REFRAMING WOMEN’S HEALTH AS A SYSTEM-WIDE AGENDA ACROSS INNOVATION, REGULATION, WORKFORCE AND POLICY
With
Professor Robyn Norton AO
Founding Director, The George Institute for Global Health &
Professor of Public Health,
Faculty of Medicine, UNSW Sydney &
Emeritus Professor, Imperial College London
PEOPLE IN HEALTH CARE SEGMENT
Filmed in Sydney | July 2026
In May 2026, Professor Robyn Norton AO, played a prominent role at the inaugural Medical Technology Association of Australia (MTAA) Women’s Health MedTech Summit, Breaking the Silos, held in Sydney.
Professor Robyn Norton AO FAHMS is one of the two Founding Directors of The George Institute for Global Health, Professor of Public Health at UNSW Sydney and Emeritus Professor of Global Health at Imperial College London. Robyn co-established The George Institute’s Global Women’s Health Program and more recently the Centre for Sex and Gender Equity in Health and Medicine, where she co-leads the Business Translation Working Group. Robyn is a director on the board of the Black Dog Institute, a member of the Women in MedTech Committee of the MTAA and a member of Chief Executive Women. She also chairs the NHMRC’s Gender Guidelines Development Committee and the Advisory Board of the Network of Excellence in Women’s Health at Imperial College London.
Suiting her significant contribution to global health research, her involvement extended beyond being a keynote speaker—she helped frame the strategic direction of the summit and the broader conversation around women’s health innovation in Australia.
The summit itself was designed to address longstanding gaps in women’s health research, medical technology, clinical trials and policy by bringing together clinicians, researchers, industry, investors, government and consumer advocates. Following the event, MTAA reported that almost 200 participants attended and used the discussions to inform a Women’s Health Action Plan aimed at driving future MedTech policy and innovation.
Australian Health Journal spoke with Professor Norton on her research journey, the early stages of the George Institute for Global Health and the priorities for advancing women’s health.
Source: Adapted from MTAA Women’s Health MedTech Summit speaker profile and agenda
Media access credit: Medical Technology Association of Australia (MTAA)
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Global GP Conference comes to Australia
Over 3000 delegates from around the World will gather at the 50th celebration of WONCA to reconnect and revive General Practice, sharing knowledge and learnings on access, equity, funding, and multidisciplinary care teams. This includes networking with Australian and overseas GPs and in particular learning about primary care practices in other countries.
Australian Health Journal met with Dr Nicole Higgins, President of RACGP in transit at Brisbane Airport recently and she spoke about the $6 Billion allocated in the Federal Budget in May as a significant achievement for General Practice investment. She also emphasised this announcement reinforced GPs should be at the centre of multidisciplinary care teams to ensure continuity of care and better health outcomes.
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State of Private Hospitals sector in Australia
During Mr Roff’s working career at APHA he has represented the private hospitals sector to nine different Federal Health Ministers and eight Prime Ministers. He believes the government should take steps to regulate the health insurance industry to protect consumers and ensure that Australians have access to affordable and comprehensive healthcare services.
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Understanding extracellular vesicles in cancer therapy research
Joy Wolfram is an Associate Professor at the Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology and the School of Chemical Engineering at the University of Queensland in Australia. Originally from Finland, she earned both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in biology before transitioning to engineering with a PhD in nanotechnology completed in China. Wolfram has over a decade of experience working in hospitals in the United States before joining the University of Queensland.
Her research focuses on extracellular vesicles, which are crucial for cell communication both locally within tissues and over longer distances between organs. Her lab studies the roles of these vesicles in both health and disease, particularly in cancer. They investigate the harmful messages released by cancer cells that aid in tumour growth, specifically in breast cancer, while also exploring how to harness beneficial extracellular vesicles from healthy individuals as potential therapeutics.
