New cohort of fellows to broaden research horizons
The Horizon Fellows represent an unprecedented $100m investment by the University, recruiting the best and brightest early- and mid-career academics that will boost our research capability and focus on solving the complex problems of our time, relating to climate change, health and sustainability.
The Horizon Fellows are already contributing to the University’s research performance and reputation, with many of the fellows now engaged in multidisciplinary research collaborations, and some having garnered high-profile prizes. Two Horizon Fellows have been shortlisted out of three national finalists for the prestigious 2024 Eureka Prize for Outstanding Early Career Researcher: Dr Ann Na Cho from the Faculty of Engineering; and Dr Mengyu Li from the Faculty of Science. Additionally, Dr Jasmine Fardouly and Dr Ting Rei Tan, both from the Faculty of Science, were named as 2024 NSW Young Tall Poppies and are finalists for the Young Tall Poppy of the Year. Dr Mengyu Li, and Dr Jiaying Li from the Faculty of Engineering, were also announced as successful recipients in the 2025 ARC Discovery Early Career Researcher Award (DECRA) grant scheme this week.
Although their five-year fellowship program has barely commenced, many of the fellows have already achieved publishing success and notable mentions for the insights drawn from their pioneering research.
Deputy Vice-Chancellor Research, Professor Emma Johnston, addresses the Horizon Fellows at the formal welcome event.
Dr Mengyu Li from the Faculty of Science is a co-author on a paper published in the academic journal Nature Sustainability, revealing how inequality in international trade is undermining progress towards the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals, for example when high-income countries outsource environmentally and socially detrimental production to low-income nations.
Dr Phillip Baker from the Faculty of Medicine and Health was quoted in The Guardian for his research on the Australian food labelling health star system and how food manufacturers are manipulating the rating system and using marketing tactics to distract from the harmful ingredients contained in ultra-processed foods.
Dr Blanche Verlie from the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences published an article in The Conversation critiquing the proposal that humanity has resigned itself to living in a hotter climate. Dr Verlie's research shows that far from feeling resigned to their fate, some communities have demonstrated remarkable acts of perseverance in the face of seemingly insurmountable challenges, for example rescuing animals during the Black Summer bushfires.
Dr Danielle Kent from the University of Sydney Business School published a paper in the academic journal Nature, on how optimistic messaging around climate change is key to encouraging sustainable investment and affecting change in the global financial system.
Dr Conrad Wasko from the Faculty of Engineering published an article in The Conversation in collaboration with other researchers, which was subsequently republished in Australian Geographic, exploring why supercharged thunderstorms drive such extreme rainfall in our warming world. Recent modelling suggests that convection will play a more important role in triggering extreme rainfall, including thunderstorms mingling with other storm types, such as cold fronts and cyclones.
Dr Steffen Herff from the Sydney Conservatorium of Music and leader of the Sydney Music, Mind and Body Lab was quoted in an ABC News article on the mental state of ‘flow’. Dr Herff and his team have found that introducing flow into the creative process, along with techniques such as biofeedback and mental imagery, can help to provide performers with an extra edge.
Dr Federico Tartarini from the School of Architecture, Design and Planning is developing a heat stress scale for reducing personal risks during heatwaves.
Dr Tartarini is collaborating with experts from the School of Architecture, Design and Planning, the Faculty of Medicine and Health, and the Sydney Environment Institute to advance the understanding of heat stress and develop effective sustainable interventions to reduce health risks in a warming world.
The Horizon Fellowship scheme is a key initiative within the University’s Sydney in 2032 strategy, delivering on the ambition to be world-leading in research that benefits society at large and uplifting our research performance by retaining existing talent and bringing outstanding new capability to the University. At first glance, this has been successfully achieved with over half of the Horizon Fellow cohort (26 of the 40; 65%) originating from an institute ranked within the Top 50 global universities (based on QS World University Rankings 2024).
The Fellows have been appointed across the Faculty of Medicine and Health (14), Faculty of Science (9), Faculty of Engineering (8), Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (3), Sydney School of Architecture, Design and Planning (3), University of Sydney Business School (2) and Sydney Conservatorium of Music (1) and work across the University’s multidisciplinary initiatives, centres and institutes.
Read more about the scheme and the Horizon Fellows’ research projects here (pdf, 3.9MB).