Thirteen early-career researchers from across Australia took to the stage on Thursday 24 September, with each given just three minutes to share their research with an audience of more than 150 people – and a panel of expert judges.
Dr Harray, representing The University of Western Australia, claimed the national title with her presentation You are what you eat it out of, which explored whether reducing exposure to plastics through diet and lifestyle changes can improve health outcomes in Australian adults.
Following the win, Dr Harray now has the chance to take her success from Perth to Poland as she represents Australia at the FameLab International Final at the Silesian Science Festival on 5 December.
FameLab, the world’s leading science communication competition, challenges researchers to leave behind academic jargon and instead explain their often-complex scientific ideas in a way everyone can understand. There are no PowerPoint slides, and only simple props are allowed, meaning competitors must impress the judges using the competition’s three Cs: Content, Clarity and Charisma.
This year’s finalists rose to the challenge with presentations spanning a diverse range of research – from mental wellbeing, healthcare and AI to plants and marine environments – finding creative and often very funny ways to explain their research to an audience well beyond their own scientific fields.
Kinta Pinchin-Yamada from The University of Notre Dame Australia was named runner-up, presenting Before the final siren: When the brain's defenders become its destroyers, which explored the neurological effects of repeated head injury.
He shared runner-up honours with Adelaide University’s Ollie Sharp, whose presentation Why whales need a performance review examined how our perceptions of whales and dolphins can influence the actions we take for our oceans.
This year’s final also welcomed a familiar face back to the FameLab stage, with 2025 Australian champion Tammy Lee returning as MC. After winning last year’s national competition, Tammy travelled to Geneva where she also claimed the international title at CERN Science Gateway, becoming the first Australian to be crowned FameLab International Champion.
Since it was created by Cheltenham Festivals in the United Kingdom in 2005, FameLab has reached more than 40 countries and 40,000 scientists, helping early-career STEM researchers develop the skills to communicate their work beyond the scientific community.
For the WA Museum, hosting FameLab Australia is an opportunity to support the next generation of researchers while opening a window onto the breadth of science taking place around the country.
Congratulations to Dr Amelia Harray on becoming the FameLab Australia 2026 Champion, and to Kinta, Ollie and all 13 finalists for an outstanding national final.
FameLab Australia 2026 was hosted by the Western Australian Museum and delivered in partnership with Cheltenham Festivals, Forrest Research Foundation, Community Broadcasting Foundation, Foundation for the WA Museum, Curtin University, Murdoch University and The University of Western Australia.
