Meet the Team
Meet the Team
The Wurru Wurru Health Unit consists of both Academic and Professional staff.
Academic Staff
Dr Ngaree Blow
MD/MPH, DCH, BSc Director, Wurru Wurru Health Unit
Ngaree is a Yorta-Yorta and Quandamooka (Noonuccal Nation) woman currently completing her advanced training as a Public Health Physician. She works as the Director of First Nations Health for medical education at the University of Melbourne as well as dedicating part of her time to the COVID-19 response. After working on outbreaks for the most part of 2020, she has moved into COVID-19 Vaccination program as the Specialist Immunisation Services lead in the for the Department of Health in Victoria.
Dr Blow was most recently recognised for her work in 2020 when awarded the Australasian Faculty of Public health Medicine (AFPHM) Victorian Gerry Murphy Prize and was named one of 2019’s Australian Financial Review’s ‘100 Women of Influence’. Dr Blow is also a board member of the Australian Indigenous Doctors Association (AIDA) and has been involved in many First Nations health, research and education roles.
Twitter: @DrNgaree
Madelyne Hudson-Buhagiar
MPsych (Clinical), BA (Hons), Lecturer
Madelyne is a Wiradjuri person living and working on Wurundjeri Country. Madelyne is a current Clinical Psychology registrar working at the Victorian Aboriginal health Service as well as a lecturer in the Wurru Wurru Health Unit at the University of Melbourne in the Department of Medical Education. Madelyne is committed to providing First Nations health teaching to medical students as part of developing a culturally safe workforce. In her clinical role, Madelyne provides psychological support to adult members of the Victorian Aboriginal community. She is passionate about providing culturally-grounded therapy, Indigenising mental health support and reducing barriers to accessing high quality mental health support.
Twitter: @m_buhagiar
Brooke Conley
BExSci, MPhysio, PhD Candidate, Associate Lecturer
Brooke is a proud Ngiyampaa woman from Cobar, New South Wales. Brooke has completed her Bachelor in Exercise Science and a Master in Physiotherapy Practice. She is a current PhD candidate at Melbourne University, with her research investigating what would culturally appropriate arthritis education resources look like for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’.
Alongside her PhD, Brooke works as a Physiotherapist at City Baths Spinal and Sports Medicine Clinic and as an Associate Lecturer at Melbourne University, within the Department of Medical Education.
Wurru Wurru Health Tutors
The academics at the Wurru Wurru Health Unit support up to 20 casual First Nations tutors to provide a diverse range of First Nations voices into the curriculum of Doctor of Medicine (MD) and across multiple health disciplines within the Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences (MDHS).