Head of Department of General Practice appointed to Deputy Dean

Prof Jane Gunn has been appointed new Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences.

Professor Jane Gunn – Foundation Chair of Primary Care Research, Head of the Department of General Practice and Deputy Head of the Melbourne Medical School – has been appointed new Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences.

Jane is a general practitioner who completed her PhD at the University of Melbourne in 1998. She has led the development of a successful primary care research group in the Department of General Practice and is involved in leading primary care reform. In 2016 she was elected a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences in recognition of her outstanding leadership in health and medical research.

Jane is a past President of the Australasian Association for Academic Primary Care and served on the NHMRC Research Committee from 2009–2015. She has been a Chief Investigator on more than 63 competitively awarded research grants worth in excess of $AUD40 million and has published more than 160 peer-reviewed journal articles. She is also a Director of the Board of the Eastern Melbourne PHN (EMPHN) and a Director of the Board of the Peter MacCallum Cancer Hospital.

Jane has a long history of serving the community. She established one of the first practice-based research networks in Australia (VicReN) that supports the conduct of grassroots and multi-centre trial research testing complex interventions in the real-world setting.

Her research has influenced practice and policy via advisory roles to the Australian Government’s Science Priorities, Mental Health Expert Reference Groups and Healthcare Homes initiative. Jane was awarded the inaugural Visiting Professorship to the Scottish School of Primary Care and currently holds an honorary professorial appointment at the University of Glasgow. She has also been a Visiting Academic to The University of Oxford, The University of Hong Kong, The University of Edinburgh and The University of Warwick.

Taking over from highly regarded Professor Glenn Bowes, Jane will work closely with Professor Shitij Kapur as his trusted deputy. She will have oversight of the Faculty’s Strategic Plan, specifically the areas of people and culture; engagement and international relations. Jane will also lead several academic operational functions, including the role as Chair of the Faculty Appointments and Promotions Committee, and will represent the Faculty at the University Appointment and Promotions Committee and other key governance forums.

Jane brings to the role a wealth of experience of Faculty and University operations as well as excellent relationships and networks across the Melbourne Biomedical Precinct and health sector more widely.

In accepting her new role as Deputy Dean, Jane will resign her position as Head of the Department of General Practice and Deputy Head of the Melbourne Medical School while retaining her primary care research roles. She will begin her new role in January next year.

Please join me in congratulating Jane on this much-deserved appointment.