Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander STEMM Award 2026 Finalists
Walk Strong, Walk Tall Team
Associate Professor Kim Morey, Courtney Georgia Hammond, Michael George Turner, Natalie Morgan (nee Colebatch) and Saraid Ellen Martin
South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute, Adelaide University
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are Australia’s First Scientists. Wardliparingga Aboriginal Health Equity at the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute, continues this legacy by embedding Aboriginal ways of knowing being and doing in our research.
The Aboriginal-led Walk Strong, Walk Tall Program was delivered across South Australia to help prevent and better manage foot disease for Aboriginal people.
The program connected with local communities, shared practical tips and encouraged people to get help early. It educated community about diabetes complications, foot health, foot-care items and shoes, to make daily foot care easier. Community resources and short videos created a focus on preventing serious complications, including avoidable amputations.
The program has created a stronger culturally safe health system – through training to grow foot health knowledge and supported by cultural awareness learning to help services be more respectful and effective.
It has also supported prevention in schools by sharing curriculum resources, engaged Indigenous businesses, expanded access to podiatry through new clinic services, and provided specialist equipment to Aboriginal health services.
Together, these efforts are helping people stay active, reducing hospital visits and healthcare costs, and supporting participation in family life, school and work.
Flow-MER Pondi Monitoring Team
Aunty Sheryl Giles, William (Bill) Wilson, Associate Professor Qifeng Ye, George Giatas and Mark Sutcliffe
PIRSA, SARDI Aquatic Sciences, Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder
The Flow-MER Pondi (Murray cod) Monitoring Program is a First Nations–led collaboration that brings together Aboriginal rangers, scientists, and water managers to care for the Lower Murray and Lower Murray and Coorong, Lower Lakes and Murray Mouth region.
By combining Aboriginal knowledge with modern science, the program has improved understanding of the health of the River Murray and native fish populations. The work has confirmed that Pondi still exist in the river system, including multiple age classes, providing important evidence to guide environmental water and river management to enhance native fish populations.
The program has also strengthened partnerships between the Ngarrindjeri Aboriginal Corporation, River Murray and Mallee Aboriginal Corporation and PIRSA-SARDI, creating new opportunities for Aboriginal rangers to gain scientific training in fish monitoring, tagging, and river health assessment.
The program has supported cultural reconnection with Pondi, an important species in creation stories, while also building skills and employment pathways in environmental research and management.
By improving the knowledge of native fish and river health, supporting cultural wellbeing, and building a skilled workforce, the program is delivering lasting benefits for both South Australian communities and the environment.
The Tiraapendi Wodli Community Evaluation Team
Associate Professor Alwin Chong, Aunty Deb Moyle, Aunty Neva Wilson, and Samantha Jackson
Tiraapendi Wodli
The Tiraapendi Wodli Community Evaluation Team is conducting the first Aboriginal-led evaluation of justice reinvestment initiatives, which are community-led alternatives aimed to redirect resources to prevent incarceration. Based in Port Adelaide, South Australia, the Tiraapendi Wodli (‘protecting home’) hub supports over 600 Aboriginal people per year with initiatives delivered through a network of over 40 partner organisations.
Developed by Aunty Deb Moyle and funded by the Paul Ramsay Foundation, the innovative, evaluation approach, examined the successes and challenges of the Tiraapendi Wodli hub, through a cultural and community lens. The team, supported by a community reference group and experienced researchers led by Associate Professor Alwin Chong, were guided by an UMEL (Understanding, Measuring, Evaluating and Learning) Framework developed by Dr Skye Trudgett and the Tiraapendi Wodli leadership team.
Findings from the evaluation have demonstrated the positive impact of Tiraapendi Wodli on justice, social, employment, education and health outcomes. The evaluation model has been shared as best practice in Aboriginal-led, place-based research, and has informed national policy, evaluator training and served as a foundation for further international research collaborations.