The researchers have been recognised for their significant contribution to paediatric oncology, intellectual disability, youth mental health and cardiovascular disease.
Professor Valsamma Eapen, Professor Alta Schutte, Professor Julian Trollor and Conjoint Professor David Ziegler are among 29 of the nation's top health and medical researchers elected as Fellows of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences .
The new Fellows represent the nation's leading minds in health and medical sciences.
Dean of Medicine & Health, Professor Cheryl Jones, congratulated the four UNSW academics.
"We're extremely proud that they've been rightly recognised by their peers for such varied research. Not only have they shown outstanding leadership in their fields, but they've also played a crucial role in improving the health and wellbeing of those within our community," she said.
Closing the health care gap for people with intellectual disability: Scientia Professor Julian Trollor
An internationally recognised neuropsychiatrist, Prof. Trollor leads the National Centre of Excellence in Intellectual Disability Health at UNSW.
His work has focused on reducing the health inequalities experienced by people with intellectual and developmental disability, bringing these issues from obscurity to mainstream national attention.
"The most powerful aspect of our work has been research that reveals systemic neglect in the health care of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities," Prof. Trollor said. "Through a co-design approach, we explore health status, disparities in outcomes and experiences of discrimination from diverse perspectives."
Prof. Trollor said he was deeply honoured to receive the AAHMS Fellowship and hoped it would help shine a light on the health needs of people with intellectual or developmental disabilities.
"Australia's health care system is currently falling short in meeting the needs of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities," he said.
"Achieving meaningful change will require a comprehensive overhaul, combining both top-down leadership and grassroots initiatives to ensure the system prioritises and responds to those facing the greatest health disadvantages. By doing so, we can empower more people with disabilities to live healthier, more active and fully engaged lives."
Advancing the global fight against heart disease: Professor Alta Schutte
Prof. Schutte is a globally recognised expert on raised blood pressure and hypertension. Her highly cited and awarded research has appeared in leading general and specialist journals. Recognised both in Australia and internationally, her work has driven new models for blood pressure awareness, detection and management.
Prof. Schutte is a SHARP Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine at UNSW Medicine & Health and Co-Director of the Global Cardiovascular Program at The George Institute for Global Health .
In addition to her groundbreaking research, Prof. Schutte has shown exceptional leadership on numerous scientific boards and committees, and by mentoring over 100 early-career researchers, has advanced the global fight against cardiovascular disease.
Prof. Schutte said it was an honour to be elected a Fellow of the AAHMS, and she's grateful to be recognised alongside many of her accomplished peers in medical science.
"While we've made real progress in improving awareness and treatment of uncontrolled hypertension in the past two decades, it remains one of the most significant and preventable risk factors for death and disease worldwide," she said. "I'm confident we can do much more to address it, particularly in places with little access to medicines, a travesty when the treatments we have are so effective and so affordable.
"The Fellowship will provide me with an additional avenue to collaborate with both Australian and international counterparts, and I look forward to making even bigger strides in future," she said.
No child left behind: Scientia Professor Valsamma Eapen
Prof. Eapen has over 25 years of clinical, research and teaching experience in neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism, Tourette Syndrome and child mental health conditions.
She is the Chair of Infant, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at UNSW and a National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Senior Research Leadership Fellow with research focused on Tourette Syndrome.
Prof. Eapen's research has shown that there is an 'inverse care law', where children from the most disadvantaged backgrounds with the highest risk for developmental problems are least likely to access health services early because of geographic, cultural, linguistic and structural barriers.
"My work is focused on facilitating equitable access to child developmental and mental health services so that no child is left behind," Prof. Eapen said.
Prof. Eapen also developed the 'Watch Me Grow' web app, which helps parents monitor how their children are developing during their preschool years.
"Watch Me Grow empowers families to identify developmental problems such as autism or speech delay so that we can intervene early if needed. This can have a significant positive impact on the life trajectory of the child," she said.
Prof. Eapen is Head of the academic unit of child psychiatry at South Western Sydney Local Health District & Ingham Institute.
"I am deeply honoured to be elected to the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences. Besides the personal recognition, I would like to acknowledge my team who tirelessly work towards improving the life course of children from some of the most disadvantaged communities, such as southwest Sydney," she said.
A leader in paediatric oncology trials: Conjoint Professor David Ziegler
Prof. Ziegler, Conjoint Professor at UNSW and group leader at the Children's Cancer Institute , is a paediatric oncologist whose clinical expertise and research leadership have transformed the care of children with high-risk cancers.
He heads both the Neuro-Oncology Program and Clinical Trials Unit at Sydney Children's Hospital and leads Australia's largest paediatric neuro-oncology laboratory.
Prof. Ziegler established the country's first early-phase paediatric clinical trials program designed to translate novel therapeutics into clinical care.
His research is focused on developing targeted therapies for brain cancers, particularly DIPG (diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma), the most aggressive of all childhood cancers and currently incurable. In 2013, he established Australia's first research program for DIPG, collecting and growing tumour samples from children around Australia and screening drugs against these to identify potential new therapies. He is now looking to find which combinations of these drugs work best.
"I am incredibly grateful both for this honour and to be able to work with such fantastic friends and collaborators at the Kids Cancer Centre at Sydney Children's Hospital and at the Children's Cancer Institute who all are united in our goal to improve outcomes for children with cancer," he said.
"Together we have made incredible progress, and this (appointment) only inspires me to keep fighting the battle on behalf of all our patients."
Read the full list of Fellows .
