Welcome to our 2025 student cohort

• The Department welcomed the first MD4 Research Scholar and Clinical Scholar cohort of the MD redesign.
• Read more

Dulashi (Anna) Withanage awarded the Outstanding Abstract Award by the University of Hawai‘i Cancer Center.

• Anna received this award for her abstract Considerations for simplifying breast density and risk assessment in primary care. She was also awarded the $500 Travel Award, which enables her to attend the International Breast Density & Cancer Risk Assessment Workshop in Hawai'i in June.

Largest turnout at the GP Supervisor workshop in five years!

• Clinicians were welcomed and given an overview of the program by Prof Lena Sanci, followed by a presentation on the LINKME+ research project in mental health by A/Prof Caroline Johnson and an outline of the new Doctor of Medicine curriculum by Dr Rebecca Starkie, Tamara Clements and A/Prof Justin Tse. Total of 780 students will experience a GP placement this year. That's a 10% increase on 2024.

Dr Jimmy Tseng named as 2025 Recipient of the Dr Leon Carp Award

• Jimmy’s research will look at the intervention for asthma management in high schools. Asthma is a huge issue for Australian families with around 10 per cent of children up to the age of 14 suffering from the condition and rural Victoria has been identified as an asthma hot spot.
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Prof Laura Tarzia and Dr Mandy McKenzie awarded ARC Discovery Grant

• Prof Laura Tarzia and Dr Mandy McKenzie were awarded an ARC Discovery Grant to explore the hidden issue of sexual violence against older women. This project will examine the impacts of sexual violence for older women through in-depth interviews that explore their lived-experiences and support needs. It will also analyse media and legal documents to understand how sexual violence against older women is perceived.

National Multidisciplinary Primary Care Research, Policy and Advocacy Consortium awarded $5.2M funding over five years

• Co Led by Professor Michael Kidd and Prof Lena Sanci, the Consortium aims to improve primary care delivery and patient outcomes through a multidisciplinary team (MDT)-based approach to care. The Consortium will be one of Australia's largest research collaborations, fostering partnerships among researchers, consumers, government organisations, and expert partners to design and test new models of health service delivery that better address Australia's healthcare needs.
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A/Prof Kylie Vuong joins the Department

• Kylie's research is focused on improving patient health outcomes through comprehensive patient-centred care and the development of strong, trusting relationships.

WEAVERs deliver first session on recognising and responding to domestic and family violence to Doctor of Medicine students

• A team of WEAVERS from the Safer Families Centre delivered the first lived-experience led training session to medical students, teaching them how to identify, engage and respond to victim survivors of domestic, family and sexual violence. This initiative is planned to roll out across other areas of the University including with nurse practitioner students, dental students and social work students.

Prof Jon Emery and Dr Sibel Saya present at Australian Polygenic Implementation Research Summit in Melbourne

• The summit aimed to expand awareness of major PRS research efforts in Australia, identify common obstacles in implementation and share insights from leading teams in the field.

Prof Jon Emery, Dr Sibel Saya, Dr Dulashi (Anna) Withanage Dona and Madeline Luke presented at the Public Health Association of Australia 2025 Screening Conference in Sydney

• Screening 2025 showcased Sibel's work on polygenic risk score-tailored cancer screening in primary care, Madeline's efforts in making the Colorectal Cancer Risk Prediction (CRISP) Tool publicly available and Anna's work in personalised approaches to breast cancer screening.

Dr Allison Drosdowsky, Dr Shaoke Lei and Prof  Jon Emery from the Data connect team present at Showcasing linked data for cancer research event in Melbourne

• The event was attended by key figures in cancer research and healthcare policy, including Victorian Health Minister, The Hon Mary-Anne Thomas MP.

Led by Prof Laura Tarzia, RESTORE Centre of Research Excellence officially launched.

• This centre aims to transform health systems to restore wellbeing and enhance access to healing after sexual violence in adulthood

Cancer in Primary Care Research Team presents at CaPRI 2025 in Manchester, UK

Sophie Chima, Dr Sibel Saya, Dr Allison Drosdowsky, Dr Meena Rafiq, Dr Javiera Martinez Gutierrez, Prof Jon Emery represent the Department at the 2025 CaPRI conference in Manchester, UK.

Dr Allison Drosdowsky, Dr Shaoke Lei and Prof  Jon Emery from Data connect team present at the VICS Optimal Care Summit

The summit highlighted the critical importance of a linked data system with research capabilities to analyse cancer patient data where primary care and hospital systems intersect across the cancer journey.

