Professor Jemma Geoghegan, from the University of Otago, has been announced as the winner of the Prime Minister’s Science Communication Prize for 2024, awarded in 2025.

Professor Geoghegan is being recognised for promoting public understanding of infectious disease and informing policymakers on how to respond to pandemic threats in New Zealand and throughout the Pacific.

 

Read media release about Jemma’s prize

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Professor Jemma Geoghegan is an evolutionary biologist and virologist whose research focuses on emerging infectious diseases. She has become a trusted expert in her area of science through her commitment to sharing evidence-based information through a range of channels in response to pandemic threats. Her talent is in being able to understand and explain the relevance of scientific information for non-specialists, including not only the general public but also those responsible for making key decisions and setting policy.

Professor Geoghegan’s track-record of media appearances and community outreach is impressive, with more than a thousand activities cited in her application. She has also taken a highly strategic approach to promoting interdisciplinary discussions at the highest levels to inform decision making. She has worked to engineer vital conversations between scientists from very different disciplines (e.g. human and animal health), and between scientists, politicians, and other decision-makers (e.g. businesses and iwi).

Her proposal for future work as a result of this Prize is to run workshops through the Centre for Pathogen Genomics that will leverage the impact of her efforts by upskilling regulators (policy, protection, and enforcement) and leaders in under-served communities, including those in the Pacific Islands.

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