Wed 9 September 2026
SA/NT celebrates its 2026 Branch Award Winners
AdPha's SA/NT Branch has announced the winners of its 2026 Branch Awards, recognising outstanding pharmacists, technicians and teams whose work has strengthened patient care and advanced the profession across the state and territory over the past year.
Intern Award: Venkata (Priya) Vemparala
Priya’s exceptional commitment to Australian hospital pharmacy has influenced her rapid development across all domains of the National Competency Standards Framework. Throughout her CALHN internship, Priya has demonstrated strong clinical capability, collaborative practice and a clear dedication to safe, patient‑centred care. She has contributed meaningfully to colleague wellbeing through an intern‑led initiative addressing burnout and “office syndrome,” and she has shown emerging leadership through her long‑standing involvement with SAPSA and her current role as Intern Observer on the SA/NT Branch Committee. Her proactive work to strengthen connections between students and AdPha—including planning a seminar series for Adelaide University students—highlights her commitment to building the profession’s future pipeline.
Priya’s engagement in education and research further reflects her readiness to contribute to hospital pharmacy upon general registration. Her research into calcitonin for phantom limb pain demonstrates a genuine interest in applied therapeutics and complex pain management, areas of direct relevance to inpatient care. Combined with her collaborative approach, advocacy for student engagement, and dedication to colleague wellbeing, Priya has already shown the qualities of a future leader in hospital pharmacy.
PL Jeffs Early Career Pharmacist Award: Mitchell Meek
Mitchell has showcased his progression from an early‑career pharmacist to an emerging clinical leader within just three years of registration. By completing a Graduate Certificate in Medical Toxicology, becoming Senior Pharmacist for Hepatology, Liver Transplant and Hepatobiliary Surgery, and serving as Acting Team Leader of Surgical Pharmacy Services—reflects both capability and intent. Mitchell has delivered advanced medicines management across emergency medicine, toxicology, hepatology, transplantation and surgical services, consistently applying critical appraisal, pharmacokinetic interpretation and evidence‑informed judgement to optimise care for complex, high‑risk patient populations. His contributions extend beyond individual consultations through the development of clinical guidance, medication protocols and statewide resources that strengthen consistency and safety across services.
Mitchell’s leadership is defined not only by clinical expertise but by his commitment to developing others, improving systems and advancing the profession. He mentors junior pharmacists through reflective clinical coaching, fosters a culture of inquiry and evidence‑based practice, and contributes to governance through medication safety committees and protocol development. His educational impact spans multiple disciplines, delivering toxicology teaching, perioperative medication management education and targeted training for technicians and medical officers. Alongside this, he contributes to research and quality improvement projects that enhance hospital pharmacy practice.
Achievement Award: Danny Tsai FANZCAP (InfDis, Research)
Danny is recognised for his exceptional leadership in antimicrobial stewardship, research translation and remote hospital pharmacy. Over the past year, he has established nationally significant research programs that are transforming clinical practice in Central Australia and beyond. As Director of Clinical Research and Chair of the Alice Springs Hospital Clinical Research Committee, Danny has built a sustainable research culture within one of Australia’s most remote health services. His success in securing the $5 million MRFF TARRA grant—bringing together NT Health, Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations, national experts and First Nations partners—demonstrates his ability to lead complex, multidisciplinary collaborations that address critical healthcare challenges in remote communities.
Danny’s work is distinguished by its direct impact on patient care. His research has produced the first evidence‑based antibiotic dosing recommendations for First Nations patients with critical illness and for patients receiving haemodialysis, now incorporated into Therapeutic Guidelines, NT clinical guidelines and routine practice across hospitals and dialysis services. He has strengthened research capability across Central Australia by mentoring clinicians, building cross‑disciplinary collaborations and creating opportunities for local staff to undertake research that responds to community needs. His national influence is evident through contributions to Therapeutic Guidelines, CARPA, antimicrobial stewardship resources and his role on the National Antimicrobial Stewardship Advisory Committee. Danny exemplifies excellence across leadership, research, collaboration and medicines management, and his work has positioned Alice Springs as a recognised centre for remote infectious diseases research.
Technician Award: Akiyo Keehne
Akiyo Keehne is recognised for her outstanding contribution to remote hospital pharmacy practice, quality improvement and technician leadership. As the sole Pharmacy Technician at Gove District Hospital, she plays a critical role in sustaining safe, reliable pharmacy services across East Arnhem—one of Australia’s most remote regions. Akiyo has led several high‑impact initiatives, including a comprehensive review of pharmaceutical purchasing that identified more than $115,000 in potential monthly savings for NT Health, and a freight and packaging optimisation project that improved sustainability and efficiency in medicine delivery to remote communities. Her work has earned selection for oral presentations at Medicines Management conferences and recognition through NT Health quality improvement pathways, demonstrating the national significance of her technician‑led innovation.
Beyond these achievements, Akiyo has consistently strengthened medicines management, reduced waste and improved service sustainability through initiatives such as a shortdated medicines redistribution project that prevented approximately $24,000 in expired stock losses. She is also a passionate advocate for the pharmacy technician profession, contributing nationally through the AdPha Pharmacy Technicians & Assistants Leadership Committee, the AdPha SA/NT Branch Committee, and the working group reviewing the new Certificate IV qualification. Akiyo’s leadership, creativity and unwavering commitment to improving healthcare in remote settings highlight the profound impact pharmacy technicians can have on patient care and system performance.
Team Innovation Award: SA Pharmacy Telepharmacy Research Team
Team Leader: Sally Marotti, Research Director, SA Pharmacy, Adjunct Clinical Lecturer, Adelaide University and Research Fellow - MRFF Project Consultant, Flinders University
The SA Pharmacy Telepharmacy Research Team is recognised for their groundbreaking work in developing, implementing and evaluating clinical telepharmacy services for regional hospital inpatients. Over the last five months, the team designed an innovative hub‑and‑spoke model that delivers equitable, high‑quality clinical pharmacy care to the Riverland Mallee Coorong Local Health Network—an area historically affected by critical workforce shortages. Their quantitative pilot study, published in the Australian Journal of Rural Health, demonstrated profound improvements in medicines safety, clinical intervention rates and patient satisfaction. By capturing high‑risk patients, increasing clinical interventions six‑fold and maintaining exceptional patient satisfaction, the team has shown that telepharmacy can meaningfully close the regional care gap without compromising therapeutic relationships.
This work represents a major advancement in rural healthcare delivery, improving workforce efficiency, reducing clinician travel burden and strengthening interprofessional collaboration across regional sites. The team’s success in securing multiple allied health grants to develop telepharmacy‑specific PROMs and PREMs demonstrates their commitment to building a validated, scalable evaluation framework that can support statewide and national adoption. Their blend of translational research, clinical excellence and technological innovation has positioned SA Pharmacy as a leader in rural telehealth transformation.
Congratulations to all of this year's SA/NT Branch Award winners, and thank you to everyone who took the time to submit a nomination.