Faculty leadership and senior management staff profiles

Professor Christina Mitchell

Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences

Professor Christina Mitchell graduated with a degree in Medicine from Melbourne University and undertook general physician and haematology training fellowships. She obtained a PhD from Monash University, concentrating on the anticoagulant activity of protein S, and graduated with a Fellowship from the Royal Australian College of Physicians and also a Fellowship in Pathology. She then undertook a 3 year post-doctoral fellowship at Washington University purifying phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3-kinase) signal-terminating enzymes. Professor Mitchell returned to Australia as senior lecturer in Medicine at Monash University and Box Hill Hospital, she became Associate Professor soon after, while also conducting research on the newly emerging family of enzymes, inositol polyphosphate 5-phosphatases, negative regulators of PI3-kinase signalling. In addition, she held a position of Professor and Head of Biochemistry Department at Monash University (2000), until being promoted to Head of School of Biomedical Sciences (2006-present). The major research direction of her group is to characterise the metabolic pathways that regulate phosphoinositide signalling, in particular PI 3-kinase signalling in human cancer. Professor Mitchell has practiced as a general physician from 1990 to 2000 and as a specialist haematologist from 1990 to 2011 in the Department of Haematology at Box Hill Hospital. She has a long commitment to the development and integration of the medical curriculum at Monash University.

Professor Mitchell has published over 100 papers and received numerous awards, including Monash University 50th Anniversary Research Award (2008) and Dean's Prize for Excellence in Research (2003). In addition, Professor Mitchell serves on editorial boards of Journal of Biological Chemistry and IUBMB Life.

Professor Mitchell was a member of the scientific committee for the Anti-Cancer Council of Victoria (2001-2010), served on several NHMRC review panels for both project grants and fellowship applications and has been a member of the board of VESKI (Victorian Endowment for Science, Knowledge and Innovation).

Professor Mitchell and her research team are the recipients of several National Health and Medical Research grants, an ARC grant and a Muscular Dystrophy Association of the USA grant. Her research laboratory comprises seven post-doctoral fellows, a research assistant, seven PhD students and three honours students.

Email: Christina.Mitchell@monash.edu

Professor Christina Mitchell, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences

Professor Ross Coppel

Senior Deputy Dean / Deputy Dean (Research)

Ross graduated in medicine in 1976 later working as an intern and house officer at the Royal Melbourne Hospital and Bethnal Green Hospital, London. In 1980 he returned to Australia and commenced a National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Postgraduate Scholarship at The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research (WEHI). On completion of his PhD, Ross worked as a research fellow at the WEHI in the fields of malaria and primary biliary cirrhosis. In 1994, Ross accepted a position with Monash University and took up a position as Professor of Microbiology within the Medicine Faculty and was Department Head until 1998.

Ross is a recipient of the Glaxo Award for Advanced Research in Infectious Diseases and was a Howard Hughes Medical Institute International Fellow. He has authored or co-authored more than 420 scientific publications, including one book and multiple book chapters. This included a chapter in the definitive 1998 American Society of Microbiology volume on malaria. He serves on the editorial board of Molecular and Biochemical Parasitology, the top journal in the field of malaria and has reviewed for numerous journals including Nature, Science, Cell, J Cell Biol, Exp Parasitol and Acta Tropica. He is a named inventor on ten patents for inventions in malaria, primary biliary cirrhosis and novel antibiotics. In 1998, he became the first person to be appointed as an independent assessor to the Federal Court of Australia when he sat with the Justice in a major case involving a biotechnology patent.

He is an internationally recognised scientist for his work in the fields of malaria and primary biliary cirrhosis. He has received funding to support his research activities from both national and international agencies including the NHMRC, the ARC, the Wellcome Trust, the National Institutes of Health, the United States Agency for International Development, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and the World Health Organization.

Ross was a member of the advisory committee that oversaw bioinformatics of the malaria genome project and he administered the malaria sequence database for the World Health Organization (WHO). He was a founder of the PlasmoDB consortium, a project to develop an organism-specific database that simplifies the analysis and exploitation of genomic sequence data by biologists.

Ross is currently Deputy Dean and Director of Research of the Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences at Monash University and his laboratory the Coppel Lab is involved in research into malaria and tuberculosis infection. In November 2000, Ross and colleagues in the Faculties of Medicine and Information Technology, along with Agriculture Victoria (Plant Biotechnology Centre) and CSIRO Division of Mathematical and Information Sciences established the Victorian Bioinformatics Consortium of which he remains the Director.

