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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.

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 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.

Professor Robert (John) Simes

AO FAHMS
Director
NHMRC Clinical Trials Centre
2015
NSW

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Professor Robert (John) Simes
AO FAHMS

Professor John Simes has a long, distinguished career in clinical trials research, playing a lead role in many major clinical trials impacting on future global clinical practice. As Director of the NHMRC Clinical Trials Centre he has co-led a team of researchers collaborating on over 100 multicentre trials and 70,000 patients. He is also Director of Sydney Catalyst Translational Cancer Research Centre; Medical Oncologist at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital and Senior Principal Research Fellow, NHMRC. He has published over 300 papers with 33,000 career citations and received the Distinguished Harvard Alum Award (2009) and the Medical Oncology Group of Australia Cancer Achievement Award (2010).
His collaborative research has led to advances in treatment of coronary heart disease, many cancers and neonatal disorders with both improvements in survival and quality of life. He has also played a major leadership role in research policy through several government committees, the development of the ANZ Clinical Trials Registry and helping establish the Australian Clinical Trials Alliance.

Professor Robert Shepherd

AM FAHMS
Director
Bionics Institute
2015
VIC

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Professor Robert Shepherd
AM FAHMS

Robert Shepherd has demonstrated a sustained contribution and leadership in medical bionics over a 35 year period. He is highly regarded internationally for his research excellence in hearing, cochlear implants, retinal prostheses and medical bionics in general. He has made significant contributions to health science via his administrative roles as Director of the Bionics Institute and Head of the Medical Bionics Department, University of Melbourne.
Shepherd actively participates in public discussion of medical research via the media and public forums and is passionate about commercialising research outcomes and preparing the next generation for research leadership in bionics.

Professor John Seymour

FAHMS
Co-Director, Division of Cancer Medicine
Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre
2015
VIC

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Professor John Seymour
FAHMS

Professor John Seymour is a clinical haematologist and Co-Director of the Division of Cancer Medicine, Peter MacCallum Centre. While maintaining ongoing direct care of patients with leukemia and lymphoma he has also consistently pursued a highly productive and internationally recognised program of clinical and translational research, both personally and has nurtured a broader program within his Department and nationally through his long-term leadership roles in the Australasian Leukaemia and Lymphoma Group (ALLG). His research has involved leading more than 100 major clinical trials and has led to authorship of more than 350 peer reviewed publications (which have been cited more than 12000 times).

Professor Christopher Semsarian

AM FAHMS
Professor of Medicine Cardiologist; Head, Molecular Cardiology Program
The Centenary Institute
2015
NSW

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Professor Christopher Semsarian
AM FAHMS

As a clinician scientist, understanding the genetic basis of cardiovascular disease has been the cornerstone of my research endeavours. Using an integrated translational approach in human families, murine models, and cell culture systems, my research has elucidated the genetic causes of cardiomyopathies and sudden death, identified key signalling pathways involved in development of disease, and provided a platform for this knowledge to be directly translated to cardiovascular medicine by improved diagnostic and risk stratification strategies. My research has led to the reduction of both mortality and morbidity amongst individuals and families with genetic heart disease.

Professor Hamish Scott

FAHMS
Head, Department of Genetics and Molecular Pathology
Centre for Cancer Biology, SA Pathology
2015
SA

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Professor Hamish Scott
FAHMS

Professor Scott’s national and international leadership in genetics and genomics is recognized through multidisciplinary collaboration, scientific advisory committees, editorial positions, peer review and conference participation. He has lead development of new technologies for improved patient treatment in the Centre for Cancer Biology of SA Pathology as head of the Department of Genetics and Molecular Pathology and Co-Director of the ACRF Cancer Genome Facility. He regularly talks about genetics and genomic research to diverse audiences such the Leaders Institute of South Australia (Governors Leadership Foundation). In 30 years he has mentored almost 60 post-docs and students.

 

Professor Perminder Sachdev

AM FAHMS
Clinical Director, Neuropsychiatric Institute (NPI)
Prince of Wales Hospital
2015
NSW

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Professor Perminder Sachdev
AM FAHMS

Perminder Sachdev is an internationally-recognised authority and leader in the field of neuropsychiatry. His research contributions to our understanding of drug-induced movement disorders, in particular akathisia and neuroleptic malignant syndrome, and the cerebrovascular basis of cognitive impairment and dementia, most especially vascular dementia and small vessel disease, have been groundbreaking. His most recent focus on identifying the risk and protective factors for dementia has been equally pioneering. Given his exceptional contributions across research, clinical practice, community engagement and advocacy, as well as his leading national and international profile, Perminder Sachdev is a most worthy candidate for election the AAHMS Fellowship.

Professor Nadia Rosenthal

FAHMS
Scientific Director
The Jackson Laboratory for Mammalian Genetics
2015
International

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Professor Nadia Rosenthal
FAHMS

Nadia Rosenthal is an internationally recognised leader in molecular genetics, developmental biology and the role of growth factors, stem cells and immune responses in regenerative medicine. Her work has led to major discoveries in the past decade with significant therapeutic applications, and 200+ primary research articles and prominent reviews in high impact journals. She founded the Australian Regenerative Medicine Institute, and established EMBL Australia. She was awarded the Ferrari-Soave Prize, Doctors Honoris Causa from the Curie University, Paris and University of Amsterdam. She is an EMBO member, an Australia Fellow and a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences, UK.

Professor Sarah Robertson

AO FAA FAHMS
NHMRC Investigator Fellow; Professor of Reproductive Immunology
The University of Adelaide
2015
SA

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Professor Sarah Robertson
AO FAA FAHMS

Professor Sarah Robertson is a world-renowned reproductive scientist whose innovative work on cytokines and immune cells underlies advanced understanding of the origins of health at conception. She has demonstrated that cytokines and immune cells regulate embryo implantation and development, and that seminal fluid contributes to the immune changes that promote female receptivity to pregnancy. Her work shows that the immune system channels environmental signals from both parents to contribute to healthy pregnancy and shaping offspring phenotype after birth. She is a public advocate of reproductive health and her discoveries are improving reproductive medicine and providing insight into early determinants of child health.

 

Professor Claire Rickard

FAHMS
Professor of Infection Prevention and Vascular Access
University of Queensland
2015
QLD

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Professor Claire Rickard
FAHMS

Professor Claire Rickard is an internationally respected nurse researcher who has made outstanding contributions to the field of vascular access. She established and is Director of the Alliance for Vascular Access Teaching and Research (AVATAR), and is 2nd Chief Investigator of the NHMRC Centre for Research Excellence in Nursing Interventions in Hospitalised Patients, both based at Griffith University. Professor Rickard leads a team of >100 researchers and clinician scientists, has >100 publications including in The Lancet and mentors numerous junior researchers. Professor Rickard was inducted into the International Nurse Researcher Hall of Fame in 2013.

About Fellowship with AAHMS

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 by 24 November each year to confirm candidate eligibility and receive and instructions on how to submit the completed nomination documentation online. Nomination requests received past this deadline will not be considered in the current election round.

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

18 September – 24 November

Existing Fellows are invited to submit a request to start a new nomination until 24 November 2024.

30 November
Deadline for submitting the full nomination and supporting material.

December
Nominations allocated to Selection Committees.

January – April
Referees’ reports sought.

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

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

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

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

October
Newly elected Fellows are inducted at the Annual Meeting.

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