Woman in STEM Award: The 2025 nominees

Professor Céline Boehm is a renowned French-Australian theoretical physicist whose career bridges pioneering research in particle physics and the promotion of international scientific collaboration. Since 2018, she has served as the Head of the School of Physics at the University of Sydney, becoming only the second woman to hold this position. Her leadership has strengthened the university’s global research profile while mentoring the next generation of physicists. Born and trained in France, Céline specialized in particle physics and dark matter, contributing to groundbreaking studies at the CERN, the University of Oxford, the Laboratoire d’Annecy-le-Vieux, and the Perimeter Institute in Canada. Her research has proposed new candidates for scalar dark matter, including heavy fermions and light gauge bosons, and suggested that the 511 keV emission line observed in the Galactic Center could be a signature of dark matter. These insights have positioned her at the forefront of theoretical physics. In addition to her research, Professor Boehm is the principal investigator of the THEIA space mission, aimed at testing dark matter predictions from the Lambda-CDM cosmological model. She has been recognized internationally for her contributions, being elected a member of the Royal Society of Chemistry in 2015 and receiving multiple academic awards for her work. Her scientific vision, combined with her commitment to cross-cultural collaboration, exemplifies the best of French-Australian excellence in research.

Tierney Boulter (QLD) is the Business Development Manager for Dams, Tailings, and Mines at Menard Oceania, a leading ground improvement contractor in Australia and New Zealand. With over 13 years of experience in geotechnical engineering, she has worked extensively across the mining, tailings, and dams sectors, developing a deep understanding of complex ground conditions and geotechnical challenges. At Menard Oceania, Tierney leads the Business Development department in the Mining, Tailings & Dams space, where she has successfully established a dynamic team of professionals operating across Australia, New Zealand, and Papua New Guinea. In recognition of her achievements, Tierney was nominated for the UNSW Women in Engineering Awards, celebrating her dedication and accomplishments in the field. Additionally, she was honored with an Engineers Australia Excellence Award nomination for her role in the innovative stone columns ground improvement work at a major tailings dam project, critical for ensuring the long-term stability and safety of this vital infrastructure.

Professor Corinne Caillaud is a researcher in Exercise and Digital Health at the University of Sydney, where she’s helping young people across the Pacific take charge of their health. Corinne was awarded her PhD from the University of Montpellier, France, where she began her academic career researching elite aerobic performance in young athletes. After several years working in France, she joined the University of Sydney, shifting her focus toward public health and digital innovation. Today, her work centres on developing digital tools that empower adolescents to lead healthier lives and make informed decisions in a fast-changing digital world. As an expert exercise scientist, Corinne brings together science, technology, and community engagement to address some of the region’s most urgent health challenges — particularly the rise of non-communicable diseases such as obesity and diabetes. She leads a collaborative research initiative called APY (Australia-Pacific Youth), which focuses on identifying research priorities that matter most to adolescents in the region. Her team works closely with young people in Australia, New Caledonia, Vanuatu, and other Pacific Islands to co-design solutions that reflect their lived experiences and aspirations. She co-developed iEngage, the first bilingual (French-English) app promoting physical activity through engaging, evidence-based learning, and co-created iRecall24-Pacific, a pioneering nutrition app tailored to the unique foods and cultures of the Pacific Islands. Across her projects, more than 2,000 young people have already been engaged — gaining not only insights into physical activity and nutrition but also building the digital health literacy they need to make informed choices and navigate the online world safely and confidently. Through the APY project alone, nearly 400 adolescents have been empowered to share their perspectives and shape the conversation around their health and wellbeing.

