Role
The Genomics Health Futures Mission EAP was appointed in December 2023 and ceased on 18 December 2024. It advised the Minister for Health and Aged Care on the strategic priorities for research investment through this mission. Its role was to define evidence and knowledge gaps that should be addressed through research mission funding. This was to help transform health care and health outcomes for individuals and communities. This role included the definition of key research questions that, if answered, will deliver meaningful change to patients through the translation of research.
EAP members consulted and engaged with other researchers, industry and consumer or patient groups. They participated in media and public activities to build awareness of and facilitate interaction with the mission and with other MRFF-funded research.
You can find out further information on the roles and responsibilities of MRFF Expert Advisory Panels in the MRFF Mission Governance resource.
Members
Professor Ian Frazer AC chaired the inaugural Expert Advisory Committee. Members were appointed from May 2019 to 2021.
The second EAP was independently chaired and included members with health system and genomics-related expertise. The government selected panel members with the skills and experience the Genomics Health Futures Mission needs to achieve its goals. The term of the second EAP ended on 18 December 2024.
| Member | Background and experience | Declarations of interest |
|---|---|---|
| Professor Robyn Ward (Chair) | Professor Ward is the Executive Dean and Pro Vice-Chancellor of the Faculty of Medicine and Health at the University of Sydney. Professor Ward is also chair of the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee (PBAC). | Non-Executive Director, Telstra Health Non-Executive Director, Lifeblood Australia |
| Associate Professor Maui Hudson | A/Professor Hudson (Whakatōhea) is the Director of the Te Kotahi Research Institute at the University of Waikato. He is a member of Te Mana Raraunga Māori Data Sovereignty Network and the Global Indigenous Data Alliance. He is also co-author of the CARE Principles for Indigenous Governance, Te Ara Tika Guidelines for Māori Research Ethics, and the Te Mata Ira Guidelines for Genomic Research with Māori. | On advisory group for SING Australia |
| Professor Jian Yang | Professor Yang is a Professor of Statistical Genetics at the School of Life Sciences, Westlake University. | N/A |
| Dr Shayne Bellingham | Dr Bellingham is a proud Wotjobaluk man from the Wimmera region in Victoria. He is a Senior Project and Research Manager of the Leaders in Indigenous Medical Education (LIME) Network. He provides strategic advice on the Indigenous Reference Genome as a Chair of Collection Access Research Advisory Committee for the National Centre of Indigenous Genomics. | MRFF funding recipient
|
| Professor Kathryn North AC | Professor North is the Director of the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute and the David Danks Professor of Child Health Research at the University of Melbourne. Professor North is also Lead, Australian Genomics Health Alliance. | Co-Chair Genomics Australia Expert Advisory Committee |
| Professor Anthony Gill | Professor Gill is a Professor of Surgical Pathology at The University of Sydney and Senior Staff Specialist in Anatomical Pathology at the Royal North Shore Hospital. | N/A |
| Associate Professor Sarah Kummerfeld | A/Professor Kummerfeld is the Chief Scientific Officer at the Garvan Institute of Medical Research. She oversees Garvan’s platforms, leveraging genomics, single-cell technology, data science, imaging and clinical translation to understand human disease. She translates findings into clinical diagnostics and treatments. | MRFF funding recipient Consultant/Advisor at Genentech Steering committee member of Ramaciotti Centre for Genomics |
| Ms Kathryn Campbell | Ms Campbell is the Chair at InGeNA, the industry association for genomics. Kathy is a Non-Executive Director of the Brisbane North Primary Health Network where she also Chairs the Community Advisory Committee. She runs her own consulting firm, which consults across the health and human services sector including to genomics alliances. | Principal, Ockham Consulting Pty Ltd |
| Ms Christine Edwards | Ms Edwards has extensive experience in the health, community and philanthropic sectors in Western Australia, Tasmania, and Victoria. She is on the Foundation Board of the Centre for Eye Research Australia. | Community Representative, Australasian College for Emergency Medicine Community Representative, Australian Medical Council |
| Ms Merryn Carter | Ms Carter is a consumer advocate with the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute’s Breast Cancer Laboratory. Merryn is a member of Breast Cancer Trials Australia New Zealand’s Consumer Advisory Panel. | Member of the MRFF Consumer Reference Panel and MRFF Genomics strategic review panel |
| Professor Dianne Nicol | Professor Nicol holds the title Distinguished Professor Emerita at the University of Tasmania. Prior to her retirement, she was Director of the Centre for Law and Genetics and continues as a member. Her research focuses on the ethical, legal and social implications of genomics. | MRFF funding recipient Chair, National Health and Medical Research Council Embryo Research Licensing Committee |
| Professor Denise Doolan (Australian Medical Research Advisory Board (AMRAB) Representative) | Professor Doolan is Director of Research at the Institute for Molecular Bioscience (IMB). She joined IMB in 2022. She was previously Deputy Director of the Australian Institute of Tropical Health and Medicine, and Director of the JCU Centre for Molecular Therapeutics, at James Cook University. | N/A |
| Professor Steve Wesselingh (AMRAB Representative) | Professor Wesselingh is the Chief Executive Officer of the National Health and Medical Research Council. He is an infectious diseases physician and researcher in HIV, vaccine development and the impact of the microbiome on human health. | N/A |
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Terms of reference
Genomics Health Futures Mission Expert Advisory Panel – Terms of reference
Meetings
The panel met on an as required basis and at the discretion of the chair.
Related committees and groups
The Genomics Health Futures Mission EAP reported to the Minister for Health and Aged Care.
The Health and Medical Research Office provided secretariat support to the EAP.
Contact
For more information contact us.
