Leadership

To work towards our goal in achieving life-long health for all children and families, the Institute established an array of leadership groups.

These groups provide strategic advice for the Institute and comprise members within the Institute at all levels and external stakeholders.

  • Leadership Team

    Associate Professor Michael Stark

    Deputy Director, Clinical Research
    Theme Leader: Early Origins of Health

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  • Advisory Board

    The Advisory Board provides guidance and strategic advice to the Director and Business Manager, and consists of members independent to the Institute, both within and external to the University of Adelaide.

    Prof Stephen Tong

    Chair: Clinician Researcher

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    Professor Laura Parry

    Pro Vice-Chancellor (Research )
    The University of Adelaide

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    Ellen Kerrins

    Stakeholder and Consumer Engagement Advisor

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    Prof John Lynch

    Professor of Epidemiology and Public Health
    Head - BetterStart research group

    Robinson Research Institute, The University of Adelaide

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    Professor Helen Marshall AM

    Professor in Vaccinology, Clinical Research Director
    RRI and Women's and Children's Health Network

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    Professor Ray Rodgers

    Deputy Director, Discovery Research
    Robinson Research Institute

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  • Executive Committee

    The Executive Committee is the leadership group of the Institute and collegially and collaboratively supports the Director in ensuring the goals of the Institute are achieved.

    Professor Simon Barry

    Theme Leader: Child and Adolescent Health

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    Dr Alison Care

    Theme Leader: Pregnancy and Birth

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    Professor Jennifer Couper

    Theme Leader: Child and Adolescent Health

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    Professor Gus Dekker

    Theme Leader: Pregnancy and Birth

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    Professor Rebecca Robker

    Theme Leader: Early Origins of Health

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    Professor Ray Rodgers

    Deputy Director, Discovery Research
    Theme Leader: Fertility and Conception

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    Professor Darryl Russell

    Theme Leader: Fertility and Conception

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    Associate Professor Michael Stark

    Deputy Director, Clinical Research
    Theme Leader: Early Origins of Health

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  • Early and Mid-Career Researcher Council

    The Early and Mid-Career Research Council facilitates engagement with early and mid-career researchers and HDR students across the Institute, and provides input, perspectives on key decisions and advice to the RRI Executive Committee in support of achieving the aims of the Institute.

    Dr Jodie Avery

    Chair: Clinical and Public Health Representative

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    Dr Alexandra McCarron

    Deputy Chair: Child and Adolescent Health Theme Representative

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    Dr Dexter Chan

    Biomedical Representative

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    Dr Ali Farajpour Ouderji

    Pregnancy and Birth Theme Representative

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    Dr Nahal Habibi

    Biomedical Representative

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    Dr Rebecca Thomson

    Early Origins of Health Theme Representative

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    Dr Clare van Eyk

    Child and Adolescent Health Theme Representative

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    Dr Yasmyn Winstanley

    Fertility and Conception Representative

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  • Scientific Advisory Committee

    The Scientific Advisory Committee provide independent and external expert advice and guidance relating to research activity and performance in meeting the Institute's goals and mission.

    Members we call upon include:

    Professor Moira Clay

    Professor Moira Clay

    Chair
    Moira Clay Consulting
    Research management, strategy and policy

    Professor Moira Clay is a well-respected and experienced leader in research management, strategy and policy in Australia. Her background is in laboratory-based cardiovascular research.

    In 2000, she moved into research management and has 15 years of senior executive leadership experience in the health and medical research sector.  She was the national Research Manager for the Heart Foundation for five years and subsequently occupied executive level research strategy roles in three of Australia’s premier Medical Research Institute’s (including 7 months as the Acting Director of the Telethon Kids Institute in 2012).  She was President of two peak professional societies – the Australian Society for Medical Research (2003) and the Australasian Research Management Society (2012/13) – and a Board Member of the Association of Australian Medical Research Institutes (2013).

    She was named a “High Achiever in Australian Health and Medical Research by the NHMRC in 2013.

    Professor John Aitken

    Professor John Aitken

    Pro Vice-Chancellor, Faculty of Health & Medicine
    Laureate Professor of Biological Sciences
    The University of Newcastle

    Professor John Aitken is Laureate Professor of Biological Sciences, Co-Director of the Priority Research Centre in Reproductive Science and Pro Vice Chancellor of the Faculty of Health and Medicine at the University of Newcastle, NSW.

    He has an Honorary Professorship with the University of Edinburgh and is a fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh and the Australian Academy of Science.

    His area of specialisation is reproductive biology and he has published 10 books and over 500 research articles, which have received more than 27,000 citations. In 2012 he was named as the New South Wales Scientist-of-the-Year.

    Professor Jonathan Morris AM

    Professor Jonathan Morris AM

    Director
    The Kolling Institute of Medical Research
    Biomedical and Health Informatics, Sydney Medical School

    Professor Jonathan Morris AM is the Director of the Kolling Institute of Medical Research based at Royal North Hospital. He is a maternal fetal specialist who leads a large research group that spans basic scientific, clinical, population and health service research.

    He is the President elect of PSANZ, Chair of Stillbirth Foundation Australia and sits on the Maternal and Perinatal Committee of NSW Health, the state’s peak advisory committee for Maternity Care.

    He has held continuous NHMRC Project Grant funding for over a decade and is Co-Director of the Sydney SPARK programme, an early innovation programme based on a successful model at Stanford that mentors new discoveries to licensing or into a clinical setting.

    Professor Peter Richmond

    Professor Peter Richmond

    Director of Clinical Research
    Princess Margaret Hospital for Children

    Peter Richmond is a General Paediatrician, Paediatric Immunologist and Director of Clinical Research at Princess Margaret Hospital for Children in Perth, WA.

    He heads the multidisciplinary Vaccine Trials Group at the Telethon Kid’s Institute, which provides a coordinated approach to the development, assessment and promotion of vaccines in our community. This includes development of new vaccines and Phase 1-4 trials of paediatric and adults vaccines and evaluation of immunisation programs.

    His major research interests are in the prevention and treatment of meningitis, respiratory infections and otitis media. He has authored over 150 scientific publications in these areas.

    Professor Stephen Tong

    Professor Stephen Tong

    Clinician Scientist and Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Melbourne
    Co-Director, Mercy Perinatal, Mercy Hospital for Women

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    Professor Alison Venn

    Professor Alison Venn

    Director
    Menzies Institute for Medical Research

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    Professor Melissa Wake

    Professor Melissa Wake

    Associate Director, Centre for Community Child Health, Royal Children's Hospital
    Head, Community Health Services Research
    Murdoch Children's Research Institute

    Consultant Paediatrician and Elizabeth Blackburn Fellow, Professor Melissa Wake holds appointments with the Centre for Community Child Health at the Royal Children’s Hospital, Murdoch Children's Research Institute and University of Melbourne.

    Her research focus is on population paediatrics: what universal and secondary care systems are needed to make a difference to children’s health and development?

    In 2013-17, she is leading the national Child Health CheckPoint, a physical and biomarkers module for the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children.

    Awards include the 2009 Australian Health Minister's Prize for Excellence in Health & Medical Research and consecutive NHMRC Excellence Awards (2009-12, 2013-16) as top-ranked Fellow in Australia.