Fellowship

The Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences elects the best and brightest minds in the field of medical and health sciences as Fellows.

Fellows are elected in recognition of their outstanding achievements and exceptional contributions to the sector. The Fellowship are acknowledged for their clinical, non-clinical, leadership, industry and research contributions.

About Fellowship with AAHMS

Find Fellows of the AAHMS

To find Fellows of our Academy either use the search form below or download the full list of current Fellows here.

Name

Position

Level

Elected

State

Head, Tumour Biology and Targeting Program
Children’s Cancer Institute
Fellow
2016
NSW

Professor Maria Kavallaris is an outstanding research leader who has made seminal discoveries on mechanisms of clinical drug resistance and tumour aggressiveness in childhood and adult cancers. Recognised as a world leader in cancer and microtubules, her discoveries have led to patents and industry linkages for the development of cancer therapeutics.   Professor Kavallaris is a founding Director of the Australian Centre for NanoMedicine at UNSW Australia, an innovative cross‐disciplinary initiative developing nanotechnology for medical applications. Professor Kavallaris has demonstrated outstanding leadership in medical research advocacy, peer review, mentoring and advanced research policy.

Head, Department of Clinical Medicine
Macquarie University
Fellow
2016
NSW

Professor Kefford is Professor of Cancer Medicine and Head of the Department of Clinical Medicine at Macquarie University, Sydney and Co‐Director of Research at Melanoma Institute Australia. He is an internationally acclaimed and highly respected clinical investigator in melanoma and a national leader in academic medicine and medical research. He has a lifelong record of commitment and service to Australian medical research, peer review and professional and community education in oncology. He contributed to the mapping and characterisation of the major melanoma susceptibility genes and has played a leading role in the development of life‐extending drug treatments for melanoma patients.

Chair of Medicine and Head, The Central Clinical School, Monash University; Program Director, Alfred Brain; Deputy Director of Research, Alfred Health
Monash University, The Alfred Centre
Fellow
2016
VIC

Professor O’Brien is a medical specialist in neurology and clinical pharmacology, with particular expertise in epilepsy and related brain disorders, anti‐epileptic drugs and imaging in animal models and humans.  His research covers both basic and clinical studies related to epilepsy, its neuropsychiatric co‐morbidities and other neurodegenerative brain diseases. He has published more than 290 peer‐reviewed papers, which have been highly cited and influenced clinical practice.  His work has had two primary goals:  First to better understand the determinants of treatment response in epilepsy, identify markers for treatment outcomes, and develop new treatment approaches, and second to investigate the fundamental neurobiological basis, and inter-relationship, of the neuropsychiatric co‐morbidities present in many patients with epilepsy.

Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery
The University of New South Wales
Fellow
2016
NSW

Professor Harris is a clinician and leading scientist in the field of surgery. He has strived for the advancement of science in the practice of medicine through professional involvement with peers via the Australian Orthopaedic Association (AOA) and Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (RACS), public education, original research (over 120 papers and over $4 million in grant funding since 2012), improving the quality of surgical research, initiating, expanding and advancing clinical quality registries, and through active engagement with national, state and local health administrations. He is a consistent advocate for quality and clinical relevance in medical science.

Professor and Head, Department of Anatomical Pathology
Alfred Health
Fellow
2016
VIC

Professor McLean directs Anatomical Pathology and the State Neuromuscular Service, Alfred Health.  With expertise in pathology and neuropathology, she has published 300+ research papers in the fields of: dementia and cancer.  As inaugural director of the NHMRC Australian Brain Bank Network she has enabled accurate provision of pathologically characterized tissues to national and international researchers supporting 600+ papers.  She has innovated and implemented an on-line pathology medical curriculum and initiated and developed the post-fellowship neuropathology national curriculum.  She has international, national, state and university awards for: education, research supervision, research and for her contribution to the field of Pathology.

Head, Blood Cells and Blood Cancer Division
Walter & Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research
Fellow
2016
VIC

Cell Death is necessary for the normal development and functioning of multi‐cellular animals. Apoptosis is a process of programmed cell suicide, which removes cells that are no longer needed or have become dangerous. Professor Strasser showed that defects in apoptosis cause cancer and autoimmune disease and render tumour cells resistant to anti-cancer therapeutics. He identified many of the critical regulators of apoptosis. His discovery of the BH3-only proteins and their essential role in the initiation of apoptosis, including that triggered by many anti-cancer drugs, forms the basis of the so-called BH3 mimetic drugs. This Includes ABT‐199, Which is currently in phase 3 clinical trials, was recently awarded breakthrough therapy designation by the FDA and is expected to benefit many cancer patients.

