Reflections from the Head of School
As the festive season approaches, I would like to thank you all for another fantastic year at the Melbourne Medical School. The School has achieved so much since my last update, and we couldn’t have done it without your commitment and hard work throughout the year.
I am thrilled to share that the Government announced it will provide ten additional Commonwealth Supported Places for our Doctor of Medicine program next year, predicated on building the primary care workforce in areas of need. This is an exciting opportunity for our School, enabling us to train more of the next generation of doctors which we will do in partnership with Victoria University.
We recently celebrated the first-ever graduates of Victoria’s end-to-end rural medical pathway, delivered through our existing successful partnership between the University of Melbourne and La Trobe University. Meeting the graduates and hearing their commitment to improving health outcomes in their communities was a true highlight of the year, and I look forward to their continued success.
In more rural news, I was pleased to attend the 10th Oration of the Ngar-wu Wanyarra Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Conference in Shepparton on Yorta Yorta Country. The conference brought together powerful voices, knowledge sharing and community-led conversations, centred on First Nations health and wellbeing.
As part of Mental Health Week, I had the pleasure of chatting with Cathy Garlett, Indigenous Primary Health Practitioner – Metro, and Lisa Power, Health and Wellbeing Practitioner – Rural, on the MMS Network podcast. Together, we discussed what wellbeing means for our Indigenous and rural medical students, and how they navigate and feel supported in both metro and rural areas of the Melbourne Medical School.
Recently, I was delighted to open the annual Melbourne Medical School Research symposium, held at the Austin campus in Heidelberg. The Symposium was another resounding success and featured inspiring presentations from researchers who are driving innovation across many areas of medicine. Congratulations to all award recipients and the MMS Research team for curating another fantastic event.
Last month, colleagues from the Melbourne Medical School and Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research (WEHI) came together for the first event in our new Partnering for Impact Series. The series is designed to connect leaders in discovery science with clinical research and open new pathways for collaboration. It was a fantastic afternoon and has already led to the formation of new research collaborations. I look forward to the next event in the series.
More recently, I was pleased to tour the Aikenhead Centre for Medical Discovery (ACMD) and chat with the soon-to-be occupants. I’m excited to see the discoveries that will emerge here, and the opportunities ACMD will create for our researchers and students, bringing clinicians, researchers, engineers and entrepreneurs together under one roof to drive innovation.
I have also really enjoyed reading the latest edition of Chiron, which shines a light on the inspiring ways our students, staff and alumni are making a difference in communities, both locally and globally. The latest edition explores topics ranging from AI and inflammation to Indigenous health and emerging medical technologies.
I wish you all well for the holidays and I hope you have a relaxing and restful break.