture Left to Right: Professor John Hawley, Professor Sandy Middleton, Professor Julie Cogin (Provost and Deputy Vice Chancellor (Research and Enterprise), Professor Herb Marsh and Professor Chris Lonsdale, Deputy Provost.

In April 2026, AuSCR launched a new interactive dashboard for Fever, Sugar and Swallow (FeSS) variables, providing a clearer and more intuitive view of stroke care performance. Bringing key FeSS measures into one place, the dashboard enables teams to track trends, monitor compliance with clinical guidelines, and identify improvement opportunities in real time. The expanded dataset-including new fever and hyperglycaemia variables alongside existing swallow measures-supports more comprehensive benchmarking across hospitals. Developed in close collaboration with AuSCR, this tool enhances quality assurance and supports more targeted, data-driven improvement in stroke care.

The Nursing Research Institute's nurse-led Fever, Sugar, Swallow (FeSS) protocols for stroke were included among the research examples informing the 2025 Draft National Health and Medical Research Strategy 2026-2036.

As a leading example of nurse-led, implementation-focused research, the FeSS program contributed to shaping the evidence base underpinning the Strategy's development.

Released in May 2026, the Strategy sets out a 10-year vision for strengthening Australia's health and medical research system and guiding its future direction. The inclusion of the FeSS protocols in the draft highlights their significance in improving stroke care and outcomes, and underscores the important role of nurse-led implementation research in informing national priorities and advancing high-quality, evidence-based healthcare.

The EMCR Advocacy Roadmap provides a strategic plan to bridge gaps, strengthen collaboration, and foster research-led healthcare innovation. The roadmap was developed through a collaborative process, incorporating insights from over 100 Australian nursing and midwifery Early to Mid-Career Researchers (EMCR), clinical and academic leaders, researchers, and consumer representatives. The result is a comprehensive, sector-wide guide designed to support the growth, visibility and impact of early to mid-career researchers and to drive sustainable advancement in nursing and midwifery research. The EMCR Advocacy Roadmap was led by Dr Nicola Straiton through the Charting the Future of Healthcare project, funded by the Australian Academy of Science Theo Murphy Initiative (Flagship Grant).