Professor Euan Wallace AM appointed Chief Research and Innovation Officer

18 December 2025
Announcements
2 min read

Research and innovation are crucial to our vision of reimagining how we deliver care.

Monash Health is proud to announce the appointment of Professor Euan Wallace AM to the newly established position of Chief Research and Innovation Officer, a fractional role alongside his appointment as Dean, Sub-Faculty of Clinical and Molecular Medicine within the Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences at Monash University. Professor Wallace will commence in the roles on Tuesday 27 January 2026.

Research and innovation are crucial to our vision of reimagining how we deliver care. As a leading academic health service, we have the potential to improve lives locally, nationally and globally. Research projects currently underway at Monash Health include over 550 clinical drug trials, more than 50 device trials, and nearly 1,000 clinical research studies.

This new position is part of our commitment to providing tomorrow’s care today by integrating research, teaching and training into everyday practice. Professor Wallace will report to our Chief Executive Officer, Professor Eugine Yafele.

This appointment marks Professor Wallace’s return to Monash Health, having first joined in 1997 as 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.

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.

More recently, Professor Wallace served as 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.

With a strong track record in academic and public sector leadership, Professor Wallace will be an influential leader and contributor in his roles at Monash Health and Monash University.

We thank Professor Eric Morand for his leadership of the Sub-Faculty of Clinical and Molecular Medicine since its inception. Pleasingly, Eric continues as Director of Rheumatology at Monash Health.