Mélanie Chamaux (VIC) is the CEO of Servier Australia & New Zealand, a French pharmaceutical company with a strong global footprint and 45 years of presence in the region. Appointed in 2023, she became the company’s first female country leader in Australia. With over 20 years of international experience across France, Europe, and Asia, she brings both scientific and business expertise, holding a PharmD from Paris-XI University and a Master’s degree from HEC Paris. At Servier, Mélanie drives an ambitious agenda centred on leadership, innovation, and patient engagement—particularly in challenging therapeutic areas such as rare and hard-to-treat cancers. Beyond her corporate role, she is a committed advocate for women’s empowerment and inclusive leadership. She leads a regional development program across Asia at Servier designed to harness diversity as a strength and to create a workplace where all colleagues feel valued, respected, and able to thrive. As a Federal FACCI Board Director and Trade Advisor, she also champions collaboration between France and Australia, with a focus on pharmaceutical innovation and partnerships that accelerate progress for patients. Combining her French roots and education with her current leadership in Australia, Mélanie Chamaux embodies the bridge between cultures, demonstrating how global perspective and local action can deliver better patient outcomes and a stronger leadership culture.

Professor Katherine A. Daniell (ACT) is Interim Director of the Australian National University's School of Cybernetics. She also holds affiliations as Professor in the Fenner School of Environment and Society, and Institute for Water Futures. Katherine's work focusses on the challenges of implementing collaborative approaches to policy, education and action for sustainable development. Trained in engineering, arts and public policy, her work now bridges multiple domains including governance, risk management, AI, politics and cultures of innovation, and international science and technology cooperation. Katherine has published over 100 academic works including 4 books, many on themes of collaborative governance. She is known as a strategic and divergent thinker and organiser, and is regularly invited to present and participate in national and international events and policy workshops. Katherine is a John Monash Scholar and currently serves as a member of the National Committee on Water Engineering (Engineers Australia), Editor of the Australasian Journal of Water Resources, Member of the Initiatives of the Future of Great Rivers and President of the Australian-French Association for Research and Innovation (AFRAN) Inc. Katherine has previously worked as Interim Associate Dean (Education) in ANU's College of Engineering and Computer Science. She also worked in the ANU's Centre for European Studies, Centre for Policy Innovation and the H.C. Coombs Policy Forum at the Crawford School of Public Policy on a range of Australian Public Service - ANU and international cooperation projects, including the PACE-Net and PACE-Net+ EU projects on developing Pacific-European bi-regional dialogue on science, technology and innovation. Katherine has received many awards and honours including the Insignia of Chevalier (Knight) in the French Ordre National du Mérite.

Dr. Ewa Douroux is a distinguished life sciences executive with more than two decades of international experience spanning marketing, strategy, and operations in medical devices, diagnostics, and clinical research. She is currently Vice President of Marketing at Invetech, an Australian leader in the design, development, and manufacturing of advanced healthcare technologies. Invetech works on many international projects, including collaborations with French companies in the cell and gene therapy and diagnostics space. Dr. Douroux holds a PhD in Neural Stem Cells, an MBA from INSEAD, and is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD). This combination of scientific expertise, business leadership, and governance training has equipped her to drive innovation and impact across the healthcare ecosystem. Her career has focused on advancing healthcare innovation, from cancer diagnostics to next-generation therapy platforms. At Leica, she spearheaded the establishment in Australia of a new reagent production facility focused on cancer detection. Earlier, as Manufacturing Manager, she oversaw the development and production of products in haemostasis detection and immunoassays, strengthening access to vital diagnostic tools worldwide. Her achievements have been recognised with the Government of Victoria Award for Women in International Business (GOVEA) in 2018 and the BioMelbourne Network Emerging Leadership Award in 2020, both celebrating her impact on the biotechnology sector. Beyond her corporate roles, Dr. Douroux is passionate about mentoring and STEM education. She guides students through the IMNIS (Industry Mentoring Network in STEM) initiative and supports diversity and inclusion across the biotech ecosystem. She also contributes as a board member of the French Association of the North Shore (FANS), promoting bilingual French-Australian education at Killarney Heights Public School, and as Communications and Publicity Officer at the Northbridge Sailing Club. As a French national contributing to Australian biotech, Dr. Douroux exemplifies a commitment to advancing healthcare through innovation, leadership, and community engagement, while strengthening scientific and educational ties between France and Australia.

