News

Professor Jane Fisher in Conversation: Leadership in Global Mental Health

Professor Jane Fisher brought both candour and clarity to a recent Women Leaders in Global Mental Health Network conversation, tracing the personal and professional experiences that have shaped her work. In discussion with Dr Prasansa Subba, she reflected on inequality, research, and the responsibilities of leadership in global mental health. Read more here.

Life and Other Catastrophes on ABC Radio Melbourne

Professor Jane Fisher has a regular segment called Life and Other Catastrophes on ABC Radio Melbourne's Mornings with Rafael Epstein, exploring the complications that arise in our relationships, friendships, and daily lives. Tune in Mondays after the 10am news.

DJ Ross Oration

Maggie Kirkman delivered the DJ Ross Oration on 18 May at Melbourne Girls Grammar School. She was invited to speak about her research on women in their seventies, eighties, and nineties who had had various achievements in late life. The book resulting from this research, Time of Our Lives: Celebrating Older Women, was designed to challenge the stereotypes of old women as useless burdens or alarming witches. Dorothy Ross was head mistress of the school in the 1940s and 1950s. She was an innovative educator whose influence is still recognised. A large audience of Old Grammarians, parents, and friends of the school, aged from their early twenties to their late nineties, were energised by Maggie’s presentation.

New research shows impact of home environments on early childhood development across East Asia and the Pacific

Two new Global and Women's Health studies have shed light on how home environments shape the development of children aged two to five years in the East Asia and Pacific region. Drawing on a systematic review and a national population-level study from Vanuatu, the findings highlight the importance of country-specific evidence to guide early child development (ECD) policy planning. Read more in Monash News.

Professor Jane Fisher at Monash Global Leaders’ Summit Asia Pacific

Professor Jane Fisher was invited to speak at the inaugural Monash Global Leaders' Summit Asia-Pacific in Penang in April. The Summit was convened by Vice-Chancellor Professor Sharon Pickering and Professor Dato’ Dr Adeeba Kamarulzaman, President and Pro Vice-Chancellor Monash Malaysia, to bring together the expertise, insight and lived experience of the University's global alumni community.
Read more here.

The risks and rewards of having a baby later in life

Dr Karin Hammarberg shared her insights about older mums with host Yumi Stynes on the ABC's Ladies, We Need To Talk podcast: Are you mum or grandma? Having a baby at 47. Listen to the episode here.

Sexual and reproductive healthcare: Are we failing newly-arrived refugee and asylum-seeking women?

For many newly arrived refugee and asylum-seeking women, preventive sexual and reproductive healthcare remains out of reach. Read the full story by Dr Natasha Davidson in Monash Lens.

Conference research presentation

Research assistant Neve Davison visited Adelaide from 19-21 November to present at the Society for Mental Health Research Conference 2025. Ms Davison shared findings from the team’s scoping review on the barriers and facilitators to implementing digital psychosocial interventions for older adults in emergency departments – you can read the protocol paper here. She also presented the team’s co-design work on a digital psychosocial tool developed for use with older adults in a Victorian emergency department.

Early Journey of Life

Following the successful launch workshop for Early Journey of Life in June this year, the team has been working hard in collaboration with the Research and Training Centre for Community Development (RTCCD) to initiate the implementation of the 'Enabling Mountainous and Rural Children from Five Provinces in Vietnam to Grow and Thrive' (EM-THRIVE) program through integration into the National Immunisation Program. Read more in the Early Journey of Life Newsletter.

Here’s what we know – and don’t know – about using IVF sperm donors from overseas

Choosing an overseas clinic and a donor can be difficult, and can come with some additional risks. Read the full story by Dr Karin Hammarberg in The Conversation.

Home caregiving, early learning and the development of Fiji’s preschoolers

Preschool aged children in Fiji are not all getting the same start in life, and new research from Monash University’s Global and Women’s Health unit reveals which factors are most strongly linked to better child development. Read more in Monash News.

SRDC Early Career Fellowship and Small Grant for Dr Yeji Baek

Congratulations to Dr Yeji Baek on her selection for the prestigious 2025 Early Career Interdisciplinary Scholars Fellowship from the Society for Research in Child Development (SRDC). This highly competitive program pairs emerging scholars with senior mentors to drive interdisciplinary collaboration on critical issues like global health, child mental health, and early childhood policy affecting children and families worldwide. Yeji is also one of nine early career researchers awarded an SRDC Small Grant to fund her pilot study on the cost-effectiveness of a parenting intervention in Vietnam and its potential integration into national health policy and service provision. Read more about Yeji’s work here.

Professor Jane Fisher honoured at World Congress of Women’s Mental Health

Congratulations to Professor Jane Fisher on being awarded the inaugural Donna Stewart Medal for Excellence in Women's Mental Health at the World Congress of Women's Mental Health in Bengaluru, India on 7 March 2025. This prestigious award recognises and celebrates Jane's lifetime contributions to advancing the understanding of the social determinants of mental health problems experienced by women across the life course.

AAHMS Fellowship

Professor Jane Fisher AO has joined the prestigious ranks of AAHMS Fellows, for her great contributions to our understanding of the social and psychological determinants of perinatal mental health that have supported countless prevention and treatment programs. Read more in Monash News.

Men have a biological clock too. Here’s what’s more likely when dads are over 50

Dr Karin Hammarberg's piece in The Conversation about men's biological clock attracted significant interest. The article was republished in Spanish and Portuguese and Karin was interviewed on radio and TV.

Professor Jane Fisher wins School Excellence Award

Congratulations to Professor Jane Fisher, who was honoured with a Head of School Award at SPHPM's annual Excellence Awards on 30 July. The award was bestowed by Head of School Professor Sophia Zoungas in recognition of Jane's leadership excellence and contribution to global public health.

