Members of Council 2021–2024 triennium

Professor Caroline Homer is Co-Program Director of Maternal, Child and Adolescent Health at the Burnet Institute and an Emeritus Professor of Midwifery at the University of Technology Sydney. She also holds appointments at a range of other institutions, including King’s College London and Cardiff University, Wales.

A leading midwifery researcher, scholar and leader in maternal and newborn health care and service delivery, Professor Homer's work focuses on clinical practice, research, education and international development. She has led the development and evaluation of maternity services in Australia, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Cambodia and Timor-Leste and led maternal health projects across the Asia/Pacific region.

A member of the 2018–2021 Council of NHMRC, Professor Homer also served two terms on its Research Committee and has been a longstanding member of NHMRC's Women in Health Science Committee. She is Deputy Chair of the Australian Medical Research Advisory Board that advises the Australian Government on research and innovation priorities under the Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF).

She has extensive experience chairing grant review panels for both NHMRC and the MRFF and is Co-Chair of the Department of Health's National Pregnancy Care Guidelines Expert Advisory Committee. She also holds an NHMRC Principal Research Fellowship (2018–2022).

Professor Homer was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia in 2017 for distinguished service to medicine in the field of midwifery as a clinician, researcher, author and educator, through the development of worldwide education standards, and to professional organisations. She is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences.

Chair, Australian Health Ethics Committee
Member with expertise in ethics relating to research involving humans

Professor Ingrid Winship is the inaugural Chair of Adult Clinical Genetics at the University of Melbourne and the Royal Melbourne Hospital and the Director of Genomic Medicine, Melbourne Health. She is Group Director of Research at Epworth Healthcare. During her tenure as Executive Director Research at Melbourne Health (2006&ndash2018), she launched the Melbourne Health Clinical Trials Centre, contributed to the Melbourne Genomics Health Alliance and facilitated a range of programs to increase engagement for women in research.

A clinician scientist in clinical genetics, cancer genetics and dermatology, Professor Winship’s work includes gene discovery and clinical research, service development and translational research, and developing new models of genetic services especially for adult patients with inherited predisposition to cancer.

In 2018–2021 she was a member of the Council of NHMRC and Chair of its Australian Health Ethics Committee (AHEC), having previously served as a member of both AHEC and NHMRC's Human Genetics Advisory Committee. She has also advised the New Zealand Government as a member of its Health Research Strategy External Advisory Group.

Professor Winship was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia in 2020 for distinguished service to medicine, particularly to clinical genetics and research, to cancer prevention, and as a role model and mentor. She is a Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians, the Australasian College of Dermatologists and the Australian Institute of Company Directors. She is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences.

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

Professor Emily Banks is Professor of Epidemiology and Public Health and Head of the National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health, Australian National University.  She is a Senior Advisor to the Sax Institute and a Visiting Professor at Oxford University. She is also 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 the health effects of alcohol, including cancer, cardiovascular diseases, cirrhosis and gallbladder diseases. She also has research interests in large-scale cohort studies, pharmacoepidemiology, women's health, Aboriginal health and healthy ageing. Her work draws on cohort studies 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 chairs NHMRC's Health Research Impact Committee. She previously 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 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.

Chair, Principal Committee Indigenous Caucus
Member with expertise in the health needs of Aboriginal persons and Torres Strait Islanders

Professor Yvonne Cadet-James is a Gugu Badhun woman from the Valley of Lagoons in north Queensland. She is an Adjunct Professor at the Indigenous Education and Research Centre and the Office of the Provost at James Cook University. She is also the Research Coordinator at Apunipima Cape York Health Council, a community controlled health service based in Cairns.

An Indigenous health researcher, community leader and mentor, Professor Cadet-James has extensive experience in the field of health and education with a background as a registered nurse and midwife followed by an academic teaching and research career in health sciences. Her research interests include community-based models to address tobacco, alcohol and cannabis misuse and maternal and child health.

Her work has a strong focus on community empowerment and she seeks to strengthen the capacity of Indigenous researchers, organisations and communities through teaching, acting in an advisory and mentor role, providing master classes and workshops specifically designed to support Indigenous groups as they set and take control of their own research agendas.

