I still have my original name, hard for some to pronounce, most people call me Yaya but it’s actually Yahya and the H has all my genetic markers. I migrated to Australia from Jordan, not telling you when but a long time ago that I stopped counting. I am a dual qualified in Anaesthesia and Intensive Care and also hold an EMBA from University of Technology Sydney. I have 3 children, none of them are doctors, good thing I guess. I moved to Melbourne after 31 years of Sydney’s eastern suburb living, so there is a bit of cultural accommodation to go through. I am driven by challenges and achievements, am told there is plenty of that at Monash, will tell you in 12 months.

I moved from a Program Director position in Sydney to take on the Professor and Program director role for Critical Care. I am pretty fresh with 48 hours in the job. My role will be to develop and drive academic research within Critical Care, integrate Critical Care within the hospital strategic directions and set future development plans for Critical Care as a lead service in Melbourne. Initiatives on the campus, including the Children Hospital, the Research Translational Centre and Monash Heart development are all on the horizon, I intend to make Critical Care a major player within the Campus. My other role will be within the Monash University appointment to develop an academic stream within Critical Care.