Congratulations to our King's Birthday 2023 Honours Recipients

The University of Melbourne, Department of General Practice and Primary Care researchers and academics have been recognised in the King’s Birthday 2023 Honours List.

Professor Jane Gunn, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences was appointed an Officer (AO) of the Order of Australia in the General Division for her distinguished service to medical administration in leadership roles to tertiary education and research, and the community.

Jane’s significant ongoing contributions to medicine and research include; creating award-winning training programs for medical and nursing students, reforming healthcare with shared maternity care and cervical screening programs, transforming mental health care in the primary care setting through her work on depression and multimorbidity, and developing strong collaborations with researchers, social scientists, neuroscientists, software engineers and mathematicians from the UK, New Zealand, Canada, Hong Kong and the USA.

Associate Professor Magdalena Simonis was awarded the Member (AM) of the Order of Australia in the General Division for her significant service to medicine through a range of roles and to women’s health.

Magdalena’s passion for progressing women’s health in primary care has helped to shine a light on unnecessary female genital cosmetic surgery. Her widely published articles and clinical book chapters explore society’s hazy understanding of what is ‘normal’ and offer invaluable guidance to general practitioners who may encounter women looking to undergo unnecessary cosmetic surgery.

We are proud to have Jane and Magdalena as our colleagues in the Department of General Practice and Primary Care and celebrate the formal recognition of their achievements.