A Bright Future for Australian Health and Medical Research
2011 Australian of the Year Simon McKeon will chair an independent review of health and medical research in Australia and recommend a 10-year strategic health and medical research plan for the nation.
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26 September 2011
The Minister for Mental Health and Ageing, Mark Butler, today announced that the 2011 Australian of the Year, Simon McKeon, will chair an independent review of health and medical research in Australia and recommend a 10-year strategic health and medical research plan for the nation.
Mr McKeon will be joined by leading Australian researchers and prominent business leaders including Professor Ian Frazer, Bill Ferris AC, Elizabeth Alexander, Professor Henry Brodaty and Professor Melissa Little to carry out this review.
“Australia has long boasted some of the best scientists, researchers and medical pioneers in the world who have been responsible for health and medical breakthroughs including spray on skin for burns patients, the bionic ear and more recently, the cervical cancer vaccine,” Mr Butler said.
“The many successes of our researchers have paved the way to less disease, better treatment, improved quality of life and even cures for conditions once thought incurable.
“As a world leader in health and medical research and as a country blessed with wealth and resources, Australia has the potential to solve current and emerging health challenges, at home and overseas.
“This research review and the 10 year health and medical research plan will help our researchers continue to realise this potential.
“The research landscape is also changing and our investment should reflect this changed landscape and what the community and research sector sees as important.
“Over the last two decades, the burden of disease has altered significantly. Chronic disease and mental health have replaced acute infectious diseases and acute vascular events as the leading cause of morbidity and mortality.”
The review will focus on optimising Australia’s capacity to produce world class health and medical research across the research spectrum, from discovery through to translation.
“The last strategic review took place more than a decade ago. It’s timely for the government to consider how to optimise the future environment for carrying out health and medical research in this country,” Mr Butler said.
“I’m excited about this review and its potential to chart a clear path for the next 10 years or so for Australian research.
The Gillard Labor Government is committed to further strengthening Australia’s health and medical research capacity into the future.
“There has never been more money invested in health and medical research than there is today, under this Government.”
The expert panel comprises prominent individuals with experience in and understanding of business, research and health service delivery. They are:
Mr Simon McKeon
Mr McKeon is Chairman of the Board of CSIRO and also holds the positions of Executive Chairman of Macquarie Group’s Melbourne Office and Chairman of Business for Millennium Development. Mr McKeon is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and also of the Financial Services Institute of Australasia. Previous Board appointments include Chairman of the Board of Multiple Sclerosis Research Australia and Director of Bio 21 Australia. Mr McKeon is the 2011 Australian of the Year.
Professor Ian Frazer
Professor Frazer is the Chief Executive Officer and Research Director of the Translational Research Institute in Brisbane, a recently created research facility bringing together four established Brisbane research institutes. He is a fellow of the Royal Society of London, and is a board member of two Australian Biotech companies. Professor Frazer, along with fellow researcher the late Dr Jian Zhou, developed the technology to enable production of vaccines for the human papillomavirus (HPV), which causes 70 per cent of cervical cancers. Professor Frazer was named Australian of the Year in 2006.
Mr Bill Ferris AC
Mr Ferris has been the Executive Chairman of CHAMP Private Equity since its formation in 2000. Mr Ferris is the Chairman of the Garvan Institute of Medical Research, Director of the Garvan Research Foundation, and Chairman of the Health and Hospitals Fund Advisory Board as part of the Federal Government's Nation-Building Funds initiative. Mr Ferris was made an Officer of the Order of Australia in 1990 and in 2008 was appointed a Companion of the Order of Australia for service to the community.
Ms Elizabeth Alexander
Ms Alexander is Chancellor of the University of Melbourne, and also holds the position of Chairman of CSL, non-Executive Director of Dexus Property Group and Medibank, and Advisor to Blake Dawson Waldron. Ms Alexander is also a Fellow of the Institute of Directors in Australia and a former national president of both CPA and the Institute of Directors.
Professor Henry Brodaty
Professor Brodaty is Scientia Professor of Ageing and Mental Health, Director of the Australian government funded Primary Dementia Collaborative Research Centre at the UNSW, Director Aged Care Psychiatry and Head of the Memory Disorders Clinic at Prince of Wales Hospital in Sydney and will become President-Elect of the International Psychogeriatric Association in September. Professor Brodaty was previously chairman of Alzheimer’s Disease International and president of Alzheimer’s Australia. He has been the recipient of a number of awards and is a member of several key State and National Committees in Australia concerned with dementia and mental health in older people.
Professor Melissa Little
Professor Little is a National Health and Medical Research Council Research (NHMRC) Principal Research Fellow at the University of Queensland’s Institute for Molecular Bioscience where she leads the Renal Development and Disease research laboratory. Professor Little was a member of the 1998 Wills Health and Medical Research Strategic Review. Professor Little is a recipient of the GlaxoSmithKline Award for Research Excellence and is a Gottschalk Medalist.
Further information on the review, including the terms of reference is available at Department of Health and Ageing website.
Media Contact: Minister Butler’s Office (02) 6277 7280
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