James Stewart Chair of Surgery
The Royal Melbourne Hospital
Fellow
2016
VIC

Christobel Saunders is a surgeon and cancer researcher, recognised as a leader in both surgical practice and research in Australia and internationally. This is demonstrated through her portfolio of research publications (over 150), successful grants (over $25m), translation of research into practice (such as guideline development and obtaining government funding for new treatments) and executive membership of a large number of professional, governmental and policy groups (e.g. College of Surgeons, Cancer Australia, State government). Moreover, her passion for improving patient outcomes means she is heavily involved with health advocacy via Cancer Councils and Breast Cancer Network Australia.

Beat Cancer Professorial Chair, College of Medicine and Public Health
Flinders University
Fellow
2016
SA

Professor McKinnon is a global leader in pharmacy and pharmaceutical science with broad contributions spanning the breadth of pharmaceutical research, policy and education.  Attracting over $24 million, his research has produced 130 original papers, 12 patents and two spin-off companies. He was Foundation Director of the Sansom Institute (UniSA) and Flinders Centre for Innovation in Cancer. In 2010, he provided the vision for the translational catalyst, Therapeutic Innovation Australia. Eminent international roles include Vice-President of the International Pharmaceutical Federation and Chair, 5th Pharmaceutical Sciences World Congress. He is a long-term Director of the Australian Institute of Policy and Science.

Executive Dean, Health and Medical Sciences Faculty Office
The University of Adelaide
Fellow
2016
SA

Benjamin Kile is Joint Head of the ACRF Chemical Biology Division at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute, an NHMRC Principal Research Fellow, and a Professor at the University of Melbourne. A world leader in platelet biology, Ben is also known for his seminal discoveries in hematopoiesis, oncogene function, cell death and inflammatory disease. He contributes to the NHMRC as a member of Project Grant, ECF and CDF panels and reviews Project Grants, Development Grants, and Research Fellowships. Ben sits on the boards of several national committees and research networks, contributing to shaping health and medical sciences in Australia.

George Richard Marks Professor of Pathology / Senior Specialist Forensic Pathologist
The University of Adelaide / Forensic Science SA
Fellow
2016
SA

Professor Roger Byard has conducted much original research into many aspects of forensic pathology, focussing particularly on accidental and sudden death. He has been very active on community and government committees developing recommendations and proposing policy changes to deal with tragic cases of sudden unexpected death, and in media campaigns and public lectures. He has also initiated an approach to forensic pathology practice called ‘preventive pathology’ that focuses on public health outcomes and facilitates dissemination of this information to professional colleagues and the community. He has a major interest in developing the field of paediatric forensic pathology nationally and internationally.

Our Fellows sit at the heart of everything we do. They represent Australia’s leading minds in health and medical sciences, having been recognised for their clinical, non-clinical, leadership, industry and research contributions.

To be considered for election to the Academy’s Fellowship, a candidate must show exceptional professional achievement in a field related to health and/or medicine.

Fellows contribute to the projects and activities of the Academy and must be willing to be active participants.

Successful Fellowship candidates will have shown:

  • Outstanding leadership in their field.
  • Significant and ongoing involvement with issues of health care, prevention of disease, education, research, and health services policy and delivery.

Candidates for Fellowship should meet the following criteria:

  • National and International recognition for excellence in health and medical science
  • Significant, sustained and ongoing contributions to advance health and medical science in Australia (relative to opportunity)
  • Contribution to the profession through leadership and mentorship
  • Raised public understanding and promoting health and medical science in the broader community



Download criteria for Fellowship

Each year, current Fellows of the Academy are invited to nominate up to four new candidates who meet the criteria and fulfil the required expectations.

Nominations by a Fellow of two new candidates must ensure that at least one nomination is a woman. Nominations by a Fellow of four new candidates must ensure that at least two nominations are women.

How to make a nomination

Fellows wishing to nominate a candidate for Fellowship should contact the secretariat to confirm candidate eligibility and receive and instructions on how to submit the completed nomination documentation online. 

Fellows wishing to nominate a candidate for a Corresponding Fellowship should contact the secretariat for more information.

Secretariat contact details
Email: [email protected]

Phone: 07 3102 7220

Nomination guidelines for ordinary Fellowship

October 2022
Newly elected Fellows of 2022 are inducted at the Annual Meeting.

Late September 2022-November 2022
Nominations are invited from existing Fellows until the closing date of 30 November.

December 2022
Nominations allocated to Selection Committees.

January – April 2023
Referees’ reports sought.

Early May 2023
Selection Committees meet to consider nominations and provide final recommendations to the Council.

Early-to-mid-July 2023
Council meets to finalise recommendations.

Late July 2023
Full Fellowship invited to comment on recommended new fellows.

August 2023
Election results are shared with proposers and candidates (under embargo).

October 2023
Newly elected Fellows of 2023 inducted at the Annual Meeting.

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