Dr Elizabeth McLindon and team developed the Psychological Violence in Relationships (PAR) Scale in consultation with lived experience and academic experts

The PAR scale is a new tool that can help researchers to identify and measure the victimisation and impact of psychological abuse in relationships.

The Department's Annual Award Night was held at the Woodward Centre

2024 Department of General Practice and Primary Care Award
Awarded to the students placed first overall in the general practice component of Principles of Clinical Practice 3.
Winner: Cassandra Hocking

2024 RACGP Victoria Prize
Awarded to the students placed second overall in the general practice component of Principles of Clinical Practice 3.
Winner: Jasmine Fraser

2024 Therapeutic Guidelines Award
Awarded to the students placed third overall in the general practice component of Principles of Clinical Practice 3.
Winner: Tim Duff

2024 Graduate Primary Care Nursing Student Award
Awarded to the student placed first overall in the Graduate Certificate in Primary Care Nursing.
Winner: Wang Yan Kau (Jannifer)

2024 Healthcare Discovery Award
Awarded to the students who achieved the highest marks in the inaugural running of the MD2 selective Discovery subject: Making Healthcare Work: from home to hospital and back again.
Winner: Jesse Osbourne

2024 Graduate Research Completions
Dr Allison Drosdowsky
Dr Amy Coe
Dr Maddie Lim
Dr Amita Tuteja

A/Prof Justin Tse appointed board director of Cancer Council Victoria and the Clinical Network Executive and Medical Scientific Committee

A/Prof Carolyn Ee appointed Director of PC4

Justin Tse is a key speaker at VCCC alliance lung cancer screening symposium

Dulashi (Anna) Withanage presents at the 11th International Breast Density and Cancer Risk Assessment Workshop

• Anna presented her award winning abstract Considerations for simplifying breast density and risk assessment in primary care at the 11th International Breast Density & Cancer Risk Assessment Workshop, which was held from 4-6 June on Līhuʻe, Kauaʻi Island, Hawaiʻi.

Dr Amita Tutija wins RANZCOG Outstanding Contribution to Woman’s Health Award

• Dr Tuteja was honoured for her PhD research focused on developing culturally sensitive consent processes and creating a best practice resource for healthcare practitioners working with interpreters in refugee contexts.

Prof Kelsey Hegarty chaired the 2025 review of the World Health Organisation (WHO) clinical and policy guidelines for Responding to intimate partner violence and sexual violence against women

Led by Dr Fiona Giles, UNCOVER team released pioneering research on how different types of violence in relationships change over time

• This research reveals compelling evidence for early intervention by health practitioners to identify psychological aspects of coercive control at the beginning of relationships.

We said farewell to Prof Jon Emery

Jon will be a Professor of Family Medicine at the newly established Centre for Cancer Prevention and Early Detection at the Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, Nanyang Technological University. He remains an Honorary Professor with us.

Prof Justin Tse and Dr Annabelle Willems present innovations in the MD course at the ANZAHPE conference in Perth

23 4th year MD students completed their clinical and research scholar components as part of the newly redesigned MD course

Dr Sibel Saya wins MRFF genomics health futures grant for the ROSELLA project

• This trial will determine how best to implement polygenic risk assessment for Australia's four most common cancers (colorectal, breast, prostate cancer, and melanoma) in a one-off test that can be accessed through general practice.
• Read more

Dr Meena Rafiq chosen as one of the faces of Sarcoma UK's Awareness Month Campaign.

• This recognition highlights Meena's invaluable contribution to sarcoma research and patient care.
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Chloe Dawes Joins DGPPC as GP Liaison and Placement coordinator

Dr Lu Yang joins DGPPC as MPhil Candidate

A/Prof Justin Tse is the face of the new lung cancer screening program

Dr Rim Ghali is awarded the RACGP Walpole Grieve Award

• This award is for Rim's project "Osteoporosis prevention in perimenopausal women: General practitioner perspectives of implementation of lifestyle interventions and screening practices".

A/Prof Kylie Vuong is awarded the RACGP General Practice Wellbeing Grant

• This grant is for the project "Rapid experience co-designing an emotional resilience intervention to improve rural general practice workforce retention".

Dr Annabelle Willems, Prof Lena Sanci, Prof Meredith Temple-Smith and Dr Brett Vaughan are awarded the RACGP Family Medical Care Education and Research Grant

• This grant is for "Improving Dermatology Capability in General Practice (IDERM): A mixed-methods study of GP confidence, learning behaviours, and health system influences."