Professor Cadet-James has previously served on the Australian Health Ethics Committee (2018–2021) and Health Translation Advisory Committee (2015–2018). She has also been a member of the NHMRC Principal Committee Indigenous Caucus since 2015.

Professor Cadet-James was presented with the Lowitja Institute Lifetime Achievement Award in 2019 for her contribution to Indigenous health research and her commitment to empowering communities to fight against and overcome issues impacting on their people.  She is a Fellow of the Australian College of Nursing.

Chair, Consumer and Community Advisory Group 
Member with expertise in consumer issues

Ms Ainslie Cahill is Consumer Lead for Monash Partners Academic Health Science Centre, an NHMRC accredited innovative partnership between 12 leading health service, research and teaching organisations located across Melbourne and with reach into regional Victoria.

She is a well-respected and trusted member of the Australian health community, with a broad, non-partisan consumer network that includes national and state peak bodies as well as local community groups, and extensive contacts in universities, medical research institutes and local health districts. Ms Cahill is known and regarded for her inclusive and collaborative approach and focus on equity and better health outcomes for all.

Ms Cahill also serves on the NHMRC Community Observers Working Committee, providing independent community oversight of NHMRC peer review processes. Currently, Ainslie is Co-Chair/Consumer Representative for the University of New South Wales Health Services Research Theme Executive Committee; a Member of the Department of Health Natural Therapies Review Expert Advisory Panel and Member of the Australian Health Research Alliance Consumer and Community Involvement Committee. She has previously served on the NHMRC Australian Health Ethics Committee (2018-2021) and was the member in common with the Community and Consumer Advisory Committee.

Ms Cahill was Leader – Consumer and Community Involvement for Maridulu Budyari Gumal/Sydney Partnership for Health, Education and Enterprise (2019-2023) and steered the health consumer organisation Arthritis Australia for 12 years (2004-2018), building its reach and increasing its products and services.

In 2018, Ainslie was made an Honorary Life Member of Arthritis Australia for her outstanding contribution to making a difference to the lives of tens of thousands Australians and for fulfilling the mission of the organisation. She also served as a director of the Consumers Health Forum of Australia (CHF) Board for many years, receiving a CHF Honorary Life Membership in 2011 for leading the transition of CHF from an incorporated association to a company limited by guarantee.

Ms Cahill was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia in 2020 for significant service to people living with arthritis, and to community health groups.

Member with expertise in Business

Ms Bronwyn Le Grice is the CEO and Managing Director of ANDHealth Limited, a non-profit organisation established with a consortium of industry partners that is focused on the commercialisation of digital health. ANDHealth Limited supports early-stage digital health companies through the commercialisation process. It has established a dedicated funding facility, the ANDHealth Digital Health Accelerator Fund, to invest directly in small and medium enterprises that participate in its program.

A corporate executive with experience in the life sciences and technology focused on commercialisation, corporate development, investment and advocacy, Ms Le Grice also holds numerous advisory roles, for example with the Australia New Zealand Leadership Forum Health Technologies Sector Group, RMIT University's Health and BioMedical Sector Expert Research Advisory Group and the End User Advisory Committee of the UNSW Sydney Tyree Foundation Institute of Health Engineering. She is also a non-executive director of Lumos Diagnostics, an ASX-listed point-of-care diagnostics technology company.

Ms Le Grice was named the 2021 Victorian Pearcey Entrepreneur of the Year. The award recognises an outstanding individual who has "taken a risk, made a difference and is an inspiration to others" in the Victorian information communications and technology industry.

Member with expertise in public health research and medical research issues

Professor Ian Frazer is a Professor of Medicine at the University of Queensland. He was the founding CEO and Director of Research at the Translational Research Institute, a joint initiative of the University of Queensland, Queensland University of Technology, the Mater Medical Research Institute and the Princess Alexandra Hospital, where today he leads a research group working on the immunobiology of epithelial cancers.

A clinician scientist and co-inventor of the technology enabling the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) vaccine that is used globally to help prevent cervical cancer, Professor Frazer's research continues to focus on immunoregulation and immunotherapeutic vaccine development against cancers.

A member of the 2018–2021 Council of NHMRC, Professor Frazer chairs the Australian Medical Research Advisory Board that advises the Australian Government on research and innovation priorities under the Medical Research Future Fund. He is a current member of the Council of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences.

