News from the Department of Paediatrics

The Department of Paediatrics is embedded in The Royal Children’s Hospital (RCH), where we serve as the hospital's education partner and work closely with the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute. This brings enormous opportunities for our 100 staff and more than 300 honorary staff, many of whom have joint appointments across the Campus organisations.

Professor Amy Gray

Pictured: Professor Amy Gray, Head of the Department of Paediatrics

At our Department’s recent Town Hall, we looked back on the achievements of 2025. This year, more than 200 MD3 students, 92 MD4 students, 14 MD1 students and 32 Research or Clinical Scholar students undertook placements at RCH. The Teddy Bear Hospital on Good Friday and the Winter Check Up at Chadstone brought together more than 2,000 student volunteers from across the faculty, engaging more than 5,000 children and their families.

Our PhD research program continues to thrive with over 150 students supported by the incredible Carmen Van Tiggel, our Graduate Research Program Coordinator. We are incredibly proud of Dr Farnez Sabet who won the Chancellor’s Prize for Excellence in a PhD Thesis and the Dean’s Award from the Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences for her work aimed at improving outcomes for Pregnant Adolescent Girls globally. Further recognition was given to:

  • Ritika Saxena and Elyssia Bourke - Dean’s Award for Excellence in Graduate Research
  • Tu Quan Nguyen - Early Career Academic and Graduate Researcher Publication Prize
  • Professor Paul Lockart and Associate Professor Penelope Bryant - Outstanding Graduate Research Supervision by Honorary Staff.

Furthermore, our Campus celebrated four recipients of the Strategic Grants for Outstanding Women: Ann Frazier, Simranpreet Kaur, Melanie Neeland and Claire Von Mollendorf.

Our graduate coursework teams have been hard at work with the launch of the new Master in Adolescent Health and Wellbeing (Leadership). Additionally, our Genomics team is developing an online short course to provide a springboard for candidates interested in our Master of Genetic Counselling and Master of Genomics and Health programs.

Two Lancet Commissions were launched in 2025 with leadership from the Department:

  • The Lancet Global Health Commission for Medical Oxygen Security
    Associate Professor Hamish Graham and team highlighted that 80% of people who need oxygen live in low- and middle-income countries and, despite the attention given to oxygen during the pandemic, 60% still do not have access to safe, quality and affordable oxygen services. It also provided a map for national and global responses.
  • A call to action: the second Lancet Commission on adolescent health and wellbeing
    Professor Susan Sawyer, the late Professor George C. Patton (vale) and their team highlighted that we have reached a tipping point for adolescent health worldwide. While there has been progress in some areas, such as tobacco use and education, challenges remain in others including obesity and mental health. A backdrop of global health issues, such as climate change, conflict and digital transformation, further complicates these issues.

Locally, our STRONG Kids STRONG future team delivered 31 workshops to build capability for culturally responsive developmental screening for Aboriginal children to more than 300 practitioners across mainland Australia. They have established key new partnerships with the Victorian Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (NACCHO) and the Secretariat of National Aboriginal and Islander Child Care (SNAICC). The aim is to scale up the implementation of this program to meet demand and explore the role of digital tools.

In our region, our Leading a Learning Health System Asia Pacific network is growing after two years of support through the Australia Awards Fellowships, funded by the Australian Government through the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. We have now trained more than 800 participants across six countries and have generated locally led quality improvement and implementation research programs that will drive health system change.

I am incredibly proud of our wealth of expertise and experience, and the contributions made every day. We try to bring this together and share with others through The Paediatric Academy, which everyone is welcome to join.