Inside the mind

Mark Butler has been the Labor Member for Port Adelaide and Hindmarsh in the Federal Parliament since 2007. He is the Minister for Health and Aged Care.

Mark served as Minister for Ageing and Australia’s first Minister for Mental Health in the Gillard Government. He has also held the ministries of Housing, Homelessness, Social Inclusion, Climate Change, Water and the Environment.

In 2013, Mark was awarded the Alzheimer’s Disease International Award (ADI) for Extraordinary Contribution to Tackling Dementia.

He served as National President of the Australian Labor Party from 2015 – 2018, and as senior Vice President from 2018-2023.

Mark is the author of Advanced Australia - The Politics of Ageing, published in 2015; and Climate Wars, published in 2017.

Scientia Professor Henry Brodaty AO is an internationally recognised clinician, researcher and advocate who has dedicated more than four decades to transforming dementia care, research and public understanding.

Based at UNSW Sydney and Prince of Wales Hospital, he is Co-Director of the Centre for Healthy Brain Ageing (CHeBA) and a senior psychogeriatrician. His pioneering work spans dementia prevention, early diagnosis, carer support and healthy brain ageing, including leadership of the landmark Maintain Your Brain trial—the world’s largest online dementia risk-reduction study.

Professor Brodaty was instrumental in establishing the Alzheimer’s movement in Australia, helping lay the foundations for what is now Dementia Australia, and has contributed to major policy initiatives including the National Dementia Action Plan.

In recognition of his extraordinary contribution to dementia research, care and advocacy, Professor Brodaty was named 2026 NSW Senior Australian of the Year.

Professor Cheryl Jones is a world-renowned paediatric infectious diseases physician, clinician-scientist and health and medical educator. She joined UNSW Medicine & Health as Dean in 2024.

A Fellow of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences, Professor Jones has secured more than $35 million in peer-reviewed funding and published over 170 peer-reviewed papers. Her research, particularly in childhood encephalitis, vaccination and mother-to-child transmission of infections, has significantly influenced global health policy and clinical practice.

Professor Jones has held senior executive positions across leading universities, health and medical research institutions, professional societies and statutory authorities, and continues to contribute to government policy and clinical practice guidelines.

She is a Director of the Australian Medical Council, an Executive Member of the AAHMS Council and a Director of the Ramsay Health Care Research Foundation. She is also recognised for her commitment to mentoring and supervising the next generation of health and medical researchers.

Mr Warwick Negus AM began serving as Chancellor of UNSW, 1 January 2026, following more than twenty-five years of service to the University in advisory, governance and leadership roles. A UNSW alumnus, he has been closely involved in the University’s development through a period of profound growth and transformation, helping to shape the strategies and direction that have underpinned UNSW’s position as a leading global university. Since joining the UNSW Council in 2008, he has contributed across a wide range of governance responsibilities, including long service as Presiding Member of the Finance and Strategy Committee and, from 2020-25, as Deputy Chancellor.

Before joining Council, Mr Negus was a founding member of the Advisory Board of the Faculty of Commerce and Economics, later the UNSW Business School. He has also served as chair of UNSW College and as a director of the UNSW Foundation, contributing to the University’s work in access, philanthropy and student opportunity. Throughout his involvement with UNSW, he has been recognised for his careful stewardship, collegiate approach and long-term commitment to ensuring the University combines academic and research excellence with broad social impact. He has been a strong supporter of UNSW’s commitment to “Progress for All” and of the idea that a university can be ambitious and world-leading while remaining open, practical and connected to the community it serves.

Mr Negus has had a long career in finance and investment management in Australia and internationally, including senior leadership roles with Goldman Sachs, Colonial First State Global Asset Management and 452 Capital. He has also held board appointments across business and community, including with Bank of Queensland, Dexus Funds Management, Virgin Australia, UNSW Global and the Salvation Army. He is a senior fellow of FINSIA (Financial Services Institute of Australasia) and has served on both board and committees.

His connection to UNSW and the local community spans multiple generations. Raised in Coogee, he grew up in the shadow of the University. His mother worked for three decades in the UNSW Student Health Service, and several members of his family are UNSW graduates and participants in University sport. He has remained closely connected to the Randwick and eastern suburbs community throughout his life, including through long involvement with local rugby. He continues to serve as a rugby referee and as a director of NSW Rugby Union Ltd.

Prof Buchanan is CEO of Dementia Australia. She has held previous CEO roles with Cancer Council Australia, the Thoracic Society of Australia and New Zealand and Action on Smoking and Health in Wales (UK). Prof Buchanan is an Honorary Professor of Practice in Public Health at the University of Wollongong and is an Adjunct Professor with the Enable Institute at Curtin University. Professor Buchanan studied Nursing at Curtin University of Technology and an MBA at Edith Cowan University. She also holds a PhD and a range of qualifications including governance qualifications from the Australian Institute of Company Directors (GAICD).

Professor Buchanan commenced her career as a Registered Nurse, and has worked in health, academia, local government and the voluntary sector. She is active in public health research and practice. In 2011, Professor Buchanan won the Leading Wales Award for the not-for-profit sector and was admitted as a Member of the Faculty of Public Health by Distinction for her contribution to Public Health in the UK. In 2023, she was awarded the University of Wollongong Alumni Award for Social Impact.