Cabrini Research Committee MEMBERS

David is the Pro Vice-Chancellor, Major Campuses and Student Engagement at Monash University. He is also Professor of Psychiatry at Monash and at the University of Melbourne and Honorary Professorial Fellow at the Florey Institute for Neuroscience and Mental Health. He was the Executive Director of the Mental Health Research Institute of Victoria between 1985 and 2004. At the Institute, his research focused on the clinical and neurobiological aspects of schizophrenia. In 2020, he was appointed a Director of Cabrini Health. He was a Director of the Board of the Royal Women’s Hospital (RWH) from 2014-20. For nine years, until 2013, he was a Director of the Board of the Peter MacCallum Cancer Institute (Peter Mac), the last six as Deputy Chair. He was Chair of the Research Committees at RWH and Peter Mac. From 2008-16, he was a Director of the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO). He has held several advisory appointments to the Australian Federal and State Governments, including 12 years as a member of the Victorian Ministerial Advisory Committee on Mental Health and eight years as the psychiatric expert on the Australian Drug Evaluation Committee.

Caroline brings to the Cabrini Research Committee her experience as a medical specialist and health services researcher. Caroline is a consultant rheumatologist with inpatient and outpatient experience in public and private healthcare sectors. She has degrees in Medicine (Monash University) and Arts (University of Melbourne) and a Master of Public Health degree (Monash University). She is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. Caroline has a particular interest in designing, implementing and evaluating new models of care for people with chronic conditions and improving the quality and safety of healthcare. Caroline was Director of the Clinical Epidemiology and Health Services Evaluation Unit (later known as Melbourne EpiCentre) between 2004-10. She has been a Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians since 1984 and is a member of the Australian Rheumatology Association. Caroline has contributed to a number of committees for both professional organisations as well as state and national health governance bodies. She was president of the Victorian Branch of the ARA between 2006-07. Caroline is a member of the Cabrini Patient Experience and Clinical Governance Committee.

Sally is Co-Director of Cochrane Australia and Deputy Head (Research) of the School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine at Monash University. She holds a PhD in Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine from Monash University and has several competitively funded research projects which aim to improve health outcomes by investigating the most effective and efficient pathway of knowledge from research result to sustained change in clinical practice and policy. Sally is also a member of Australia’s National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Synthesis and Translation of Research Evidence (SToRE) Advisory Group and is a member of Cochrane’s International Governing Board.

Associate Professor James Lee

James is an academic endocrine surgeon at The Alfred, Monash Health and Epworth HealthCare in Melbourne. His research focuses on the development of precision medicine in thyroid cancer care, with a current research project on developing molecular biomarkers to improve the diagnosis of thyroid cancer on cytology. James received the Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Sydney for his thesis on the miRNA biomarkers of papillary thyroid cancer. James recently held the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (RACS) Foundation for Surgery Senior Lecturer Fellowship. His current research is funded by The Aftershock, IMPACT Philanthropy and an Epworth Research Institute Development Grant. Other areas of research include patient reported outcomes in collaboration with ANZ Thyroid Cancer Registry and application of artificial intelligence in endocrine surgery. James is on the RACS Court of Examiners, an executive committee member of the ANZ Endocrine Surgeons, and on the steering committee of the ANZ Thyroid Cancer Registry.

Professor Stephen Nicholls

Stephen is the Director of MonashHeart, Director of Victorian Heart Institute and Professor of Cardiology at Monash University. He will be the Director of the Victorian Heart Hospital. He completed his cardiology training at John Hunter Hospital and his PhD at the University of Adelaide, prior to holding a postdoctoral fellowship and faculty appointment at the Cleveland Clinic and the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute. His research interests focus on the role of metabolic risk factors and imaging in atherosclerosis, with work spanning from early discovery to leadership of large clinical trials. He is Chair of the Australian Atherosclerosis Society Clinical Council, Australia and New Zealand Alliance for Cardiovascular Trials, Asia Pacific Cardiometabolic Consortium, Secretary of the Cardiac Society of Australia and New Zealand and a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences.

Bob Santamaria

Bob joined the newly constituted Cabrini Research Committee upon its formation, having joined the Board of Cabrini Australia in October 2020. Bob retired as ANZ Group General Counsel in September 2019, after 12 years in that role. Prior to ANZ, Bob was a partner for 20 years at the law firm, Allens. In addition to his Cabrini roles, Bob is on the Boards of Villa Maria Catholic Homes Limited (involved in aged care, disability support and homes for the homeless) and Orygen Foundation Limited (involved in youth mental health).