The 2026 Business Events Perth Aspire Award recipients have been announced at Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre today. Ten Western Australian researchers, academics and professionals have been recognised, and each recipient will receive a travel grant of AU$6,000 to support their attendance at an international conference aligned with their field of expertise.
The 2026 recipients represent fields spanning genetics and rare diseases, vaccine development, artificial intelligence, public health, literacy and education, neurorehabilitation, metabolomics, firefighter health and business.
The recipient of this year’s Perron Institute Aspire Award is Ms Taya Hamilton, Community Research Project Manager and PhD student at the Perron Institute in Perth. Her work sits at the intersection of neuroscience, rehabilitation and neurotechnology, with a focus on finding better ways to help people recover after stroke.
Ms Hamilton has worked across clinical care, research and the rehabilitation technology industry in Australia and internationally, including more than five years in Boston collaborating with Massachusetts General Hospital, MIT and industry on stroke recovery research and rehabilitation technologies.
“My PhD research applies principles of neuroplasticity to stroke recovery, examining the feasibility of using neurotechnology to enhance rehabilitation,” Taya Hamilton said.
“My goal is to ensure innovation is shaped by those who will ultimately benefit from it and translated into meaningful real-world improvements.
“I am honoured to receive this award. It recognises the clinicians, researchers, industry partners and people with lived experience of stroke I have been privileged to work alongside, and the Perron Institute’s commitment to community-embedded stroke research.
“I presented Western Australian research at the 14th World Congress for Neurorehabilitation (WCNR) in Daegu, South Korea last month, alongside long-standing international collaborators, and to bring new knowledge and partnerships home to strengthen stroke rehabilitation here in WA.
“Western Australia already leads the way in delivering stroke care at a distance through the WA Telestroke Service and telerehabilitation programs. The next challenge is making sure people can access the intensive rehabilitation they need to keep recovering once they return home, wherever they live in our vast State.
“WA also has world-leading expertise in operating technology remotely through our resources sector. By bringing health services, researchers, industry and people with lived experience together, we have a unique opportunity to co-design neurotechnology and telerehabilitation that extends intensive rehabilitation well beyond our metropolitan centres, and to showcase that capability by welcoming international neurorehabilitation meetings to Perth.”
At WCNR, Ms Hamilton shared her research on vagus nerve stimulation and stroke recovery, strengthening international collaborations and supporting the implementation of innovative neurotechnologies in rehabilitation practice.
She was also an invited speaker in the World Federation for NeuroRehabilitation’s Neurotechnology and Robotics Special Interest Group workshop, “From Bedside to Home: Robotics and Technology for Neurorehabilitation”, co-chaired by Professor Dylan Edwards (Director, Jefferson Moss Rehabilitation Research Institute, USA), alongside Dr Hermano Igo Krebs (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), collaborators she has worked with for nearly a decade.
Dr Rebekah Puls, Head of Research at the Perron Institute, said, “Taya Hamilton is a highly valued emerging clinician researcher at the Perron Institute, whose work will advance stroke recovery through innovative neurotechnology and rehabilitation research.”
“We are delighted that the Aspire Award will support Taya to attend a conference where she will share Western Australian neurorehabilitation research, strengthen international collaborations, and continue building her impact in the field.
“She has significant neurotech experience globally, and we are delighted that she will help build our future neurorehabilitation capacity.”
For 27 years, the Aspire Awards have supported Western Australian professionals, researchers and academics to connect with international peers, share knowledge and build relationships with global networks in their fields.
Business Events Perth CEO Gareth Martin said the Aspire Awards demonstrated how Western Australia’s expertise can help strengthen the State’s international connections and support its broader economic objectives.
“The Aspire Award recipients help raise the international profile of Western Australia’s research and industry capability, while creating opportunities for collaboration, knowledge exchange and future conferences to be held here in our State.”
For more information and to view the recipients’ videos, visit:
https://www.businesseventsperth.com/aspire-program/
Source: Part of the article based on the Business Events Perth media statement.
Image credit: Business Events Perth.