Order of Australia recognitions 2023

The Order of Australia recognises the outstanding service and contributions of Australians from all walks of life. In 2023, a number of our current and former St Vincent’s colleagues were recognised with an Order of Australia Honour for their exceptional service.  

Professor Mark Cook 
Officer(AO) in the General Division of the Order of Australia
For distinguished service to neurological medicine and research through contributions to the treatment of epilepsy. 

Over the course of his career, Professor Cook has demonstrated an enduring commitment to improving the lives of people with epilepsy and other neurological conditions. 

A consultant neurologist at St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne since 1993, Professor Cook is currently St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne’s Chair of Medicine and has held the position of Director of the Department of Neurology for over twenty years. 

Under his directorship, the St Vincent’s Neurology Department is now one of the largest units in Australia for the surgical treatment of epilepsy.  

Professor Cook is the Chairman of the Human Ethics Committee at St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne. Among his many other achievements, he was the Chairman of the Epilepsy Foundation of Victoria for over 20 years, and the Inaugural Director of The Graeme Clark Institute for 5 years. He has been a member of the driving committee of the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine for over 25 years, and a board member of the O’Brien Foundation for 14 years. 

Professor Cook’s extensive work in the field has been recognised internationally. He is currently leading several projects developed through the Aikenhead Centre for Medical Discovery (ACMD) of which he has been a driving partner.

Read more about Professor Cook’s work here.

Professor Steven Collins 
Officer (AO) in the General Division of the Order of Australia
For distinguished service to medical and health science research, particularly in the field of prion disease.

Professor Collins is the Head of the Mitochondrial and Autoimmune Neurological Disorders Laboratory, Department of Clinical Neurosciences and Neurological Research at St Vincent's Hospital Melbourne.

Dr Rodney Woods
Medal (OAM) of the Order of Australia in the General Division
For service to medicine as a surgeon, and to water polo.

Dr Woods has been a Colorectal Surgeon at St Vincent's Hospital Melbourne since 1988. 

He joined St Vincent’s in 1981 as a General Surgical Registrar, and later went on to become Director of Colorectal Surgery from 2006 to 2021.

Clinical Associate Professor Edwin Harari 
Medal (OAM) of the Order of Australia in the General Division
For service to medicine as a psychiatrist.

Professor Harari was a Senior Consultant, Mental Health Services at St Vincent's Hospital Melbourne for 40 years. He is Clinical Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatry at the University of Melbourne. 

Professor Harari is a Member of the St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne Mental Health Peer Review Group, and the St Vincent's Hospital Melbourne Psychotherapy Group.

Dr Elizabeth Lording  
Member (AM) in the General Division of the Order of Australia
For significant service to medicine, particularly to Multiple Sclerosis rehabilitation and research.

Dr Lording was a Rehabilitation Physician, Neuroimmunology Clinic at St Vincent's Hospital Melbourne from 2008 to 2019.