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

Co-Director, Menzies Centre for Health Policy and Economics and Professor, Health Economics
The University of Sydney
2021
NSW

Professor Kirsten Howard is an internationally acknowledged leader in health economics. She is Co-Director of the Menzies Centre for Health Policy and Economics, and leads a health economics group with internationally recognised expertise in patient and community preference elicitation, quality of life and wellbeing measurement, and economic evaluation. With research funding as CI in excess of $40million, including being invited to lead the health economics programs of 4 CREs, 2 capacity building grants and 28 project grants (also leading the health economics of another 19 clinical trials, as AI); she also leads / co-leads a program around measuring and valuing quality of life and wellbeing in children and in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults and youth.

Professor Howard holds multiple high-level policy relevant appointments, including the Australian Government’s Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee (PBAC) (as only health economics member), Chair of the Economics Sub-Committee of the PBAC, and member of MBS reviews Taskforce Renal Clinical Committee. She has led the growth of health economics at the University of Sydney from 1 research fellow to a team of 11 academics and PhD students, with more than a dozen PhD completions.

Head, Respiratory Group
The George Institute for Global Health
2021
NSW

Professor Christine Jenkins (Head of the Respiratory Group at The George Institute for Global Health) is a renowned authority in the field of airways diseases ‐ in particular Asthma and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease ‐ whose contributions have spanned from fundamental studies to large NHMRC‐funded trials (230+ publications; H‐index 50).

Professor Jenkins has also contributed extensively to the profession and substantially raised public understanding of health and medical science, having previously served as President of the Thoracic Society of Australia and New Zealand, and currently Chairing the Board of Lung Foundation Australia ‐ the peak national body for lung health advocacy.

Professor of Vascular Surgery
James Cook University
2021
QLD

Professor Jonathan Golledge is an NHMRC Practitioner Fellow and vascular surgeon recognised as an international leader in artery disease. During the last 15 years, he established a translational research program which has culminated in bringing multiple new drugs and management approaches to clinical trials. The largest of these, testing a repurposed drug for artery weakening, is just about to commence after being funded by the NHMRC and New Zealand Health Research Council for over $6 million. This trial will be the largest drug trial for artery weakening ever performed (5-fold bigger than any past trial) and involves sites in multiple countries.

 

Professor in Vaccinology and Deputy Director, Robinson Research Institute
The University of Adelaide
2021
SA

Professor Helen Marshall is an international leader in vaccinology and infectious disease epidemiology, with significant and sustained achievement in vaccine research and translation to practice and policy. Her work underpins changes in vaccination practise for children, adolescents, and pregnant women in Australia and internationally. Her leadership of the largest interventional herd immunity RCT globally, published in NEJM, informs meningococcal vaccine programs worldwide.

As Deputy Director of the Robinson Research Institute and NHMRC Practitioner Fellow, Professor Marshall contributes extensively to national (ATAGI) and international (WHO) immunisation policy, is recognised by many awards including NHMRC “10 of the Best”, and is a vocal public advocate for immunisation.

Senior Scientist
QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute
2021
QLD

Professor Penny Webb is recognised nationally and internationally for her work and global leadership in the epidemiology of ovarian and endometrial cancer. She is on the Steering Committee of the international Ovarian Cancer Association Consortium (OCAC) and a senior member (past Chair) of the OCAC Epidemiology Working Group. She is lead author of an epidemiology textbook now in its 4th Edition (2020) that has sold >35,000 copies worldwide. Previously, she conducted seminal research into the role of Helicobacter pylori in gastric cancer.

Professor Webb was awarded Life Membership of the Australasian Epidemiological Association (2019) in recognition of her contributions to the field.

Theme Director, Implementation Research; Program Head, Surveillance and Evaluation Research Program
The Kirby Institute
2021
NSW

Professor Rebecca Guy, Leader of the Approaches to Surveillance Cross Cutting Theme at The Kirby Institute, UNSW Sydney, is a renowned international authority in the surveillance and evaluation of public health interventions related to HIV and sexually transmissible infections.

Professor Guy’s has received continuous funding by the NHMRC over the past 10 years. She has delivered over 50 national and international invited talks including the Gollow Lecture – the most prestigious sexual health lecture in Australia.

Professor Guy has also served extensively on many state, commonwealth and international committees, including for the World Health Organization.

Chair Professor and Founding Head, Tsinghua Medicine; Senior Advisor, SingHealth Duke-NUS Academic Medical Center
Tsinghua University
2021
International

Professor Tien Wong is a physician-scientist in ophthalmology and epidemiology who has made substantial contributions in the understanding of the global epidemiology and risk factors of visual impairment and major eye diseases, particularly diabetic retinopathy, age-related macular degeneration and myopia, three leading causes of blindness globally. For over 20 years, Professor Wong’s seminal research on the prevalence, trends and risk factors for eye diseases in Asia has resulted in new population data, previously lacking in Asia, on the prevalence and incidence of eye diseases, providing a foundation for public health ophthalmology in Asia.

Professor Wong’s more recent work on diabetic retinopathy screening using artificial intelligence may provide a foundation for the prevention of blindness in many countries.

Chair, Adult Clinical Genetics
The Royal Melbourne Hospital
2021
VIC

Professor Ingrid Winship AO FAHMS, clinician scientist in clinical genetics, cancer genetics and genodermatology, is a leader in genetics research and health services. She is Chair of the Australian Health Ethics Committee and a member of the NHMRC Council. Professor Winship has translated research in genetics and cancer prevention into state-of-the-art clinical services, alongside person centred care, innovation, community engagement, teaching, succession planning and mentoring.

In 2020, Professor Winship received the award of the Order of Australia in recognition of her “distinguished service to medicine particularly to clinical genetics and research, to cancer prevention, and as a role model and mentor.”

FAA FRS FAHMS
Honorary Senior Principal Research Fellow, Blood Cells and Blood Cancer Division
The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research
2021
VIC

Molecular biologist Jerry Adams has made fundamental discoveries about the molecular causes of cancer. With Suzanne Cory, he showed that the chromosome translocations hallmarking Burkitt lymphomas activate the oncogene MYC by linkage to an immunoglobulin locus enhancer and developed transgenic mice to establish causality. In 1988, David Vaux, Cory and Adams reported the seminal finding that the putative oncogene BCL-2, translocated in follicular lymphoma, inhibits cell death. Subsequent studies by Adams and his WEHI colleagues, including Cory, Andreas Strasser, David Huang and Philippe Bouillet, have established how factions of the BCL-2 family regulate cell life and death, paving the way to BCL-2 inhibitor venetoclax, which is revolutionising treatment of certain leukaemia patients.

AC FAA FRS FAHMS
Honorary Distinguished Research Fellow
The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research
2021
VIC

Professor Suzanne Cory has made signal contributions to cancer genetics. With Jerry Adams, she showed that chromosome translocations associated with Burkitt’s lymphomas activate the oncogene MYC and proved its oncogenic role using transgenic mice. In 1988, David Vaux, Cory and Adams reported that BCL-2, the putative oncogene translocated in follicular lymphoma, acts by impairing apoptosis. Cory’s subsequent studies with WEHI colleagues, including Adams, Andreas Strasser, David Huang and Philippe Bouillet, exploring how BCL-2 and its relatives regulate cell life and death informed the development of the BCL-2 inhibitor venetoclax, which is revolutionising the treatment of certain cancers.

Professor Cory was Director of WEHI (1996-2009) and President of the Australian Academy of Science (2010-2014).

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

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.

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