Meet the Team
Dr Ngaree Blow
MD/MPH, DCH, BSc, Director, Wurru Wurru Health Unit
Dr Ngaree Blow is a Quandamooka (Noonuccal Nation), Goreng-Goreng and Yorta-Yorta woman currently completing her advanced training as a Public Health Physician. She works as the Director of the Wurru Wurru Health Unit (First Nations Health) for medical education at the University of Melbourne as well as dedicating part of her time to consulting on public health projects.
Ngaree has worked in various medical and public health roles, including as lead medical officier for the COVID-19 outbreak response in 2020-21 and in the COVID-19 Vaccination program in 2022 with the Department of Health, Victoria. She has also established the first all First Nations led and run music health festivals – ‘It’s a Mob Thing’ across Victoria in 2022.
Dr Blow was most recently recognised for her work in 2022 when awarded the MDHS Award for Excellence in Indigenous Health Engagement, as well as the Australasian Faculty of Public health Medicine (AFPHM) Victorian Gerry Murphy Prize in 2020 and was named one of 2019’s Australian Financial Review’s ‘100 Women of Influence’. Dr Blow was also a current member and previous board member of the Australian Indigenous Doctors Association (AIDA) and has been involved in many First Nations health, research and education roles and committees.
Madelyne Hudson-Buhagiar
MPsych (Clinical), BA (Hons), Senior Lecturer
Madelyne is a Wiradjuri person living and working on Wurundjeri Country. Madelyne is a Clinical Psychologist working at the Victorian Aboriginal Health Service (VAHS) and draws upon this in her role as a lecturer in the Wurru Wurru Health Unit at the University of Melbourne in the Department of Medical Education and the Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences. 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.
Avanah Brettschneider
Avanah Brettschneider is a proud Ngiyampaa woman whose ancestral connections stretch from Lake Mungo to Cobar and across to Gilgandra in New South Wales. She grew up in Hay, a small town on Wiradjuri country, before relocating with her family to Echuca on Yorta Yorta country, where she lived for 11 years.
Avanah graduated from VCE in 2020 during the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, achieving this milestone while being recognized with an Indigenous Young Leader Award. During her final months of VCE, Avanah balanced multiple responsibilities, working simultaneously as a pharmacy assistant, bar staff, and hospitality staff while also completing her Certificate IV in Beauty Therapy in 2021.
Alongside her studies and work commitments, Avanah was also a karate instructor, showcasing her dedication to leadership and teaching.
In September 2021, Avanah relocated to Narrm on Wurundjeri country to join the Melbourne Indigenous Professional Employment Program (MIPEP) while completing her Diploma of Business Management. Her first placement was with the Atlantic Fellows for Social Equity, where she worked as an Administrative Officer supporting a fellowship focused on advancing Indigenous equity across Australia, Aotearoa, and the Pacific region.
For her second rotation, she joined the Department of Paediatrics at the Royal Children’s Hospital but found that the role wasn’t the right fit for her. She later transitioned into a position with the Wurru Wurru Health Unit, where she now works full-time as an Administration and Project Officer. In August 2023, Avanah successfully completed her Diploma of Business Management and continues to thrive in her role, bringing a strong mix of cultural knowledge, administrative expertise, and a passion for meaningful work.
Nicolle Maganga
Nicolle Maganga holds a PhD in Public Administration obtained at the Durban University of Technology in South Africa. She is an individual with extensive experience in higher education, curriculum development and university community engagement research. Prior to moving to Australia, she worked in the higher education space in South Africa. Most recently, she has worked within the curriculum development space with her focus on the development and inclusion of cultural safety in the curriculum in her previous role as Curriculum Development Specialist at RANZCOG.
Nicolle’s main interests are in understanding the different dynamics in curriculum and global education as seen in the work in The Bloomsbury handbook of Global Education.
Carly Andersson
Carly Andersson joined the Wurru Wurru Health team as the First Nations Administration Officer in February 2025. She is currently based on Wurundjeri Country and grew up on Wardandi Country in Western Australia. Carly holds a double bachelor’s degree in Midwifery and Nursing, completed at La Trobe University, and is nearing completion of a Graduate Certificate in Public Health. Prior to her current role, she worked as a midwife in both Victoria and Western Australia.
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).
We are always looking to expand our team, if you are interested in being one of our Wurru Wurru Health tutors please contact us via our email firstnationshealth-md@unimelb.edu.au.