Leading the region’s response to COVID-19

THE COVID-19 pandemic has elevated several highly-qualified experts into the spotlight, and Clinical Professor Eugene Athan is among them.

Professor Athan, who was awarded a Medal in the Order of Australia (OAM) for service to infectious disease medicine in this year’s Queen’s Birthday Honours List, has been the director of Barwon Health’s Infectious Disease Department since 2004.

He has become well known over the past 18 months as one of the public faces of the Geelong region’s coronavirus response, including as a member of Safer Care Victoria’s COVID-19 Response Infectious Disease Expert Working Group.

Well before the coronavirus pandemic, he co-founded the Geelong Centre of Emerging Infectious Diseases in 2013 and has been a member of its scientific management committee since then.

Professor Athan has held several positions at Barwon Health, including chair of the Medical Staff Association, head of the General Medical Unit and medical director of the Hospital in the Home Service, and has been a director of the Barwon Health Foundation since 2004.

He is also a clinical professor in medicine and infectious diseases at both Deakin University and The University of Melbourne, since 2008 and 2005 respectively, and has contributed to or co-authored more than 180 peer reviewed articles, chapters and papers in medical journals and books.

Other Geelong residents who were awarded OAMs on Queen’s Birthday include:

• Grovedale’s Raymond Weston, for service to youth and to emergency service organisations, including Scouts Victoria and the CFA
• Newtown’s Barry Abley, for service to the community of Geelong, including the Uniting Church and the Geelong RSL
• Geelong’s Brian Edward, for service to the community of Geelong, including with the Geelong Corio Bay Lions Club and as a Chief Superintendent with Victoria Police for 45 years
• Newtown’s Janet Synot, for service to the arts, to the community, and to badminton, including as a long-time president of the Geelong and District Porcelain Artists Association
• Elaine Mitchell of Ceres, for service to the performing arts, including as co-founder of the Theatre of the Winged Unicorn and its artistic director since 1993.

Anyone can nominate any Australian for an award in the Order of Australia. If you know someone worthy, nominate them now at the Governor-General of Australia’s website.