Director and Unit Heads

Professor Sean Taylor

Director, Onemda: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health and Wellbeing

Professor Cath Chamberlain

Head, Indigenous Health Equity Unit Midwife, Professor of Indigenous Health

Professor Marcia Langton AO

Indigenous Studies Unit Head Melbourne Laureate | Redmond Barry Distinguished Professor | Foundation Chair of Australian Indigenous Studies

A/Prof Mitchell Anjou AM

Indigenous Eye Health, Head

Committee Leads

• 
  Professor Sean Taylor

  Research and Grants Committee Lead

• 
  Aunty Professor Doseena FergieCommunity Engagement and Knowledge Exchange Committee Lead

Professor Sean Taylor

Professor Taylor is a descendant of the Dauareb Tribe, one of the eight tribes of Mer (Murray) Island in the Eastern Torres Strait region.  Sean's joint appointment brings together two Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander senior leadership roles within the Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences – Director of Onemda: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health and Wellbeing, in the Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, and Professor of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health in the Melbourne School of Health Sciences.  Sean plays a pivotal role in strengthening the leadership in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health and enabling initiatives that make a difference to the health outcomes of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as well as supporting the next generation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health professionals. Sean brings a wealth of research, leadership, and health sector experience to this position including roles as Director of Health Services, Townsville Aboriginal and Islander Health Service, Deputy Director of Indigenous Leadership & Engagement, Menzies School of Health Research, Executive Director of Aboriginal Health & Diversity, NT Health, Principal Advisor Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health, Torres and Cape Hospital Health Service, and as Adjunct Professor, Public Health and Tropical Medicine with James Cook University. Sean is a current member of the National Health Medical Research Council Principal Committee Indigenous Caucus Committee and Consumer and Community Advisory Committee. Sean is a founding board member for Torres Health Cooperation.

Sean has over 25 years of clinical experience in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health working at different levels across Australia in a range of academic, leadership, and research interests, as well as clinical practice. He started his career as an Indigenous health worker in his home community of Mer Island in the mid-1990s and later completed a Bachelor of Nursing Science, Graduate Certificate in Health: Diabetes Management and Education, Bachelor of Health Sciences (Honours) and a Doctor of Public Health at James Cook University.

Aunty Professor Doseena Fergie

Aunty Dr Doseena Fergie OAM is an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Elder descended through Wuthathi, Mabiauag Island and Ambonese ancestry. She lives on Boonwurrung Country in Victoria. A proud mother of three adult children and grandmother to four, she has a PhD in nursing research. As a registered nurse and midwife she has worked as an Aboriginal health team’s clinical coordinator in the Yarra Valley and lectured in Aboriginal health and culture at the Australian Catholic University (ACU). She was the Project Lead embedding Indigenous Knowing into ACU curricula. In 2020 Doseena became the first Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander to be elected on the University Senate as an ACU Academic Senator. Prior to her retirement in 2021 she was her local government and health service’s Strategic Advisor for Aboriginal services.