UNSW researchers join Academy of Health and Medical Sciences

Eleven UNSW researchers have been inducted as Fellows of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences (AAHMS), the most of any institution Australia-wide.

The group was among 50 new Fellows announced by the Academy today, bringing the total fellowship to 272.

The UNSW researchers inducted as new Fellows of the AAMHS are: 

• Professor Rodney Phillips, Dean of Medicine 
• Scientia Professor Richard Bryant from the School of Psychology
• Professor Basil Donovan from the Kirby Institute
• Professor Greg Dore from the Kirby Institute
• Professor Ian Harris from the South Western Sydney Clinical School
• Professor Maria Kavallaris based at the Children’s Cancer Institute
• Professor Richard Harvey based at the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute
• Conjoint Professor Roland Stocker based at the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute
• Conjoint Professor Bill Rawlinson from the School of Medical Sciences
• Conjoint Professor Simon Gandevia based at Neuroscience Australia
• Conjoint Professor Rob Herbert based at Neuroscience Australia

Dean of Medicine at UNSW, Professor Rodney Phillips, is one of eleven UNSW researchers inducted as Fellows of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences. Photo: Miles Standish.

Professor Rodney Phillips, Dean of Medicine said the AAHMS is the flagship academy of Australian medical science.

"The election of eleven Fellows from UNSW to this august institution reflects the very high standing of our University on the national health and medical research stage," Professor Phillips said. 

Led by Professor Ian Frazer, the AAHMS draws on the expertise of researchers, clinicians and educators to provide the Government with advice on health priorities, mentor the next generation of researchers, and provide a forum for discussion on progress in medical research, with an emphasis on translation of research into practice.

New AAHMS Fellows are drawn from all aspects of health and medical sciences across clinical practices and allied health care, with representation from basic translational research and clinical research, health economics, general practice and public health.

Earlier today, the new Fellows attended the Academy’s Annual Scientific Meeting (ASM), themed, ‘Bench to Bed and Back Again’, which the Academy said reflected the need to join up the wide range of health disciplines involved in health and medical research in Australia.

“Australia has a strong track record in biomedical research and outstanding clinical care – however we appreciate the linkages between the ‘bench’ and the ‘bedside’ are suboptimal,” it said in a media release.