New Fellows elected to the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences

An aerial view of the Parkville medical precinct, showing the University of Melbourne tri-radiate Medical Building, the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, the Doherty Institute, and Royal Melbourne Hospital.
Elected Fellows include honorary staff from partner hospitals and research institutes across Victoria.

Nine researchers from the Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences (MDHS) at the University of Melbourne and our partner institutions have been elected as new Fellows of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences (AAHMS).

Fellows are elected by their peers in recognition of their impact on the health and wellbeing of the community, their exceptional contributions to health and medical research, and mentorship of the next generation of researchers and clinicians.

This year’s Fellows come from diverse fields including oncology, eye health, adolescent health and cardiology, with their work spanning fundamental research through to clinical practice and policy.

University of Melbourne researchers include:

  • Professor Gary Anderson (MDHS) for combining genetic disease models and clinical studies to discover molecular mechanisms of lung disease and create new medicines, four of which are used clinically worldwide.
  • Professor Keith Martin (MDHS and Centre for Eye Research Australia) for pioneering new strategies to protect and regenerate the optic nerve in glaucoma, the leading cause of irreversible blindness worldwide.
  • Professor Susan Sawyer (MDHS, Royal Children’s Hospital, and Murdoch Children’s Research Institute) for her clinical, research, education, policy and advocacy efforts that have been instrumental in establishing the field of adolescent health in Australia, the Asia-Pacific region, and globally.

Honorary staff based at partner institutions include:

  • Professor Jayesh Desai (Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre) for effectively translating the current understanding of cancer biology into highly impactful early-phase clinical trials.
  • Professor Peter Gibbs (WEHI) for leading large, randomised trials focusing on circulating-tumour-DNA-informed management of resected colorectal and pancreatic cancer, which has impacted routine cancer management worldwide.
  • Professor John Greenwood (Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute) for his research into cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) and percutaneous coronary intervention, and his authorship of the current CMR clinical practice guidelines used globally.
  • Professor Peter Kistler (Alfred Hospital) for his contributions to cardiac arrhythmia research and treatment that have been translated into clinical practice.
  • Professor Belinda Parker (Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre) for her innovative research exploring breast and prostate cancer which has led to new practice-changing clinical trials and partnerships.
  • Professor Enzo Porrello (Murdoch Children’s Research Institute) for leading studies that have shifted global efforts in the field of heart regeneration towards the development of cardiac rejuvenation strategies for heart repair.

To learn more about the newly elected Fellows, visit the AAHMS website.