HEALTHIER FOOD RETAIL
Professor Anna Peeters AM, PhD
Chief Executive Officer, VicHealth, Victoria, Australia
RESEARCHER PROFILE
Filmed in Melbourne, Australia | July 2026
Professor Anna Peeters AM is a globally recognised public health leader whose career has spanned academia, policy and health system reform, with a strong focus on prevention and health equity. She is the CEO of VicHealth, bringing decades of experience in epidemiology, population health and evidence-based health promotion.
Prior to her appointment as CEO, Professor Peeters was Director of the Institute for Health Transformation at Deakin University and a Professor of Epidemiology and Equity in Public Health. In this role, she led multidisciplinary research addressing major health challenges including obesity, chronic disease, health system sustainability and health outcome inequities. She has also held leadership roles at the Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute and the Australia and New Zealand Obesity Society and has contributed to national and international advisory bodies.
Professor Peeters is widely recognised for her research into obesity prevention, food systems and the social determinants of health. She established the world-first RE-FRESH Centre of Research Excellence in healthier food retail environments, advancing practical solutions to improve population diets and reduce health inequities. Her work has consistently focused on translating evidence into policy and real-world impact at scale.
A Fellow of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences and a Member of the Order of Australia, Professor Peeters continues to shape prevention systems through a strong emphasis on equity and collaboration.
Source: Supplied
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Professor Kim Hemsley
RESEARCH IN BRAIN COMPUTER INTERFACE
@ SYNCHRON
MELBOURNE, VICTORIA, AUSTRALIA -
Novel therapies & next-gen medical devices in cardiovascular & vascular disease management
Professor Shirley Jansen AM is a distinguished vascular and endovascular surgeon whose career spans clinical leadership, academic excellence, and pioneering research. She currently holds the Lawrence-Brown Chair of Vascular Surgery at Curtin University’s School of Population Health and serves as Head of the Department of Vascular Surgery at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, a role she has held since 2015. In addition, she is the Director of the Heart & Vascular Research Institute at the Harry Perkins Institute for Medical Research. Her early career was marked by prestigious fellowships, including a British Heart Foundation Research Fellowship (1996), and multiple international travelling fellowships from leading surgical societies and industry sponsors between 2001 and 2002.
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Identifying and treating autoimmune neurological disorders
Associate Professor Sudarshini Ramanathan is a neurologist and clinician scientist whose work focuses on autoimmune neurological disorders. Her research has helped identify new neurological syndromes due to antibody-mediated demyelination and encephalitis, and improve diagnostic tools and treatment guidelines for patients with autoimmune diseases affecting the brain, spinal cord, muscles and nerves.
