Message from the Head of School
Dear colleagues,
I hope you have all had a great start to the year. It has been wonderful welcoming back our students over recent weeks as the new academic year commences.
I am pleased to announce that the Melbourne Medical School has achieved success in recent Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) competitive grant funding rounds. Four projects were awarded a total of more than $12 million across the Consumer-Led Research, Clinical Trial Activity, and Cardiovascular Health Mission schemes. Congratulations to the following staff and honoraries on their achievements:
Professor Victoria Palmer
Department of General Practice
Co-creating health knowledge, $934,035.
Professor Kate Leslie
Department of Critical Care
The SNaPP study: Sugammadex, neostigmine and postoperative pulmonary complications, $2,953,112.
Dr Felix Ng
Department of Medicine, Royal Melbourne Hospital
Post-thrombectomy intra-arterial tenecteplase for acute management of non-retrievable thrombus and no-reflow in emergent stroke (EXTEND-AGNES TNK), $3,885,163.
Professor Alistair Royse
Department of Surgery, Royal Melbourne Hospital
Impact of total arterial revascularisation in coronary artery surgery on cardiovascular, cerebrovascular and multiorgan outcomes – an RCT (TA Trial), $4,958,416.
I am also pleased to announce the appointment of Professor Chris Davey to the prestigious Cato Chair of Psychiatry. Professor Davey brings a wealth of experience to this appointment, having previously held research and clinical leadership roles at Orygen. He has also served as Chair of the Australasian Society for Bipolar and Depressive Disorders and is the current editor-in-chief of the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry. Professor Davey will make innovative and distinctive contributions across academic leadership, research, clinical care, and learning and teaching, while collaborating with our partners and research groups to foster excellence in mental health teaching and research. I congratulate Chris and wish him all the best in his new appointment.
Professor Chris Davey
Casual staff, supervisors and managers should now be aware of recent changes to casual staff management practices at the University that have now taken effect under the PACE program. To ensure every staff member is paid correctly, all supervisors, managers and casual employees are required to meet their obligations to comply with the Enterprise Agreement. Further information, including resources to help you meet your obligations, can be found on the new Casual Management Practices Portal.
Lastly, I am looking forward to attending the upcoming Women Clinicians in Academic Leadership Symposium: Changing the system and culture of medicine to ensure women clinician scientists thrive, to be held later this month both in-person at Melbourne Connect and online. The symposium will provide an opportunity to connect with inspiring women leaders, and will feature presentations, panel discussions, and small group discussions focusing on what is needed now to change the system and culture for women in medicine. I hope to see many of you there for what will be an engaging and inspiring event.
Best wishes,
Professor Nicola Lautenschlager
Head of the Melbourne Medical School