Professor McDonald is an eminent physician-scientist working in the field of Respiratory Medicine. She has distinguished herself as a physician, investigator and teacher and latterly also as public spokesperson and department and institute head. She is recognised nationally and internationally for translating clinical research from bench to bedside in home and hospital settings, especially in the field of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. She exemplifies the many objective and empathic skills needed to be a rigorous scientist, administrator and care-giver. She is therefore deserving of the recognition this membership will bring.

Professor Susan Davis is a National Health and Medical Research Council Principal Research Fellow, Chair of Women’s Health, and Head of the Women’s Health Research Program at Monash University.  She is considered an international authority on androgens in women and the menopause.  Her research has influenced the management of a range of health issues in women at midlife, globally.  She has made, and continues to make, important contributions to the health and quality of life of women at midlife, as a researcher, clinician and educator.

Professor Ian Wicks is Head of the Rheumatology Unit, Royal Melbourne Hospital, and Head of the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute’s Inflammation Division. His Research on inflammatory diseases enabled him to identify several cytokine receptors as novel therapeutic targets. He led collaborations to develop therapeutic monoclonal antibodies against these targets. One of these has completed successful Phase 2 Trials for rheumatoid arthritis and two others are poised for evaluation in other inflammatory diseases. His contribution extends to leadership roles in Rheumatology, teaching, training and clinical research. He serves on the NHMRC Translational Research Faculty and peer-reviews at national and international levels.

Professor McNeil’s research activities have involved the application of epidemiological methods to problems in clinical medicine and public health.  In recognition of his service he was awarded an AM (Member of the Order of Australia) in 2009.  Professor McNeil has developed a strategy to undertake large community based intervention trials successfully, as demand for new preventive interventions become ready for evaluation.  He currently heads the largest clinical trial in Australia.  He has also developed the strategy to benchmark hospital performance using the clinical quality registries, and is leading the largest Australian centre for registry science.  Professor McNeil has been involved in a variety of leadership roles which includes directorships in institutions nationally and internationally.

Jane Visvader has made seminal contributions to the fields of mammary biology and breast cancer. Her team achieved a very significant breakthrough in health and medical sciences, with the isolation of breast stem cells. This work and her subsequent identification of master regulators of mammary gland development and cells of origin of cancer have altered our understanding of breast cancer, and pioneered a new field of research – Breast stem cell biology. Collectively these findings have laid a framework for translating basic discoveries to the clinic, aiming for improved breast cancer outcomes for the next generation of women.