Professor Euan Wallace AM appointed Dean, Sub-Faculty of Clinical and Molecular Medicine
Monash University has announced the appointment of Professor Euan Wallace AM as Dean, Sub-Faculty of Clinical and Molecular Medicine within the Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences (FMNHS).
As Professor Wallace commences in this role on Tuesday 27 January 2026, he will also take up the newly-created position of Chief Research and Innovation Officer at Monash Health.
Professor Wallace has had a strong professional connection with Monash over the course of his career. He first joined the University as Senior Lecturer in 1997, and later became Associate Professor in 2000. In 2006, he was appointed Carl Wood Professor and then Head, Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology from 2013 until his departure from Monash in 2020.
During his tenure, he launched the Ritchie Centre within the Monash Institute of Medical Research in 2010 and served as its Director until 2013. Under his leadership, the Centre established a reputation as a leading perinatal research centre in Australia, integrating health research capabilities for women and newborns. He returned to Monash in a part-time role as Professor, FMNHS in May 2025.
Professor Wallace’s association with Monash Health began in 1997 when he was appointed a consultant obstetrician in maternal-fetal medicine. In 2006 he was appointed Director, Women’s and Newborn Services, a position he held until 2016. In this capacity, he successfully created Victoria’s largest maternity and gynaecology service by integrating services for women and newborns across three hospitals under a single governance structure.
Outside of Monash, Professor Wallace was previously the Secretary of the Victorian Department of Health from 2020 until 2025. He was responsible for leading the state's health portfolio, overseeing system-wide strategy, funding, performance and reform. He also played an instrumental part in directing Victoria’s health response to the COVID-19 pandemic and delivered system-wide women’s health initiatives, including Australia’s first public IVF program. In 2017, Professor Wallace established Safer Care Victoria, the state’s first agency for clinical quality and safety. He served as Chief Executive until 2020, delivering measurable improvements in maternity care, cardiac outcomes and system safety.
Professor Wallace has cultivated a distinguished reputation as a leading academic authority in fetal development, maternal health, stem cell biology and patient safety. He has authored more than 400 peer-reviewed publications, including high-impact papers in obstetrics, maternal-fetal medicine, and health system reform. With more than 21,500 citations and an h-index of 77, he has held continuous NHMRC funding for more than 20 years.
Professor Wallace has served on many leading boards and is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences (2015). He holds his medical and research qualifications from the University of Edinburgh in the United Kingdom. In 2013 Professor Wallace was awarded a Member of the Order of Australia in recognition of his significant services to medicine in women’s health and education, and received a Distinguished Service Medal by the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists in 2018. He was conferred an Honorary Doctorate of Laws by Monash University in 2023 for his contributions to women’s health and Victoria’s healthcare system.
With a strong track record in academic and public sector leadership, Professor Wallace will be an influential leader and contributor in his roles at the Sub-Faculty of Clinical and Molecular Medicine and at Monash Health.
We congratulate Professor Wallace on his new appointments and wishing him the best as he begins this new chapter of his career with Monash University and Monash Health. We also thank Professor Eric Morand for his leadership of the Sub-faculty since its inception, and wish him the best for his ongoing research career at Monash as a Sir John Monash Distinguished Professor.