Record female representation on new NHMRC Council

The Hon Greg Hunt MP

Minister for Health and Aged Care

The Morrison Government has announced the membership of the Council of the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC).

The new Council will play a key role in supporting the NHMRC in its mission of building a healthy Australia.

The Council will serve a three-year term to June 2024 and will be chaired by Professor Caroline Homer AO.

Membership of the Council brings together expertise in biomedical science, clinical and public health, nursing, health care training and the medical profession, as well as business and consumer perspectives, and expertise in the health needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

Eleven of the 15 non-ex-officio members are women, a record in female membership of the Council.

Professor Homer is an internationally-renowned midwifery researcher, scholar and leader in maternal and newborn health care and service delivery. With more than 25 years’ experience in clinical practice, research, education and international development, she 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.

Professor Homer is current Deputy Chair of the Australian Medical Research Advisory Board and Chair of the NHMRC’s Peer Review Analysis Committee. She was a member of the Council in 2018-2021 and has previously been a member of the NHMRC’s Research Committee and Chair of the NHMRC’s Women in Health Science Committee.

The NHMRC is the nation’s leading body supporting excellent health and medical research to improve health outcomes for all Australians. It provides the foundation for Australia’s medical research capability, funding the best research and researchers, ensuring consistent health standards and advising on ethical issues in health. The Council’s role is to ensure that robust expert advice reflecting a wide range of perspectives is provided to the NHMRC Chief Executive Officer, Professor Anne Kelso AO, to support these functions.

I would like to thank the former Chair of the NHMRC Council, Professor Bruce Robinson AC, and all members of the former Council for their contributions and commitment to supporting the work of the NHMRC throughout the previous triennium (2018-2021).

NHMRC Council 2021-2024:

Appointees

Position

Expertise

Professor Caroline Homer AO

Chair

Professor Steve Wesselingh

Member and Chair, Research Committee

Expertise in public health research and medical research issues

Professor Ingrid Winship AO

Member and Chair, Australian Health Ethics Committee

Expertise in ethics relating to research involving humans

Professor Emily Banks AM

Member and Chair, Health Research Impact Committee

Expertise in public health research and medical research issues

Professor Yvonne Cadet-James

Member

Expertise in the health needs of Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islanders

Ms Ainslie Cahill AM

Member

Expertise in consumer issues

Ms Bronwyn Le Grice

Member

Expertise in business

Professor Ian Frazer AC

Member

Expertise in public health research and medical research issues

Professor Jane Gunn

Member

Expertise in health care training.

Other expertise: mental health

Professor Elizabeth Hartland

Member

Expertise in public health research and medical research issues.

Other expertise: basic/biomedical science

Professor Richard Murray

Member

Expertise in professional standards

Expertise in the medical profession and postgraduate medical training

Professor Carolyn Sue AM

Member

Expertise in rare diseases

Professor Nicholas Talley AC

Member

Expertise in public health research and medical research issues

Professor Debra Thoms

Member

Expertise in the nursing profession

Professor Alison Venn

Member

Expertise in public health

Professor Paul Kelly

Ex-officio Member

Chief Medical Officer of the Commonwealth

Dr Kerry Chant PSM

Ex-officio Member

Chief Health Officer, New South Wales

Dr Kerryn Coleman

Ex-officio Member

Chief Health Officer, Australian Capital Territory

Dr Michael Cusack

Ex-officio Member

Chief Medical Officer, South Australia

Dr Hugh Heggie PSM

Ex-officio Member

Chief Health Officer, Northern Territory

Professor Tony Lawler

Ex-officio Member

Chief Medical Officer, Tasmania

Dr Andrew Robertson

Ex-officio Member

Chief Health Officer, Western Australia

Professor Brett Sutton

Ex-officio Member

Chief Health Officer, Victoria

Dr Jeannette Young PSM

Ex-officio Member

Chief Health Officer, Queensland

/Media Release. View in full here.