Governance

Recipient of Member of the Order of Australia (AM) 2023, Professor Michelle Leech is Head of the Medical Course Monash University and Deputy Dean at the Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences. Michelle is the Head of the Rheumatoid Arthritis Clinic at Monash Health. Michelle has been the chair of the Clinical Examination Committee of the RACP National Exam Panel of the College of Physicians. She is the President of MDANZ and a Board member of the PMCV.

She received her MBBS (Hons) from Monash University, and after residency training in Internal Medicine at Prince Henry’s Hospital, Melbourne, completed her advanced physician training at Monash Health. She undertook a PhD at the Monash University Centre for Inflammatory Diseases, which examined the role of the cytokine MIF in the neuroendocrine regulation of inflammation. Her research interests include cytokine biology, glucocorticoid action and cell cycle proteins in the context of rheumatoid arthritis pathogenesis.

Michelle has held many teaching roles in Medicine at Monash Health including Director of Physician Training as well as teaching roles at Monash University. She has received a number of teaching awards including the Australian Medical Students Association National Teaching award in 2014. She was the recipient of Health Workforce Australia funding to develop Health Science Interprofessional Learning (IPL) opportunities across disciplines at Monash University and Monash Health.

Professor Stuart Carney is the Dean of The University of Queensland Medical School in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Queensland. A psychiatrist by training, Stuart leads a team committed to improving health and empowering communities through medical education and research. This includes the Doctor of Medicine Program, which is offered both in Australia and with the Ochsner Health System in New Orleans, USA.

Immediately before joining the University of Queensland in 2017, Stuart was Dean of Medical Education and Vice Dean International in the Faculty of Life Sciences and Medicine at King’s College London. As Dean of the School of Medical Education, Stuart was responsible for the largest MBBS Programme in the UK and led the development of their new medical curriculum (Curriculum 2020).

Stuart has a distinguished record of educational leadership across the entire medical training continuum. He played a key role in setting up the integrated academic training pathway in England, which is the main talent pipeline for clinical academics. In addition, he was the Deputy National Director for the UK Foundation Programme. He is currently the chair of the MDANZ Workforce Committee and is the MDANZ representative on the AMC Prevocation Accreditation Committee.

Professor Kirsty Forrest is the Dean of Medicine at Bond University, a medical education leader, teacher, researcher and clinician whose career has spanned the United Kingdom and Australia.

Kirsty is frequently invited as a facilitator and speaker on education and leadership at national and international forums.

She has been involved in medical education research for over 15 years, and her research has been translated through co-authoring and editing several best-selling medical textbooks including ‘Understanding Medical Education: Evidence, Theory and Practice’ and ‘Healthcare Simulation at a Glance’.

Kirsty’s passion for medical education extends beyond the undergraduate forum into the graduate forum through her roles as member of the Education, Development and Evaluation Committee and a lead facilitator for the educator program of Australian and

New Zealand College of Anaesthetists (ANZCA). She works clinically as a Consultant Anaesthetist at Gold Coast University Hospital and is a Fellow of the ANZCA. Kirsty’s clinical research areas include medical leadership education and patient safety.

Kirsty’s other leadership roles include Executive Member and Treasurer of the Medical Deans of Australia and New Zealand and Chair of the Medical Education Collaborative committee.

Zsuzsoka moved to Sydney in 1994 and completed her training in Neonatology in Brisbane, where she also completed a PhD at the University of Queensland.

She worked as a Neonatologist in Canberra from 2001 to 2022 and has been the Director of the Department from 2007 to 2015.

She was recognised by the Australia Day Council who awarded her as the ACT Australian of the Year 2014 for her work with families to design a safe, family-centred Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and the implementation of the NICUcam, a web-based design for parents and families to view their baby when they are not able to visit.

From March 2020 Zsuzsoka was the Dean of the ANU Medical School, a time when the COVID pandemic greatly affected world health and higher education.

She became Dean of the Graduate School of Medicine at the University of Wollongong in August 2022.

Dr Brendan McQuillan is the Dean of the University of WA Medical School. He is a Cardiologist and Director of Echocardiography in the Department of Cardiovascular Medicine at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital. Following completion of his PhD in vascular biology, he undertook postdoctoral research at Harvard University and completed a Fellowship in Echocardiography at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. He is a Fellow of the Cardiac Society of Australia and New Zealand (CSANZ) and a member of the CSANZ Scientific Committee. He has thirty years of clinical research experience in cardiovascular medicine, which has stimulated an ongoing interest in improving clinical outcomes through implementation of research findings.

Professor Gary D. Rogers is a health professions educational leader, learning and teaching scholar, public health researcher and medical doctor with a focus on HIV medicine. He is Professor of Medical Education and Dean of the School of Medicine at Deakin University in Victoria, Australia.  Gary is a former President of the Australian and New Zealand Association for Health Professional Educators (ANZAHPE) and was a member of the Executive Committee of AMEE, the international association for health professional education, from 2013 to 2019.  Gary’s educational research focuses on the affective learning associated with the acquisition of professional and interprofessional values among health professional students, as well as widening access to health professional education as a health workforce strategy.

Tim Wilkinson is acting Dean for the Otago Medical School and Professor in Medicine and Medical Education at the University of Otago, New Zealand.  He was the MBChB programme director 2013-2021.  He has a MClinEd, PhD and MD that are all in medical education. His research interests are assessment of clinical competence and performance, workplace learning, selection into medical school, career paths, and professionalism. In 2002 he was an inaugural winner of the Minister of Education / NZQA Tertiary Teaching Excellence Award (for sustained excellence in tertiary teaching).  In 2016 he was awarded the Australian and New Zealand Association for Health Professional Educators highest award for outstanding achievement in the field of health professional education in Australia, New Zealand and internationally.  He holds editorship roles on four medical education journals. He works as a consultant physician in geriatric medicine.

Kate is a health economist and experienced healthcare executive with extensive expertise in market access, patient advocacy, and strategic leadership. She is currently Principal and Founder of ECHO Health Consulting. Kate has previously held prominent senior roles within the pharmaceutical and medical technology sector including Insulet, IQVIA, and Takeda, where she led initiatives in policy development, patient services, and organisational strategy. Her previous leadership as CEO of GBMA (Generic and Biosimilar Medicines Australia) and CEO of Stillbirth Foundation Australia highlights her commitment to improving healthcare outcomes for Australians through innovation and collaboration.

Kate has served on a wide range of national and industry committees, including as industry representative on the Therapeutic Goods Administration Consultation Forum, the Government’s Pharmaceutical Industry Working Group, Medicines Partnership Australia, and as Ministerial appointment to the Code of Conduct Advisory Group. She is dedicated to developing people and teams, fostering growth, and advancing the expertise of individuals in the science and medical fields, including serving as a mentor in MTAA’s (Medical Technology Association of Australia) Women in Leadership Mentoring Program over 2023/24.

Kate comes to Medical Deans with a passion for supporting better health outcomes for patients in Australian and Aotearoa New Zealand and working in collaboration with the many stakeholders involved in the healthcare system.

Kate joins Medical Deans Australia and New Zealand as CEO in January 2025, and we look forward to opportunities for you to engage with her and continue our valued connection and collaboration.