About the College
The College of Public Health, Medical & Veterinary Sciences (CPHMVS) is part of the Division of Tropical Health and Medicine.
CPHMVS promotes, fosters, supports and administers quality teaching, research and research translation across the disciplinary areas of aeromedical retrieval, animal science, biochemistry, bioengineering, biomedicine, biosecurity, cell biology, communicable diseases and their control, disaster preparedness and response, human physiology, genomics, global health, health systems and policies, immunology, indigenous health, injury prevention, medical entomology, medical laboratory sciences, microbiology, molecular biology, One Health, parasitology, public health, virology, travel medicine, tropical medicine, veterinary science.
The College has key external advisory groups for each of its disciplines, whose members provide advice on the key requirements for working in these industries now, future directions for graduates and emerging themes for curriculum and research. The CPHMVS academic and professional staff are office holders and advisors on several key industry, state and national government committees, international organisations and editorial committees providing evidence based advice to support understanding the needs of, developing new and improved approaches to and delivering services for the health and well being of humans and animals globally, especially in under served, rural and remote settings.
Our subjects range for bench to bedside and health services and systems, farm to fork and animal services and conservation, genome to animals (production, companion, wildlife; terrestrial and aquatic) and humans to policies and systems. Work integrated learning and placements in local, state, national and international settings are available to our students to ensure both work readiness as well as real life experience.
The College has a dynamic Higher degree Research community, led by national and global leaders in their research fields, and with access to international class field, laboratory and other research facilities. This world class research is built into the subjects taught through a range of courses to ensure that the basics and well as innovation and emerging fields are covered in the education programs we support.
The College hosts the World Health Organisation Collaborating Centre on Vector Borne and Neglected Tropical Diseases. The Centre supports WHO capacity building priorities (including clinical, public health and social sciences) for effective control of vector-borne diseases (VBD) and neglected tropical diseases (NTD); the scale up and evaluation of WHO recommended vector control methods and other NTD control and elimination strategies; the development of innovative and sustainable NTD surveillance strategies and participate in collaborative operational research on early detection, prevention and management of chronic morbidities and effective tools for vector control.
The College also is in a partnership with CSIRO in the Science Leader program in Emerging Infectious diseases launched in 2019.
The work of the College, its teaching, research, research translation, community and global service and engagement embraces the Sustainable Development Goals, in particular:
- Goal 1: No Poverty;
- Goal 2: Zero Hunger;
- Goal 3: Good Health and Well Being;
- Goal 5: Gender Equality;
- Goal 6: Clean Water and Sanitation;
- Goal 10: Reduced Inequality;
- Goal 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities;
- Goal 12: Responsible Consumption and Production;
- Goal 13: Climate Action;
- Goal 14: Life Below Water;
- Goal 15: Life on Land; and
- Goal 17: Partnerships to Achieve the Goal.
Professor Maxine Whittaker, MBBS, MPH , PhD, FAFPHM, GAICD is the Dean of the College of Public Health, Medical and Veterinary Sciences at James Cook University.
She is also Co-Director of the World Health Organisation's Collaborating Centre for Vector Borne Diseases and Neglected Tropical Diseases at James Cook University.
Over the last 30 years she has worked in health systems strengthening for maternal, neonatal, child and adolescent reproductive health and tropical infectious disease programs. She has lived and worked in Bangladesh, Zambia, Zimbabwe and worked extensively in China, Fiji, Indonesia, Kenya, Philippines, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tanzania, Thailand, Tonga, Vanuatu, and Vietnam.
She teaches One Health, Health Systems Management, Communicable Disease Control and Malaria Elimination at James Cook University, and in other institutions globally.
She has extensive experience in project and program design in health and development, and in using with a variety of national governments, national research institutions, international development partners and NGO organizations. She uses rapid formative research and anthropological methods and implementation research to inform, monitor and evaluate outcomes and impacts of these programs.
She is the co-Chair of the Research Project Review Panel of WHO Special Program Of Research, Development And Research Training In Human Reproduction.
Her work in research translation includes being a founding member of ExpandNet, which is an global network of who seek to advance the science and practice of scaling up to promote equitable access to high quality health and development interventions. Her work has led to demonstrable changes in policy and practice, including national scaling up of injectable contraceptives in Bangladesh and in Vietnam, malaria surveillance and response policies and standard operating procedures in Vanuatu and Solomon Islands, management procedures for public health disease outbreaks in Papua New Guinea and health information systems operating procedures in several Pacific nations.
In 2017 she was awarded the Royal Australasian College of Physicians International Medal in recognition of outstanding service in developing countries.
The office of the Dean can be contacted through the team email deancphmvs@jcu.edu.au.
Learning and Teaching
Dr David Simcock
The Associate Dean, Learning & Teaching is responsible for the development and promotion of a learning and teaching culture committed to excellence and innovation and a positive student experience across the College.
Research
A/Prof Lionel Hebbard
The Associate Dean of Research is responsible for the strategic and regulatory leadership of research in the College.
Research Education
A/Prof Ellen Ariel
The Associate Dean Research Education (ADRE) is responsible for the regulatory leadership of research education in the College.
In conjunction with the College Dean, Associate Deans and the Manager College Operations, the Academic Head plays a key role within the College to provide academic leadership, direction and management of the College’s learning and teaching, research, research education and engagement activities, and to contribute to strategic planning and the achievement of priorities established in consultation with the College Dean within their disciplines.
Medical Sciences
Prof David Whitmore
Public Health & Tropical Medicine
A/Prof Sue Devine
Veterinary Sciences
Dr Margaret Reilly