Transdisciplinary visionary: Redesigning the future of healthcare

11 April 2025

Some people are born to be doctors. Others are driven by a thirst for knowledge. Monash Business School alum and world-leading expert in metabolic health, Professor Barbora de Courten, is both.

Growing up in Slovakia in a family of doctors, medicine was a constant presence in Professor Barbora de Courten’s life.

As a child, she was fascinated by how the body and brain functioned and always knew she wanted to work in the field.

“I was living and breathing medicine pretty much from birth – I wanted to be a doctor since I was about four years old,” she said.

However, while following in her parents' footsteps may have been inevitable, Professor de Courten’s passion for knowledge led her beyond clinical practice into groundbreaking research—and eventually, healthcare innovation.

“Those who know me know I have a deep love of learning,” she said. “It has driven me my entire life. One of my friends called me 'Barbora Why' when I was a teenager. I always asked questions and challenged the status quo.”

A career-defining breakthrough

After completing her medical degree, Prof de Courten faced a major hurdle: securing a position at a university hospital in post-Communist Slovakia was nearly impossible.

However, one pathway remained open - research - so she embarked on a PhD investigating obesity, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes in Roma and non-Roma populations.

That study opened doors to an even bigger opportunity - a position at the prestigious National Institutes of Health (NIH) in the USA. Initially hired as a junior researcher, Prof de Courten quickly distinguished herself.

“I went from working full time as a doctor, doing my PhD in the evenings and on the weekend, to running large-scale data analyses and identifying new predictors of disease in Pima Indians, a population with one of the highest prevalence rates of obesity and type 2 diabetes within the first year,” she said.

Her research at the NIH uncovered a critical link between inflammation, insulin resistance and diabetes - work that has since shaped the global understanding of metabolic health.

‘It completely transformed my thinking’

Prof de Courten said it was the recognition of a critical skills gap in healthcare and academia that led her to Monash Business School in 2020.

While many of the brightest minds were promoted based on expertise, few had formal leadership or management training.

Determined to upskill, she enrolled in the Global Executive MBA program.

“I loved the learning – it was a completely new area of study for me. It completely transformed my thinking,” she said.
Now, she’s putting those lessons into practice.

“I’m setting up the RMIT Centre for Health by Design using design thinking, which I learned about in business school,” she said.

“This Centre will take a transdisciplinary approach, bringing together health, design, computing, engineering, and business to tackle patient and health service challenges.”

A legacy of leadership and impact

Prof de Courten has earned widespread recognition for her contributions to chronic disease prevention.

Distinguished Professor at RMIT University, adjunct professor at Monash and the University of Queensland, and Senior Specialist Physician at Monash Health, she has published more than 230 research papers and was awarded the Order of Australia Medal in 2024.

She also received this year’s Dean’s Lifetime Achievement Award—but for her, the real reward lies in mentorship.

“My greatest pride lies in the achievements of my PhD students and early- and mid-career researchers,” she said.

“If they uphold the legacy of collaborative, transdisciplinary medical research and serve as an inspiration to the next generation of students, clinicians, and researchers, I have done my job.”

Learn more about our annual Dean’s Alumni Awards.