Faculty leadership and senior management staff profiles

Professor Steve Wesselingh

Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences

Professor Steve Wesselingh guides the research and education direction of one of Australia's leading health faculties.

Combining his expertise as a physician, researcher and educator, Steve brings a unique perspective to an organisation of 4000 staff spread over six campuses and many clinical sites.

He is passionate about fostering high quality, fundamental medical research that will lead to appropriate biotechnology, and which can improve the health of Australians and of people living in poorly resourced countries in the region.

Prior to commencing his appointment as the Faculty's sixth Dean, Steve was Director of the Burnet Institute, Australia's largest biomedical research and public health group specialising in infectious diseases, immunology and public heath.

He is recognised internationally as an expert in viruses affecting the human brain.

A clinician and public health advocate

A graduate of Flinders University, Steve first trained as an infectious diseases physician, and as part of his training was based at the Goroka Base Hospital in the Eastern Highlands province of Papua New Guinea.

During the early years of his career, Steve also completed a PhD on the response of astrocytes (a type of brain cell) to viral infections, and in 1991 travelled to Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, USA, to continue his study of the neuroimmunology of HIV.

He was appointed Assistant Professor there in 1993, and was also co-investigator on a successful National Institutes of Health (NIH) program grant.

In 1994, Steve returned to Australia to set up the Neurovirology Research Unit within the Department of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases at Flinders University. He also commenced an innovative program developing oral plant-derived vaccines – an ongoing program which continues to work on the fundemental immunology and plant molecular-biology underpinning these vaccines.

From 1994 to 1997, he served on the Board of the Australian Society for Medical Research (ASMR), and was elected as its President in 1998.

In January 1999, he was appointed Professor and Director of the Infectious Diseases Unit, a joint appointment between The Alfred Hospital and Monash University.

He became Director of the Burnet Institute in 2002.

Biomedical Research

Researching how viruses affect the human brain, Steve has held major grants from the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC), and from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in the US.
He has recently collaborated with the Biotech Company Starpharma to develop preclinical and clinical research capacity in the area of microbicide development.

Steve's funded research programs have included:

• Pathogenesis of persistent human virus infections of global significance
• Development of dendrimer and combination microbicides
• HIV-associated sensory neuropathy
• Monitoring, predicting and preventing NRTI associated mitochondrial toxicities
• Development of a vaccine strategy for Avian Flu using plant-derived edible vaccines to protect poultry.

Email: Steve.Wesselingh@med.monash.edu.au

Professor Steve Wesselingh, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences

Professor Leon Piterman AM

Senior Deputy Dean
Deputy Dean (International)

In his roles as Senior Deputy Dean and Deputy Dean (International), Professor Leon Piterman AM is responsible for the Faculty's international engagement, as well as for support services for the Faculty's students. He also participates in strategic planning for the Faculty, and assists in fundraising elements as part of the Monash University Medical Foundation. He leads the Faculty during the Dean's absences.

A general practitioner, educator and researcher, in recent years Leon has been awarded the Faculty's Silver Jubilee Prize for Medical Education, the RACGP Faulding Prize for Research, and the Hong Kong College of General Practice Prize for Research. In 2006 he was awarded the Member of the Order of Australia for service to family medicine through distance education for doctors in remote areas, to research and student training, and to international medical education.

Leon's clinical and research interests lie in the areas of cardiovascular disease, mental health and medical education. He has published over 90 refereed papers and book chapters, and co-edited the text General Practice Psychiatry.

Leon is also the Head of the School of Primary Health Care (one of ten schools within the Faculty), and with years of experience in continuing education, is also its Director of Graduate Studies. During the early 1990s, he established Australia's largest and most successful Diploma/Masters Program in Family Medicine, which has since produced over 1000 graduates. He has also developed clinical audit tools to measure the effectiveness of educational interventions in changing practitioner behaviour and in monitoring patient health outcomes.

In addition to his medical training, Leon also has a Master of Medicine (Primary Care) and a Master of Educational Studies. He is a Fellow of both the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh and the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners.

He is a member of the Panel of Examiners of the Australian Medical Council, and is involved in a number of University and professional committees related to research, teaching and educational administration. He also maintains clinical practice as a GP.

