John Chalmers has an outstanding record in hypertension research, both fundamental and clinical. His groundbreaking research on the role of the brain in the development of hypertension led to his election to Fellowship of the Australian Academy of Science and helped establish Flinders University as a leading international centre in hypertension and neuroscience research.

His studies on the treatment of high blood pressure for the prevention of heart attack and stroke have changed the way patients are treated throughout the world. His work has been recognised through many awards including the Wellcome Medal, the RT Hall Prize of the Cardiac Society of Australia and New Zealand, The Zanchetti Lifetime Achievement Award of the European Society of Hypertension and the Volhard Medal of the International Society of Hypertension.

He has been President or Chairman of the Australian Society of Medical Research, The Royal Australasian College of Physicians, the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia, the WHO Expert Committee on Hypertension, the International Society of Hypertension and the Scientific Advisory Board of the World Heart Federation.

Professor Chalmers' contribution to medical science has been acknowledged through the award of many Honorary Doctoral degrees and extensive appointments on national and international boards and advisory committees. He was appointed a Companion in the Order of Australia (AC) in 1991 and an Officer in the National Order of Merit of France in 2010.

John Chalmers remains an active researcher at The George Institute Australia, where he is a principal investigator on many research grants and Chair of steering committees for major studies, mentors young clinical researchers from around the world, and continues to publish and lecture prolifically. 

John joined The George Institute in March 2014 and has since contributed to a variety of academic and business projects in Australia, in China and with George Clinical.  His current work with the Renal and Metabolic Division includes a prospective national cohort study of Dialysis Outcomes in India, and an epidemiological study of chronic kidney disease of unknown origin in Sri Lanka.

In 2015 John convened the Steering Committee and chaired the Judges Panel for the Affordable Dialysis Prize. From 2017-2022 John played a part in the establishment and leadership of Ellen Medical Devices Pty Ltd, a new Australian company founded to build and test a prototype of the winning entry.

John is a Senior Project Officer with the Cardiovascular Division.  He is working on the Consumer Navigation of Electronic Cardiovascular Tools (CONNECT) study. This study is assessing a multi-faceted, consumer-focussed e-health strategy to assist people to lower their risks of a cardiovascular disease (CVD) event.

John’s career started in science, with a PhD in nuclear physics from the University of Melbourne. This was followed by a number of IT leadership roles in various industries, including insurance, ISP, defense and aerospace and global professional services.

Julie Redfern is Deputy Director, Cardiovascular Division at The George Institute for Global Health, an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Sydney and a practising Physiotherapist.  

Julie is an advocate for effective secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease and her research interest is focused on improving clinical practice and reduction of risk factors ultimately in people with a range of chronic diseases.  A/Professor Redfern holds a NHMRC Career Development and Heart Foundation Future Leader Fellowship. She was recently selected on the World Heart Federation Emerging Leader Program and concluded a 6 year term on the CSANZ Board and as Chair of the Allied Health Council.

She is currently the Co-Chair of the Clinical and Preventative Cardiology Council of the Cardiac Society of Australia and New Zealand, Co-Chair of the National Secondary Prevention Alliance and part of the team that won the 2016 Australian Google Impact Challenge. Julie’s research aims to improve access to and engagement with secondary prevention strategies with a focus on technology.

Professor Berwanger leads the Institute’s work in the UK in partnership with Imperial College London, with a core focus on health systems science, multimorbidity, women’s health, large-scale clinical trials and planetary health. He is also building on his personal research interests in exploring innovative clinical trial models, as well as the conduct of efficient implementation science studies.

Prior to joining The George Institute, he was Director of the Academic Research Organisation (ARO) of the Albert Einstein Israelite Hospital in São Paulo, Brazil. An esteemed cardiologist and clinical trialist, Professor Berwanger has extensive research and managerial experience and has led large-scale, randomised clinical trials nationally and internationally across many countries including Brazil, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, China, Chile, Argentina, Peru and Colombia. Trials led by him have been published in high-impact journals such as the New England Journal of Medicine, The Lancet, JAMA and the BMJ.

Dorrilyn Rajbhandari is a Senior Project Manager at the George Institute for Global Health. She is chair of the Project Manager Interest Group, and a member of the ANZICS Clinical Trial Group. As a Senior Project Manager, with many years of experience as a nurse clinician in intensive care research, she has vast experience in clinical trial management, operationalisation of protocols, including protocol development and design, CRF design, website and data management, multiple sub-studies, final analysis and resulting publications. She is a resource and mentor for colleagues.

Dorrilyn has successfully coordinated and managed many multi-centre, worldwide clinical trials in intensive care. She has successfully completed, within expected timelines, the CHEST study (7000 patients), ADRENAL study, a 3,800 patient study from 70 sites worldwide, including the ADRENAL-GEPS Sub-Study, with the largest severe sepsis cohort in precision medicine. The process provided experience in drug manufacture, regulatory requirements and regulatory approvals in multiple countries including importation and exportation processes and requirements, sample collections and transfers from around the world. Dorrilyn is currently project managing a number of studies; BLING III multicentre clinical outcome study, a 7000 patient study from 100 sites around the world. FluDReSS, a 300 patient study from 10 sites. HOPE, hydroxycholoquine prophylaxis in health care workers in India. 

Dorrilyn Rajbhandari has the expertise to implement, manage and complete efficiently within timelines, large multi-centre clinical trials with results published in high quality journals.