Professors Paul Glasziou and Chris Del Mar have been appointed to the Order of Australia in the 2021 Queen's Birthday Honours List. PICTURE: Cavan Flynn
Bond University professors Paul Glasziou and Chris Del Mar have been appointed to the Order of Australia.
Professor Glasziou was announced as an Officer of the Order (AO) in the 2021 Queen’s Birthday Honours List while Professor Del Mar becomes a Member of the Order (AM).
Bond University Vice Chancellor and President Tim Brailsford lauded the colleagues who were instrumental in cementing Bond’s global reputation for world-class health and medical research through the establishment of the Institute for Evidence-Based Healthcare.
“These awards for Professor Del Mar and Professor Glasziou are richly deserved after such an outstanding contribution to medical research around the world and the education of current and future doctors,” Professor Brailsford said.
“Their impact has been global through their research, and Bond University has always been grateful for their leadership in this space.
“We are very proud of Chris and Paul and congratulate them on this honour recognising their illustrious careers.”
Professor Paul Glasziou AO
Professor Glasziou received his AO for distinguished service to medical education and standards, and to evidence-based medical research.
He is Professor of Evidence-Based Practice at Bond University and the Director of the Institute for Evidence-Based Healthcare.
Professor Glasziou’s key interests include identifying and removing the barriers to using high-quality research in everyday clinical practice.
His current research focuses on overdiagnosis and overtreatment, general practice, uptake of evidence for non-drug interventions, and automation of systematic review processes.
“This award is a recognition of the important work my colleagues and I have done to reduce the gap between research and practice, especially in the neglected areas of non-drug treatments, antibiotic resistance, and overdiagnosis – the central focuses of the Institute for Evidence-Based Healthcare,” Professor Glasziou said.
He co-founded the BESSI Collaboration for improving Behavioural, Environmental, Social & Systems Research to reduce COVID-19 transmission.
Professor Glasziou studied Medicine at the University of Queensland and worked as a general practitioner and in teaching and research positions at the Universities of Sydney and Queensland.
In 2003 he was appointed Director of the Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine at the University of Oxford and remained there until 2010. He is a former editor of the BMJ's journal of Evidence-Based Medicine.
More recently he was named on a list of the world's most cited researchers for three years running. The Highly Cited Researchers list by the Web of Science Group identifies scientists who have demonstrated significant research influence among their peers.
Professor Chris Del Mar AM
Professor Del Mar received his AM for significant service to tertiary education, to health and medical research, and to professional bodies.
He is Professor of Public Health at Bond University and Professor at the University’s Institute for Evidence-Based Healthcare.
“I am deeply honoured by this award and it’s been a privilege to have used my expertise to serve the community,” Professor Del Mar said.
The academic has an international reputation in the management of acute respiratory infections, general practice research, evidence-based medicine, systematic reviews, and randomised controlled trials.
Professor Del Mar studied medicine at the University of Cambridge before moving to Mackay in Queensland 1977 and establishing his own general practice.
In 1994 he became Professor and Head of General Practice at the University of Queensland. He moved to Bond University in 2004 where he was Dean of Health Sciences and Medicine, Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Research), and oversaw the establishment of the medical degree and the graduation of the first cohort of Bond medical students.
“My current research, as part of the university’s Institute for Evidence-Based Healthcare, focusses on antibiotic resistance and the translation of research evidence to clinicians, patients, and policy-makers,” Professor Del Mar said.
He is a former chair of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners’ (RACGP) National Research Committee, and a former President of the Australian Association for Academic General Practice. For 20 years, he volunteered as the Co-ordinating Editor of the international Cochrane Collaboration’s Acute Respiratory Infection Group.
In 2008 he was honoured with the RACGP's highest award, the Rose-Hunt medal, and in 2015 was appointed as a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences.
The honour for Professor Del Mar comes after his wife and Bond colleague Professor Tammy Hoffmann received a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in the 2021 Australia Day Honours.
Dr Soheil Abedian AM
A prominent supporter of Bond University, Soheil Abedian, was appointed a Member in the General Division (AM) for significant service to the community, and to the property development sector.
Dr Abedian is the founder of the Sunland Group, a philanthropist, and the patron of the Abedian School of Architecture.