UNSW Medicine & Health

21/12/2025

Goodbye 2025. 👋

You’ve been a year of memorable achievements for our faculty.

We’ve had students, staff and alumni recognised for their remarkable impact, improving health care and education. We celebrated graduations, the 25th anniversary of our Rural Clinical Campuses, as well as the opening of the UNSW Health Translation Hub and many other milestones.

As this year now draws to a close, we’d like to thank you for being part of our community, and wish you a safe and restful holiday season.

We will be taking a short break at this time – returning on 6 January 2026.

Our social channels won’t be monitored, but if you’re a future student with enrolment questions, our support team will be available to contact, here: https://www.unsw.edu.au/study/help/contact-us

🎨 Illustration credit: Jelena Sinik (UNSW alumna and artist)

19/12/2025

When preparing for an overseas holiday, with that long checklist of to-dos, it’s easy to forget about your pre-travel vaccinations.

But without them, your holiday itinerary may be unpleasantly interrupted – with mild sickness at best, or at worst serious illness and navigating foreign health systems.

So which travel vaccines should you get for your upcoming trip? Public health and infectious disease experts share current recommendations.

When you think about travel vaccines, you might think about ones for typhoid or cholera. But there are others you need to think about too.

18/12/2025

“Quiet cracking” is a concerning burnout phenomenon being reported across workplaces, where employees appear engaged but are silently struggling to maintain energy and productivity.

It results from a combination of extreme fatigue and job insecurity, revealing the flaws in modern working arrangements, according to experts.

UNSW Emeritus Professor in Psychiatry Gordon Parker AO discusses the factors that contribute to burnout and what workplaces should do to protect long-term employee wellbeing.

Experts explain how burnout and quiet cracking signal deeper flaws in modern work and what leaders can do to prevent them

18/12/2025

We are delighted to recognise Professor Mark Brown AM, who has been awarded an Honorary Doctorate from UNSW Sydney. 🎉

Prof. Brown is a renowned renal physician whose work has transformed clinical practice, influenced national and international guidelines, and helped shape generations of clinicians and medical students.

UNSW is proud to celebrate Prof. Brown’s achievements – and thank him for his extraordinary service to medicine and to our community. 👏

17/12/2025

The Lang Walker AO Medical Research Building has officially opened, putting south-western Sydney at the forefront of medical research and clinical care.

Part of Campbelltown Hospital Campus, the new medical centre will bring together researchers, clinicians and postgraduate students to deliver innovations that benefit local patients and communities, with a particular focus on improving outcomes for people facing complex and chronic health issues.

It has been developed in partnership between UNSW, Western Sydney University, South Western Sydney Local Health District and the Ingham Institute for Applied Medical Research, with financial, development and delivery support from the Walker Corporation.

https://www.unsw.edu.au/newsroom/news/2025/12/landmark-55-million-medical-research-centre-opens-in-south-west-sydney?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social

16/12/2025

💬 “The world has the tools to end AIDS as a public health threat by 2030. What is missing is sustained political will, predictable and adequate funding and the courage to confront inequity head-on.”

Dr Beatriz Grinsztejn, President of the IAS - International AIDS Society, recently delivered the 2025 David Cooper Lecture at the Kirby Institute, highlighting what it will take to meet the World Health Organization’s 2030 target to end the HIV/AIDS epidemic.

Speaking with ABC’s Dr Norman Swan, Dr Grinsztejn stressed that medicine is a field where “science and justice must walk together” and warned that we are at a “critical moment” in global health, where inequities in HIV treatment must be urgently addressed.

Watch now:

Ongoing action on HIV is needed to meet the World Health Organization’s 2030 target to end AIDS as a public health threat.

16/12/2025

Want to donate blood after the Bondi terror attack?

The most effective way to help is to book an appointment with Australian Red Cross Lifeblood and attend, only if you are eligible.

Blood will be urgently needed in the days and weeks ahead for patients' ongoing treatment.

Here’s what to know about eligibility and the donation process:

Tens of thousands of people have already volunteered to donate blood. But donations will also be needed in the coming weeks. Here’s what to know.

15/12/2025

11/12/2025

Congratulations to Dr Erandi Hewawasam, who has received the James McWha Rising Star Award. 🌟🎉

This alumni award from the University of Adelaide recognises Dr Hewawasam for her innovative research in maternal and renal health at UNSW’s Centre for Big Data Research in Health. She is also an advocate for inclusive, evidence-based care and education.

“The way I measure success in my career is through the real-world impact that my research is having,” says Dr Hewawasam.

“It’s about changing the journey of parenthood for people living with chronic kidney disease. It’s about guiding students, the medical trainees and high school students in STEMM.”

09/12/2025

Congratulations to UNSW medicine student Eunice Cheng, who has been recognised as a rising star in teaching. ⭐

Eunice took home the Educational Excellence Casual or Sessional Teaching Award and the Students' Choice Award for Inspirational Teaching (Undergraduate) at our recent staff awards, in recognition of her outstanding contributions to Pathology and Pharmacology teaching. 🎉

Eunice said she felt honoured and humbled to be presented with these awards, especially in the presence of her teaching mentors and colleagues.

“Throughout my university journey, I have been so fortunate to have lecturers and tutors who have broadened my aspirations and created safe learning environments. This compelled me to become a tutor in the hopes of passing on these same positive learning experiences to other students through my own teaching.”

“Receiving such high recognition from the Faculty at this very initial stage of my career is so encouraging, and it has reaffirmed my goal of becoming a clinical academic in the future!”

09/12/2025

Our Medical School Class of ’85 returned to UNSW last weekend to celebrate an incredible 40 years since graduation. 👏

About 80 alumni joined us on campus, with some travelling from interstate and even overseas to mark the milestone. They enjoyed a campus tour, followed by an evening celebration filled with reminiscing, laughter and dancing.

And the highlight? A show-stopping cake — an exact replica of the medical school textbooks from the ’80s. 📚🎂

Congratulations to the Class of 1985 on this wonderful milestone. Here’s to making many more memories!

08/12/2025

Congratulations to our Medicine Class of 2025, who have now completed their sixth and final year of study. 🎉

It was wonderful to celebrate this milestone with so many students from the graduating cohort of 286 doctors.

A huge round of applause for this year’s student prize winners Bella Lamaro, Jay Patel, Jason Jing Long Wu and James Bilbrough, who were recognised for their outstanding academic achievements and contributions to the UNSW community. 👏

And thank you to all our farewell address speakers for your inspiring words.

We wish the Class of '25 the very best for their new careers.🩺