Fellowship ​

Professor Sharon Goldfeld holds a unique position within Australian child health research: with 10 years government experience, she is an expert in policy, a paediatrician, and a public health clinician-scientist. Over her career she has successfully translated her research into service delivery and policy, including the national implementation of the Australian Early Development Census which has unlocked our understanding of the distribution of early childhood development across the country.  Professor Goldfeld has generated national evidence on equitable service delivery (in health and education), generated new approaches to precision policy and developed data to drive systems change especially focused on children living in adversity. She leads an innovative program focused on investigating, testing and translating sustainable policy-relevant solutions that can eliminate inequities for Australia’s children.

Dr Christopher Burns is an accomplished and highly regarded medicinal chemist and drug discoverer. He was the lead inventor of the drugs momelotinib (recently approved by the US FDA) and lexibulin (underwent Phase 2 trials). He is an inventor on 29 patents and co-author of 68 scientific publications. Currently CEO and MD of ASX-listed Amplia Therapeutics, a company he co-founded, he has worked in both industry (Pfizer, Cytopia, Gilead) and academia (The University of Sydney, WEHI). He is a consultant to selected biotech companies, VCs and academic groups, and contributes to various academic committees. 

Professor Julie Simpson is recognised internationally for her leadership in biostatistics and contributions to pioneering work on novel treatments and disease prevention. Her primary focus is the integrated application of advanced statistical methods and mathematical modelling to optimise the management and control of malaria. Her research has changed antimalarial policy and practice internationally and thereby had a direct impact on the global burden of malaria. She has a broad collaborative network, attracting $77 million in funding and publishing >350 peer-reviewed articles. She has received numerous awards for research excellence and the mentoring of emerging leaders in biostatistics. 

Professor James Whisstock is a former ARC Laureate Fellow, ARC Federation Fellow and NHMRC Senior Principal Research Fellow. His discoveries include elucidating the mechanism of function of perforin-like pore forming immune effectors. These molecules are responsible for mammalian immune cell- and complement-mediated cytolysis and are key for destroying virally-infected cells, malignant cells, and pathogenic bacteria. Conversely the unwanted activity of perforin-like proteins can damage healthy tissue in inflammatory and auto-immune diseases. Armed with these insights, Professor Whisstock is translating his discoveries and developing new immunomodulatory drugs. He mentors a large team of talented young researchers who are inspired by his achievements. His previous leadership roles have included Scientific Head of EMBL Australia and Director of the ARC Centre of Excellence in Advanced Molecular Imaging.