RETAINING A CLINICAL PERSPECTIVE IN MACRO LEVEL CHANGES
With
Dr Shona Sundaraj,
Group Medical Director
Medibank
PEOPLE IN HEALTH CARE SEGMENT
Filmed in Sydney | August 2026
Dr Shona Sundaraj BAppSc (Phty), MBBS, FRACGP, MBA is Group Medical Director at Medibank, bringing over two decades of clinical and systems experience to strategy, research and stakeholder engagement. She leads the Medibank Better Health Research Hub and Chairs the Health Research Governance Committee, guiding stakeholder engagement, competitive grant rounds and partnerships with universities, translational research centres and peak bodies to support evidence based improvement in care.
Shona combines frontline clinical insight with corporate experience across health, insurance and primary care. Shona was awarded an Imperial Excellence Scholarship and completed her MBA through Imperial College Business School. She has completed executive leadership study at Harvard University. Her previous roles include senior medical positions at Zurich Financial Services and TAL, where she contributed to product innovation, risk mitigation and preventative health initiatives. She has led primary care operations through COVID19 period in primary care.
Her work is shaped by a lifelong commitment to healthy ageing as a life course priority, and to translating evidence into accessible, person-centred models of care. She has chaired both Sustainability and Research Governance groups, driven AI-enabled prevention pilots, supported medical education and worked in community volunteer clinics for vulnerable people experiencing homelessness.
A Sydney native, Shona is a mother of two and enjoys running and walking her two dogs along the harbour and beaches. Her focus in her roles as Senior Executive leader at Medibank, non-executive director and invited speaker is the practical impact that collaboration can have on the health of Australia.
Source: Supplied
Media access credit: Women’s Health MedTech Summit Australia 2026 | Medical Technology Association of Australia (MTAA)
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Investigating use of dietary supplements for osteoarthritis
Osteoarthritis is a leading cause of disability affecting over 2 million Australians, according to Australian Institute of Health and Welfare report on Chronic musculoskeletal conditions (2024) and 595 million people globally, according to BD 2021 Osteoarthritis Collaborators. Global, regional, and national burden of osteoarthritis, 1990–2020. It represents a significant public health burden that diminishes quality of life among ageing populations.
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Generosity of spirit in teaching
The Ramaciotti Medal for Excellence is considered one of the most prestigious awards in biomedical research in Australia and is highly sought after by researchers in the field.
In 2022, Professor Matthew Kiernan was the recipient of the Ramaciotti Medal for Excellence and the associated $50,000 award.
Australian Health Journal spoke with Professor Kiernan to hear about his journey in medicine and science to try and uncover and understand diseases and his generosity of spirit to pass on what he has learnt.
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Rapid trend shift in radiology technology and accessibility
Dr Mansoor Parker obtained his medical degree from the University of Tasmania. He then completed his specialist radiology training at Nepean Hospital, Sydney with subspecialty interests in Interventional Radiology and Pain Management, Musculoskeletal, Cardiac and Abdominal Imaging. Dr Parker is a qualified specialist since 2005 and is a member of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Radiologists and the exclusive Australasian Musculoskeletal Imaging Group (AMSIG) as well as the Interventional Radiology Society of Australasia (IRSA).