Email: Ross.Coppel@monash.edu

Professor Ross Coppel, Deputy Dean (Research)

Professor Ben Canny

Deputy Dean (MBBS)

As Deputy Dean (MBBS), Ben Canny is responsible for the overall academic governance of the Bachelor of Medicine/Bachelor of Surgery (medical) degree, working closely with colleagues in the Central medical program at Clayton, Gippsland graduate entry course, Malaysia Medical School, and the Northern Victorian Rural Medical Education Network (NVRMEN), which oversees the Extended Rural Cohort. His work includes ensuring that the learning objectives and outcomes of all programs are aligned, as well as coordinating other academic and educational initiatives and endeavours related to MBBS, including the Bachelor of Medical Science (BMedSc).

Ben obtained his MBBS and BMedSc from the university of Adelaide, before completing his internship. After studying in the Department of Medicine at Prince Henry's Hospital, he obtained his PhD in stress endocrinology from Monash. A two-year post-doctoral fellowship at the University of Virginia followed, after which Ben returned to Australia to take up an academic position within the Department of Physiology in 1992. He maintained an active research and teaching profile, focusing on various aspects of stress, reproductive and metabolic endocrinology, as well as on ethics and professional and clinical skills.

With the advent of the redesigned Monash MBBS curriculum in 2002, Ben has become closely involved in the medical education activities of the Faculty. He was appointed to the role of Associate Dean (MBBS Curriculum) in 2004, and has been closely involved in the development of a number of the Faculty MBBS initiatives, especially the development of programs in Malaysia, Gippsland and the NVRMEN. He is committed to the Faculty providing a quality educational experience for all MBBS students, and to ensuring that they will be prepared to fill critical roles in the delivery of high quality healthcare for their patients and communities.

Ben has occupied a number of other important roles, and is currently Chair of the Monash University Human Research Ethics Committee, and Vice-President of the Monash University Academic Board. He was President of the Endocrine Society of Australia between 2002 and 2004.

Email: Ben.Canny@monash.edu

Professor Ben Canny, Associate Dean (MBBS)

Professor Shane Thomas

Deputy Dean (International)

Shane Thomas, DipPubPol, PhD, MAPS, is Deputy Dean (International) and Professor of Primary Health Care Research in the School of Primary Health Care in the Faculty of Medicine. He is also Professor and Director of the Problem Gambling Research and Treatment Centre at Monash University. Shane is an Honorary Professor at Peking University, the University of Melbourne and the University of Sydney. He is currently Honorary President and Chair of the Board of the Heart Research Centre and a member of the Responsible Gambling Ministerial Advisory Council. In China he is a Commissioner of the Chinese National Institute for Hospital Management and a Commissioner of th Chinese General Practice Research and Development Centre. He also holds a range of senior editorial positions internationally.

Professor Thomas has authored over 230 refereed publications as well as 4 authored books, one of which is entering its 6th edition. Shane’s research work has achieved a high degree of translation into policy and practice. He has led the development of several high profile measurement systems in state, national and international use. These tools include the Australian Commonwealth Work Ability Tables and the Post Acute Care Risk Screen that is used to support discharge decisions for hospital patients in many jurisdictions. Professor Thomas has supervised over 50 higher degree students to completion and has written a popular book on thesis writing.

Professor Thomas’ research interests include: clinical decision support tools and systems; the development of key performance indicators and outcome measurement tools in research and evaluation; hospital and primary care service quality improvement; chronic disease and its clinical and self-management; cultural factors in healthy ageing; problem gambling treatment research; and research in community and primary care services.

He is currently working on a global book series for Springer Publishing in healthy ageing with Professor Colette Browning, the development of national and international clinical guidelines for problem gambling, the conduct of a large RCT in problem gambling treatments, leadership of a hospital quality improvement program in Saudi Arabia and China and the development of General Practice training programs for Chinese doctors.

