Congratulations to Monash Health Endocrinologist, Associate Professor Jun Yang, who has been added to the state’s official Honour Roll of Women, as a change agent in the field of hypertension research and treatment.
A/Prof Yang, who is also Head of the Endocrine Hypertension Service at Hudson Institute of Medical Research, joins a group of remarkable Victorian women who share her persistence and determination to make meaningful change.
The award comes in honour of A/Prof Yang’s years of work to increase the diagnosis and treatment of Primary Aldosteronism (PA), which is responsible for up to 10 per cent of all cases of hypertension (high blood pressure).
PA affects up to 600,000 Australians, with many of them unaware of the condition, meaning that both their PA and their hypertension are likely to go untreated.
‘Under A/Prof Yang’s leadership, diagnoses have increased fortyfold, leading to the service being recognised by Monash Health and the Victorian Public Health Awards,’ said Dr Ranjana Srivastava OAM, Monash Health Oncologist.
Professor Peter Fuller, Head of Monash Health’s Endocrinology Unit and Hudson Institute’s Centre for Endocrinology and Metabolism, described her as a force of nature whose academic trajectory has been stellar.
‘She has successfully integrated her clinical expertise with discovery science and community outreach to advance the diagnosis of PA, an under-recognised, potentially curable, cause of hypertension,’ said Professor Fuller.
‘(She is) an extraordinary young clinician-researcher who has successfully juggled clinical, family and academic responsibilities to be a role model for young women in science and endocrinology, with a reach and impact well beyond Victoria.’