Director appointed to the Office for Health and Medical Research
Date:
Thu, 19/07/2012
Spokesperson:
NSW Minister for Health, Minister for Medical Research, The Hon Jillian Skinner MP
The Minister for Health and Medical Research, Jillian Skinner, today announced the appointment of Dr Tony Penna as the new Director at the Office for Health and Medical Research.
A key election commitment of the NSW Government, the Office for Health and Medical Research was established in June 2011 as the principal body responsible for maximising the impact of medical research in NSW.
Dr Penna specialised in paediatric pharmacology and undertook clinical research for over a decade before he moved into medical administration at Westmead and Royal North Shore Hospitals
He then became the Chief Executive of the Children's Hospital at Westmead for five years.
He has been acting in the role of Director of the Office of Health and Medical Research for the past six months.
Minister Skinner welcomed Dr Penna to the role and emphasised the importance of health and medical research to improving patient care and health outcomes.
“I am delighted that Dr Penna has been appointed Director at the Office for Health and Medical Research,” Mrs Skinner said.
“Dr Penna’s professional background in health, research and medical administration makes him the ideal person to fulfil the role of Director permanently.
“He brings with him a wealth of experience – experience that he has already drawn on successfully while acting in the role.”
Mrs Skinner said the role of Director is fundamental to establishing the Office for Health and Medical Research as the body that will oversee the implementation of the NSW Government’s response to the NSW Health and Medical Research Strategic Review.
In this Review, the NSW Health and Medical Research Strategic Review committee, chaired by Peter Wills AC, articulated a vision that underpinned the 10 year strategy; ‘NSW will have a global reputation as a resilient, innovative centre of excellence for health and medical research that strongly supports a high quality health system that is highly responsive to scientific advances and that generates health, social and economic benefits for the state and beyond’.
“Medical Research is an essential building block upon which so much else rests,” Mrs Skinner said.
“To this end, the NSW Government currently allocates more than $200 million to medical research with an extra $70 million to be provided over the next four years specifically to assist in implementing the recommendations in the Strategic Review.”
Dr Tony Penna said that he was looking forward to taking up his new position.
“Actively engaging and developing relationships with Local Health Districts, medical research institutes, universities and the health and medical research community in general, will be central to successfully implementing the 10 year strategy,” said Dr Penna. “I’m looking forward to the challenge of getting on with the job.”
Media contact: Henry Jamieson 0422 003 609
