Indigenous Advisory Board

The daughter of an Arrernte man and a Gurdanji woman, Pat was raised in Alice Springs. As CEO of NACCHO, she is at the forefront of community efforts to Close the Gap in health outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Pat has over 40 years’ experience in senior leadership positions in government, business and academia including being the only Aboriginal person, only woman and longest serving CEO of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders Commission (ATSIC). Amongst her many appointments, she also spent 18 months as Monash Chair of Australian Studies, Georgetown University, Washington DC, and was inaugural CEO of NITV. Pat is the Coalition of Peaks Lead Convenor and Co-Chair of the Joint Council on Closing the Gap. Pat holds a Masters Degree in Public Administration from the University of Canberra where she was awarded the University prize for Development Studies.

Professor Alex Brown (BMed, MPH, PhD, FRACP (hon.), FCSANZ,  FAAHMS) is the Aboriginal Health Equity Theme Leader at SAHMRI, and Professor of Medicine at the University of Adelaide. Alex is an internationally leading Aboriginal clinician/researcher who has worked his entire career in Aboriginal health in the provision of public health services, chronic disease care, health care policy and research. He has established three highly regarded research groups over the last 15 years, and much of his work has been at the difficult interface of geographical isolation, complex cultural context, severe socioeconomic disadvantage, inequitable access to and receipt of care and profound health disparities. His transdisciplinary program of research focuses on documenting the burden and contributors to health inequality in Indigenous Australians, with a primary focus on cardiovascular disease (CVD), diabetes and cancer.

Ngiare is a Yuin nation woman from the south coast of NSW. She is a medical practitioner with qualifications in medicine, public health and primary care, has studied bioethics, medical law and human rights. She was the first identified Aboriginal medical graduate from NSW. Ngiare is a founding member of the Australian Indigenous Doctors’ Association (AIDA); and the Pacific Region Indigenous Doctors’ Congress (PRIDoC).

Ngiare is convening a governance council for a biorepository for Indigenous genomic research. She has extensive national and international networks in Indigenous health and social justice, including the UN system.

Ngaire has made extensive contributions to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health, research process, bioethics, policy, translation and practice. She is dedicated to Aboriginal child and adolescent wellbeing and supporting communities to develop initiatives on cultural education and breaking the intergenerational cycles of disparity.

Dr Reynolds has expertise in medical parasitology, molecular biology, biochemistry, vaccinology and Phase 1 clinical trials. Her research experience is in the characterisation of infectious disease, with a focus on the host parasite interaction. The overall aim being the identification suitable targets and the pre-clinical development of therapeutics. She has previously applied her expertise to understanding virulence factors in malaria and scabies. She currently applies her scientific knowledge to the clinical development and evaluation of vaccine candidates against Streptococcus pyogenes and project management of streptococcal vaccine clinical trials.

Vicki is a Nyikina Mangala Aboriginal woman from Derby, who has worked as a Strategic Leader in Aboriginal Community Controlled Health for 15 years.

Vicki is currently CEO Kimberley Aboriginal Medical Service (KAMS) in Broome. Vicki was instrumental in the establishment of both the DAHS dialysis unit and the Kimberley Renal Service.

Vicki has been a board member of AHCWA for over 15 years (8 years as the Chairperson), and is Chairperson of the WA Aboriginal Health Ethics Committee. She is an advisor on numerous State and Federal Ministerial Committees involved in Aboriginal health issues including representing WA on the Closing the Gap Coalition of Peaks and the WA Aboriginal Advisory Committee.

Vicki has a passion for Aboriginal Health which is noted on a state, regional and national level. She has gained enormous respect for her knowledge, attention to detail, and communication skills at a grass roots level.

Professor Santosham was the Founder and Director of the Johns Hopkins Center for American Indian Health (CAIH) from 1991 to 2016.  He is currently the Director Emeritus of CAIH. He is also the Senior Advisor for the International Vaccine Access Center (IVAC) at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. He holds Professorships in the Department of International Health and the Department of Pediatrics at Johns Hopkins University.

Professor Santosham is internationally known for his work on oral rehydration therapy, childhood vaccines and dissemination of pediatric prophylactics to vulnerable populations worldwide. Working in partnership with Native American communities, he conducted landmark vaccine efficacy trials, including rotavirus vaccine, H. influenzae type b conjugate vaccine, and pneumococcal conjugate vaccine. Professor Santosham has become a global leader in the dissemination of these public health strategies worldwide.

Tracey Brand is an Eastern Arrernte woman, born and raised in Alice Springs and a decedent of the Stolen Generations. She is the Chief Executive Officer of the Derbarl Yerrigan Health Service; an Aboriginal community-controlled health service in Perth.

Tracey has over thirty years of experience in leading Aboriginal service delivery across Aboriginal community-controlled organisations, especially in the areas of Aboriginal health, housing, early childhood and family services. She holds a strong commitment in addressing the broader social determinants of Aboriginal health.

Tracey holds a Master of Business Leadership, Master of Business Administration and a Masters of Arts in Aboriginal Administration.

Professor Ian Gust is a medical virologist with a distinguished career including the development of vaccines against hepatitis A and human papillomavirus infection. During his 20 years at Fairfield Hospital he built an internationally renowned research team, founded and directed the Burnet Institute, established the National HIV reference laboratory and directed the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) special unit for AIDS virology. During his subsequent period as R&D Director at CSL Ltd, he laid the basis for the company’s new product portfolio. Ian is the author of 3 books, more than 300 papers and has received several major awards for his work.