Members of Council 2024–2027 triennium

Professor Caroline Homer AO is Deputy Director of Gender Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion at the Burnet Institute in Melbourne and Emeritus Professor of Midwifery at the University of Technology Sydney. She holds an L3 NHMRC Investigator Grant and is also a nurse and midwife completed a PhD. Caroline was appointed Professor of Midwifery 2005 and moved to the Burnet Institute in 2018 as co-head of the Global Women and Newborn Health Group.

Caroline has led research in midwifery, maternal and newborn health for over 25 years in Australia and the Asia-Pacific region. She continues as Chair of NHMRC, Deputy Chair of the Australian Medical Advisory Board for the Medical Research Future Fund, and Chair of WHO’s STAGE committee. Caroline also holds honorary professorial roles at Deakin, Monash, Cardiff, King’s College London, and the University of Melbourne.
 

Chair, Australian Health Ethics Committee
Member with expertise in professional medical standards 

Associate Professor Stephen Adelstein is a clinical immunologist and allergist and an immunopathologist at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Sydney where he also undertakes research in the development of novel tests for immune-mediated disorders. He is one of the inaugural Co-Directors of Institute for Academic Medicine at the hospital.  He completed his term as a practitioner member of the Medical Board of Australia and Chair of the Steering Committee and the Consultative Forum of the Medical Training Survey of the board in 2024 and has also served as a member of the Australian Health Ethics Committee for 6 years. A/Professor Adelstein has been a Director of the Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia and Chief Examiner for their fellowship program in immunopathology and Principal Examiner for the Faculty of Science of the College 

Chair, Research Committee
Member with expertise in public health and medical issues 

Professor Anushka Patel is the CEO of The George Institute for Global Health and a Scientia Professor of Medicine at UNSW. She trained as a cardiologist and has led significant clinical research, including the ADVANCE trial on vascular disease prevention in diabetes. Her work has expanded into implementation science, focusing on cardiovascular polypills and digital technology innovations. Professor Patel was awarded the Gustav Nossal Medal in Global Health by the Australian Academy of Science in 2018. She currently holds an NHMRC Investigator Grant (L3, 2023-2027).

Having previously been a staff specialist in Cardiology at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in Sydney (1999 to 2010), Dr Patel continued in part-time clinical practice until December 2022. 

In her role as CEO of The George Institute, Dr Patel has responsibility for over 1000 staff in 4 offices (Australia, China, India, UK) and a number of other global locations working remotely. Dr Patel has previously chaired the Australian Heart Foundation Research Committee, has been a Council member of the Australian Academy of Health & Medical Sciences and a member of the Australian NHMRC Research Committee, as well as its Health Research Impact Committee. Internationally, she is now or in the past has been Chair and/or a member of several advisory groups, including for WHO, Northwestern University, UK Joint Funders, Heart Health Research Center (China) and icddr,b (Bangladesh). Across all leadership roles, Dr Patel’s contributions have been around building capacity, infrastructure and collaboration for research and impact.
 

Member with expertise in public health

Professor Emily Banks AM is Professor of Epidemiology and Public Health and Head of the National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health, Australian National University. She is a visiting professor at Oxford University and a long-term member of the National Heart Foundation of Australia's Research Advisory Committee.

A public health physician and chronic disease epidemiologist, Professor Banks' research focuses on tobacco, e-cigarettes, cancer, cardiovascular diseases, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health and healthy ageing. Her work draws on large-scale evidence to identify potentially modifiable factors affecting individual and population health in different settings and, in quantifying their effects, to inform improvements in health and health care.

Professor Banks previously chaired NHMRC's Health Research Impact Committee, has served on Research Committee and was Deputy Chair of the NHMRC Alcohol Working Committee, responsible for revising the Australian Guidelines to Reduce Health Risks from Drinking Alcohol.

Professor Banks was appointed a Member (AM) of the Order of Australia in 2021 for significant service to medical research and education. She is a Fellow of the Australasian Faculty of Public Health Medicine, the Royal Australian College of Physicians and the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences.
 

Member with expertise in consumer issues

Ms Ainslie Cahill AM is a Consumer Lead with Monash Partners, an NHMRC-accredited partnership of 12 leading health service, teaching, and research organisations in Melbourne. She is a respected member of the Australian health community with a broad, non-partisan consumer network, including national and state peak bodies and local community groups. Ms Cahill is known for her inclusive and collaborative approach, focusing on equity and better health outcomes for all.

