Congratulations Professor Michelle Dowsey

We would like to extend a warm congratulations to Professor Michelle Dowsey, who has received an academic promotion to Professor because of her research work and academic achievements.

Michelle currently works in the Department of Surgery at St Vincent's Hospital Melbourne, with a focus on research and research training, and has dedicated her last 30 years to St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne.

Her achievements and dedication to both nursing and St Vincent’s make her a role model for all nurses and women in leadership.

“As a successful researcher, academic clinician and woman in surgery, Professor Dowsey has inspired and mentored many other women in various professional domains to contribute to the growth and productivity of surgical research in the Department of Surgery at St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne,” said Angela Nolan, CEO, SVHM.

Michelle begun her illustrious nursing career as a State Enrolled Nurse in the 1980s, going on to study a Bachelor of Nursing at Victoria University, which she completed in 1993. She subsequently commenced her graduate year at St Vincent’s in 1994, where she discovered her passion in Orthopaedics.   

During her professional career in nursing at St Vincent’s, she rose through the ranks to become the Nurse Unit Manager of Orthopaedics. 

In 2007, she commenced a fulltime PhD studying the factors that influenced patient outcomes after total joint replacement for end-staged osteoarthritis. 

Michelle has been the research lead of the Arthritis Surgery Research Team at St Vincent’s since the completion of her PhD in 2009. She has been a highly successful leader through growing the research team and has had publication success along the way.

This has led to further recognition through leadership roles within the Department of Surgery at St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne, where she held the title of Deputy Academic Head, and more recently on the executive of the University-wide Department of Surgery as the lead of the Mentorship and Career Development portfolio at the University of Melbourne.

In 2019, Michelle was awarded University of Melbourne’s prestigious Dame Kate Campbell fellowship, the Dean’s Fellowships for Research Excellence, which is designed to recognise and reward outstanding research performance.  

Some of her outstanding achievements thus far include over 173 peer-reviewed publications and over $16 million in research grants to Orthopaedics (University of Melbourne Department of Surgery, St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne). 

Her work in osteoarthritis research has been recognised globally by nominations to international society committees and journals, as well as global research collaborations.

“In light of the dedication and professionalism she has shown throughout her career, not only to St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne but to the wider international community for musculoskeletal research, I would like to congratulate Michelle for her achievements and thank her for her dedication,” said Angela Nolan, CEO, SVHM.