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Edith Cowan University (ECU) researchers Associate Professor Helen Adam and Dr Kiam Padamsey have both been recognised with prestigious honours at the 2026 Aspire Awards.
Presented by Business Events Perth, the Aspire Awards program works to support Western Australian professionals, researchers and academics to share their research internationally.
As Aspire Award winners, Dr Padamsey (Business Events Perth Early Career Research Aspire Award) and Associate Professor Adam (ECU Aspire Award) both received a $6,000 travel grant to assist with the cost of attending an international business event or conference.
Associate Professor Helen Adam – ECU Aspire Award
Associate Professor Adam's ECU Aspire Award win is deserved recognition for an internationally renowned researcher in children's literature.
With a focus on culturally diverse children's literature and representation in Australian picture books, Associate Professor Adam has spent more than 12 years developing the Model for Equitable Literacy Learning Environments and has informed the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership's guide to teaching of reading, as well as the Early Years Learning Framework.
Having claimed the ECU Aspire Award, Associate Professor Adam will attend the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY) Asia-Pacific Regional Conference in Tokyo, in July 2027.
Associate Professor Adam will share her research on diverse representation in children's books at the IBBY Conference, and is eager to showcase the best of Western Australia's children's literature sector.
"It's a huge honour," Associate Professor Adam said. "The Aspire Award is highly rated, and I'm excited for the chance to go to something that is purely focused on the importance of books in the life of a child.
"My work is around diversity in children's books, and the importance of children from all races, culture, genders, abilities, backgrounds being able to see themselves authentically represented in books.
"If there's any conference in the world that would have that at the heart of it, that's what the IBBY Conference will have. They're about books for all children, the rights of a child and the principles of children being able to have their backgrounds respected and included in their education. That's what it means to me, to be there with people who share that."
Associate Professor Helen Adam won the ECU Aspire Award.
Dr Kiam Padamsey – Business Events Perth Early Career Research Aspire Award
Dr Padamsey's 2026 Early Career Research Aspire Award win is the latest in a string of accolades collected by the emerging ECU researcher, whose work analysing how dangerous toxins in bushfire smoke pose significant risk to firefighters is already making an impact around Australia.
Thanks to the $6,000 travel grant that comes with the Early Career Research Aspire Award, Dr Padamsey will present at the 2027 International Neurotoxicology Conference in France.
Dr Padamsey has previously been recognised for his smoke exposure and safety protocols research with ECU's 2025 Student Research Award, the Injury Prevention & Safety Promotion Award for Outstanding Achievement in Influencing Injury Policy or Research, and was a finalist in this year's Premier's Early Career Scientist of the Year award.
His research has influenced operational procedures for Western Australian government departments and received recognition from Natural Hazard Research Australia. As a volunteer firefighter, Dr Padamsey is proud to have helped improve safety for firefighters in WA – and he's eager to share his findings with the world.
"In WA, we deal with fire all year round, and we have a very large firefighting force - predominantly volunteers - which is extremely skilled," Dr Padamsey said.
"My work is to assist them as much as I can to protect their health and the health of our large volunteer of first aid responders.
"I'm trying to protect the firefighters, identify their risks so they can stay working for longer, and protect their health.
"Internationally, France, Spain, England, Poland, these countries are experiencing bushfires – which is unheard of. They're entering an era where they're needing to start to think about these things – and they're on the back foot, whereas in Australia we are way on the front foot.
"That was my angle. We know our stuff well, and we can showcase it.
"The reason I've been able to make these discoveries isn't because I'm special, it's simply because, as a volunteer firefighter, I've been able to get to fires. That's it.
"I have the best job in the world. I know it's impactful because I talk to firefighters and have lived it. But the fact other people can see it too, it's very satisfying."
Dr Kiam Padamsey won the Business Events Perth Early Career Research Aspire Award.
Representing ECU research on the global stage: 'It says a lot'
Associate Professor Adam and Dr Padamsey's recognition as Aspire Award winners continues the recent trend of ECU researchers receiving deserved plaudits for excelling in their respective fields.
This month, ECU was ranked the top university in WA for research quality in the Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings 2027.
In the prestigious Stanford/Elsevier study, which analyses the research performance of more than 11 million scientists globally, 64 ECU researchers were ranked within the top two per cent of scientists worldwide.
Associate Professor Adam says to represent ECU on the list of Aspire Award winners in 2026, alongside Dr Padamsey, was a proud moment.
"I'm so delighted, I think it says a lot about ECU," Associate Professor Adam said.
"Just last week, it was announced ECU is number one in the state, and eighth in the country for research. That is incredible. It's what it really exciting about working here: that ECU punches above its weight and supports and celebrates its researchers."
Dr Padamsey added: "I want ECU to punch upwards, and to show that we are doing things that change people's lives.
"There's nothing more impactful than using research and to change procedures and protect people and doing something in your own community. Through this award, pushing it out to the world, that's something ECU hangs their hat on."
