Mooloolah woman finalist in tech awards

Mooloolah Valley resident Dr Elke Hacker has been recognised for her work in preventing skin cancer.

Dr Hacker, pictured, is a finalist in this year’s Women in Technology (WiT) Awards.  Dr Hacker was selected from a record field of 440 nominations.

The prestigious WiT Awards recognise outstanding talent and achievement, building support for women working in science and technology and inspiring the next generation of leaders by showing what is possible.

Dr Hacker is a world-leading postdoctoral researcher in skin cancer at the Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation at the Queensland University of Technology.

Over the past 10 years she has expanded her research from invitro lab models to human clinical studies, which have generated results that improve understanding of the relationship between sun exposure, genetic-susceptibility and skin cancer risk.

Her extensive research portfolio has led to the development of various smartphone apps that reliably collect UVR exposure data to measure sunburn risk.

Through various partnerships Dr Elke continues to utilise technology to make headway in preventing skin cancer, a prominent issue experienced by many Australians.

Winners will be announced at the awards on 9 October.