Professor Frazer was recognised as Australian of the Year in 2006 and appointed a Companion of the Order of Australia in 2013 for eminent service to medical research, particularly through leadership roles in the discovery of the Human Papilloma Virus vaccine and its role in preventing cervical cancer, to higher education and as a supporter of charitable organisations. He was recipient of the Prime Minister’s Prize for Science in 2008.

He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of London, the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences, the Australian Academy of Science and the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering. He is also a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh and the Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia.

Member with expertise in health care training and mental health

Professor Jane Gunn is Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences at the University of Melbourne. She also 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's work has helped reform shared maternity care (1992–2003) and cervical screening (1999–2006) programs. Her research now focuses on transforming mental health care in the primary care setting, focusing on depression and multimorbidity. She established and led one of the largest and longest running cohort studies (the Diamond Cohort Study) of people experiencing depressive symptoms in primary care. The study is unique in the way it encompasses the wide spectrum of depressive disorders and uses a social model of health to collect data crossing the biopsychosocial spectrum, which forms the basis of much productive international collaboration.

Professor Gunn has previously served on Research Committee (2009–2015) and 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 expertise in public health research and medical research issues and basic medical research

Professor Elizabeth Hartland is Director and CEO of the Hudson Institute of Medical Research and Head of the Department of Molecular and Translational Science, Monash University. She previously held a Royal Society/ NHMRC Howard Florey Fellowship in the Department of Biochemistry, Imperial College London.

She was an inaugural Australian Research Council Future Fellow at the University of Melbourne and subsequently held the positions of Head of the Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Melbourne, and Deputy Director of the Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity.

A microbiologist by training with a strong focus on innate immunity, her research aims to combat microbial drug resistance through the development of anti-infective agents and immune-enhancing therapies that target the infection process rather than kill the bacterial cell directly.

Professor Hartland jointly established the highly successful Victorian Infection and Immunity Network (VIIN), which has a membership of more than 1,000 researchers representing all major research universities and organisations in Victoria. She is a Fellow of the Australian Society for Microbiology and was a Finalist for the Australian Museum Eureka Prize for Infectious Diseases.

Member with expertise in professional standards, the medical profession and postgraduate medical training

Professor Richard Murray is the Dean of the College of Medicine and Dentistry, at James Cook University. He is also the President of Medical Deans Australia and New Zealand. Professor Murray is also a Director on the Board of the Mackay Hospital and Health Service and is a past President of the Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine.

A medical practitioner with qualifications in rural general practice and public health, Professor Murray's career has focused on the healthcare needs of underserved populations, in rural medicine, Aboriginal health, tropical health and socially accountable health professional education. He spent 14 years in the remote Kimberley region of Western Australia, including 12 years as the Medical Director of the Kimberley Aboriginal Medical Services Council.

Professor Murray serves on the Commonwealth Department of Health Medical Workforce Reform Advisory Committee and the National Medical Workforce Strategy Steering Committee. He is also the long-term chair of the Journal Management Committee, International Journal of Rural and Remote Health.

He is a Fellow of the Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine and the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners.

Member with expertise in clinical medicine/ science
Member-in-Common with Health Research Impact Committee

Professor Anushka Patel is the Vice-Principal Director and Chief Scientist at The George Institute for Global Health, Professor of Medicine at UNSW Sydney, and Cardiologist at Central Sydney Cardiology and Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in Sydney.

Professor Patel's research focuses on understanding and improving cardiovascular disease management in global populations. She currently leads research projects focusing on developing innovative solutions for delivering affordable and effective cardiovascular care in the community and in acute care hospital settings with partners in a number of countries including Australia, China, Indonesia and India.

Professor Patel has served as a member of the NHMRC Research Committee since 2018. She is supported by a Principal Research Fellowship from the NHMRC.

Member with expertise in rare diseases

Professor Carolyn Sue is Executive Director and Director of Neurogenetics at the Kolling Institute for Medical Research and Visiting Scientist at the Kinghorn Centre for Clinical Genomics at the Garvan Institute, Sydney.

