Professor Jane Gunn is a distinguished academic general practitioner, inaugural Chair of
Primary Care Research and the first woman Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences at The University of Melbourne. Born and raised in the regional town of Sale, Victoria, her parents Alfred and Violet, both teachers, instilled in her the ‘importance of inquiry’ from a young age – a mantra that led her into an outstanding medical and research career and one that she uses to this day.

At the time of Jane’s enrolment in her medical degree, less than 45% of medical students at the University of Melbourne were female (only in 2017 did female GPs outnumber males in Australia). Her commitment to the importance of primary care for the community led to her PhD and pioneering career in the field of academic general practice.

Jane’s leadership of her discipline and in traversing the research-practice gap has raised the profile and rigour of primary care research in Australia. She led the Department of General Practice at the University of Melbourne for ten years and has made significant contributions to the quality of primary care research undertaken in the community setting, both in Australia and worldwide, consistently working at the forefront of innovation in clinical practice and research - a reflection of her passion for providing the best and most evidence-based care.

She has led the Diagnosis, Management and Outcomes of Depression in Primary Care (diamond) study since 2003: a longitudinal study aimed at developing models of care to
transform primary mental health care, focusing on depression and multimorbidity. This study has twice been included in the NHMRC ‘Ten of the Best’ collection.

A Fellow of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences and a Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, Jane has current and past service as a Director on primary care, hospital and medical research institute boards. She has served two terms on the NHMRC Research Committee and is current member of NHMRC Council. As Dean of the largest Faculty in the University, Jane provides strategic vision and leadership while fostering a collegial and dynamic environment for more than 2,500 staff and 8,300 students. As a member of the University Executive, she contributes to strategy and decision making across the University.

In her role as Dean, she further serves the community on several boards (Children’s CampusCouncil, Doherty Council, Florey, Melbourne Academic Centre for Health (MACH), Melbourne Health, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (MCRI), and Walter and Eliza Hall Institute (WEHI) which assists in maintaining effective relationships across the health and medical research sector.

Qualifications: MBBS, University of Melbourne (1987); Diploma in Obstetrics, Royal
Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetrics and Gynaecologists (1991), Fellow Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (1994); PhD, University of Melbourne (1998); Fellow, Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences (2016).