Professor Jacinta Elston

2020 College Recipient, College of Public Health, Medical and Veterinary Sciences

Jacinta Elston graduated from James Cook University in 1994 with a Diploma of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, in 1998 with a Masters of Public Health and Tropical Medicine and again in 2015 with a Graduate Certificate in Australian Rural Leadership.

She worked for James Cook University for over 24 years from 1992. She is currently the Pro Vice-Chancellor (Indigenous) of Monash University and has been cited as a leader in the Indigenous Australian community with global expertise in Indigenous health and higher education. Jacinta is a highly regarded public speaker and a major contributor to the fields of Indigenous affairs, research and policy development. In 2019, she was awarded the prestigious Chief Executive Women (CEW) 2019 Scholarship to attend Harvard University.

Jacinta also serves as the Chair of Cancer Australia’s Leadership Group of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cancer Control and Deputy Chair of Breast Cancer Network Australia (BCNA). She is widely respected for the unique and informed Indigenous perspective she brings to mainstream Australian affairs, issues and conversations.