Tea and coffee served in foyer on arrival

Welcome to Country

Welcome by Professor Graham Mann FAHMS, Chair, 2025 Annual Meeting Steering Committee

Opening remarks by Professor Louise Baur AM PresAHMS, President

Join us in welcoming and celebrating our new Fellows.

Professor Joan Leach, Deputy-Vice Chancellor (Academic), The Australian National University

This session will explore what we know about the current state of public trust in health and medicine in Australia. It will review recent findings about the levels of trust that exist within the Australian community and explore the key factors shaping this. The session will help to set the scene for the broader program. 

Tina D Purnat, Prajna Leadership Fellow, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Vice President, Global Health Section, European Public Health Association, 
Associate Editor, JMIR Infodemiology and Editorial Advisor, Health Promotion International

Trust in health and medical sciences is too often framed as a communications problem: if only the public listened harder or we communicated more. But trust isn’t won by being louder. It’s earned through relationships — between patients and providers, citizens and systems, policymakers and evidence. Today, that fabric is fraying under pressure from doubt, inequity, and politicisation. In this session, we’ll explore how to repair it: by acting in ways worthy of trust, by renewing the social contract across generations, and by reimagining how science and society walk forward together.

This session will explore how misinformation and disinformation are being used to influence public opinion and undermine trust. The discussion will consider how we might combat misinformation and disinformation, and strategies for fostering a more informed and information resilient community.

Professor Sharon Friel FASSA FAHMS, Director, Australian Research Centre for Health Equity and The Planetary Health Equity Hothouse, The Australian National University
Professor Raina MacIntyre FAHMS, Professor and Head, Biosecurity Program and Founder of EPIWATCH®, Kirby Institute
Associate Professor Raglan Maddox, Senior Fellow, Yardhura Walani, National Centre for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Wellbeing Research, National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health, The Australian National University
Mr Liam Mannix, National Science Reporter, The Age and the Sydney Morning Herald

Dr John Byron, Principal Policy Adviser, Queensland University of Technology

This talk will explore how misinformation impacts public perceptions and political decisions, and the challenges policymakers face in this environment. It will consider strategies for effectively navigating and countering misinformation to create more informed and resilient policies.

Associate Professor Jeremy Brownlie, Group Leader, Australian Research Centre for Human Evolution, Griffith University, and Member, Prime Minister’s National Science and Technology Council

Why does misinformation spread so easily, and why do people engage with it even when it’s misleading? Drawing on current research, this talk will explore why we sometimes fall for misleading information and what can be done to help individuals and communities recognise and reduce the impact of misinformation.

This session will provide insights on what approaches build trust in health and medicine for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and communities. It will explore how health and medical systems and practices require fundamental shifts to processes and practice to (re)build trust.

Mr Karl Briscoe, CEO, National Association of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Workers and Practitioners
Dr Ali Drummond, CEO, Congress of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Nurses and Midwives
Associate Professor Carmen Parter, Chief Executive Officer, Girudala Community Cooperative Society, Researcher and Cultural Lead, Djurali Centre for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health, Heart Research Institute, and Board Member, AHPRA

This session will explore the basis for a social licence for health and medical research and how strong this is in Australia. It will consider whether the social licence is under threat – the current factors that might influence this, and consider whether we have any blind spots or risks. The discussion will consider the global environment and how Australia should reflect on its own situation in this context.

Dr Doug Hilton AO FAA FTSE FAHMS, Chief Executive, CSIRO
Professor Michael Kidd AO FAHMS, Chief Medical Officer
Professor Kamalini Lokuge OAM, Lead, Humanitarian Health Research Initiative, The Australian National University

Professor Graham Mann FAHMS, Director, John Curtin School of Medical Research, Australian National University

Professor Louise Baur AM PresAHMS, President

Guests are free to enjoy their personal time before the gala dinner.

Further details regarding the Gala Dinner are above.

Start your day with a light networking breakfast hosted by our President, Professor Louise Baur AM PresAHMS. Enjoy the chance to connect and be inspired as our brilliant new Fellows rise to the challenge of introducing themselves and their research in just three minutes.

This closing panel will reflect on the key themes and insights from the meeting, exploring how we can strengthen trust in health and medical science moving forward. This session will explore a vision for a future where transparency, collaboration, and innovation build lasting confidence in research, practice, and policy.

• Dr James Kite, Senior Lecturer, Prevention Research Collaboration, Sydney School of Public Health and Charles Perkins Centre, The University of Sydney
• Professor Farah Magrabi, Professor of AI Safety, Australian Institute of Health Innovation, Macquarie University
• Professor Deborah Lupton FASSA FAHMS, SHARP Professor in the Centre for Social Research in Health and the Social Policy Research Centre, UNSW
• Professor Brett Sutton AO, Director, Health & Biosecurity, CSIRO

Professor Graham Mann FAHMS, Chair, 2025 Annual Meeting Steering Committee

Professor Louise Baur AM PresAHMS, President

Open only to Fellows and Associate Members. Those unable to join in person will be sent a link to join the livestream.

Bus leaves for airport at 1:30pm sharp.