Eureka!

Linguist Professor Felicity Meakins has worked for decades with Cassandra Algy from the Karungkarni Art and Culture Aboriginal Corporation.

They've documented the way the Indigenous language, Gurindji is used by different generations in the remote communities of Kalkaringi and Daguragu in the Northern Territory.

They connected with Australian National University's evolutionary biologist Lindell Bromham and mathematical biologist Xia Hua through the ARC Centre of Excellence for the Dynamics of Language (CoEDL), a research network.

This unique team's interdisciplinary research is developing new ways to understand the processes of language change and factors that help keep Indigenous languages strong. 

“Mapping language change in Australia is crucial to recognising new ways of speaking and working with First Nations communities towards guiding principles for language revitalisation,” Professor Meakins said.

“I’m encouraged by the fact that in recent years, First Nations communities all over Australia have been rallying to renew their languages.

“I look forward to seeing an increase in substantial education, health and economic benefits associated with supporting First Nations languages.”

Find out more about the project in the video below.

Finalists Professor Roy Hall and Dr Jody Peters and their UQ research team, Team Chimera, were ecstatic to hear that their work with chimeric – or hybrid – viruses was being recognised.

“Mosquito-borne flavivirus infections are a significant global health challenge, with dengue alone causing 400 million infections per year,” Professor Hall said.

“A benign virus infecting Australian mosquitoes holds the key to accelerating viral research and paving the way to designing new vaccines, diagnostic approaches and antiviral drugs.

“The team genetically engineered the virus to carry surface proteins of disease-causing viruses like Zika, dengue or West Nile.

“These hybrid or chimeric viruses closely resemble these pathogenic viruses, but do not infect humans or animals.

“Now the chimeric virus can be used to help develop safe and effective vaccines and diagnostics against these devastating mosquito-borne virus diseases.

“The high safety profile of the technology, and the simplicity and high efficiency of its production, provide the ideal platform for poorly resourced countries that often bear the brunt of these diseases.

“This may one day allow them to manufacture low-cost vaccines and diagnostics using minimal infrastructure.

“And – given the world’s attention on emergent pandemics – our technology uses a novel technique that allows us to very quickly adapt the platform to work against newly emerged mosquito-borne viral diseases.”

Dr Jody Peters talks about the project in the vide below.

UQ’s Professor Sara Dolnicar is a Eureka Prize finalist for her unwavering commitment to training and mentoring the next generation of social scientists.

“After witnessing the immense pressure faced by young researchers today, I made it my mission to help them become masters of their trade,” Professor Dolnicar said. 

To achieve this goal, Professor Dolnicar has developed a wide range of initiatives including her Twitter series #editorobservation, an International Association of Experts in Tourism online mentoring program, and the Annals of Tourism Research Bite-Sized Sessions. 

Closer to home, Professor Dolnicar actively mentors the postdocs and PhD students involved in her research program, the Low Harm Hedonism Initiative. 

“This is an amazing platform for training and mentoring because it’s comprised of a global team,” Professor Dolnicar said. 

“It takes a village to train a social scientist. 

“I take every opportunity to create such training and mentoring villages – be they physical or virtual – to ensure up-and-coming social scientists are equipped with the interpersonal and scholarly skills required to make the world a better place.” 

Through the Low Harm Hedonism Initiative, Professor Dolnicar and her team are working with businesses worldwide to reduce their environmental footprint without affecting customer satisfaction or their bottom line. 

“We’re working on a new theory that explains the drivers of pro-environmental behaviours in people who are in enjoyment-focused contexts, such as on vacation,” Professor Dolnicar said. 

“Based on this theory, we’re developing an extensive suite of practical measures, which we’re experimentally testing in real businesses such as hotels and restaurants. 

“For example, our family stamp collection game reduced uneaten food on plates at all-you-can-eat buffets by 38 per cent.” 

Professor Dolnicar is also an Australian Research Council (ARC) Laureate Fellow.

Professor Dolnicar talks about the project in the video below.