Hello, I’m Professor Stephen Holdsworth, Director of Research Support and research Strategy and Head of the Department of Diagnostic and Clinical Immunology at Monash Health.

In other words, I’m an academic clinician scientist. That means I practice medicine, undertake medical research, and teach and mentor young scientists and clinicians concurrently. This combination makes my working life challenging and enjoyable.

I enjoy caring for patients, and having a research team gives me the opportunity to design and conduct research that will provide insights into our patients’ diseases that hopefully will result in new treatments and better outcomes. I really enjoy helping smart young scientists and clinicians to become independent research leaders. I particularly like the integration of clinical observation and research investigation.

I have held a number of positions in research administration including terms as Deputy Dean Research for the Monash Faculty of Medicine and Chair of the Grants Committee for the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC).

It is an enjoyable role for me, and I believe it is a meaningful role for Monash Health. I get to draw on my knowledge of research in Australia and how it works, and help shape Monash Health’s agenda and future growth.

This experience and understanding has become even more important as the landscape of research in Australia evolves. We have moved on from the silos of individuals and small groups, and recognised that research has to be done in themes and in teams utilising technological advancements. Our most recent advance at Monash Medical Centre has been the creation of the Monash Health Translation Precinct (MHTP); greatly helped by our new research flagship building the Translational Research Facility (TRF).

Translational research is research that moves basic science discoveries through clinical research to better outcomes for patients and improves community health. It brings scientists and clinicians together in health themes. We have six major themes of research, cardiovascular, inflammation and infection, cancer, neurosciences, endocrine and women’s and children’s health. The MHTP and its Health Themes are the major focus of this year’s Research Week.

Naturally, the creation of the MHTP Translation Research Facility is a wonderful step towards improving our research and continuing to attract the best and brightest clinicians and researchers.

Outside of the hospital walls I have a great love for my family, travel and the outdoors. Although the setting is clearly very different, there is symmetry between this passion and my professional work, and I believe you can learn from both worlds.

I have a personal objective to climb the highest peak in every State of Australia, recently scaling Mt Ossa in Tasmania. It sounds heroic but Australia’s mountains are really quite manageable – you can ride a bike up most of them – but the views are amazing. Like my work in research, there was a great sense of personal achievement in reaching that goal, but there is also wonderful camaraderie and joy in sharing it with others.