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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

Professor Wolfgang Weninger

FAHMS
Chair of Dermatology
Medical University of Vienna
2015
International

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Professor Wolfgang Weninger
FAHMS

Professor Weninger is one of Australia’s preeminent clinician scientists working in the fields of dermatology and immunology. He is internationally recognised for discovering several unique immune cell subsets and determining their function in the context of immune-mediated pathology, especially as they relate to skin diseases. He has pioneered the development and use of intravital imaging models for the study of leukocytes at the cellular and molecular level in their physiologic environment. His work has resulted in a new understanding of immunoregulatory pathways in cutaneous inflammatory conditions, infections and cancers.

Professor Robert Vink

AM FAHMS
Pro Vice Chancellor and Vice President: Health Sciences
University of South Australia
2015
SA

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Professor Robert Vink
AM FAHMS

Robert Vink is considered a pioneer in the field of traumatic brain injury. He was the first to apply magnetic resonance techniques to the study of energy metabolism in brain injury, and subsequently discovered and characterised the critical role of magnesium in the secondary injury cascade following neurotrauma. Serum magnesium concentration is now carefully controlled in brain injury patients. His research continues to advance the understanding of acute brain injury, having recently identified substance P’s role in raised intracranial pressure. This has resulted in the development of a novel class of drugs that reduce pressure and potentially prevent posttraumatic neurodegeneration.

Professor David Vaux

AO FAA FAHMS
Assistant Director
The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research
2015
VIC

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Professor David Vaux
AO FAA FAHMS

David Vaux opened the molecular era of cell death research by identifying the first component of the mechanism cells use to kill themselves, showing that failure of cell death leads to the development of cancer, and demonstrating that the cell death mechanism is evolutionarily conserved. He helped identify and characterise two families of cell death inhibitors, which underpinned the development of new classes of cancer therapies that work by activating the cell death machinery in cancer cells.

Professor Jamie Vandenberg

FAHMS
Co-Deputy Director
Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute
2015
NSW

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Professor Jamie Vandenberg
FAHMS

Jamie Vandenberg is an international authority on cardiac ion channels and has made breakthrough discoveries in understanding how these channels work and how drugs interact with these channels; contributing significantly to our understanding of the molecular basis of cardiac arrhythmias. In recognition of his expertise in this area he has been invited to sit on an international panel advising the Food and Drug Administration (USA) on how to best tackle the problem of drug-induced cardiac arrhythmias, which has been the commonest cause for drugs to be withdrawn from the market after regulatory approval.

Professor Alan Trounson

FAHMS
Emeritus Professor and Distinguished Scientist
Monash University
2015
VIC

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Professor Alan Trounson
FAHMS

Alan Trounson was responsible for many of the developments that made human in vitro fertilization a clinical success for treating female, male, idiopathic infertility, and preimplantation genetic diagnosis. He cofounded the Institute for Reproduction & Development, Monash University. He led the team that independently discovered human embryonic stem cells and founded the Australian Stem Cell Centre. He returned to Monash as Director and Personal Chair in Stem Cells, founding Monash Immunology & Stem Cell laboratories. Trounson was appointed President of the Californian Institute for Regenerative Medicine for 6.5 years – a $multibillion agency for basic and translational stem cell research.

Professor Patrick Tam

FRS FAA FAHMS
Deputy Director and Head of Embryology Unit
Children’s Medical Research Institute
2015
NSW

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Professor Patrick Tam
FRS FAA FAHMS

Patrick Tam is a world leader in the study of mammalian development and his scientific achievement has put Australia on the global map of developmental biology. He pioneered the application of experimental embryology and genome editing to elucidate the cellular and molecular architecture of the basic body plan. His work has contributed to the construction of detailed fate maps for the embryo and the understanding of pathogenic mechanism of birth defects. He has a prominent leadership role through advisory, consultative and editorial activities. Patrick is a fellow of Australian Academy of Science, Royal Society of Biology, and Royal Society of London.

