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

Director, John Curtin School of Medical Research and Leader, Cancer and Vascular Biology Group
Australian National University
2015
ACT

Professor Parish is an internationally recognised immunologist and cancer biologist. His immunological discoveries have had a major impact on our understanding of the immune system and on the design of new vaccines. His cancer research has resulted in the development of novel, carbohydrate-based, anti-cancer drugs that inhibit angiogenesis and cancer spread. He has also developed important immunological techniques, such as fluorescent dyes for monitoring lymphocyte migration and proliferation, which have revolutionized immunological research. He has been very active in translating his research findings into the clinic, with the IP generated by his research underpinning five separate Australian biotechnology companies.

Professor and Director, Department of Allergy, Immunology & Respiratory Medicine
Monash University and Alfred Hospital
2015
VIC

Professor Robyn O’Hehir is internationally acclaimed as a key researcher in allergy. Over 25 years, she invented and established the feasibility of cloning allergen-specific T cells to define T-cell epitopes. This research has translated into practical immunotherapy for house dust mite and pollen aeroallergens, and soon for peanut allergy, all progressing in trials or to the clinic. As a respiratory physician, she has pioneered use of the natural anti-inflammatory follistatin in cystic fibrosis. She was the first adult physician to hold a full Professorship in allergy in Australia, is a Life Governor of Asthma Victoria, and has 225 publications with over 10,000 career citations.

Director
Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, Royal Children’s Hospital Melbourne
2014
VIC

Professor Kathryn North AM is Director of the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute and the David Danks Professor of Child Health Research at the University of Melbourne.

Professor North is trained as a paediatric physician, neurologist and clinical geneticist and in 1994, was awarded a doctorate from the University of Sydney for research into Neurogenetics. She completed a postdoctoral fellowship in the Harvard Genetics Program. Her previous positions include the Douglas Burrows Professor of Paediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Sydney (2004-2012) and Head of the Institute for Neuroscience and Muscle Research (2008-2012). Her laboratory research interests focus on the molecular basis of inherited muscle disorders – particularly the muscular dystrophies and congenital myopathies – as well as genes which influence normal skeletal muscle function and elite athletic performance. Her clinical research focuses on clinical trials of therapies for muscular dystrophy as well as the development of interventions for children with learning disabilities.

Professor North has received a number of awards for her research including the Sunderland Award from the Australian Neuroscience Society (2000). the Sutherland Lecturership by the Human Genetics Society of Australasia (2008), the GSK Australia Award for Research Excellence (2011), the Ramaciotti Medal for Excellence in Biomedical Research (2012) and the Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for service to medicine in the field of neuromuscular and neurogenetics research (2012). In 2012, Professor North was appointed Chair of the NHMRC Research Committee and Member of NHMRC Council and in 2014 was appointed Vice Chair of the Global Alliance for Genomics and Health, an international consortium of more than 200 institutions promoting the sharing of genomic and clinical data.

Professor of Reproductive and Periconceptual Medicine
The University of Adelaide
2015
SA

Professor Robert Norman’s research is in the area of reproductive health and medicine. He specialises in health around the time of conception and has initiated and led one of the most successful groups in the world in the area of paediatrics and reproductive health through the University’s Robinson Research Institute. He has won several international awards as well as being Scientist of the Year in South Australia and appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) in 2013. His research has been cited more than 28,000 times and he has more than 450 peer-reviewed publications. He is an active subspecialist in reproductive medicine.

Director, MonashHeart; Director, Victorian Heart Institute
Monash University
2015
VIC

Professor Nicholls’ research career spans the translational spectrum from fundamental laboratory discoveries, study of patients and clinical trials that have had a major impact on the clinical practice of cardiology. He has an internationally regarded expert in the fields of lipoproteins, atherosclerosis, plaque imaging and cardiology clinical trials. His major contributions include elucidating the factors influencing the functionality of high density lipoproteins, understanding the factors influencing plaque progression and regression and the leadership of clinical trials of novel therapies. His work has a major impact on international treatment guidelines for the management of lipid disorders and in the evaluation of novel therapies.

Director, Department of Anaesthesia and Perioperative Medicine
Monash University and Alfred Hospital
2015
VIC

Paul Myles is Professor/Director of the Department of Anaesthesia and Perioperative Medicine at the Alfred Hospital and Monash University, Melbourne. He is an NHMRC Practitioner Fellow, a member of the Research Committee of the Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists, an Editor of the British Journal of Anaesthesia, an Editorial Consultant for The Lancet, and an editorial board member of three other journals. He has published more than 200 papers, and been awarded more than 22 NHMRC grants totalling more than $25 million. His research interests include patient quality of recovery, avoidance of postoperative complications, and large multicentre trials in anaesthesia.

Director Critical Care & Trauma Division
St George Hospital, University of New South Wales, The George Institute for Global Health
2015
NSW

Over a 25-year career, Professor John Myburgh AO has been instrumental in developing, expanding and consolidating academic and medical science in Australia through outstanding contributions to education and research.

He is recognised as a leading clinician-researcher in Intensive care medicine, through the establishment of national and international research networks that have conducted trials that have had a substantive impact on patients.

He was instrumental in establishing the College of Intensive Care Medicine and continues to educate and mentor clinicians. For these achievements, he was made an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) for distinguished service to medicine in 2014.

Dean, Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences
Monash University
2014
VIC

Professor Christina Mitchell is a physician scientist who has made major contributions to the field of intracellular signalling and haematology. Her work has concentrated on the regulation of phosphoinositide signalling by the inositol polyphosphate 5-phosphatases. She has taught the molecular basis of human diseases and haematology to science, biomedical and medical students at Monash University and has played a major role in research leadership, building research teams, and infrastructure. She is currently Dean of the Faculty of Medicine Nursing and Health Sciences Monash University.

Chief Scientist for South Australia
Department for Innovation and Skills South Australia
2015
SA

Professor McMillen has an international record of distinction in the field of development. Her work has demonstrated how the nutritional environment of the embryo and fetus impacts on health before and after birth. Her work has been funded by the NHMRC and ARC for more than 20 years, her publications have been cited 5,400 times and she has received invitations to present at >75 conferences. She inspires students and staff to deliver innovation in research and education and has contributed to the work of institutions, governments and professional bodies to ensure great science supports better health for all Australians.

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 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.

Keep up to date with the latest news

By providing your email address, you consent to it being added to our mailing list.