Anushi Rajapaksa announced as finalist for Telstra Victorian Business Women's Awards

The Telstra Business Women's Awards shine a light on women who are pushing the boundaries and thriving in their chosen profession. Now in its twenty-third year, the Telstra Business Women's Awards program is Australia's longest running and most esteemed women's awards program.

Anushi is an academic biomedical engineer and researcher in the field of bedside technologies for newborn babies. She leads the activities within the Biofluidics facility at MCRI under the broader pneumococcal research group, led by her mentors Professor Kim Mulholland and Associate Professor Paul Licciardi.

Her work at MCRI has the capacity to transform the face of child health globally. A highlight of her career to date saw Anushi lead the discovery of new engineering technology designed to create a revolutionary, non-invasive and pain-free way to deliver vaccines. Anushi's research offers an alternative to current issues faced in developing countries around refrigeration and training required to administer vaccines.

"As a passionate researcher, and a mother of two young children myself, my research is very close to my heart," Anushi said.

Anushi also aims to inspire the younger generation of females to pursue engineering as a career path in research. 

"Whilst juggling carer responsibilities, together we may be able to solve the most challenging problems of today to forge exciting changes to heath issues as we know it. The rare opportunity to make a significant difference in millions of lives worldwide is an endeavour I have a lifelong commitment towards."