Current board/advisory positions include Chair, NHMRC-MRFF Interim Consumer Advisory Network, NHMRC Community Observers Working Committee, Department of Health and Aged Care Natural Therapies Review expert advisory panel, Co-Chair, University of NSW Health Systems Research Executive Committee, Consumer Advisor, UNSW-Cancer Council NSW Australian Research Centre for Cancer Survivorship and Australian Health Research Alliance Consumer and Community Advisory Group.

Ms Cahill led Arthritis Australia for 12 years, significantly expanding its reach and services. In 2018, she was made an Honorary Life Member for her outstanding contributions. She also served as Director of the Consumers Health Forum of Australia board. In 2020, Ainslie was appointed a Member (AM) of the Order of Australia for her significant service to people with arthritis and community health groups.
 

Member with expertise in public health research and medical research issues

Professor Carapetis AM is the Executive Director of The Kids Research Institute Australia in Perth, WA. He is an infectious diseases consultant physician at Perth Children’s Hospital and a Professor at The University of Western Australia. He holds qualifications as a medical practitioner (MBBS), specialist pediatrician (FRACP Pediatrics), specialist infectious diseases physician (FRACP Infect Dis), public health physician (FAFPHM), and has a PhD; he is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Sciences and the Australian Academy of Health & Medical Sciences.

Among his accolades, Professor Carapetis received an Honorary Doctor of Medicine from Curtin University and the Professions Award at the 2021 West Australian of the Year Awards. In 2018, he was made a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for his contributions to medical research and received an Honorary Doctor of Science from Charles Darwin University in 2013. Named Northern Territory Australian of the Year in 2008, he has significantly impacted the reduction of rheumatic heart disease and group A streptococcal infections worldwide.

As Director of the END RHD Centre for Research Excellence, he led the development of the RHD Endgame Strategy: A blueprint to eliminate rheumatic heart disease in Australia by 2031. Co-directing the Australian Strep A Vaccine Initiative (ASAVI) and being a member of the Strep A Vaccine Global Consortium (SAVAC), he is at the forefront of global efforts to develop a Strep A vaccine. He has been involved in numerous studies on vaccine-preventable diseases and vaccine efficacy in highly endemic settings, including pneumococcal and rotavirus vaccines.
 

Member with expertise in the nursing profession

Professor Raymond Chan is the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) and Matthew Flinders   Professor of Cancer Care, Systems and Policy, at Flinders University. He has held various clinician-academic roles, bridging translational research and clinical practice. He has led the establishment and support of over 10 senior clinician-academic roles and serves on the board of the Multinational Association for Supportive Care in Cancer.

Professor Chan’s research focuses on optimising models of care, and clinical, health service, and policy responses to address the needs of people affected by cancer. He served on the NHMRC Research Committee (2021-2024), chairing the Health Priority Working Group on Multimorbidity and participating in various NHMRC grant review panels.

In 2014, he was awarded the Outstanding Young Alumnus of the Year by QUT and the Premier’s Award for Excellence in Leadership by the Queensland Government. In 2021, he was inducted to the Sigma Theta Tau International Nurse Researcher Hall of Fame and he’s also a Fellow of the American Nursing Academy and the Australian College of Nursing.
 

Member with expertise in health care training and mental health

Professor Jane Gunn AO is Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences at the University of Melbourne. She serves as the University's Chief Public Health Advisor. She has worked in general practice for thirty years and, for the decade to 2017, she was Professor and Foundation Chair, Primary Care Research Unit, Department of General Practice at the Melbourne Medical School.

Professor Gunn has significantly contributed to shared maternity care and cervical screening programs. Her current research focuses on improving mental health care in primary settings, particularly concerning depression and multimorbidity. She established and led one of the largest and longest running cohort studies (the Diamond Cohort Study) depressive symptoms in primary care, which uses a a social model of health to collect data crossing the biopsychosocial spectrum and supports international collaboration.

Professor Gunn has been a member of NHMRC Council since 2021 and previously served on NHMRC’s Research Committee (2009–2015). She chaired NHMRC's Mental Health Research Advisory Group (2017–2019), which culminated in NHMRC’s Special Initiative in Mental Health. She is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences.
 

