Committee Members
Professor Alan Cowman AC (Chair)
Professor Alan F. Cowman AC is Acting Director at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research (WEHI) in Melbourne, Australia. He did his undergraduate degrees at Griffith University in Brisbane, Australia followed by a PhD at WEHI. He has worked on malaria for over 30 years and published over 360 papers on infection and pathogenesis to understand the function of proteins in Plasmodium falciparum. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society, the Australian Academy of Science, and the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences.
He was awarded a Companion of the Order of Australia in 2019 for his significant contributions to molecular parasitology, medical research and scientific education. The aim of his laboratory is to understand the function of proteins involved in the development of the malaria parasite. His laboratory collaborates with Merck USA to discover and develop novel antimalarials and a clinical candidate is currently in first-in-human clinical trials.
Professor Brendan Crabb AC
Professor Brendan Crabb AC is a molecular biologist and infectious disease researcher with a focus on malaria. He has been the Director and CEO of the Burnet Institute since 2008 and serves as Chair of the Australian Global Health Alliance and the Pacific Friends of Global Health.
He is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science, and of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences. His interest is to use science and innovation to improve the health of all peoples, especially to contribute to a more equitable Australia, local region and lower income world.
He was awarded a Companion of the Order of Australia in 2017 for his significant contributions to medical research.
Professor Nancy Baxter
Prof Baxter is currently the Head of the Melbourne School of Population and Global Health at the University of Melbourne, Australia’s #1 School of Public Health. She is a clinical epidemiologist, colorectal surgeon, and health services researcher.
Before joining the University of Melbourne, she was the Associate Dean, Academic Affairs at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, a Professor of Surgery in the Department of Surgery and the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation at the University of Toronto.
Her main research interests are in the evaluation of patterns of cancer care, the evaluation of cancer screening, determining the long-term consequences of cancer care for survivors and improving the quality and safety of surgery.
Professor Sandra Eades AO
Professor Sandra Eades is a Noongar woman from Mount Barker, WA. She completed her medical degree in 1990 and after working as a GP, started her career in health research at the Telethon Kids Institute. In 2003 she became Australia's first Aboriginal medical doctor to be awarded a PhD. Her PhD investigated the causal pathways and determinants of health among Aboriginal infants in the first year of life. Professor Eades was named NSW Woman of the Year 2006 in recognition of her research contributions to Aboriginal communities and has received a 'Deadly Award' (National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Awards) for Outstanding Achievement in Health. As well as Associate Dean (Indigenous), she is a Professor at the Centre for Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health.
Professor Dato’ Dr Adeeba Binti Kamarulzaman
Professor Adeeba Kamarulzaman is the President & Pro Vice-Chancellor of Monash University Malaysia. Prior to this appointment, she was Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, University Malaya and continues as an Honorary Professor at UM and an Adjunct Associate Professor at Yale University, USA.
Professor Kamarulzaman is a passionate advocate for HIV prevention, treatment and care programs in key populations and serves as Chairman of the Malaysian AIDS Foundation and immediate Past President of the International AIDS Society. She is also the founding Chair of ROSE Foundation, an organization that is committed to eliminating cervical cancer in Malaysia and regionally.
At the international level, Professor Kamarulzaman has been an advisor to numerous WHO, UNAIDS and UNODC committees on HIV/AIDS.
She is presently Vice Chair of WHO’s Science Council and is a member of two high level Global Councils; the Global Commission on Drug Policy and Global Council on Inequalities, HIV and Pandemics.
Professor John Reeder
Professor John Reeder is Director of TDR, the Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases (since 2012) and Director of the WHO Research for Health Department (since 2019). In these positions he has responsibility for co-ordinating an effective, strategic and well-harmonized research effort across the WHO.
Before joining WHO, he was most recently Co-Director of the Centre for Population Health at the Burnet Institute, Melbourne, Australia. Before this, he was Director of the Papua New Guinea Institute of Medical Research, where he worked on translating scientific findings from the field into policy for improved health.
Among a number of honours, Professor Reeder received the 2020 Mitchell Humanitarian Award for his contribution to end the debilitating disease onchocerciasis.
Dr Shivaprasad S Goudar
Dr Shivaprasad S. Goudar, completed his MBBS and MD Physiology training from Karnatak Medical College, Hubli. He has a Masters’ degree in Health Professions Education from the University of Illinois at Chicago, USA.
Dr Goudar is engaged in the conduct of community-based research aimed at reducing maternal and newborn mortality in Belgaum, Bagalkot and Bijapur Districts of Karnataka.
His research studies funded by the National Institutes of Health, the World Health Organization, the American Academy of Paediatrics, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation have focused on reducing maternal and newborn mortality.
He is an Associate Editor for BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth and Member of the Editorial Board of AJMS, BLDEU’s Journal of Health Sciences and JKIMSU.