Emma Letitia Johnston[1] grew up near the sea, and spent much time swimming, snorkelling and sailing as a child. Her father was an applied mathematician and her mother a painter.[2]
Johnston studied physics and chemistry in high school, and not biology. However, she decided to focus on biology in her undergraduate degree (Bachelor of Science) at the University of Melbourne, which she completed in 1998 with first class Honours.[citation needed] In 1994 Johnston was elected president of the Melbourne University Student Union, at the time the largest student organisation in Australia, for 1995.[citation needed]
She became head of the Applied Marine and Estuarine Ecology Lab at UNSW and led major projects for industry, government, the Australian Research Council and the Australian Antarctic Science Program.[citation needed] She was appointed Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Research) at UNSW.[4]
Johnston was the inaugural director of the Sydney Harbour Research Program,[when?] a flagship research project at the Sydney Institute of Marine Science. She was director of the project in 2012.[5]
She was Dean of Science at UNSW until July 2022, when she was appointed Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) at the University of Sydney.[4]
Johnston's research group at UNSW investigated the ecology of human impacts in marine systems, combining the diverse disciplines of ecology, microbiology and ecotoxicology to expand fundamental understanding and provide recommendations for management. Her research is conducted in such diverse field environments as Sydney Harbour, Antarctica, the Great Barrier Reef, and temperate Australian estuaries.[citation needed]
Among Johnston's significant research findings is the discovery that toxic contaminants facilitate the invasion of coastal waterways by non-indigenous species. Some of her research topics include: determining the major drivers of marine bio-invasions, the vulnerability of Antarctic marine communities, and developing new biomonitoring techniques and informing the development of effective management of biodiversity in Australian estuarine systems.[6]
Other activities
Johnston is also a high-profile science communicator, winning the 2015 Eureka Prize for Promoting Understanding of Australian Science Research. She is a regular media commentator and, as co-presenter of the Foxtel/BBC television series Coast Australia.[7] has helped take Australian marine science to an international audience. She also launched a Sydney Harbour cruise called Underwater Secrets' – Sydney Harbour Revealed,[8] which focuses on scientific research into the waterway.
As president of Science & Technology Australia, Professor Johnston is also a public advocate for science and for increasing the participation of women in research.[citation needed]
Recognition and awards
Johnston was a 2007 winner of the Australian Institute of Policy and Science's Tall Poppy Award for her research into the effects of introduced species and contaminants on existing Australian marine species.[9]
In 2015 Johnston won The Society for Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry AU Mid-Career Medal for excellence in scientific work in Australasia that has involved substantial environmental toxicology and chemistry. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of New South Wales (FRSN).[11]
Johnston was made an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) in the 2018 Queen's Birthday Honours for "distinguished service to higher education, particularly to marine ecology and ecotoxicology, as an academic, researcher and administrator, and to scientific institutes."[1] In September 2018 she was named one of The Australian Financial Review's 100 Women of Influence in the Innovation category.[12]
As of 2017[update], Johnston had published over 112 peer-reviewed works.[16]
Footnotes
^"The NSW Science and Engineering Awards were initiated in 2008 to recognise and reward the State’s leading researchers in science and engineering for cutting edge work that generates economic, health, environmental or technological benefits for NSW."[5]
