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UNSW Sydney professor Bronwyn Graham is the newly appointed national Director for the Centre for Sex and Gender Equity in Health and Medicine.

As a clinical and behavioural neuroscientist based at the School of Psychology in the Faculty of Science, Prof. Graham has dedicated her career to improving women’s mental health. She researches how the female brain regulates emotions—translating her findings to clinical settings and beyond.

Prof. Graham will be based at The George Institute for Global Health’s Sydney office for this position, which involves leading the establishment and growth of the Centre. She will be supported by two co-directors based at the Faculty of Health at Deakin University in Victoria: Professor Rachel Huxley, Executive Dean and Dr Severine Lamon, Deputy Associate Dean of Research and ARC Future Fellow.

What will the Centre do?

The Centre was launched in March and seeks to address the biases based on sex and gender differences in healthcare that cause significant disadvantages. These biases principally impact women and girls, people with variations of sex characteristics (intersex people), trans and gender diverse people—but also men and boys.

“I’m excited to join the team and to work with Deakin University and the UNSW Australian Human Rights Institute to realise the vision of the Centre,” says Prof. Graham.

“I’m particularly looking forward to collaborating with the many people in Australia and around the world who have already been instrumental in integrating sex and gender considerations routinely across so many different areas, in research, practice, policy and at a community level.”

Professor Jane Hirst, Global Director of the Women’s Health Program at The George Institute, said the Centre’s collaborators were fortunate to secure Prof. Graham for the newly created role of Centre Director.

“With her experience investigating sex and gender differences in the ways mental health manifests in women, and her passion for using that knowledge to educate others and ultimately change the system, Prof. Graham is ideally suited to lead the establishment of the Centre,” she says.

“We are thrilled to have her on board to set the direction for the Centre’s future work.”

A growing body of evidence shows sex and gender biases are baked into health systems, with far-reaching and devastating consequences for the health of individuals and society. When clinical guidelines and policies are based on trials that exclude whole groups of the population, people experience delayed treatment or misdiagnoses—or inappropriate treatments. These have significant personal, social and health budget implications.

The Centre for Sex and Gender Equity in Health and Medicine is an initiative of The George Institute for Global Health, the UNSW Australian Human Rights Institute and Deakin University. Further support includes collaborative partners from the Victorian Department of Health and the Association of Australian Medical Research Institutes (AAMRI). The launch of the Centre was supported by a Health and Medical Research Sponsorship grant from NSW Health.

A healthier future for all

The evidence and resources generated from the Centre will directly inform government initiatives aimed at improving the health of women and the LGBTQIA+ community, including the activities of the National Women’s Health Advisory Council, the National Women’s Health Strategy, and the LGBTQIA+ 10-year National Action Plan (announced in 2023).

View the Centre’s recent .