veski inspiring women networking & professional development event

When: Monday, 8 December, 12.00pm-2.00pm

Where: Shell Conference Centre (1 Spring Street, Melbourne)

Registrations are now closed.

Join veski and hear from our inspiring panelists, and network with Victorian women across science, research, innovation and industry.

veski is supporting career progression of Victorian women through the provision of resources, information and opportunities; partnerships with government, industry, community and academia; and professional development and networking opportunities.

Join us for the first veski inspiring women professional development & networking event over lunch, with shared insights from an inspiring line up of speakers.

• Dr Leonie Walsh, Victoria’s Lead Scientist – Master of Ceremonies
• Professor Sharon Bell, Deputy Vice-Chancellor at Charles Darwin University – “Women in the Scientific Research Workforce: Identifying and Sustaining the Diversity Advantage”
• Dr Natalie Hannan, NHMRC Early Career Research Fellow, Mercy Hospital for Women, University of Melbourne – “Balancing the gender bias in science.”
• Dr Tu’uhevaha Kaitu’u-Lino, Research Fellow, Translational Obstetrics Group, Mercy Hospital for Women, University of Melbourne – “Can Women have a family and succeed in academia?”
• Dr Jane Fisher, Immunology Medical Manager, UCB Australia – “How to maintain and develop a career in science, whether it is pharma or academia”
• Professor Bob Williamson AO, Honorary Senior Principal Fellow and Professor of the University of Melbourne – “Supporting Victoria’s women in STEM”

Who should attend? 

• Gender equity committee members, early-to-mid-career researchers, females with a background in STEM, research office administrative staff, and anyone interested in inspiring Victoria’s future female leaders

Dr Leonie Walsh, Lead Scientist, State Government of Victoria

Dr Leonie Walsh was appointed Lead Scientist for the Victorian Government in 2013. She has more than 20 years of experience, which includes both technology and commercial responsibility across diverse areas including research and development, marketing and innovation, sales, supply chain and manufacturing, throughout the world.

Dr Walsh has been a board member of the Fight Cancer Foundation and Bone Marrow Donor Institute since 2009 and joined the ABMDR National Management Board in March 2010. She is a Fellow of the Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering, and up to 2013 held the position of President of the Australasian Industrial Research Group, and Business Improvement Director of Productive Management Solutions Pty Ltd.

Dr Walsh received an honorary doctorate from the University of Swinburne in November 2014.

Professor Sharon Bell, Deputy Vice-Chancellor at Charles Darwin University 

Professor Sharon Bell is Deputy Vice-Chancellor at Charles Darwin University, a Professorial Fellow at the LH Martin Institute at the University of Melbourne and Emeritus Professor at the University of Wollongong. She was Co-convenor of Universities Australia Executive Women (previously AVCC Senior Women's Colloquium) from 2005 to 2008.

Professor Bell's background is as a senior academic administrator, a documentary filmmaker and an anthropologist. Professor Bell holds a PhD from the University of Sydney in the discipline of Anthropology. She has worked with international agencies such as the World Bank, the Sri Lankan University Grants Commission and AusAid on institutional capacity building projects. She is currently a recipient of an Australian Research Council Grant on Women in the Scientific Research Workforce. She also continues the research on post-colonial Sri Lanka that commenced with her doctoral studies in Anthropology.

Dr Natalie Hannan, Translational Obstetrics Group, Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Melbourne

Dr Natalie Hannan is an NHMRC Early Career Research Fellow in the Translational Obstetrics Group at the University of Melbourne. Dr Hannan’s research focuses on understanding the complex interactions and mechanisms underlying implantation and pregnancy. More recently her research passion has focused on identifying novel treatments for one of the most severe pregnancy complications, preeclampsia. Her research has been recognised in many ways including the award of a major NHMRC Project Grant and Early Career Fellowship (2010-2014); a University of Melbourne Early Career Researcher Grant (2011) and Career Interruption Fellowship (2013) overall she has obtained competitive funding totaling close to one million dollars.

She has over 30 peer-reviewed publications the majority of which are ranked in the top journals of her field. Dr Hannan has been invited to present her work internationally on many occasions. Dr Hannan was selected to undertake the prestigious Frontiers in Reproduction course in the United States (2007) and was awarded a Young Tall Poppy award (2010); selected as a Fresh Science finalist (2006) in recognition of her passion and commitment to communicate her research to the public. Natalie’s work has a clear focus on translation: she is passionate about improving the reproductive health of women. 

Dr Tu’uhevaha Kaitu’u-Lino, Research Fellow, Translational Obstetrics Group, Mercy Hospital for Women, University of Melbourne

Dr Tu’uhevaha Kaitu’u-Lino is a research fellow in the Translational Obstetrics group, working to develop new therapeutics to treat preeclampsia. Her team is currently focused on targeting the two toxins of preeclampsia soluble endoglin and soluble Flt1, and examining therapies to decrease their release.  At six years post-PhD, Tu’uhe has published 35 papers and obtained $1.9M in grants ($1.5M as lead investigator) including a NHMRC New Investigator grant (2013-2015) and most recently a CDF1 (2014-2017). She also serves as a council member for the Society for Reproductive Biology. 

Tu’uhe is passionate about communicating science to the public.  In recognition of this passion, she was awarded Victorian Tall Poppy of the Year in 2012, is a mentor for the Growing Junior Tall Poppies program and is currently a Board Member of the Australian Society for Medical Research. Tu’uhe’s achievements have also included raising three daughters (aged 7, 4 and 1), demonstrating her determination to succeed as a working mum.

Dr Jane Fisher, Immunology Medical Manager at UCB Australia Pty Ltd

Dr Jane Fisher is the Immunology Medical Manager at UCB Australia Pty Ltd. In this role Jane is responsible for the scientific development and implementation of late stage development and post market support for the immunology portfolio for the Australia affiliate.  Jane completed her PhD at the Alfred Hospital, Baker Medical Research Institute, Melbourne in 1996. She then worked in a research officer role, establishing the research laboratory in the Department of Orthopaedics at St. Vincent's Hospital, Melbourne, subsequently joining the Bone, Joint and Cancer Group, St. Vincent's Institute, Melbourne (1996 – 2005). In 2005, Jane transitioned into the area of clinical research, and secured a role at GSK Australia, where she worked in oncology and neurology as a Clinical Research Associate, and later as a Clinical Scientist, supporting local and investigator-driven clinical research in Australia. Her current role at UCB allows Dr Fisher to combine the strategy of a Medical Affairs role, with her passion for clinical development.

Professor Bob Williamson AO, Honorary Senior Principal Fellow and Professor of the University of Melbourne

Professor Bob Williamson is the Honorary Senior Principal Fellow and Professor of the University of Melbourne. He has over 400 refereed career publications and has worked on the identification of the genes for cystic fibrosis, Friedreich ataxia and Alzheimer disease.

More recently, he has taken a major interest in national science policy and ethics. He Chairs the OECD Committee on Pharmacogenetics, and has worked extensively for the World Health Organization. He has been a member of many editorial boards, including that of the Journal for Medical Ethics for the past twelve years, and edited several books on genetic engineering and on ethics and the new genetics. He is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science and of the Royal Society, and an Officer of the Order of Australia. Professor Williamson is the previous Secretary for Science Policy and a past member of the Australian Academy of Science (AAS)  & Early and Mid-Career Researcher and Forum.

Download the event poster (PDF)