Email: Shane.Thomas@monash.edu

Professor Shane Thomas - Deputy Dean (International)

Professor Wayne Hodgson

Deputy Dean (Education)

In his role of Deputy Dean (Education) Professor Hodgson, in conjunction with the Associate Dean (Learning & Teaching), is responsible for overseeing the education activities of the Faculty. Professor Hodgson is a past winner of the Faculty’s Jubilee Teaching Prize and continues to teach pharmacology in a range of courses. Professor Hodgson has a keen interest in research that examines the relationship between admissions criteria (e.g. ATAR, interviews, aptitude tests) and subsequent performance at university. He played a key role in the development and implementation of ePharmacology an on-line resource to facilitate the learning of students enrolled in medicine and other allied health courses. In his role as Director MBBS Admissions he has been responsible for overseeing the selection of students into the three Monash medical schools (i.e. Clayton, Gippsland and Sunway) and is currently Chair of the UMAT Test Management Committee. He is an internationally renowned toxinologist responsible for pharmacologically characterising a wide range of spider, snake and marine venoms. He has published >110 papers including manuscripts in Nature, PNAS and Molecular & Cellular Proteomics. Professor Hodgson has a long-standing commitment to excellence in the training of Higher Degree by Research (HDR) students.

Email: Wayne.Hodgson@monash.edu

Professor Wayne Hodgson, Deputy Dean (Education)

Professor Gail Risbridger

Deputy Dean (Special Projects)

Professor Gail P Risbridger is a NH&MRC Fellow, a career academic and researcher who has spent over 20 years understanding the endocrinology of male reproductive tract organs, especially the testis and prostate gland. After graduating from Monash University she worked in teaching departments at the University, until becoming a founding member of the Monash Institute of Medical Research (MIMR). She currently heads the Prostate and Breast Cancer Research Group in the Department of Anatomy and Developmental Biology at Monash University and leads an internationally recognised research team of investigators working on prostate cancer and Andrology related projects. She currently holds the position of Deputy Dean – Special Projects and Chair for Research, Centres & Institutes.

She is one of Australia’s leading prostate cancer researchers, with particular interest in the biology of stromal-epithelial cell interactions in normal and tumour tissue using tissue recombination, animal and human specimens. She pioneered the use of stem cells for recombination studies combining stem cell biology with endocrinology.

She established academic and industry collaborations to build infrastructure to underpin the national research effort in Australian Prostate Cancer Research, including a National tissue bank with Victorian State Government informatics support. She has advisory roles in Andrology Australia and the Freemasons Foundation Centre for Men’s Health. She has >167 publications, including original articles in general biomedical journals and in specialist journals of Endocrinology, Cell Biology, Urology, Pathology, Oncology & Environmental Sciences including publications in Nature Methods Nature Cancer Reviews, FASEB and American Journal of Pathology . Since 2003, she has received > $22.9 million in National and International (eg US Army DOD) grant funding related to prostate cancer. Her awards include an International Fulbright Senior Scholar Award, British Endocrine Society Asia-Oceania Medal and Honorary Life Member of Endocrine Society of Australia.

Email: Gail.Risbridger@monash.edu

Professor Gail Risbridger, Deputy Dean (Special Projects)

Janet Kemp

Director, Budget Strategy

Janet Kemp's relationship with Monash dates back to her student days at the Clayton campus, where she undertook first a degree and then a masters course in economics. After a period in the private sector, she continued her career as a tutor in the Monash Department of Economics.

From the mid 1980s, Janet worked in State Government, including five years spent in a role as Director of the Financial Management Branch for what was then the Victorian Department of Finance. She returned to Monash in 1995 to work as the business and resources manager for the Monash Institute of Reproduction and Development (now MIMR).

Janet joined the Faculty management team in the role of Resource Manger in 1998, and became Faculty Manager in 2002, a role in which she looked after all aspects of the Faculty's administration.

In her current role, Janet is responsible for the Faculty's operating budget, including the distribution of Commonwealth funding to the Faculty's ten schools. She also oversees senior academic appointments.

Email: Janet.Kemp@monash.edu

Janet Kemp, Director, Budget Strategy

Andrew Evans

Faculty Manager

Monash alumnus Andrew Evans oversees the Faculty's teaching and research operations across all of its campuses in Australia, Malaysia and South Africa. His work ranges from overseeing student admissions, to developing new courses, to forging new relationships with other international institutions.

Andrew has held senior roles at Faculty and University level at Deakin University, the University of Western Sydney, and the University of New South Wales. He has also worked in management roles in residential colleges at Monash and the University of Sydney. During his time in New South Wales, he was part of a team that received a NSW premier's prize for working with at-risk Arabic youth on the streets of Sydney.