Member with other appropriate expertise (basic science)

Professor Elizabeth Hartland AM is the Director and CEO of Hudson Institute of Medical Research in Melbourne and Head of the Department of Molecular and Translational Science at Monash University. She is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences and President of the Australian Association of Medical Research Institute . Professor Hartland has a long-standing research interest in the innate immune response to infection with an emphasis on inflammation and cell death signalling and microbial evasion of cell intrinsic immunity. She has been the recipient of multiple awards and fellowships including a Royal Society/NHMRC Howard Florey Fellowship, ARC Future Fellowship and NHMRC Investigator Hrant. For the last 10 years she has been an Honorary Distinguished Professor of Hokkaido University. 

Member with expertise in health care training

Professor Susan Hillier is a practising Allied Health clinician and Research Professor at the University of South Australia. She is a past Dean of Research for the Division of Health Sciences. Her clinical and research work is at the intersection of neuroscience and rehabilitation. She conducts clinical trials investigating the effectiveness (and often implementation) of novel rehabilitation approaches and health system reforms, to improve equity and access to best practice care after stroke. She is highly engaged with community and industry, including past Chair of the SA Stroke Statewide Network, and is a strong advocate for pragmatic research partnering with people with lived experience. 

Member with expertise in business

Bronwyn has over 20 years executive experience in health technology commercialisation, investment and industry advocacy. She is the CEO and Founder of ANDHealth, an organisation that supports digital and connected health companies in Australia by providing guidance, resources, non-dilutive funding and mentorship to help them navigate the complexities of commercialisation in the healthcare industry and successfully takes innovative technologies to the Australian and global markets. Bronwyn has a Masters of Commercial Law (UniMelb) and a Bachelor of Commerce (UWA) and is passionate about driving innovation in health and care through technology. Under her leadership, ANDHealth has played a significant role in fostering the growth of digital health and connected health technologies and promoting innovation in the Australian healthcare landscape.

Member with expertise in the medical profession and postgraduate medical training

Professor Richard Murray is the Senior Clinical Lead, Rural Health Systems with the Queensland Government. He was previously Dean of the College of Medicine and Dentistry at James Cook University. Professor Murray is past President of Medical Deans Australia and New Zealand and a past President of the Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine. He also spent 14 years in the remote Kimberley region of WA, including 12 years as the Medical Director of the Kimberley Aboriginal Medical Services Council.

A medical practitioner with qualifications in rural general practice and public health, Professor Murray's career focus is on the healthcare needs of underserved populations, in rural health, Indigenous health, tropical health and socially accountable health professional education. He has a record of achievement in shaping reform in rural health, health workforce and Indigenous health policy.
 

Member with expertise in public health

Adjunct Professor Darryl O’Donnell is a seasoned health leader with over 30 years experience in government, research, and not-for-profit roles. As Principal and Director of Praxis Insights, he works as a management consultant with health and social services organisations on leadership, organisational culture, planning, policy, advocacy, and management.

He has led transformative initiatives in HIV and mental health across government and community sectors. As CEO of Health Equity Matters, he advanced Australia's HIV response, achieving reforms that significantly reduced incidence. At the Mental Health Commission of NSW, he established a new public sector agency and drove major mental health reforms. His experience includes roles on ministerial committees and directorships with not-for-profit organisations.

Adjunct Professor O’Donnell serves on the board of the Consumers Health Forum of Australia and chairs its governance committee. He is a Fellow of the Governance Institute of Australia and a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. His academic contributions and research partnerships in public administration and health policy have earned him an adjunct professorship at the University of NSW. 
 

Member with expertise in the medical profession and postgraduate medical training

Professor Steve Robson is a specialist obstetrician and gynaecologist with a special interest in reproductive medicine and surgery. He is a visiting medical officer for ACT Health and a Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the Australian National University Medical School.

A past president both of the Australian Medical Association (AMA) and of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RANZCOG), Professor Robson's research interests include reproductive surgery, assisted reproduction, health economics, and mental health. He also has an interest in the effects of genomics on society and is involved in research on genetic screening.

He is the founder and chair of the charity, Send Hope Not Flowers delivering practical solutions and support to improve the survival of mothers following childbirth in the developing world. Having previously worked as a Royal Australian Navy Medical Officer and rural GP in Central Queensland, Professor Robson brings his collective experiences and insights to the work of the NHMRC.

Professor Robson was a member of the NHMRC Embryo Research Licencing Committee from 2018-2024. He is a Fellow of the Colleges of Obstetrics and Gynaecology of Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States of America.
 