After a 2-years technical degree in Environmental Engineering and an Engineering School specialized in Aquatic Environment, Solène Jahan (SA) has completed her PhD in Bioprocess in cotutelle between Nantes University (GEPEA laboratory), France and Flinders University, South Australia in 2024.

Her PhD work focused on kinetic interactions between microalgae and bacteria in wastewater treatment processes using microalgae such as high-rate algal ponds. The aim of her PhD was to get a better understanding of microalgae-bacteria interactions in high-rate algal ponds by using an integrative approach. She has coupled a study on the large-scale high rate algal pond in Peterborough in South Australia, a study at lab scale in controlled conditions in GEPEA laboratory in France and a modelling approach. This allowed to unravel the complex interactions between the microorganisms in high rate algal ponds.

 

She is now holding a post-doc position at INRIA and the Laboratory of Oceanography of Villefranche (France), working on a combined modelling and experimental framework to explore phytoplankton-bacteria interactions in saline wastewater in response to abiotic stress. This work is part of the ANR (French National Research Agency) BARRIER project.

Professor Linda Martin (NSW) is Australia’s first endowed professor of Dermatology and the Director of the Melanoma Institute Australia at the Poche Centre on Sydney’s North Shore. She specializes in melanoma, with a particular focus on melanoma during pregnancy, and has organized conferences on pregnancy-related skin disorders in Europe. Her connection with France is strong: she spent a year of her UNSW studies conducting research at the Marie Curie Institute in Paris and has a high level of French proficiency. She has also lived in New Caledonia as a student and volunteered there as a dermatology expert. Additionally, she hosted Professor Antoine Bertolotti from La Réunion during his year-long sabbatical at UNSW, further strengthening Franco-Australian academic ties. Professor Martin’s research, particularly on pemphigus, epidermolysis bullosa, pregnancy-related dermatological disorders, and melanoma, is highly cited internationally. She regularly supervises visiting dermatologists from abroad for one- to two-year periods, promoting global knowledge exchange in dermatology. Beyond research, she frequently travels with her three children to France and other Francophone countries, maintaining strong personal and professional links with the Francophone world. Her work exemplifies a bridge between Australian and French dermatology, combining clinical expertise, research excellence, and international collaboration to advance understanding and treatment of complex skin disorders.

Laurence Macia (QLD) obtained her PhD in Immunology 2006 at the Pasteur Institute of Lille. From 2015-2023 she has been Laboratory Head at the University of Sydney where she has been Professor of Immunology since 2023. She has led the Nutritional Immunometabolism node at the Charles Perkins in Faculty of Medicine and Health and her research focused on the impact of diet and gut microbiota on immune function in health and diseases. She has published over 80 publications and has been a highly cited researcher Clarivate in 2022, 2023 and 2024 (among the 1% most cited researcher worldwide). From 2021-2023 Laurence was also the Academic Director of Sydney Cytometry, a core research facility of the University of Sydney. Her mission was to support research excellence by enabling the access to the latest technology in imaging and flow cytometry to the scientific community. Since Jan 2024, Laurence joined the Translational Science Hub in Brisbane as the Senior Translational Immunologist. While she loved academia, she decided to join Sanofi to have a more direct impact on the community by supporting the development of new vaccines. She is also very excited in supporting the biomedical research ecosystem by working closely with UQ and Griffith University partners.

Marion Rosenberg is a French-educated, Australian-based energy markets specialist who leads licensing, compliance, trading, and analytics at PowerSync Technologies. Drawing on over a decade of experience in investment banking and asset management—including roles at J.P. Morgan, BlackRock, and Barings—she combines rigorous financial acumen with a deep commitment to ESG integration and market discipline. At PowerSync, Marion oversees strategic market operations that ensure the company remains ahead of compliance requirements while enabling clients to unlock revenue from distributed energy resources (DERs) in Australia. Her work involves ensuring that licensing and market rules are met, managing analytical functions that forecast market behaviour, and developing trading strategies that align with both regulatory expectations and renewable energy goals. Marion holds a Master’s degree in International Economic Policy and a Bachelor of Political Science from France, which anchors her understanding of both global and local energy policy dynamics, and strengthens her ability to work at the intersection of regulation, markets, and technology. Through her leadership, Marion contributes significantly to the transition of Australian energy markets toward sustainability, supporting business customers in maximising returns from clean energy assets while maintaining compliance and integrity in market participation. Her role illustrates how French education and international experience can play a pivotal part in shaping clean energy innovation in Australia.