A clinician scientist, Professor Sue is an international expert in mitochondrial diseases and movement disorders. Her research focuses on understanding the role of mitochondrial function in neurodegeneration, especially the disease processes involved in mitochondrial disorders, Parkinson's disease and other movement disorders. Since 1994, she has run Australia's largest specialised clinic dedicated to the diagnosis, assessment and treatment of patients with mitochondrial disease. She established the Centre of Excellence for Parkinson's disease and Movement Disorders at Royal North Shore Hospital in 2011.

Professor Sue holds multiple leadership positions in her interest areas including Co-Chair of the Education Committee for the International Parkinson Disease and Movement Disorder Society, Vice President of the Movement Disorder Society of Australia and New Zealand, and Founding Director and Co-Chair of the Scientific Medical Advisory Committee for the Australian Mitochondrial Disease Foundation.

She is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences and was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia in 2019 for her significant service to medicine, particularly to mitochondrial disease.

Member with expertise in public health research and medical research issues

Laureate Professor Nicholas Talley is Distinguished Laureate Professor in the School of Medicine and Public Health at the University of Newcastle, Director of the NHMRC Centre of Research Excellence (CRE) in Digestive Health and Editor-in-Chief of the Medical Journal of Australia. He is also a Senior Staff Specialist at the John Hunter Hospital, Newcastle, an Adjunct Professor of Medicine and Epidemiology at the Mayo Clinic, USA, and a Foreign Guest Professor at Sweden's Karolinska Institute. From 2016 to 2019, he was Pro Vice-Chancellor, Global Research at the University of Newcastle.

Professor Talley is a neurogastroenterologist and a highly influential clinician researcher. His focus has been on research translation and, in recent years, his work has concentrated on subtle gut inflammation, the microbiome and unexplained gut symptoms. He is also a leading medical educator and author of highly regarded textbooks.

Professor Talley previously served two terms on NHMRC's Research Committee. He is a former chair of the Council of Presidents of Medical Colleges and served on the Boards of the Gastroenterology Society of Australia and the Sax Institute, and on the Australian Medical Council.

He is a Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians, the Royal College of Physicians (both London and Edinburgh), the American College of Physicians, the American College of Gastroenterology and the American Gastroenterological Association. He was appointed a Companion of the Order of Australia in 2018 for eminent service to medical research, and to education in the field of gastroenterology and epidemiology, as an academic, author and administrator at the national and international level, and to health and scientific organisations.

Member with expertise in the nursing profession

Adjunct Professor Debra Thoms is a nursing and health consultant and Adjunct Professor at the University of Technology Sydney and Queensland University of Technology. She was the Commonwealth Chief Nursing and Midwifery Officer from 2015 to 2019. Prior to this, she was the inaugural Chief Executive Officer of the Australian College of Nursing, a position she was appointed to in May 2012 following six years as the Chief Nursing and Midwifery Officer with NSW Health.

During her career, Adjunct Professor Thoms has gained broad nursing and health management experience across a range of settings and within state and commonwealth governments. As Commonwealth Chief Nursing and Midwifery Officer, she was an ex-officio participant in NHMRC Council sessions and represented Australia at the World Health Assembly and as a member of the Executive Board of the WHO. During 2020 she gained experience in the tertiary sector as the acting Head, School of Nursing, at the Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane.

Her contribution to nursing and health care has been recognised by an Outstanding Alumni Award from the University of Technology Sydney, Distinguished Life Fellowship of the Australian College of Nursing and Honorary Fellowship of the Australian College of Health Service Managers. In 2020 she was named in the 100 Outstanding Women Nurse and Midwife Leaders by Women in Global Health.

Expertise in Public Health

Professor Alison Venn is Director of the Menzies Institute for Medical Research at the University of Tasmania. She was previously the Institute's Deputy Director, Associate Director (Research) and leader of the Public Health and Primary Care research theme. She is a recent past Director of the Tasmanian Data Linkage Unit and Tasmanian Cancer Registry (to 2021).

Professor Venn is an epidemiologist with a research focus on the causes, prevention and management of chronic disease. She leads the Menzies Institute's Childhood Determinants of Adult Health Study – a national cohort study investigating early life risk factors for cardiovascular disease. Her early research training and experience was in immunology and biochemistry, then in women's reproductive health. Her breadth of experience has seen her take on a number of leadership roles, identifying multidisciplinary approaches to solving complex problems and working with government and health service partners.