Member with expertise in the health needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people

Professor Yvette Roe is a proud Njikena Jawuru woman from the West Kimberley, WA and the Director of the Molly Wardaguga Institute for First Nations Birth Rights at Charles Darwin University. Professor Roe is an emerging nationally and internationally known leader on First Nations health with novel ideas on ensuring that First Nations Australia and is leading the research that those sustainable impacts improve the health and wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Her work is supported by more than 30 years experience working in the First Nations policy and Aboriginal community-controlled health sector. 

Chief Medical Officer, Tasmania

Professor Dinesh Arya is Deputy Secretary Clinical Quality, Regulation and Accreditation in Tasmania’s Department of Health and Tasmania’s Chief Medical Officer and Chief Psychiatrist. He has held similar roles in other jurisdictions in Australia. He has been a member of the NHMRC Council in three previous trienniums and rejoined the Council in 2024.

Dr Arya is a Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Medical Administrators, a Fellow of the Australian College of Health Service Management and a Fellow of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists. He has also completed a Masters in Business, a Masters in Bioethics and Health Law, an Executive Masters in Public Administration and a Masters in Data Science, Strategy and Leadership. He is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and a Master Black Belt in Lean Six Sigma.

Professor Arya retains a keen interest in health systems leadership, change, innovation and improvement, ethics, health law and health policy reform. His published opinion pieces and reviews in peer-reviewed journals include on quality improvement, clinical governance, leadership, innovation, health facility design, health reform, shared service arrangements, burn out and compulsory treatment in mental health.
 

Chief Health Officer, New South Wales

Dr Kerry Chant is the Chief Health Officer and Deputy Secretary, Population and Public Health, NSW Health.

Kerry has extensive public health experience in New South Wales (NSW), having held a range of senior positions in NSW Health since 1991.  She currently leads the Population and Public Health Division at the Ministry of Health and is responsible for a broad portfolio including communicable disease control, surveillance and epidemiology, prevention of chronic diseases, drug and alcohol, oral health, and voluntary assisted dying.

Kerry has a particular interest in blood-borne virus infections, Aboriginal health and communicable disease prevention and control. Throughout her career Kerry has provided leadership and advocacy on key public health issues including reducing obesity, aiming for the virtual elimination of HIV transmission in NSW, promoting tobacco control and supporting hepatitis C treatment and control. 
 

Chief Medical Officer, Northern Territory

Dr Jeremy Chin is a practicing obstetrician and gynaecologist, and the Chief Medical Officer (CMO), NT Health. As a clinician, he is actively involved in improving cultural safety, access to sexual and reproductive health services, and interdisciplinary simulation-based education. As CMO, he provides system level leadership in the areas of clinical governance, patient safety, research governance and medical workforce.

Chief Health Officer, Australian Capital Territory

Dr Kerryn Coleman is the ACT’s Chief Health Officer, she was appointed to the role in December 2019.  Dr Coleman leads the Population Health Division, within the ACT Health Directorate, which provides a range of services and programs aimed at improving the health of the ACT population through interventions which promote behaviour changes to reduce susceptibility to illness; alter the ACT environment to promote the health of the population and undertake interventions that remove or mitigate population health hazards.   

When Dr Coleman took on the role of ACT Chief Health Officer in 2019, unprecedented bushfires and smoke, followed immediately by an international pandemic were not on her to-do list. But Dr Coleman has taken it in her stride and is taking many of the lessons learnt from the COVID-19 response into future planning for other public health risks and hazards that may arise in future. The COVID-19 public health emergency has also significantly changed the community perception of the role of a Chief Health Officer, which Dr Coleman sees as an opportunity to get people more focused on positive health outcomes.

On finishing medical school, Kerryn became interested in the health of populations or groups of people.  Dr Coleman has worked within the ACT’s Population Health Division since 2017, as Acting Chief Health Officer and a public health physician. She has also worked across several Australian States and Territories, including Western Australia, the Northern Territory, as well as in Queensland, where she led a regional public health unit, with responsibilities covering a large area in the Central part of the State.  She has also contributed, at a national level, for almost six years in a variety of public health roles within the Commonwealth Department of Health. 
 

Chief Medical Officer, South Australia

Dr Michael Cusack joined the South Australian Department for Health and Wellbeing in February 2020 as the Chief Medical Officer. He was previously the Executive Director for Medical Services of the Northern Adelaide Local Health Network.

