Past FHRI Fund Advisory Council members and nominees

   Please note that information related to past members reflects that at the time of their membership and is not maintained for currency.
   

FHRI Fund Advisory Council Chair: Ms Rebecca Tomkinson

Rebecca Tomkinson has been appointed as Western Australia’s Agent General for the United Kingdom and Europe region in June 2025. Prior to this she was the Chief Executive Officer of the Chamber of Minerals and Energy of WA – the State’s peak advocacy body for the mining and resources sector.
Rebecca’s vision includes continuing to develop the capacity of the CME team and to grow public awareness of the vital contribution WA’s mining and resources sector makes to communities and economies around the State and across Australia. She is particularly interested in championing the critical minerals that are mined here in WA that will be essential in achieving net zero.

Rebecca brings strong strategic and executive experience from the private and not-for-profit sectors, is deeply committed to the development of regional WA (where she was born and raised) and is actively involved in building community and business capability.
She is a Board member of Infrastructure WA, Crown and Perth US Asia Centre.
   

FHRI Fund Advisory Council Member: Professor Fiona Wood AO

Winthrop Professor Fiona Wood University of Western Australia is a Plastic & Reconstructive Surgeon specialising in the field of burn care, trauma and scar reconstruction.

As Director of the WA Burns Service of Western Australia since 1991 she is consultant surgeon at both the South Metropolitan Heath Service, Fiona Stanley Hospital and the Child and Adolescent Health Service, Perth Children’s Hospital.

As director of burns injury research unit she leads an interdisciplinary team with broad collaboration focused on translation to improve clinical outcomes.

She sits on the national science and technology council and was Australian of the year in 2005.
Image of John Van Der Wielen Inaugural FHRI Fund Advisory Council Chair: Mr John Van Der Wielen

(current member with period of previous tenure 2020-2024)
Image of Glenn Begley FHRI Fund Advisory Council member: Dr Glenn Begley

Dr Begley MBBS, PhD, FRACP, FRCPath, FAHMS was the inaugural CEO of BioCurate Until February 2021. BioCurate was created by Monash and Melbourne Universities to achieve research-impact from their medical research.

For 15 years in California he was CSO at biotechs Akriveia, TetraLogic, and Vice-President at Amgen. He presented on research integrity to President Obama's Science Council, White House, US NIH, Academies of Science, NIST, and Wellcome Trust and NHMRC.

He is a Board Member of the Adelaide BioMedical City initiative. He currently serves as an international biotechnology consultant and is co-founder and head of drug discovery at Parthenon Therapeutics (Boston, MA), is Senior Scientific Advisor at Certara (Princeton, NJ) and Head of Biology at BridGene Biosciences (San Jose, CA).

He has >27,800 citations (h-index 79) and his TED-seminar has >110,000 views.

He was elected to American Society of Clinical Investigation, Association of American Physicians, Research "Hall of Fame" at his alma mater, and Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences.
Image of Sandra Eades FHRI Fund Advisory Council member: Professor Sandra Eades AO

Professor Eades leads a NHMRC and MRFF funded program of research focused on Aboriginal child and youth health, mental health and prevention of cardiovascular disease and dementia in Aboriginal people.

She currently leads a NHMRC Centre for Research Excellence focused on Aboriginal child and adolescent health and has contributed to training several current Indigenous health research leaders. Professor Eades is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Science and a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences Australia.

Sandra is a recipient of the Officer of the Order of Australia for distinguished service to medical research, to Indigenous health, and to professional organisations.

 
Image of Vicki O'Donnell FHRI Fund Advisory Council member: Ms Vicki O'Donnell OAM (Member from 2020 to 2022)

Vicki is a Nyikina Mangala Aboriginal woman from Derby, who has worked as a Strategic Leader in Aboriginal Community Controlled Health for 15 years.

At the time of her Advisory Council membership, Vicki was CEO Kimberley Aboriginal Medical Service (KAMS) in Broome. Vicki was instrumental in the establishment of both the DAHS dialysis unit and the Kimberley Renal Service.