Email: Leon.Piterman@med.monash.edu.au

Professor Leon Piterman AM, Senior Deputy Dean

Associate Professor Louise McCall

Deputy Dean (Education)

As Deputy Dean (Education), Louise McCall has oversight of all undergraduate and postgraduate coursework degrees and honours programs. She gained her extensive experience in this area through her previous role as the Associate Dean responsible for postgraduate coursework in the Faculty.

In her current role, she works closely with the associate deans, members of the Faculty education committees, heads of school, and heads of department, to ensure that the Faculty continues to attract high quality students and maintain its reputation for excellence in learning and teaching.

After completing her nursing qualification, Louise completed a Bachelor of Arts. She joined Monash in 1996, working in the Department of General Practice as a research nurse. She continued to study part time completing a Graduate Diploma of Clinical Epidemiology in 1998, and a PhD in medical education in 2002.

Louise's area of expertise is the nexus between research and education. Her research interests include how clinical placement experiences affect the career choices of postgraduate and undergraduate students from a range of disciplines. Louise has contributed many journal articles and conference papers in this area, and has also completed several consultancies to evaluate educational interventions. Other research interests include transnational education. She is also conducting research into inter-professional education, looking at how we can create new roles and meet new workforce challenges.

She is a dedicated member of the medical and health professions education community, particularly through her relationship with the Australian and New Zealand Association for Health Professional Education.

Email: Louise.McCall@med.monash.edu.au

Associate Professor Louise McCall, Deputy Dean (Education)

Professor Ian Smith

Deputy Dean (Research and Commercialisation)

In overseeing the Faculty's research activities, Professor Ian Smith draws on a range of expertise: a strong research record, including his early career as a Monash PhD student; experience with pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies; experience in filing patents; and his role as the founder of a publicly listed, proteomics-based company.

Ian's duties include establishing research collaborations, fostering the development of new technologies to support research, and securing grants for larger projects as well as running his own program of research.

Since joining the Faculty team as Deputy Dean in 2007, he has been responsible for the development of cutting-edge research platforms such as the Monash BioMedical Proteomics Facility and the Monash Antibody Technology Facility - unique facilities that are open to all Faculty researchers, and which help Monash to attract the best minds from around the world. He serves as Executive Director of these platforms.

Ian is also a Professorial Fellow in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, where he runs a peptide biology and proteomics laboratories His research applies proteomics technologies to study the proteases involved in the regulation of peptide signals that regulate both brain and cardiovascular function.

Ian has published over 200 papers, including peer reviewed research papers in major international journals including Nature, Science and The Lancet. He has repeatedly served as an assessor and panel chairman in the National Health and Medical Research Council grant application processes. He is a member an editorial board member of seven international journals and he has also held office-bearing positions in a number of national and international societies. Finally, he is on the boards of the Monash Centre for Synchrotron Science and Auspep Pty Ltd, and is the director of the NCRIS funded Victorian node of the Proteomics Australia Consortium.

Email: Ian.Smith@med.monash.edu.au

Professor Ian Smith, Deputy Dean (Research and Commercialisation)

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@med.monash.edu.au

Professor Ben Canny, Associate Dean (MBBS)

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@med.monash.edu.au

Andrew Evans, Faculty Manager

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@med.monash.edu.au

Janet Kemp, Director, Budget Strategy

Professor Gail Risbridger

Associate Dean (Research Centres and Institutes)

Gail has spent more than 20 years understanding the endocrinology of male reproductive-tract organs, especially the testis and prostate, and is one of Australia's leading prostate cancer researchers. She commenced teaching at Monash University after finishing her studies, and was a founding member of what is now the Monash Institute of Medical Research (MIMR), where she is currently Director of the Centre for Urological Research.

She pioneered the concept of bidirectional cross talk between different cell types in the testis, proving that if this cross-talk is aberrant, sperm production is disrupted and declines. She further proved the importance of this paradigm in the prostate gland, where aberrant signalling leads to prostate cancer and benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH, or benign enlargement of the prostate), and also proved that the stroma (connective tissue of the prostate) is a therapeutic target. Her contributions to understanding estrogen hormone action in men have led to preclinical testing of estrogen hormone based therapies for BPH.

She has established widespread academic and industry collaborations to build infrastructure to bolster the national effort in Australian prostate cancer research, and also holds advisory roles with Andrology Australia and the Freemasons Foundation Centre for Men's Health.

