Four Macquarie early-career researchers share more than $1.8m in 2025 ARC DECRA grants

Artificial intelligence and neurodiversity will take centre stage in Macquarie University’s latest Australian Research Council (ARC) DECRA success, with four early-career researchers sharing in more than $1.8 million under the 2025 scheme.

The successful applicants are Dr Emily Hughes and Dr Raphaël Millière from the Department of Philosophy; Dr Richard Savery from the Department of Media, Communications, Creative Arts, Language and Literature; and Dr Diana Tan from the Macquarie School of Education.

Their projects were selected from a total of 1,120 applications nationally. “It is wonderful to see four successful DECRA applications from the Faculty of Arts and I would like to extend my warmest congratulations to the recipients,” said Professor Chris Dixon, Executive Dean of the Faculty of Arts.

“The Faculty continues to see an impressive trajectory of impactful research and these projects are key in ensuring our research addresses local, national and global challenges.” According to ARC Acting Chief Executive Officer, Dr Richard Johnson, the DECRA scheme aims to generate “new knowledge that addresses a significant problem or gap in knowledge”.

He said the program “offers exciting opportunities for Australia’s promising early career researchers to develop in supportive environments. As well as boosting Australia’s research and innovation capacity, DECRA projects result in new technologies and ideas, leading to new jobs, economic growth, and ultimately improved quality of life for Australians.” Among the funded projects, Dr Emily Hughes will lead “A lone or lonely life?

Lived experiences of loneliness in autistic women”. The project addresses the higher rates of depression, anxiety and suicidality reported among autistic people and examines loneliness as a contributing factor.

It will prioritise autistic women’s voices to characterise their experiences of loneliness, explore what these experiences reveal about the autistic self in relation to others, and use the findings to improve wellbeing across the lifespan. Dr Raphaël Millière’s “Philosophical Foundations of Mechanistic Understanding in AI” aims to design a comprehensive theoretical framework for mechanistically understanding the behaviour of AI systems.

Integrating philosophy, cognitive science and computer science, the project seeks to bridge low-level mechanisms and observable behaviours, with expected outcomes including novel interpretability methods and strengthened collaborations across global academic and industry sectors.

It is anticipated to advance theoretical understanding and apply these insights to critical safety issues, contributing to the responsible evolution of AI technology. In “Robot Musicians: Long-term Use, Group Dynamics, and Artificial Intelligence”, Dr Richard Savery will investigate long-term interaction and group dynamics in AI through robotic musicianship.

Using a custom robot platform and building three new drumming and rapping robots, the team will place these systems in extended musical settings and ensembles. Expected outcomes include an enhanced understanding of trust, fluency and generalisable approaches to AI.

Dr Diana Tan, from the Macquarie School of Education, is also among the DECRA recipients under the 2025 scheme. The projects collectively underscore Macquarie’s focus on AI and neurodiversity, with researchers aiming to generate new knowledge and practical approaches that, according to the ARC, support Australia’s research capacity and broader social and economic benefits.