Dr Lucas De Mendonca completes Master of Primary Health Care

Huge Department turnout at the AAAPC 2025 conference

A/Prof Magda Simonis publishes article in the Australian on life after beating cancer

Dr Sibel Saya and Dr Georgia Ramsay present at the International Meeting of the Psychosocial Aspects of Hereditary Cancer (IMPAHC) in Kingscliff, NSW

Prof Laura Tarzia and team launched key national resources from the INVEST study

• The INVEST Study is the INternational students’ sexual and intimate partner Violence Experiences Study for the tertiary sector, policy makers and international students.

Dr Rachel Canaway presents at the 25th WONCA World Conference

• The conference took place from 17 - 21 September at the Lisboa Conference Centre, Portugal. This year's theme was: A new vision for primary health care and sustainable development.

The VCCC celebrate 10 years of program work and Data Connect

Dr Lu Yang guest editor role at BMJ – digital health and primary care special edition

Dr Elizabeth McLindon and Prof Kelsey Hegarty were featured on This Medical Life discussing the timelines for coercive control and Intimate Partner Violence

Engaging speakers and panel discussion at the TROPHI forum

• TROPHI stands for Translation of Research Outcomes into the Primary Health Interface. This is a partnership between Monash University Department's of General Practice, DGPPC and The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) and is supported by the Windermere Foundation Limited.

Integrated healthcare research symposium held on the 10th of  September at Sydney Myer Asia Centre

• This symposium was organised by Dr Rachel Canaway

Prof Kelsey Hegarty and Dr Jennifer Neil present at the WONCA World Conference 2025 in Lisbon, Portugal

Dr Rachel Canaway presents at the 20th International Congress on Traditional, Complementary and Integrative Medicine Research

• This conference took place on October 15-18 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
  The theme was Strengthening Global Public Health through Traditional, Complementary & Integrative Medicine: Knowledge Diversity, Well-Being Societies, and Planetary Health.

Dr Meena Rafiq wins the MMS Award for Early Career Academic (Discovery Researcher)

Tracy Murphy Promotes Grad Cert in Primary Care Nursing at the INSIG Inc Biennial Immunisation Conference 2025 in Melbourne

Safer Families Centre partners with Primary Health Tasmania to train all primary care providers in Tasmania how to respond to DFV

Dr Allison Drosdowsky awarded a Doctor of Philosophy in Cancer Epidemiology, attaining the highest academic credential.

Madeline Luke earned her Honours Degree in Bachelor of Science

Ekmini R. received her Masters Degree in Epidemiology

Prof Kelsey Hegarty appointed to the International Advisory Board of the new The Lancet Obstetrics, Gynaecology, & Women’s Health journal.

• Kelsey is among only three Australians invited to this Board

We mourn Emeritus Professor John Murtagh AO

VCCC PREDICT symposium held at Science Gallery

• The Primary care session was presented by Dr Sibel Saya, Dr Javiera Martinez Gutierrez, Dr Allison Drosdowsky, Dr Anna Dona Withanage and A/Prof Justin Tse

Dr Katie Lamb and Dr Fiona Giles present at the Australasian Ethics Network Conference

Cancer team hosted the Singapore Cancer Society in the lead up to the UICC Leadership summit

Dr Anna Withanage Dona's ROBIN project releases a GP Guidance Document

• The Robin project is the first Australian based study to pilot a personalised risk-based approach to breast cancer screening. The GP guidance document is endorsed by Breast Screen Australia Clinical Advisory Group. Anna and A/Prof Justin Tse appear on Channel Nine News to discuss the achievement.

Academic Promotions

• Level B
  • Dr Alison Flehr
  • Sophie Chima
  • Dr Daniela Ramirez Duran
• Level C
  • Dr Javiera Martinez Gutierrez
  • Dr Sibel Saya

We mourn the passing of A/Prof Phyllis Lau.

We welcome Dr Kelly Fitzpatrick to the Department

• Kelly joined the SAFE team

Dr Amireh Fakouri wins the RACGP General Practitioner in Training Award 2025

Kitty Novy and team delivered ‘Pathways to Safety’, an intensive whole of practice domestic and family training to 315 primary care staff across 57 primary care sites.

A/Prof Magdalena Simonis presents at family violence workshop for GPs and nurse practitioners

• This workshop highlights the barriers faced in navigating the service system by victim survivors from culturally and racially marginalised, Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander and LGBTIQ populations.

The SAFE team’s collaboration with The Women’s through the Centre for Family Violence Prevention received $1.2 M in government funding

• This funding was used to evaluate hospital DFV programs, which are now impacting 30 hospital sites.