Our Board
Professor Edward Janus
President
Professor Edward Janus is a physician, and recently retired as Director of General Internal Medicine in the Department of Medicine at the University of Melbourne at Western Hospital in Footscray. After graduating in New Zealand, Professor Janus gained his PhD in London in lipid metabolism. His major clinical and research interests are in the epidemiology and prevention of cardiovascular disease and diabetes. He joined the Board in 2003 and became President in 2010.
Mr David Young
Secretary
Mr David Young joined the Board in 1993 when the Heart Research Centre (now the Australian Centre for Heart Health) became an independent organisation. He has been Honorary Secretary of the Board since that time. A lawyer, Mr Young is a consultant with Haines and Polites. He has extensive experience in commercial, finance, litigation and domestic law and has been actively involved in politics at branch level in inner Melbourne.
Mr Craig Stapleton
Treasurer
Ms Beverley Knowles
Member
Ms Beverley Knowles, who joined the Board in 1997, is a corporate social responsibility and marketing consultant, and an executive volunteer for Leadership Victoria - Greatconnections. Formerly CEO of the Museum of Chinese Australian History and Director of Marketing and Communications at La Trobe University, her various corporate and consulting roles span the commercial and not-for profit sectors.
Dr Robert Newman
Member
Dr Robert Newman is Head of Clinical Cardiology at Western Hospital in Footscray and an Honorary Senior lecturer in the Department of Medicine at the University of Melbourne. Dr Newman is a graduate of the University of Queensland. He completed postgraduate training in internal medicine and cardiology in Sydney, London and Melbourne. He joined the Board in 2011.
Dr Alan Hutchison
Member
Alan has enjoyed a long and successful career in educational administration and leadership, most recently as head of a large secondary school in the independent sector. He now works as a Teaching Development Coach at RMIT University in Melbourne. Alan holds a University of Melbourne Doctor of Education degree in public policy analysis and evaluation. He is a Fellow of the Australian Council for Educational Leaders and was for many years the Victorian President of ACEL and an ACEL national Board Member. He is also a Fellow of the Australia and New Zealand Institute of Managers and Leaders. Alan is an experienced professional mediator in the areas of workplace and community dispute resolution.
A strong believer in the transformative power of high-quality peer support, particularly in managing life with a chronic health condition, Alan is passionate about building heart health awareness and the provision of practical support for people living with a heart condition. In this connection Alan is the Immediate Past President of the cardiac peer support organisation Heartbeat Victoria.
Ms Kaylene O’Shea
Member
With broad mulitnational pharmaceutical industry experience, Kaylene has managed budgets of more that $30M and teams of up to 120 across companies such as CSL, Amgen, Calgene and Bristol Myers-Squibb. Kaylene has first hand experience of the impact our Cardiac Counselling Clinic can have on a patient’s recovery.
Dr Andre La Gerche
Member
Andre is Head, Clinical Research Department and Head of Sports Cardiology at Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute and works as a cardiologist at St Vincent’s Hospital in Melbourne, specialising in cardiac imaging. He is a Future Leadership Fellow of the National Heart Foundation and a NHMRC Career Development Fellow. He completed a PhD at the University of Melbourne and 4 years of postdoctoral research studying the effect of endurance exercise on the heart at the University Hospital of Leuven, Belgium, where he is a Visiting Professor.