Shortlist nominees

2. WINNER: Faculty of Health Science Yap Kok WeiPhD Vet Studies 1989Faculty of Health Sciences Dr Yap left Murdoch University for Singapore in 1990 and has worked in the biotech and healthcare industry. As the main principal investigator, he has led many biotech related projects and clinical research projects in diagnostic, vaccines and therapeutics. Dr Yap’s biotech related projects have been recognised by the Singaporean government and attracted substantial funding from them. In late 1999, Dr Yap established the GleneaglesCRC Group of companies, a contract research organisation providing services in clinical trials. The Group now has a presence in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, India, Vietnam, China, Japan, Philippines, Indonesia & Australia employing over 100 people of different nationalities. In the early 1990s, Dr Yap was instrumental in organizing the first free mass HBV vaccinations for young school children in Hanoi using the recombinant yeast HBV vaccines. The cost of this vaccine was out of reach for the majority of the Vietnamese people at that time.

3. WINNER: Faculty of Law, Business and Information Technology Anna GeorgeBEconomics 1987Faculty of Law, Business and IT Anna George is a former Australian Ambassador to the Republic of Croatia. She has a distinguished career on the international diplomatic stage including representing Australia in social and developmental policy, trade negotiation and in disarmament and non-proliferation negotiations. With a diplomatic career spanning almost 20 years Anna’s career has included serving on the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons Preparatory Commission negotiations and Executive Council at The Hague and as First Secretary to the Australian Permanent Mission to the UN in Vienna. Anna continues to actively contribute to public discourse on the governance of intellectual property, creating linkages between academics and policy experts and contributing to international health and security agendas.

4. WINNER: Faculty of Arts, Education and Creative Media John ExeterB Education 1984/MEd 1987Faculty of Arts Education & Creative Media John Exeter has led a distinguished career in the area of Special Education for the past 36 years. As the Principal of Carson Street Independent Public School he has been at the forefront of establishing Conductive Education (CE), a holistic educational programme for children with motor disorders and associated special needs. His work in establishing the charity “School for Parents” and the first Commonwealth funded School based My Time program in WA has assisted countless young children with disabilities and their parents. John is a Life Member of the Western Australian Education Support Principals and Administrators Association and continues to contribute his experience and expertise to develop the national curriculum and support independent Public Schools in Western Australia.

5. WINNER: Faculty of Science and Engineering Glen PowerBSc Biological Sciences (Hons) 1992Faculty of Sciences and Engineering After graduating from Murdoch with First Class Honours in Biological Sciences, Glen Power was named Western Australian Rhodes Scholar for 1992. He attended Magdalen College at Oxford University and was elected President of its Middle Common Room, completing a PhD on the metabolic effects of dietary fish oils and gaining extensive research publications in this field. In the years since, Dr Power has held a number of senior policy and operational roles within the health industry across Australia, including as Chief of Staff to the WA Minister for Health, Deputy CEO of Joondalup Health Campus and General Manager of hospitals in NSW and Tasmania. He was recently appointed CEO of the South West Aboriginal Medical Services Corporation, the indigenous primary health provider for this region. Beyond work and career, Dr Power has a strong history of public service to the boards of governance of the National Stroke Foundation, National Stroke Research Institute, Royal Hobart Hospital Research Foundation and West Coast Institute of Training.

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