We’re thrilled to welcome Natalie White as Program Manager for the Transform Project. Natalie brings extensive experience across health, research and community settings and is known for her practical, collaborative approach to delivering work with real-world impact. Welcome, Natalie!

Meet our 3 new GR students to our Department in 2026. Emily Thrower, Nida Anees & Tracy Murphy represent the strength of our GR community: research grounded in practice, driven by equity & committed to improving primary care for diverse communities. Welcome! #GraduateResearch #PhD2026 #PrimaryCare

We’re thrilled to welcome Melissa Zanlunghi to our Graduate Nursing Programs team! A Nurse Practitioner with 10+ years’ experience in primary care and paediatric haematology/oncology in the USA, Melissa now practises in Melbourne while completing her NP endorsement in Australia. Welcome, Melissa!

A special moment from last week’s memorial for A/Prof Phyllis Lau. We were honoured to welcome back Prof Doris Young, pictured with Dr Malcolm Clark in front of her portrait from her time leading the department. A lovely reminder of the enduring friendships and shared history in our community.

Happy New Year to everyone welcoming in the Year of the Horse this week. Wishing you all great happiness, health and prosperity. 🐴 #YearoftheHorse #ChineseNewYear2026 🐴

Happy Primary Health Care Nurses Day! Today we celebrate all the fabulous primary care nurses who deliver care, connection and support every day, right across Australia. #PHCND2026 #PrimaryHealthCareNurses #PrimaryCare

Primary health care nurses are an anchoring thread in the rich tapestry of general practice. Join us in recognising the important role they play in keeping Australia healthy on Wed 4 Feb. #PHCND2026 #PrimaryHealthCareNurses

SPCR wrapped up another annual writing retreat last October — three days in Dandenong with eight grad researchers focused, writing and keeping a much-loved tradition going. Big thanks to the GSA for supporting the retreat through their Special Grant. Can’t wait for the next one. ✍️🌿

Meet Dr Kelly Fitzpatrick, our new Research Fellow – Sexual and Reproductive Violence. Her research explores how abuse patterns emerge and escalate, helping to identify early warning signs of coercive control. 📄 Read more: doi.org/10.1177/1745... #IPV #ResearchForChange

It is with enormous sadness that we announce the passing of our dear colleague, Phyllis Lau on 9/11/25 Phyllis was a valued member of our Department with a strong reputation for the energy, passion and enthusiasm she put into all her work. She was a determined force building primary care research.

FREE SEMINAR Creative Arts and Dignity in Mental Health 3/12/25 12:30pm - 2:00pm ESJ King Lecture Theatre L3 West, Medical Building, University of Melbourne Mode: In-person and online (registration is essential) Late lunch and networking after the event BOOK NOW go.unimelb.edu.au/wcn2 #freeevent

Dr Suzie Harte is passionate about bringing primary care research to regional, rural and remote Australia. As National Program Manager, she helps ensure meaningful studies reach the communities that need them most. Learn more 👉 go.unimelb.edu.au/svn2 #PrimaryCareResearch #RuralHealth

Reforms are underway to improve mental health + wellbeing for kids (0–12) and their carers across Australia. This new paper shares a co-designed model of care developed with 235+ children, families, carers, service providers, First Nations + CALD communities. 👉 go.unimelb.edu.au/7xqp #MentalHealth

🌿 Green it and they will come! From a few pots to 104 thriving plants, our greening project has transformed our office into a more welcoming, connected, healthy place to work. All achieved with shared effort, creativity and no big budgets — just propagation, donations and community spirit. #Plants

If you work in adolescent health and would like to gain valuable tools, techniques and evidence-based strategies to help you diagnose and manage youth mental illness in primary care then this micro cert is for you. Starts 6 Oct. Completely online. go.unimelb.edu.au/337p #mentalhealth #youth

Lung cancer screening saves lives. Speak with a doctor or healthcare provider to see if you are eligible. Find out more: www.health.gov.au/lung-cancer-... #lungcancer #lungcancerscreeningsaveslives

More than 979,000 applications for medicinal cannabis prescriptions were approved in Australia in 2024. The current prescribing landscape has been described as confusing, inequitable and difficult to regulate. Read Dr Christine Hallinan's new article in The Conversation. lnkd.in/gcn3gCWC #cannabis

