Fellowship ​

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.

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 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.

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.

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.