Globally renowned rheumatologist and clinical epidemiologist elected a 2024 Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science
Distinguished researcher Professor Rachelle Buchbinder AO FAA FAHMS has been elected a 2024 Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science. Professor Buchbinder has been recognised for her sustained research achievements in the musculoskeletal health field, and for being a vocal proponent of evidence-informed high-value health care.
Fellows of the Australian Academy of Science are among the nation’s most distinguished scientists, elected by their peers for their outstanding contributions to science and research. From 1954 to 2023, there have been 915 Fellows elected to the Academy. Professor Buchbinder is one of 24 new Fellows welcomed to the Academy this year, and joins Professor Roslyn Gleadow from the Faculty of Science as one of two Monash University researchers elected.
A rheumatologist and clinical epidemiologist from the School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Professor Buchbinder is also an Officer of the Order of Australia, a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences and a National Health and Medical Research Council Lead 3 Investigator Fellow. She is the Head of the Musculoskeletal Health and Wiser Health Care Units in the School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine and the Chair of the Australia and New Zealand Musculoskeletal (ANZMUSC) Clinical Trial Network. In 2023, she was awarded the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences Outstanding Female Researcher Medal.
Professor Buchbinder has published over 700 research papers in major journals such as The Lancet, BMJ, The New England Journal of Medicine, JAMA, Annals of Internal Medicine, Canadian Medical Association Journal, Cochrane and the Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases. She has received over $97 million in research funding from 120 research grants across seven countries and is a current Clarivate Highly-Cited Researcher.
A powerful advocate for high-quality clinical trial evidence of medical interventions, Professor Buchbinder has developed a global reputation for providing the evidence base to challenge accepted medical practices for musculoskeletal conditions, tackling over-medicalisation, over-testing, over-diagnosis and over-treatment of low back pain, shoulder pain and knee pain.
Her seminal and highly cited works include the evaluation of a world-first mass media campaign that successfully shifted misconceptions about back pain and the widely-acclaimed 2018 The Lancet low back pain series. She has published over twenty musculoskeletal trials that have challenged the value of accepted treatments, has been influential in changing paradigms about the value of placebo-surgical trials and tested implementation strategies to improve care.
Professor Buchbinder said she was honoured to be welcomed as a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science. “It is a great privilege to be recognised among Australia’s most distinguished scientists,” she said. “I am very thankful for the support of the many wonderful research colleagues I have worked with throughout my career, and I will continue to dedicate my career to producing the best evidence to inform higher quality care for the community.”
Dean of the Sub-Faculty of Translational Medicine and Public Health Professor Stephen Jane congratulated Professor Buchbinder on her election. “Rachelle’s research has changed policy and practice and has made direct improvements to musculoskeletal health outcomes internationally,” he said. “Her election to the Australian Academy of Science is richly-deserved recognition by her peers for a career of outstanding impact.”
Read more about Professor Rachelle Buchbinders’ career achievements.
About Monash University
Monash University is Australia’s largest university with more than 80,000 students. In the 60 years since its foundation, it has developed a reputation for world-leading high-impact research, quality teaching, and inspiring innovation.
With four campuses in Australia and a presence in Malaysia, China, India, Indonesia and Italy, it is one of the most internationalised Australian universities.
As a leading international medical research university with the largest medical faculty in Australia and integration with leading Australian teaching hospitals, we consistently rank in the top 50 universities worldwide for clinical, pre-clinical and health sciences.
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