Dr Cusack is a cardiologist from the UK where he was Clinical Director for Cardiothoracic Services of a large centre in the West Midlands region, with nationally recognised outcomes and an active clinical research program.

Dr Cusack has held a number of leadership positions in the National Health Service (NHS) including Cardiovascular Network Clinical Director and Medical Director of an NHS Trust, along with roles in the Royal College of Physicians.

Chief Health Officer, Queensland

Dr John Gerrard was appointed Chief Health Officer for Queensland in December 2021. He is also the Deputy Director-General for the Prevention Division in Queensland Health. Prior to assuming this position, he was the long-term Director of Infectious Diseases at the Gold Coast Hospital, where he was instrumental in the design the Gold Coast University Hospital, which has been at the front line of Queensland's COVID-19 response.

A leading infectious disease specialist, early in his career Dr Gerrard identified Australia’s earliest known case of AIDS. He has since been involved in malaria vaccine trials and has worked internationally to strengthen pandemic preparedness, including travel to Sierra Leone during the 2014 West African Ebola epidemic, where he helped establish Australia's first Ebola Treatment Centre. He was awarded the Australian Humanitarian Overseas Service Medal for this work.

Dr Gerrard managed Queensland’s first cases of COVID-19 and was part of a mission to assist Japanese authorities in containing the outbreak of COVID-19 aboard the Diamond Princess.

Chief Medical Officer, Commonwealth

Professor Tony Lawler is the Deputy Secretary of the Health Products Regulation Group at the Department of Health and Aged Care, ensuring effective regulation of therapeutic goods and drug control in Australia. He also serves as the Chief Medical Officer, advising the Secretary and Minister of Health, and is a Professor in Health Services at the University of Tasmania.

Prior to joining the Department in June 2023, Professor Lawler served as Chief Medical Officer and Deputy Secretary for Clinical Quality, Regulation, and Accreditation with the Tasmanian Department of Health. He led health professionals, oversaw clinical governance, and regulated private health services. A University of Tasmania medicine graduate, Professor Lawler has been a Specialist Emergency Physician, Specialist Medical Administrator, and senior health public servant for nearly 30 years. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he was the Emergency Operations Commander for the Tasmanian Health Service.

Professor Lawler has previously held positions as a member of the Board of the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care and the Council of the National Health and Medical Research Council, President of the Australasian College for Emergency Medicine, and Deputy Head of the Tasmanian School of Medicine. 
 

Chief Health Officer, Victoria

Dr Clare Looker is a senior public health physician with experience in communicable diseases, environmental health and epidemiology. Following a period working at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, she returned to Victoria where she has worked in areas of risk management for issues, incidents and emergencies related to environmental hazards, food safety and regulation, radiation safety and emergency management.

Dr Looker was appointed as Chief Health Officer for Victoria in 2023. She is also the Chief Human Biosecurity Officer for Victoria and brings to these roles her extensive experience in the public health management of communicable disease, gained as a Deputy Chief Health Officer during the COVID-19 response, along with her experience working in clinical practice. She is a Fellow of the Australasian Faculty of Public Health Medicine and holds a Master of Public Health, in addition to her Master of Science (Epidemiology) and medical degrees.

Chief Health Officer, Western Australia

Dr Andrew Robertson has been the Assistant Director General of Public and Aboriginal Health and Chief Health Officer in the Western Australia (WA) Department of Health since May 2019. He was previously the Deputy Chief Health Officer and Director of Disaster Management, Regulation and Planning within the Public Health Division of the WA Department of Health.

Dr Robertson is also a Captain in the Royal Australian Naval Reserve and chair of the Defence Health Services' Chemical Biological and Radiological Defence and Disaster Medicine Consultative Group.

His involvement in disaster medicine has included leading the Australian Medical Relief team into the Maldives post-tsunami in 2004 and the WA Health team into Indonesia after the Yogyakarta earthquakes in June 2006. Since 2007, Dr Robertson has coordinated the WA Health responses to various remote incidents including Cyclone George, the Varanus Island gas explosion, the Learmonth air incident, the Manjimup bus crash, the Mumbai terrorist attack and the Ashmore Reef incident.

Dr Robertson was awarded the Conspicuous Service Cross in 1999 while serving in the Royal Australian Navy and the Public Service Medal in the 2013 Australia Day Honours.