This year's WHRN Research Symposium End of Year Awards were held online on Thursday, December 10, hosted by international keynote speaker, consultant and author Lucy Bloom.

The ceremony was highlighted by a keynote address from National Rural Health Commissioner, Ruth Stewart, along with a passionate speech from 2019 Dubbo Young Citizen of the Year, Jade Bunt.

Co-Chair of the WHRN, Associate Professor Catherine Hawke, said that despite not being able to hold a traditional awards night, the virtual ceremony was well received.

"We were delighted with the response we had to the online event and had more people join us that we expected," she said.

"It was quite a challenge to host the awards and create the atmosphere deserving of our winners but it went very well and the feedback we received was that everyone enjoyed the festivities."

"Our tagline for this years conference series was 'By Us, For Us, With Us' and Ruth Stewart's address really focused on that point.

"So often rural health research is done by people from metro areas who simply fly in and fly out again, and it is important to recognise that local researchers are doing amazing work of their own and are leading the way in many areas.

"It is fantastic to be able to reward people who live and work in regional and rural areas."

The 'Clinical Research Leader of the Year' was awarded to Oncologist and Chair of District Cancer Services Clinical Stream, Florian Honeyball, from the WNSW LHD, while Brett Chambers, Implementation Lead - Virtual Clinical Pharmacy Service from the Western NSW LHD was named 'Emerging Researcher of the Year'.

University of Sydney PhD candidate and proud Gundagurra woman, Gemma Purcell-Khodr, was also recognised with the 'Aboriginal Health Researcher' award for her innovative research that investigates "bringing two worlds together", where western medicine and First Nations cultural practices work together to deliver health benefits.

Other awards presented during the ceremony included:

The Western NSW Health Research Network (WHRN) covers over 250,000 square kilometres and was established in 2013 to build and promote important research in the region, along with linking people with research skills, identifying joint priorities, and helping to improve the wellbeing of regional and rural communities while addressing health inequalities in Western NSW.

Do you have something to say? We welcome your letters which may run in print and online.