The Australian Medical Association’s Gold Medal has been awarded to Professor Cassandra Szoeke.
Professor Szoeke was recognised for her outstanding contributions to medicine, advancing women’s health and healthy ageing through pioneering research, clinical leadership, health policy reform, and advocacy that has transformed understanding of sex-specific health across Australia and beyond.
Presenting the award at the AMA’s national conference in Melbourne last night, AMA President Dr Danielle McMullen said Professor Szoeke’s work was particularly relevant given the AMA’s and the broader community’s focus on women’s health in recent years.
“Professor Szoeke was the principal Investigator of the Women’s Healthy Ageing Project, the longest study of women’s health in Australia, and authored the book Secrets of Women’s Healthy Ageing,” Dr McMullen said.
“She is an internationally recognised consultant neurologist and world-leading expert on sex-specific medicine and her research on dementia, ageing and women’s health has informed major national and international policy bodies, including the World Health Organization.
“Professor Szoeke has also been an incredible leader in the sector with extensive experience across clinical medicine, academia, government advisory roles and health system governance, including with the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing and CSIRO.”
Dr McMullen also cited Professor Szoeke’s contribution to the AMA and professional leadership, including her service to the AMA through the AMA Victoria Council and involvement in national health policy development.
Professor Szoeke said she was honoured to receive the award.
“So many great leaders have held this medal before me. It is a humbling list to be added to, and I do not take the honour lightly,” Professor Szoeke said.
“Nearly two in three Australians living with dementia are women — 274,000 of them. Not only because we live longer: past ninety, dementia runs in women at 1.4 times the rate in men. When evidence is that clear and still does not reach the bedside, you stop proving and start implementing.
“Advocacy has its limits. You can make the case for years and watch nothing move. At some point you stop asking the system to change and start building it yourself. So we built the first sex-specific healthcare course in Australia, accredited across nine colleges, and put it in front of doctors nationally. Not another report.
”I accept this on behalf of four hundred and thirty-eight women who gave us more than 30 years of their lives, one annual visit at a time. None of them will be cured by what we found. They did it for the women who come after them.”
Professor Szoeke is a Full Academic Professor, Clinician, Speaker and Author. As Principal Investigator of the Women’s Healthy Ageing Project, the longest study of women’s health in Australia, she authored the book Secrets of Women’s Healthy Ageing, which was highly commended in the Educational Publishing Awards Australia, and was the Best-selling title in 100 years of Melbourne University Publishing in the genre of Medicine. She is a general physician, consultant neurologist and multi-award-winning clinical researcher.
She has several hundred published articles in academic journals and several book chapters in medical textbooks. She has worked in the Commonwealth Science Industry and Research Organisation, Public Hospital system and as non-executive board director for the Department of Health, including holding roles as Chair of Quality & Safety and Chair of Education, Training and Research Committees.
