Elevating your mentoring journey: Expert strategies for successful partnerships

This virtual webinar will showcase mentoring thought leaders, Dr Melina Georgousakis and Professor Lauren Ball, and previous AHPA Mentoring Program participants, to help members understand the value of mentoring and better prepare for their role as mentee/mentor.

Dr Melina Georgousakis, Founder Director, Franklin Women (she/her)

Melina is a research scientist, a social entrepreneur and champion for an inclusive health and medical research sector. After a career in the lab researching vaccines for group a streptococcus, she transitioned into a health policy career providing technical support to the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation. Melina later joined the Bupa Health Foundation as their Research and Policy Manager responsible for building and investing in partnerships to improve health outcomes of the Australian population.

She is the founder of Franklin Women, a social enterprise with a mission to create a science sector where women thrive and is currently leading the organisation as its director. Under Melina’s leadership Franklin Women has grown to become a credible and impactful organisation within the Australian health and medical research ecosystem representing thousands of women and their allies, as well as 24 diverse workplaces who have joined their growing Partner Alliance.

Melina has been recognised through awards such as Eureka Prize for Outstanding Mentor of Young Researchers, ProBono Australia’s 25 People of Impact, Edna Awards and Women’s Agenda Leadership Award. She has judged the Australian Technology Competition and the Australian Museum Eureka Awards. In 2019 she shared her story on the TEDx stage.

Professor Lauren Ball, Professor of Community Health and Wellbeing at the University of Queensland (she/her)

Lauren is an accomplished research leader capable of building multidisciplinary teams that develop innovative solutions to complex problems. She has an international reputation for improving health of communities by creating knowledge, translating it into real life scenarios and evaluating improvements for people, health care providers and funders. Her work spans primary care, community care, hospital services, allied health, health promotion and wellbeing and health policy.

Lauren has a clinical background as an Advanced Accredited Practising Dietitian and Exercise Physiologist, which has provided me with an understanding of the way health professionals and their services enable health and wellbeing in people, groups and communities. Her research career to date has been exemplary, as evidenced by multiple awards and accolades, including two NHMRC fellowships, a national award for excellence in PhD supervision, fellowships of learned societies and several awards for research excellence.

View the information flyer here.