Arachnophobe turned spider advocate and venom specialist Samantha Nixon won the prestigious Young Achiever – Science award in the 2020 WiT Awards.

Hailing from Forest Lake, in Brisbane, Samantha was completing her PhD at the University of Queensland’s Institute for Molecular Bioscience, investigating how spider venom can be used to develop new medicines to fight against parasites.

Alongside her research interests, Samantha is passionate about addressing inequality in STEM as well as education and leadership through science education.

Caption: Samantha Nixon with a gold orb weaver spider. Photo courtesy: Annette Dew

@November 2020