Associate Professor Fay Johnston’s expertise in air quality research and contribution to public health was recognised recently with two prestigious awards.

The Clean Air Society of Australia and New Zealand (CASANZ): Innovation and Excellence in Air Quality Awards,  recognised Professor Johnston with the ‘2019 Air Quality Champion Award’ for her work on the AirRater App.

Available in Tasmania, the Northern Territory, the ACT and Port Macquarie, AirRater alerts vulnerable people when they are at risk from air-borne pollutants such as pollen and smoke and collects valuable information from allergy and asthma sufferers.

Professor Johnston also received the Public Health Association of Australia (PHAA) ‘Tony McMichael Award for Health Ecology and the Environment,’ presented in Adelaide.

“Tony McMichael was one of Australia’s greatest epidemiologists who put the health effects of climate change on the map and led the assessment of health risks for the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change from 1993 to 2006,” Associate Professor Johnston said.

“He was the epidemiologist who I most wanted to emulate in my own research career both because he was a brilliant scientist and because of his enormous contributions to society, so it was truly an honour for me to receive this award.”

Associate Professor Johnston said she was proud to be involved with research focussed on the health impacts of fire, smoke, pollen, air pollution and heatwaves, areas which were all at the forefront of climate change and future policy making.

“At this moment in history we all have a lot of work to do in ensuring all evidence on climate science and public health is urgently translated into policy,” she said.

Image: Associate Professor Fay Johnston is presented with the Public Health Association of Australia (PHAA) ‘Tony McMichael Award for Health Ecology and the Environment by Peter Tait, Co-Convenor of the PHAA Ecology and Environment Special Interest Group.

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