Sophie Sheedy is an experienced engineering executive with over two decades of experience in advanced manufacturing, process engineering, and product development across the medical device industry. Currently serving as Vice President of Global Process Engineering at Cochlear Limited, Sophie leads a global team of over 140 engineers across Australia, Malaysia, Sweden, and China. Since joining Cochlear in 2008, Sophie has held multiple leadership roles, progressively expanding her influence across New Product Introduction (NPI), production engineering, and automation transformation. Her leadership has supported the successful launch of numerous products and strategic acquisitions, making her a key figure in advancing Cochlear’s global operations.

Dr. Fatia Tabet is a pharmacologist and medical researcher with over 18 years' experience in academia and the pharmaceutical industry. She holds a PhD in Pharmacology and has contributed significantly to cardiology, endocrinology, immunology, and oncology. Dr Tabet’s work includes 36 publications in leading journals such as Nature Communications, and about 5,000 citations, highlighting her translational and clinical research impact. She presented this work at several national and international conferences, where she received 24 young investigator awards and gave more than 100 presentations. Dr Tabet is dedicated to medical education and mentorship. As a senior lecturer at the University of New South Wales (UNSW), she mentored over 20 medical and research students and launched the "Science 1on1" program, which brings together researchers from various fields for monthly discussions to foster scientific exchange and networking among early-career investigators. Dr Tabet is now the senior medical manager for malignant haematology at Pfizer Oncology in Australia and New Zealand. She builds collaborations with medical experts, supports clinical trials and data generation, contributes to regulatory and reimbursement processes, coordinates local objectives with global initiatives, and leads malignant haematology projects while working closely with regional and global teams. Through her previous academic research and current pharmaceutical activities, Dr Tabet continues to work on developing new and better ways for preventing and treating diseases, with a focus on improving health outcomes in Australia, New Zealand, and globally.

Dr. Vanessa Pirotta (NSW) is one of Australia’s most recognised wildlife scientists and a leading voice in science communication. Known for blending cutting-edge technology with conservation, her work spans both marine (whales) and terrestrial (illegal wildlife traffic detection) environments—bringing the natural world closer through innovation and storytelling. A trailblazer in making science accessible, Vanessa has represented Australia on the global stage as the international runner-up in the prestigious FameLab competition, and she’s graced the TEDx stage. She’s been named one of the Top 100 Women of Influence by the Australian Financial Review and a Superstar of STEM by Science & Technology Australia. In 2024, she was named Emerging Leader in Science at the Women’s Agenda Leadership Awards and in 2025, Vanessa was awarded the NSW Premier’s Woman of Excellence, Celestino’s Prize for Promoting Understanding of Science in the Australian Museum’s Eureka’s Prizes (Australian Oscars of science) and named the Young Tall Poppy of the Year for New South Wales by the Australian Institute of Policy & Science. Vanessa’s work is deeply community-driven. She runs Wild Sydney Harbour, a citizen science initiative exploring marine life in collaboration with the Gamay Rangers—local First Nations rangers—blending Indigenous Knowledge with scientific research to better understand marine mammals in Sydney’s blue backyard. As an award-winning author, Vanessa brings the magic of the ocean across generations in her children’s and adult books. Vanessa was the invited MC for Australia’s most prestigious science event—the Prime Minister’s Prizes for Science—held at Parliament House in Canberra. She is a regular face on national and international media, appearing across television, radio, and social platforms to advocate for marine science and environmental awareness.