Striving for sex and gender equity in the health of Australians

Much work remains to be done in achieving sex and gender equity in Australian health, according to a new review of the evidence commissioned by the Department of Health and Aged Care. Health Minister the Hon. Mark Butler MP invited Maggie Kirkman and Jane Fisher to present the findings to Assistant Health Minister the Hon. Ged Kearney MP at Parliament House recently, in the presence of the Medical Deans of Australia and New Zealand, and representatives from the Australian Medical Students’ Association. The NHMRC and Australian Medical Research Advisory Committee also hosted presentations of the report, which emphasised that research should inform both medical education and clinical practice. Report authors include Maggie Kirkman, Jane Fisher, and Monash and University of Melbourne colleagues Steve McDonald, Tomoko Honda, Sally Green, Karen Walker-Bone, Lorena Romero, and Ingrid Winship.

New resources to help midlife women stay healthy

A new series of educational videos could be a useful tool for GPs who want to empower midlife women with knowledge to help them stay healthy for longer. Viewable on YouTube, the videos were developed as part of our work with the NHMRC Centre of Research Excellence on Women and Non-communicable Diseases (CREWaND) research translation team. Read more about the project in this Insight article co-authored by Dr Karin Hammarberg and Professor Jane Fisher.

Does our fertility really fall off a cliff at 35?

Dr Karin Hammarberg shared her insights about fertility with host Laura Henshaw on the latest episode of KICPOD's 'Do I Want Kids?' series. Listen to the podcast here.

PhD candidate presents at early childhood development conference

PhD candidate Sally Popplestone travelled to Penang, Malaysia, to speak at the Asia-Pacific Regional Network for Early Childhood (ARNEC) 2024 regional conference, 28-30 May, attended by more than 500 delegates. Ms Popplestone presented the published findings of the team's systematic review and meta-analyses on the associations between parental-mental health and the social-emotional development of children aged two to five years in low and middle-income countries.

What are ‘Ozempic babies’? Can the drug really increase your chance of pregnancy?

Some women who use drugs like Ozempic have reported unexpected pregnancies. What’s going on? Dr Karin Hammarberg co-authored this explainer in The Conversation.

Male infertility is more common than you may think. Here are 5 ways to protect your sperm

With sperm counts declining world wide, it's important to know how to keep your sperm as healthy as possible. Dr Karin Hammarberg shares top tips for preserving male fertility in The Conversation.

PhD candidate published in Human Fertility and The Conversation

Coinciding with the publication of her paper in Human Fertility, PhD candidate Ezra Kneebone was the lead author of a piece in The Conversation on what she found in her survey of the decision making of more than 300 people who were seeking or had used a surrogate to have a baby.

Dr Karin Hammarberg presents at ESHRE Campus in Lyon

Dr Karin Hammarberg was an invited speaker at the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE) Campus Workshop 'Fertility education and reproductive decision-making: why, who, when and how?' held in Lyon, France 26-27/10. This was a multidisciplinary meeting with presentations on the latest insights on the need for more fertility education initiatives, how effective they are, and how to improve their delivery.

Global and Women's Health team win School Excellence Award

The Global and Women’s Health Unit was honoured with the inaugural Diversity and Inclusion in Research Award – part of the School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine Excellence Awards – on 12 September. Congratulations to Professor Jane Fisher and the whole team!

Solo mums by choice

Dr Karin Hammarberg featured on the ABC's Ladies, We Need To Talk program on August 22, exploring what it's really like to choose to parent on your own.

Don’t believe the hype. ‘Egg timer’ tests can’t reliably predict your chance of conceiving or menopause timing

The ‘egg timer’ blood test is marketed as an empowering way to give women insights to help them plan when to have children. Problem is, it can’t deliver what it promises. Dr Karin Hammarberg co-authored this explainer in The Conversation.

Dr Karin Hammarberg discusses egg freezing and fertility

Dr Karin Hammarberg appeared on ABC's The Drum on April 28, to join in the discussion on the rising number of women in Australia freezing their eggs. (The story starts at the 29:30 minute mark.) Karin also commented in this MamaMia article on egg freezing and fertility.

Helping mums in resource-constrained countries give their babies better brains

The results of our Learning Clubs program have been shared in The Lancet Child and Adolescent Health. Learning Clubs is a randomised controlled trial of a parenting program delivered in rural Vietnam, in an attempt to drive improved long-term outcomes for babies by improving parental capacity and parenting skills during the formative first 1,000 days of life. Read more in Monash News.

New book celebrates achievements of older women

Dr Maggie Kirkman spoke to national media outlets about her new book – Time of Our Lives – released on International Women's Day, that showcases the achievements made by Australian women after they've turned 70. The inspiring book documents the impressive exploits of 20 older women, vehemently challenging the implicit assumption that women past a certain age don't contribute to society. Read about it in The Conversation, and listen to her on Radio National's Life Matters program.

Fertility test under scrutiny

A so-called 'egg timer test' – which gives an indication of how many eggs a woman has left – may not be all it's cracked up to be, cautions Dr Karin Hammarberg in this ABC article looking at the fertility test that's risen in popularity. The test, often used in IVF treatment, measures the level of anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) in a woman's blood to estimate her ovarian reserve.

Senate Inquiry into Universal Access to Reproductive Healthcare

The Global and Women’s Health team’s submission to the Senate Inquiry into Universal Access to Reproductive Healthcare (submission 9) was covered widely on ABC news, with more than 150 radio airings in February. Dr Shelly Makleff has helped educate the public about ongoing challenges with abortion access in Australia, contributing to an education resource and an article in The Conversation. She has also spoken about abortion stigma and barriers to access on RN Life Matters , ABC World Today and community and regional radio.