Inaugural Climate CATCH Lab Oration

Climate change is the single biggest threat to human health and wellbeing. Rising temperatures, along with more intense and frequent extreme weather events are impacting human health and wellbeing in complex and compounding ways. These impacts are felt disproportionately in communities across Australia and the globe.

The University of Melbourne’s Climate Collaborative Action for Transformative Change in Health and Healthcare (CATCH) Lab works to accelerate climate change and human health research, engagement and education for enhanced impact.

Join the Climate CATCH Lab and global, regional and national climate and health experts to unpack the transformative changes needed for climate resilient and responsive health systems. The inaugural Climate CATCH Lab Oration will feature expert insights from:

• Hon. Ged Kearney MP, Assistant Minister for Health and Aged Care, Commonwealth Government of Australia 
• Professor Kris Ebi (keynote speaker), Professor of Global Health in the University of Washington Center for Health and the Environment and Miegunyah Fellow, University of Melbourne
• Professor Jane Gunn, Dean, Melbourne Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences, University of Melbourne
• Professor Kathryn Bowen, Deputy Director, Melbourne Climate Futures and Professor, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, University of Melbourne

Join us for this vital discussion, followed by light refreshments.

The Climate CATCH lab is a joint initiative of the University of Melbourne School of Population and Global Health and Melbourne Medical School, within the Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Science, and Melbourne Climate Futures.

Speakers

Hon. Ged Kearney MP, Assistant Minister for Health and Aged Care, Commonwealth Government of Australia

Ged Kearney is the Federal Member for Cooper and the Assistant Minister for Health and Aged Care. She started her working life as a nurse and rose to become Federal Secretary of the Australian Nursing Federation. From 2010, Ged served as the president of the ACTU – the peak body of Australia’s union movement – where she fought for better conditions for Australian workers. Ged’s working life – from nurse to president of the ACTU to parliamentarian – has been about fighting for the rights of others. She is a strong voice for social justice, workers’ rights and universal healthcare inside Labor and the parliament. Ged is a passionate advocate for the environment and throughout her career she has supported a humane response to refugees.

Professor Kris Ebi (Keynote speaker), Professor of Global Health in the University of Washington Center for Health and the Environment and Miegunyah Fellow, University of Melbourne

Kris Ebi is Professor of Global Health and Environmental and Occupational Health Services with the Department of Global Health at the University of Washington. She has been conducting research and practice on the health risks of climate variability and change for 25 years, focusing on: understanding sources of vulnerability; estimating current and future health risks of climate change; designing adaptation policies and measures to reduce risks in multi-stressor environments; and estimating the health co-benefits of mitigation policies. She has supported multiple countries in Central America, Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Pacific in assessing their vulnerabilities and implementing adaptation policies and programs.

Professor Jane Gunn, Dean, Melbourne Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences, University of Melbourne

Professor Jane Gunn was appointed interim Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences (MDHS) in February 2021. Professor Gunn was previously the MDHS Deputy Dean, following a decade as Head of the Department of General Practice and a further two years as Deputy Head of the Melbourne Medical School. She is a distinguished academic general practitioner and inaugural Chair of Primary Care Research at the University of Melbourne. As one of Australia’s leading primary care researchers she traversed the research-practice gap. In 2016 she was elected a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences in recognition of her outstanding leadership in health and medical research. In February 2020 Jane became the Chief Public Health Advisor for the University of Melbourne and was instrumental in steering its public health response to COVID-19.

Professor Kathryn Bowen, Deputy Director, Melbourne Climate Futures and Professor, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, University of Melbourne

Kathryn is Professor of Climate, Environment and Global Health in the Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, and Deputy Director of Melbourne Climate Futures, University of Melbourne. Kathryn is a leading, internationally recognised expert on the science and policy of sustainability (particularly climate change) and global health issues, with experience in original public health research, science assessment, capacity development and policy advice. She is regularly commissioned by international bilateral and multilateral agencies to co-design solutions for sustainable futures. Kathryn is Director of the Climate Collaborative Action for Transformative Change in Health and Healthcare (Climate CATCH) Lab, and is Stream Lead for International Engagement and Adaptation.