Professor H. Peter Soyer

FAHMS
Chair, Dermatology Research Centre, The University of Queensland
The University of Queensland
2015
QLD

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Professor H. Peter Soyer
FAHMS

Professor H. Peter Soyer is an academic dermatologist with over 30 years’ experience in the field. He is considered a pioneer in the field of dermoscopy of pigmented skin lesions, leading the development of the classification system currently used worldwide. He has contributed to Australian Government guidelines on melanoma management. Since relocating to Australia in 2007, Professor Soyer has achieved over $15M in research funding for UQ for translational melanoma research. He is dedicated to increasing dermatological services to poorly supported rural areas by establishing a state-wide store-and-forward teledermatology service, and performing outreach visits to remote communities within Queensland.

Professor Tania Sorrell

AM FAHMS
Director, Marie Bashir Institute for Infectious Diseases and Biosecurity
University of Sydney / Westmead Hospital
2015
NSW

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Professor Tania Sorrell
AM FAHMS

Professor Sorrell was integral to establishing Infectious Diseases as a specialty of internal medicine in Australia.
She is recognised internationally for research in the lethal fungal disease,  cryptococcosis, development of new fungal diagnostics and education/training in clinical mycology/research. She has held NHMRC grants in since 1990s. She serves/served on NHMRC Research and Ethics Committees; project, fellowships, program and CRE grant panels. She has chaired expert committees for WHO and been on Commonwealth and NSW Advisory Committees in Infectious Diseases. For services to infectious diseases/research she was awarded an AM (2014) and life membership of the Australasian Society Infectious Diseases (2010).

Professor Maree Smith

AC FTSE FAHMS
Executive Director, Centre for Integrated Preclinical Drug Development
The University of Queensland
2015
QLD

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Professor Maree Smith
AC FTSE FAHMS

Professor Maree Smith is recognised internationally in the field of drug discovery-translation, having made significant and sustained contributions to pain relief and new pharmaceutical development. Her discoveries have led to novel treatments for neuropathic and inflammatory pain that have entered the clinical trial stage, and are being commercialised through significant international investment from venture capital firms including Novo Ventures and Canaan Partners. Professor Smith is a highly-regarded speaker with a deep commitment to the development of the profession through active service to professional associations and training the next generation of scientists in the field.

Professor Justine Smith

AM FAHMS
ARC Future Fellow and Research Strategic Professor
Flinders University
2015
SA

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Professor Justine Smith
AM FAHMS

Justine Smith is an internationally recognised ophthalmologist and vision scientist. She is Future Fellow of the Australian Research Council and Research Strategic Professor at Flinders University. Justine is an expert on uveitis – inflammation inside the eye. She has played lead roles in laboratory research and clinical trials that have established the use of biologic drugs to reduce vision loss from uveitis. Justine has advocated strongly for medical research as President of the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology, which is the largest global society for eye and vision research, with an 80‐year history and 12,500 members in 75 countries.

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.

To ensure the Academy has a representative and diverse membership, Fellows nominating two new candidates are asked to include only a maximum of one man, and Fellows nominating four new candidates are asked to include only a maximum of two men.

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

18 September 2023- 30 November 2023
Nominations are invited from existing Fellows until the closing date of 30 November.

December 2023
Nominations allocated to Selection Committees.

January – April 2024
Referees’ reports sought.

Early May 2024
Selection Committees meet to consider nominations and provide final recommendations to the Council.

Early-to-mid-July 2024
Council meets to finalise recommendations.

Late July 2024
Full Fellowship invited to comment on recommended new fellows.

August 2024
Election results are shared with proposers and candidates (under embargo).

October 2024
Newly elected Fellows of 2024 inducted at the Annual Meeting.

Find out more

Whether you’re looking to nominate a colleague for an award, make a donation to the Academy or simply find out more about the work we do, research we advance and health policy advice we provide, sign up to our mailing list today.

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