Vicki has been a board member of AHCWA for over 15 years (8 years as the Chairperson), and is Chairperson of the WA Aboriginal Health Ethics Committee. She is an advisor on numerous State and Federal Ministerial Committees involved in Aboriginal health issues including representing WA on the Closing the Gap Coalition of Peaks and the WA Aboriginal Advisory Committee.

Vicki has a passion for Aboriginal Health which is noted on a state, regional and national level. She has gained enormous respect for her knowledge, attention to detail, and communication skills at a grass roots level. She is a Medal of the Order of Australia recipient for her service to the Indigenous community of Western Australia.
   FHRI Fund Advisory Council Member: Dr Moira Jean McKinnon (2023-2024)

Dr McKinnon graduated in medicine from University of Western Australia, specialised in public health through Curtin University, and has held positions in state and national government in Public Health, in the National Health and Medical Research Committee (NHMRC) Co-operative Research Centre for Emerging Infectious Diseases (CRCEID) and in international projects with the World Health Organisation (WHO). Dr McKinnon was also a founding member of the International One Health Congress.

In Canada, Dr McKinnon was involved in the development of a primary care/public health Indigenous Tribal Health Authority, and was the Chief Medical Officer of Saskatchewan province for three years.

Dr McKinnon has maintained clinical skills and worked extensively in primary care in rural and remote locations of Western Australia. She has published in medical journals, and is a writer of novels and essays.
FHRI Fund Advisory Council member (non-voting): Dr James Williamson (Nominee from 2020 to 2022)

Nominee of the Director General of the WA Department of Health

At the time he was a nominee on the Advisory Council, James was Assistant Director General leading the Clinical Excellence Division. The Clinical Excellence Division provides direction and advice to the Department of Health on clinical policies, professional and regulatory affairs, clinical leadership, safety & quality and health research.

After graduating in medicine and bacteriology from Edinburgh University Dr Williamson completed his PhD at the Walter & Eliza Hall Institute in Melbourne. He has served the Royal Australasian College of Physicians as Chair of the Specialist Advisory Committee in General Medicine and member of the Committee for Physician Training. He is currently on the NHMRC Council.
Image of Peter Klinken FHRI Fund Advisory Council member (non-voting): Professor Peter Klinken AC (Nominee from 2021 to 2022)

Nominee of the Director General of the WA Department of Jobs, Tourism, Science and Innovation

Professor Klinken is the Chief Scientist of WA, providing independent expert advice to the State Government.

Professor Klinken is a leading WA medical research scientist, whose previous roles include: Professor in Clinical Biochemistry at the University of Western Australia; Director of Research at the Royal Perth Hospital; and the Director of the Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research.

Professor Klinken was appointed a Companion of the Order of Australia (AC) in 2017. He was Western Australian Citizen of the Year (Professions) in 2008, and made a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences (2015) and a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering (2016).
Image of David Russell-Weisz FHRI Fund Advisory Council member (non-voting): Dr David Russell-Weisz

Director General of the WA Department of Health

Dr David (Russ) Russell-Weisz is the Director General of Western Australia’s Department of Health, a position he has held since August 2015.

Dr Russell-Weisz graduated as a doctor in Scotland but has spent the best part of his professional life in Western Australia. After moving to Australia in 1993, he joined the Royal Flying Doctor Service in Broken Hill, and then moved to Western Australia, where, as a procedural General Practitioner and then Director of Medical Services, he served communities in regional and remote parts of Western Australia.

Later, as Chief Executive of the North Metropolitan Health Service, he led the billion dollar redevelopment of the QEII Medical Centre and subsequently also led the commissioning of the State’s flagship $2 billion Fiona Stanley Hospital, which opened its doors to its first patients in late 2014.

Along with the WA Health Executive team, Dr Russell-Weisz is now responsible for delivering on the State Government’s Sustainable Health Review, which provides an ambitious blueprint for the delivery of high quality, safe and sustainable health care services for Western Australians over the next 10 years.
Last Updated: 03/11/2025