Professor Frances Kay is the current Institute Director and CEO of the Hunter Medical Research Institute, Australia’s largest regionally located Health and Medical Research Institute that comprises 1700 affiliated researchers across 19 research programs and 90 staff.

Frances is a registered psychologist with 25 years of experience as an HMRI researcher in mental health. She leads an international team of researchers, clinicians, and industry partners resulting in an innovative program of research that has attracted international collaborators across 5 disciplines and earned over $30M in funded research projects.

In addition to her international research credentials, Frances has over 10 years research leadership experience, most recently holding the positions of interim Pro-Vice Chancellor, Research and Innovation and Head of School of Medicine and Public Health at the University of Newcastle. She is also the newly appointed Chair of the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Women in Health Science Committee and is a member of the NHMRC Research Committee.