Two Indian-origin innovators — Dr Vikram Sharma and Dr Nikhilesh Bappoo — have been recognised among Australia’s top scientific minds in the 2025 Prime Minister’s Prizes for Science, celebrating their groundbreaking contributions to quantum cybersecurity and accessible medical technology.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese congratulated all 2025 recipients, saying, “Each year the Prime Minister’s Prizes for Science highlight our country’s exceptional achievements. Australia is a powerhouse of science, innovation and research which has a global impact.”
Dr Vikram Sharma, Founder and CEO of QuintessenceLabs, received the Prime Minister’s Prize for Innovation for turning advanced quantum science into world-leading cybersecurity solutions used by major organisations across Australia, North America, Europe and Asia — including Fortune 500 companies, defence contractors, and government agencies.
Recognising the potential of quantum cybersecurity as early as the 2000s, Dr Sharma returned to the Australian National University to collaborate with the Quantum Optics Group in the Department of Physics. From that partnership emerged QuintessenceLabs, now positioned as a global leader in quantum cybersecurity. Under his leadership, the company employs world-leading scientists and engineers, with plans to expand to around 150 staff in the next two years.
Dr Sharma’s visionary leadership has earned him multiple accolades, including the Pearcey State Award for Entrepreneurship (2013) and recognition as a Global Innovator by the World Economic Forum. QuintessenceLabs has also been honoured internationally — as a global runner-up in IBM’s SmartCamp competition, among Westpac’s Top 20 Businesses of Tomorrow, and as part of the CyberTech 100 and SINET16 Cyber Security Innovators.
A graduate of Stanford University and ANU, Dr Sharma’s academic achievements include master’s degrees in computer science and management, and a PhD in quantum physics. His popular TED Talk, How Quantum Physics Can Make Encryption Stronger, has garnered over 1.3 million views worldwide.
Meanwhile, Dr Nikhilesh Bappoo, co-founder of VeinTech and Lubdub in Western Australia, received the 2025 Prize for New Innovators for developing novel and accessible medical technologies aimed at saving lives and improving healthcare equity.
At VeinTech, Dr Bappoo led the creation of an ultrasound device that helps healthcare workers locate veins more accurately, improving the success rate of cannulation — one of the most common yet error-prone medical procedures.
Through Lubdub, he and his team developed a portable “heart health in a box” system that combines three breakthrough technologies: a wearable ECG patch to track heart rhythm, a saliva-based biosensor for rapid cardio biomarker detection, and a wearable ultrasound device for real-time imaging. This innovation allows patients to monitor heart health remotely, without frequent travel or specialist visits.
Driven by his belief that healthcare should be equitable, simple and accessible, Dr Bappoo is also mentoring emerging medtech talent and strengthening Australia’s innovation ecosystem in Western Australia.
Minister for Industry and Innovation Tim Ayres added, “Science, research, and innovation are core to the Albanese Government’s vision for Australia. Congratulations to all recipients and nominees for their incredible work contributing to a better and more innovative future.”
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