Discovery Circle
Transforming lives through the power of collective giving
Discovery Circle Award
Meet the 2026 finalists.
This year, 13 researchers applied for the Discovery Circle Award. Three made it to the final stage. Members will choose one to receive $100,000 for their project.
2026
13 applicants · 3 finalists
2026 finalist
Dr Sabrina Sghirripa
Post-Doctoral Fellow, Clinical and Research Imaging Centre (CRIC)
Cerebrovascular Risk Detection Using Ultra-Low-Field MRI
High blood pressure in the brain is one of the main risk factors for dementia that can be changed. MRI is one of the best ways to measure it, but scans are loud, slow and uncomfortable. They are also hard to access outside major cities.
Ultra-low-field MRI is a portable alternative. The scanners fit in the back of a van and run off a standard power point. They are already proven to detect strokes. Sabrina wants to find out if they can also pick up the subtler brain changes linked to dementia risk.
If they can, the technology could reach remote communities such as Umuwa and Amata. Discovery Circle funding would give Sabrina dedicated research time. She has already secured in-kind support for scanning, radiographers and research staff.
2026 finalist
Dr Emma Solly
Research Scientist, Lifelong Health Theme
Targeted Nanoparticle Delivery of antimiR-181c to Rescue Diabetes-Impaired Angiogenesis
Foot ulcers are a serious complication of diabetes and can lead to amputation. Damaged blood vessels reduce blood flow to the feet, so wounds heal poorly. No current treatment can effectively grow new blood vessels in people with diabetes.
Emma has found a molecule, miR-181c, that stops new blood vessels forming. Blocking it allows them to grow. But this needs to happen only where it’s needed. Emma’s team has developed nanoparticles that release a blocker only in low-oxygen tissue, such as a wound.
Discovery Circle funding would support a 12-month project to test whether this approach works in the lab and in animal models. If it does, it could help save limbs. It may also be useful beyond diabetes.
2026 finalist
Dr Emily Shepherd
NHMRC Emerging Leadership Fellow, SAHMRI Women and Kids
Building a Global Maternal Health Evidence Synthesis Agenda: Establishing Priorities to Improve Health Outcomes
Good evidence improves care for women, babies and families. Evidence reviews bring together findings from many studies to guide health decisions and policy. But there are more questions than resources to answer them, and priorities are not always clear.
Emily is Co-Lead of the new Cochrane Maternal Hub, part of the world’s leading network for evidence reviews. The Hub has no dedicated funding. Emily will use its global networks to lead the first international effort to set priorities for maternal health evidence. The result will be a global agenda to guide future research, funding and policy.
Discovery Circle funding would pay for a Project Officer to run consultation and engagement. It would also make sure women and families with lived experience are involved throughout.
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SAHMRI is located on Kaurna Country. We pay respects to the Kaurna people of the Adelaide Plains and to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. We are committed to embracing knowledge and culture as we continue our working journey to incorporate Aboriginal health research across all of our themes and further reconciliation.
Read more"Tirki nguta tappa tangka marninithi"
(Learning and knowledge are the pathway to alter the mind)
- Uncle Lewis Yerloburka O’Brien, Kaurna Elder