A member of the 2018–2021 Council of NHMRC, Professor Venn also serves as a member of the National COVID-19 Health and Research Advisory Committee.

Commonwealth Chief Medical Officer

A public health physician and epidemiologist, Professor Kelly first joined the Commonwealth Department of Health in March 2019, working in various roles prior to assuming the Chief Medical Officer position and leading the Government’s health response to the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak.  Professor Kelly spent the previous 8 years as Chief Health Officer for the Australian Capital Territory and Deputy Director-General of Population Health in the ACT Government Health Directorate.

Professor Kelly has over 30 years' research experience. He has worked in research, health systems development and postgraduate teaching and as a health service executive, including as Director of the Masters of Applied Epidemiology Program at the National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health at the Australian National University, as a Principal Research Fellow with the Menzies School of Health Research and with the Centre for Disease Control in the Northern Territory Department of Health. Professor Kelly has also worked in Malawi, Indonesia, East Timor and the UK.

Professor Kelly is the Chair of the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee and a member of National Cabinet, where he has contributed his public health and epidemiological knowledge and experience in the formulation of plans and advice relating to COVID-19.

Chief Health Officer, New South Wales

Dr Kerry Chant is a public health physician, Chief Health Officer for New South Wales (NSW) and Deputy Secretary, Population and Public Health, NSW Ministry of Health. She was previously Director, Health Protection, and Deputy Chief Health Officer, NSW Ministry of Health.

Dr Chant has extensive public health experience, having held a range of senior public health positions in NSW since 1991. She has a particular interest in bloodborne virus infections, communicable disease prevention and control, and Indigenous health.

In 2015, Dr Chant was awarded the Public Service Medal in the Queen's Birthday Honours for outstanding public service to population health in NSW. She was named the 2020 NSW Public Servant of the Year and 2021 NSW Woman of the Year.

Chief Health Officer, Australian Capital Territory

Dr Kerryn Coleman was appointed Chief Health Officer of the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) in December 2019. She leads the Health Protection Service within the ACT Health Directorate, which is responsible for preventing public health incidents, monitoring and enforcing public health regulations and providing public health advice. These activities include responding to particular health hazards and taking action to reduce the risk to the health of the ACT community from communicable diseases, environmental hazards and the supply of medicines and poisons.

Dr Coleman has worked in the ACT's Health Protection Service since 2017. She has led a regional public health unit whose responsibilities covered a large area in central Queensland. She has also contributed, at a national level, for almost 6 years in a variety of public health roles within the Australian Government Department of Health. Before commencing her role as Chief Health Officer and managing the ACT response to COVID-19, Dr Coleman worked on the H1N1 influenza pandemic in 2009.

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 Health Officer, Northern Territory

Adjunct Professor Christine Connors OAM FAFPHM is an experienced public health physician, general practitioner, researcher and health service executive with more than 30 years' experience working in health care in the Northern Territory. She was appointed as Chief Health Officer for NT in May 2023. In this role, Professor Connors is focusing on water security, food security and remote housing as underlying social determinants that support good health, as well as infectious disease surveillance and action.

Her field of expertise has been health system improvement to improve population health outcomes. This has included integration of health care delivery between remote primary health care services and hospitals, clinical guideline development, education and training, audit and quality improvement and revision of models of care. Professor Connors led the development of the Remote Outbreak Management Plan for COVID-19, and her primary care team were the key personnel providing the pandemic outbreak response in the Top End including contact tracing, testing, and vaccination which required extensive communication, rapid agile training, guideline development and logistical support.

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.

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 Medical Officer and Chief Psychiatrist, Tasmania

Professor Dinesh Arya is Tasmania’s Chief Medical Officer and Chief Psychiatrist and has held similar roles in other jurisdictions in Australia. He has been a member of the NHMRC Council in 2 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.

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, facility design, health reform, shared service arrangements and compulsory treatment in mental health.

In the past, Dr Arya has held a variety of senior executive roles at the jurisdictional level and in the public health sector in New Zealand, Western Australia, New South Wales, Northern Territory, ACT and in the private health sector in the Middle East, including as a Medical Chief Executive, Chief Medical Officer, Clinical Lead in Innovation and Reform and Chief of Clinical Operations.