Wonderful to welcome Charla, Rifyal & Mirfa from Universitas Gadjah Mada 🇮🇩 to Melbourne! They're here on an elective with our Dept of General Practice & Primary Care, exploring teaching and research. #MedicalEducation #InternationalCollaboration #PrimaryCare

Dr Rebecca Starkie brings a unique blend of academic leadership, clinical experience and research expertise to General Practice at the University of Melbourne. As Academic Coordinator, she plays a key role in guiding the next generation of doctors. Learn more about Rebecca: go.unimelb.edu.au/vd9p

Syphilis rates in Australia have surged with 3,602 cases already this year. New research explores using multiplex PCR testing in GP clinics to boost early detection. More here: lnkd.in/gN8ffFNE #sexualhealth #primarycare #research

We're thrilled to welcome Jasmine Purches to the Dept of General Practice & Primary Care @ UniMelb as WEAVERS Project Officer. She’ll support the WEAVERS lived experience group as part of the SAFE program. Jasmine brings invaluable admin, community and lived experience to the role. Welcome, Jasmine!

Over 30,000 people in Victoria are homeless — 2 in 5 are under 25. It’s not just rough sleeping — it’s couch surfing, cars, unsafe housing. GPs see the health impacts daily: chronic disease, mental illness & preventable conditions. Everyone deserves a home. Learn more: go.unimelb.edu.au/5cgp #HW2025

It’s Loneliness Awareness Week. This year’s theme: Moments Matter. Even a smile or brief chat can make a big difference. Have you had a moment of connection recently? 💬 Share your story or read others' here: lonelinessawarenessweek.com.au #MomentsMatter #LonelinessAwarenessWeekAU

🖤💛❤️ Today we celebrate National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children’s Day. This year’s theme — “Little footsteps, big future” — honours the strength of culture, community and Country in shaping young lives. 👣 Proud. Strong. Connected. #LittleFootstepsBigFuture #SNAICC #FirstNations

A web-based sexual health application using AI to identify the risk of a lesion being an STI from a photo is currently in development, however, the usefulness, accessibility and acceptability of this technology to potential users are unknown. Read more👉 go.unimelb.edu.au/cc7p #research #sexualhealth

👋 Meet Chloe Dawes, our new GP Liaison & Placement Coordinator at the Dept of General Practice and Primary Care! She’s helping coordinate placements for MD students and working with 350+ clinics across Vic through VicREN. Welcome, Chloe! 🙌 🔗 Learn about VicREN: go.unimelb.edu.au/647p

Meet A/Prof Kylie Vuong in our new “Get to Know Us” series! She researches how GP–patient trust shapes shared care, especially in cancer treatment. Learn more on this topic: go.unimelb.edu.au/je7p #PrimaryCare #PatientCentredCare #CancerCare

What are the factors that need to be considered to genuinely progress mental health lived-experience research? Find out in this latest research: go.unimelb.edu.au/sn5p @profmbanfield.bsky.social @victoriajpalmer.bsky.social #mentalhealth #research #livedexperience #primarycare

Congrats to Dr Amita Tuteja on receiving the 2025 RANZCOG Award! This award recognised her PhD research on developing culturally sensitive consent processes and creating a best practice resource for healthcare practitioners working with interpreters in refugee contexts. #success #research #impact

The Therapeutic Guidelines: Antibiotic has been updated! A recent symposium covered key changes, including sepsis and penicillin allergy updates. Catch up via our article and watch all 12 presentations here 👉 lnkd.in/gHRxkKtr View the new guidelines 👉 lnkd.in/gv5H9mCg #antibiotics #primarycare

It’s been over a decade since paediatric care quality in Australia was last reviewed. This new study examines changes in GP care and low-value interventions for 5 common childhood conditions. Read more:https://go.unimelb.edu.au/q7fp #childhealth #generalpractice #primarycare #intervention

GPs provide the most care to Aussie kids yet we lack data on what conditions GPs manage and refer. Understanding this could improve training, address inequities and support better models of care close to home. Read this article by Prof L Sanci & Ors #primarycare #childhealth go.unimelb.edu.au/y7fp

