The Baker Institute and our long-time philanthropic partners, the Baker Foundation, are delighted to announce that Professor Dianna Magliano OAM has been appointed a five-year Alice Baker and Eleanor Shaw Gender Equity Fellow.
Professor Magliano, a world leader in identifying global diabetes trends, is the second senior female fellow to be appointed at the Institute since 2020.
The Alice Baker and Eleanor Shaw Gender Equity Fellowships are named in honour of two trailblazing women recognised for their philanthropic efforts in helping to establish the Baker Institute more than 95 years ago.
The Fellowships have traditionally supported early career scientists, and more recently, the focus has turned to senior five-year appointments recognising the widespread difficulty of recruiting and retaining talented senior female researchers.
Chairman of the Baker Foundation, Logan Armstrong said: "The Trustees of the Foundation are delighted to continue to support the Gender Equity Fellowship. We congratulate Professor Magliano on her appointment as the new Fellow and commend her for the outstanding work she is doing in her very important field".
The Fellowships, which represent an important initiative aimed at delivering sustainable change and important role models to foster more senior women in Australian science, form a cornerstone of the Institute's Gender Equity and Diversity program.
Professor Magliano's appointment is most fitting given her leadership roles in global diabetes epidemiology and championing gender equity.
Professor Magliano heads the Diabetes and Population Health Unit, a group focusing on the epidemiology of diabetes and obesity. She played a pivotal role in recognising and predicting the current global pandemic of diabetes, including helping to lead pivotal diabetes data for the International Diabetes Federation. She has led advocacy for greater efforts in diabetes prevention, and holds an appointment at Monash University where she coordinates the Master of Public Health degree.
She is also a strong advocate for gender equity in Australian science. She helped establish and chair the inaugural Gender Equity and Diversity Committee at the Institute in 2014 and has contributed significantly to national efforts to advance diversity in the Australian scientific sector. Professor Magliano spearheaded the Institute's successful bronze Athena SWAN Science in Australia Gender Equity (SAGE) award in 2018, and is now working with the Committee to build on these efforts as the Institute works toward a silver SAGE award.
Baker Institute Director, Professor Tom Marwick said: "We are very proud to offer these senior five-year female fellowships which attract both national and international applicants. Professor Magliano is a most deserving recipient, exemplifying the outstanding leadership qualities that have led to this appointment.
"Not only is Professor Magliano an outstanding diabetes epidemiologist who is recognised globally for her research, but she is a well-known advocate in the gender equity arena, providing a strong role model both at the Institute and in the sector more widely," he said.
