HDA Schools Communicator 2021

Congratulations to Dr Anya Arthurs, our inaugural HDA Schools Communicator for 2021, which is funded by the Channel 7 Children’s Research Foundation.

Anya is a Post-doctoral Research Fellow within the Pregnancy, Health and Beyond Laboratory, (led by Prof Claire Roberts, HDA Co-Convenor) within the College of Medicine and Public Health at Flinders University.  

Anya’s research focus is on the placenta, its genetic profile and development, and in particular placental insufficiency that cause pregnancy complications (preeclampsia, gestational diabetes and stillbirth) affecting 25% of Australian births. 

“I believe it’s really important to get great new people in STEM. It’s so important to communicate our research to school students, it gives them a tangible sense of what their life could be like if they pursue a career in science”, Anya Arthurs says.

The goal of this award is to help our emerging researchers, like Anya, to showcase their research to South Australian high school students with the aim of getting them excited about the amazing opportunities open to them in health science or science career pathways. 

“I want to enlighten students to how important science is in our world, it can open any door to you to a world of possibilities and opportunities”. 

Anya will visit a number of South Australian schools this year delivering her talk in an exciting and interactive format. 

Channel 7 Children’s Research Foundation Executive Director, Greg Ward, says the opportunity to fund the HDA Schools Communicator Award provides another exciting platform for the Foundation to expand its commitment to fostering children’s research in South Australia. 

“CRF has been a proud supporter of HDA since 2007 through the PhD Excellence Awards. We believe this further partnership with the Schools Communicator Award provides yet another great opportunity to build research excellence and early career development in children’s health and development, in the state.” Ward says. 

“We congratulate Anya on receiving the inaugural HDA Schools Communicator Award and encourage her dedication to inspire younger generations to consider a career in health science that will ultimately lead to improving the lives of children.”