1 in 3 Australian men report using intimate partner violence — a confronting finding from the latest report from the Ten to Men study by the Australian Institute of Family Studies. 🎧 Tune in to hear Prof @kelseyhegarty.bsky.social insights on ABC AM Radio 👉 lnkd.in/gXCC6smT #ipv #dfv #primarycare

Australians have had access to long-acting reversible contraception (LARC) for over two decades, yet only 10.8% of Australian women use it compared with France (27%) and Austria (23%). To find out more, read the latest article: obgyn.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/... #sexualhealth

GPs need sustained support to continue providing high-quality, accessible care. This goes beyond adequate funding or minor workforce adjustments. First-class care demands real investment, long-term commitment and the will to deliver lasting solutions. #primarycare #generalpractice #familydoctor

It's International Clinical Trials Day! Thank you to all the patients, practitioners and researchers across Australia who make this work possible. Your dedication and participation drives progress, informs policy and saves lives. #ClinicalTrialsDay #CTD2025 #Research #PrimaryCare

Enhance your skills in youth mental health with our new 8-week, online micro-credential: Assessing and Enhancing Youth Mental Health in Primary Care. Assess risk of suicide & self-harm, develop a safety management plan & conduct biopsychosocial assessments. go.unimelb.edu.au/7zjp #youth #health

Ensuring that sexual health care is affordable, accessible and acceptable is key to improving population health. Discover the barriers young people face when accessing sexual health care and how this can be improved in our new article. 👉 buff.ly/gZ3wc4L #research #sexualhealth #primarycare

Congratulations to Planning Saw and his team of UoM medical students for placing 4th overall in the 2025 Emory Morningside Global Health Case Comp in Atlanta, USA. University students from around the world competed to develop a strategy to eliminate cervical cancer among women in Kenya. #health

Free-text fields in clinical records often contain information that needs to be de-identified when sharing this data for research purposes. Many GPs use anonymisation tools to make this process faster. Discover which tools were the most effective. 👉 go.unimelb.edu.au/27xp #datascience #research

Introducing the new National Multidisciplinary Primary Care Research, Policy and Advocacy Consortium - a collaboration of 20 universities & 100 researchers across Australia improving primary care delivery & patient outcomes through multidisciplinary, team-based care. go.unimelb.edu.au/q2xp #letsgo

We are thrilled to introduce you to the newest member of our Department - A/Prof Kylie Vuong. Kylie is an experienced GP who brings an exceptional track record in research, teaching and leadership roles. Kylie's research focuses on cancer epidemiology and prevention in primary care. #welcome #cancer

Read the new article on establishing priorities for meaningful service improvement for people with post-stroke aphasia by Lisa Anemaat, Victoria J Palmer, David Copland & Ors. Read the full article here: lnkd.in/gXv3Ftqs #mentalhealth #research #stroke #aphasia @alivenational.bsky.social

New research shows patients with high-normal platelet counts have a greater risk of cancer with risk increasing as platelets & age increases. Using PATRON, this study compared primary blood test results from 3 countries to examine the risk of cancer at different platelet counts. #research #cancer

Meet Dr Caroline Kappelin, our visiting PhD student from Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, Sweden. Caroline will be presenting her PhD project "Improving wellbeing and quality of life for individuals with multiple health conditions and common mental health problems in primary care". #primarycare

Meet our new Academic GP Registrar, Dr Emily Thrower. Emily's research project is titled: "Care after pregnancy loss: How can LGBTQIA+ people be better supported?" In her spare time, Emily enjoys rock climbing, yoga & spending time with her baby & partner. Welcome Emily! #generalpractice #MD2025

Congratulations Dr Jimmy Tseng on winning the 2025 Dr Leon Carp Award! Jimmy's research will concentrate on asthma interventions in high schools. We look forward to having him join the Department. #winner #research #asthma #primarycare

Latest evaluation report for the Doctors in Secondary Schools program is in.. #highschool #adolescenthealth #primarycare #teenhealth

Fantastic turnout at the GP Supervisor Workshop on the weekend. Highest attendance in over four years! There are 780 medical students doing general practice placements with us this year. That's a 10% increase on our figures from last year! Has the GP drought broken? #generalpractice #primarycare

Read the new article by Prof Jon Emery on the psychological impact of screening with a multicancer early detection test in The Lancet Oncology Journal. https://buff.ly/40Gfk9j #cancer #research #primarycare