Email: Gail.Risbridger@med.monash.edu.au

Professor Gail Risbridger, Associate Dean (Research Centres and Institutes)

Professor David Gearing

Associate Dean (Biotechnology Development)

In his role as Associate Dean (Biotechnology Development), Professor David Gearing is responsible for developing credible linkages between Monash scientists and the biotechnology and pharmaceutical sectors, and for creating novel avenues for funding through government-industry-university partnerships. This role involves interaction with Monash scientists, intellectual property managers and business development associates. He also has close ties with senior members of the Faculty.

David has over 20 years experience in the biopharmaceutical sector - as Chief Research Officer and Director of Research at CSL Ltd (Melbourne, Australia), Vice President and Founder of Millennium Biotherapeutics (Cambridge USA), Director of Molecular Biology at Systemix (Palo Alto, USA), and Staff Scientist at Immunex (Seattle, USA).

David trained in molecular biology at the Cancer Research Unit of the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute, and in the Monash Department of Biochemistry. He has published extensively in the area of cytokine and receptor molecular biology research. David recently led the development of a monoclonal antibody that targets leukaemic cells, guiding the project from research through to evaluation in a phase 1 clinical trials. He is currently seeking new avenues for biotherapeutic drug research and development at Monash University.

Email: David.Gearing@med.monash.edu.au

Professor David Gearing, Associate Dean (Biotechnology Development)

Professor Tony Luff

Associate Dean (International)

In his role as Associate Dean (International), Professor Tony Luff is responsible for the important relationships with countries and partners in Southeast Asia, reflecting the Faculty's involvement in this international community. His work includes overseeing existing relationships, and forging new ties with government, educational organisations, and health providers in these countries.

Tony began his career in the UK, where he completed a doctorate on the physiological aspects of the post-natal development of skeletal muscle. Since joining the Department of Physiology in 1976, he has held a number of key roles with the Faculty, including his most recent appointment as Deputy Dean (Teaching and Quality). As part of this role, he developed new programs and helped to build a university-wide approach to evaluating teaching quality.

Until 2000, he managed an active research group investigating various aspects of muscle, and has taught physiology to students in courses including the Bachelor of Medicine/Bachelor of Surgery, the Bachelor of Biomedical Science and the Bachelor of Science.

A popular lecturer, tutor and course convenor, Tony has promoted the following aspects of teaching: providing students with clear objectives and expectations; including material in the curriculum that is interesting, topical and informed by research; ensuring that there is a range of assessment tasks linked to course objectives; and developing graduate attributes such as communication skills, numeracy skills, and teamwork.

Email: Tony.Luff@med.monash.edu.au

Professor Tony Luff, Associate Dean (International)

Professor Harald Schmidt

Associate Dean (International Research)

Harald's work recently contributed to Monash being invited to the prestigious World Health Summit, which will be held in Berlin in October. Monash is one of just eight worldwide leading medical faculties forming the M8 group and hosting the summit, whose patrons are German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nikolas Sarkozy.

In addition to his role as Associate Dean, Professor Schmidt is also Director of the Centre for Vascular Health, which he established in 2006 to bring together an interdisciplinary team of scientists and clinicians from across the university, and from its affiliated centres and institutes, to tackle major challenges in the field of vascular diseases.

Professor Schmidt graduated from both Pharmacy and Medicine in his native Germany, before specialising in clinical and experimental pharmacology. His successes include important discoveries in relation to nitric oxide – a crucial signalling molecule in many physiological processes – which have led to the patenting and clinical application of drugs to prevent brain damage, and to the establishment of two biotech companies.

During the early 1990s, he worked in Chicago with Dr Ferid Murad, who received the Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine in 1998. While in Germany, Professor Schmidt held senior roles at University of Würzburg, and at Gießen University, where he was Director of the Rudolf Buchheim Institute of Pharmacology.

Among his research interests, he studies novel cardiovascular disease mechanisms (including oxidative stress), as well as proteome-based diagnostics, molecular imaging, and mechanisms-based drugs.

Email: Harald.Schmidt@med.monash.edu.au

Professor Harald Schmidt, Associate Dean (International Research)

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@med.monash.edu.au

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@med.monash.edu.au

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@med.monash.edu.au

Professor Mibel Aguilar Associate Dean (Postgraduate Research Degrees)