Mary is an experienced Non-Executive Director (GAICD, AICGG) with a portfolio spanning the healthcare, research and higher education sectors. Her board work is informed by a distinguished career as a clinical and translational research leader, academic and senior executive at the University of Melbourne.

Across a 30+ year career, including 24 years as Professor of Physiology at the University of Melbourne, she held senior leadership roles with responsibility for strategy, governance, performance, quality and safety, compliance and accreditation across complex university and hospital-linked environments.

She brings deep expertise in evidence-based decision-making, risk, research governance and clinical governance, with particular strengths in organisational culture, quality and safety, workforce culture and capability, stakeholder engagement, and continuous improvement within complex health and research environments. To complement her governance experience, Mary recently completed the Certificate in Clinical Governance (AICGG), with a focus on organisational culture, consumer engagement, workforce wellbeing, quality and safety, and leadership for high-quality care.

Mary is internationally recognised for research translating foundational biomedical science into clinical research and health outcomes, particularly in pregnancy, lactation and long-term disease risk. She has secured more than $12 million in competitive funding, published approximately 200 peer-reviewed papers and supervised 28 PhD students.

She continues to contribute through board roles, advisory work and national and international honorary appointments and is recognised for her collaborative leadership, sound judgement and commitment to developing others.

Read Mary’s CV here.

GAICD, AICGG, PhD, MSc, BSc(Hons)

2026    Certificate in Clinical Governance (AICGG), Australasian Institute of Clinical Governance

2022    Graduate, Australian Institute of Company Directors (GAICD)

1991     Doctor of Philosophy in Physiology, Monash University, Victoria, Australia

1986    Master of Science in Physiology, University of Western Ontario, Canada

1984    Bachelor of Science (Honors) in Physiology, Univ of Western Ontario, Canada

CURRENT

• Director, Wlodek Consulting

• Honorary Professorial Fellow, Obstetrics, Gynaecology and Newborn Health, The University of Melbourne, Australia

RECENT

• Visiting Professor, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, National University of Singapore, Singapore

• Adjunct Investigator, Singapore Institute of Clinical Sciences (SICS), A*STAR, Singapore

• Honorary Research Fellow, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, Australia

• Adjunct Professor, School of Molecular Sciences, University of Western Australia, Australia

• Professor, Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Australia (1996-2021)