With this background in social justice, Andrew is conscious that the values of equity and diversity must be kept in mind during every point in the Faculty's continual expansion, especially as these are such crucial elements of a career in health. He strongly believes in Faculty initiatives that support students from all backgrounds, and was responsible for the creation of the Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences Scholars bursaries, which give a chance to bright students experiencing personal hardships.

Andrew is also passionate about developing and improving the quality of the Faculty's teaching and research, making sure that it continues to lead the sector both in Australia and oversees. Managing a Faculty with a research focus on global health, Andrew forges strong relationships with partners around the world, including with countries in the Middle East and Southeast Asia.

Email: Andrew.Evans@monash.edu

Andrew Evans, Faculty Manager

Associate Professor Lisa McKenna

Associate Dean (Learning and Teaching)

Lisa graduated as a registered nurse in 1986, and as a midwife in 1989. She completed tertiary degrees in education, and received a PhD in 2005 for a study exploring clinical educators' roles in nursing education. She has been employed in the School of Nursing and Midwifery at Peninsula campus since 1995, where she has assumed many education roles, including leading curriculum development, convening courses, and overseeing development and delivery of undergraduate programs in the School. She has taught and coordinated units in a number of different programs, including the Bachelor of Nursing, the Bachelor of Midwifery, the Graduate Diploma in Health Professional Education, the Master of Nursing, and the Master of Clinical Midwifery.

Lisa engages in a range of education-related research, in areas including interprofessional education (IPE), clinical education, professional socialisation, midwifery and nursing education. Outcomes from her research directly inform her classroom teaching activity.

Email: Lisa.McKenna@monash.edu

Associate Professor Lisa McKenna, Associate Dean (Learning and Teaching)

Associate Professor Robin Bell

Associate Dean (Clinical, Public and Allied Health)

In addition to her Bachelor of Medicine/Bachelor of Surgery (Honours) degree, Robin has also completed a PhD, a Master of Public Health, a Certificate in Health Economics, and a Graduate Certificate in Health Professional Education. She is a Fellow of the Australasian Faculty of Public Health Medicine.

Her primary appointment is as Deputy Director of the Women's Health Program, Monash University, in the Department of Medicine at the Alfred Hospital. She also has a fractional appointment within the Monash Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, from which she co-ordinates the teaching of population health in the first year of the MBBS program. She is passionate about this educational role, as well as her work in teaching quantitative analytical skills to higher degree students.

Robin's research interests include all health issues affecting the lives of women, particularly the health of women at mid-life and beyond. The Women's Health Program has active research projects investigating various aspects of cognitive function, breast cancer, sexual function, joint health, and urinary incontinence. The program has a wide range of collaborative relationships at the Alfred hospital site and at other Monash campuses.

Email: Robin.Bell@monash.edu

Associate Professor Robin Bell, Associate Dean (Clinical, Public and Allied Health)

Professor Mibel Aguilar

Associate Dean (Postgraduate Research Degrees)

In her role as Associate Dean (Postgraduate Research Degrees), Professor Mibel Aguilar provides leadership on all aspects of Higher Degree Research (HDR) training for the Faculty. She chairs the Faculty Research Degrees Committee, which has overall responsibility for recruitment, scholarship rankings, enrolment and progression. She is also the Faculty representative on the Monash Research Graduate School Committee, which oversees the management of and policy development in research training at Monash.

Her experience in education is broad: she has convened and taught subjects in the Bachelor of Science and the Bachelor of Biomedical Science since 1990 and has supervised several PhD and honours students.

Mibel completed her PhD in chemistry at the University of Melbourne in 1986, studying the metabolism and toxicity of paracetamol. She went on to a post-doctoral position at St Vincent’s Institute for Medical Research, where she worked on developing physical models for protein analysis and purification.

A bioanalytical chemist, Mibel now leads a research group that focuses on peptide-based drug design and biomembrane nanotechnology, developing novel compounds that allow researchers to exploit the potential of peptides as drugs. Her group is currently applying this technology to the development of cancer vaccines and new compounds for treatment of cardiovascular disease. The work has application to Alzheimer’s, G protein-coupled receptor function and new biosensor devices.

Mibel has published more than 120 papers and is the co-chair of the Australian Peptide Association.

Email: mibel.aguilar@monash.edu

Professor Mibel Aguilar Associate Dean (Postgraduate Research Degrees)