Posted on: February 11, 2026
praise women who drivee Innovation across Victoria’s medical technology ecosystemmeter.
Now in its 11th year, authoritative bio melbourne Network Women in Leadership Award won three awards exceptional Leaders advancing health technology for the benefit of people around the world.
BioMelbourne Network today announces the winners of the 2026 Women in Leadership Awards. The award recognizes three outstanding women whose leadership is accelerating innovation and creating tangible impact within and beyond Victoria’s health technology ecosystem, from discovery and translation to manufacturing and global collaboration.
Since 2015, the awards have celebrated the achievements of women at different career stages and highlighted the importance of diversity and inclusion in strengthening innovation and sector performance.
The 2026 winners demonstrate the power of leadership to drive results both locally and globally.
Excellence in Leadership Award: Associate Professor Megan Robertson Group Chief Research Officer, St Vincent’s Health Australia, Director of Research, St Vincent’s Hospital
“This award means so much to me as it means recognition to me from my colleagues. I am humbled to join such an esteemed group of previous recipients. The BioMelbourne Network Women’s Leadership Award raises the profile of women leaders in our field. While there is a strong female workforce in health and medical research, it is essential to recognize the contributions of women in leadership and provide role models for future leaders in all areas.”
Inspiring Leadership Award: Associate Professor Jess Nityananantharaja Co-founder and Vice President of Translational Biology at Phrenix Therapeutics; Head of the Florey School of Neuroscience and Mental Health at the University of Melbourne; Director of Mental Health Research at the Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health; Group Leader of the Synaptic Biology and Cognition Institute
“I am honored to be recognized by the BioMelbourne Network. I see this award as a celebration of the life sciences ecosystem, recognizing the leadership and courage it takes to translate discoveries into impact across academia and industry. By highlighting those who bridge the sector, awards such as this highlight the vital importance of diversity, collaboration and partnership in advancing global health outcomes.”
Emerging Leadership Award: Professor Gemma Sharp; Research Professor and Clinical Psychologist, University of Adelaide, Founding Director of the Eating Disorders Research Consortium, Founder and Owner of Sharp AI Psychology
“I am deeply honored by this award. It recognizes the risk I took outside of traditional academic paths to develop the world’s first AI chatbot commercial service and found the Eating Disorders Research Consortium, an international charity that has already helped hundreds of thousands of people around the world.”
The BioMelbourne Network Women in Leadership Awards are important because we are actively building a more inclusive and visible leadership pipeline in health and medical technology. They stand out by recognizing impact and innovation across career stages, elevating diverse role models, and creating sector-wide momentum for meaningful cultural and structural change. ”
Vicky Jones, Acting CEO, BioMelbourne Network said: “Now in its 11th year, the message of the Women in Leadership Awards is clear: leadership across boundaries has a global impact. Our prestigious awards recognize outstanding women who are building partnerships across academia, industry, healthcare and investment, and translating their expertise into tangible results that benefit patients and communities in Victoria and around the world.”
“BioMelbourne Network is proud to recognize not only the achievements of outstanding women, but also the importance of fostering a sector culture where diverse perspectives are valued and everyone has the opportunity to contribute and grow.” Jones said.
The level of nominations continues to rise, Jones noted that the selection of honorees becomes more difficult each year because so many leaders are advancing the field in different ways.
Professor Vera Ignjatovic, BioMelbourne Network Vice Chairman Said: “BioMelbourne Network Women in Leadership The Awards celebrate exactly the qualities Victoria’s health technology sector needs to remain globally competitive – leaders who connect disciplines, transform ideas into impact and build bridges between research, industry and medicine.”These winners celebrate innovation. They are shaping the future of our ecosystem by driving innovation, collaboration and commercial outcomes, but just as importantly, they are sending a strong signal to emerging talent that there are places and paths for women to lead in research, industry, healthcare and investment. ”
The awards ceremony, held at the Victoria Investment Center to coincide with International Science Day, brought together more than 130 attendees in-person and online, including medical technology leaders, researchers, founders, investors and government representatives.
The event, supported by the Victorian Government (Department of Employment, Skills, Industry and Regions), highlighted Victoria’s commitment to building an inclusive, globally connected health technology ecosystem and strengthening the pipeline of future leaders.
Recognize global and regional excellence
Victoria is one of the world’s leading medical technology hubs, including the medical device (medtech), biotechnology (biotech) and pharmaceutical industry sectors, and is supported by nine universities and 22 world-renowned research institutes.
The commercial sector employs over 51,785 staff and 20,000 research employees and comprises over 4,644 companies. Additionally, Victoria’s health workforce has expanded to more than 122,000 full-time equivalent public health workers in 2024. 40% of ASX-listed health technology companies are based in Melbourne, with a total market capitalization of $177 billion.
Melbourne is one of the few cities in the world to have two universities in the top 40 of global biomedical rankings, with Monash University currently ranked fourth in the world for Pharmacy and Pharmacology and consistently ranked in the world’s top 10 universities for over a decade. Victoria ranks in the top 10% of life sciences startups globally, with one in five startups in the state being health-related.
As women continue to be under-represented in senior roles across STEM, the Women in Leadership Awards focus on leaders who are paving the way to leadership and strengthening innovation capacity to benefit health in Victoria and around the world.
View the 2026 Women’s Leadership Awards Ceremony booklet.
The 2026 Women in Leadership Awards are sponsored by: Victorian Government.