Dr Annie Lau (centre) with Professor Patrick McNeil (left), Executive Dean of the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, and Professor Peter Nelson (right), Pro Vice-Chancellor (Research Performance and Innovation), at the recent Women in Research Citation Awards.

Dr Annie Lau from the Australian Institute of Health Innovation has been honoured with a Women in Research Citation Award for her research in health informatics.

The inaugural awards honour the outstanding achievements of early-to-mid-career women researchers in Australia across all fields of research in science, social sciences and the humanities.

Annie was one of only 12 researchers selected for these awards across Australia.

“I am drawn to my research because of its potential to improve health outcomes for large numbers of people. I believe that by directly empowering individuals, helping them to understand their healthcare, and enabling them to take an active role, they will enjoy better health outcomes,” she says.

“When better-engaged healthcare consumers enjoy better health outcomes, we will see reduced strain on our currently overstretched healthcare system, allowing valuable resources to be reallocated to those with the greatest need.”

Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) Professor Sakkie Pretorius says he is greatly pleased that Macquarie researchers like Dr Lau are being recognised.

“Macquarie is demonstrating in so many ways the diverse nature of our research and its real-world impact,” he says. “I congratulate Dr Lau on her significant achievements in health informatics research.”

Jeroen Prinsen of Clarivate Analytics – who co-presented the awards alongside the Australian National University – said the awards would help encourage gender equity in research.

“We want to encourage greater gender equity in research and bring to the forefront outstanding contributions from women in research,” he said.