Hylton Menz awarded AAHMS fellowship

La Trobe’s Professor Hylton Menz has been awarded a prestigious fellowship with the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences (AAHMS).

Professor Menz is the first podiatrist to be honoured with an AAHMS fellowship and he’s also La Trobe’s first academic to be appointed as a fellow. As an allied health specialist, he will play an important role in promoting diversity in the Academy.

The fellowship was announced on Wednesday 14 October at the Academy’s sixth annual meeting, which was streamed live from Sydney.

The AAHMS was established in 2014 and aims to advance health and medical research in Australia. It works to foster leadership within the sector, providing expert advice to decision makers, and engaging patients and the public. Their Fellows are at the heart of their work – they are an independent, interdisciplinary body of scientists and innovators, elected by their peers for their outstanding achievements and exceptional contributions to health and medical science in Australia.

AAHMS President, Professor Ingrid Scheffer, said, “The importance of health and medical science has never been more in the spotlight. The Academy brings together and celebrates the nation’s best brains in health and medicine."

“The diverse talents and expertise of these Fellows reflects the incredible breadth and depth of Australia’s world class health and medical research. It is this solid base of expertise that has equipped the country to address the pandemic so successfully,” she said.

The Academy singled out Professor Menz as a “podiatrist who has advanced our understanding of the prevalence, risk factors and impact of foot disorders, their underlying pathophysiology, opening up new options for non-surgical management using exercise, therapeutic footwear and orthotic interventions.”

“It’s an honour to be inducted into the Academy and join such an esteemed group of researchers,” Professor Menz said.

“It is particularly gratifying to see the important role of podiatry recognised in this way. I’m really looking forward to contributing to the Academy’s goal of advancing health and medical research in Australia.”

More information

Professor Hylton B. Menz

Professor Hylton Menz is a National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia (NHMRC) Senior Research Fellow at La Trobe University. As a podiatrist, he has been continually funded by the NHMRC since 2003 and has been awarded five NHMRC project grants. Professor Menz’s broad research disciplines are human movement, rehabilitation and rheumatology, with a particular focus on musculoskeletal foot problems in older people. His research extends from laboratory-based biomechanical studies through to analysis of epidemiological datasets and the conduct of clinical trials.

Professor Menz has published extensively in podiatry, gerontology, rheumatology and biomechanics journals, and he is Emeritus Editor of the Journal of Foot and Ankle Research (2008-2018). He has won several awards for his research, including the Young Tall Poppy Award by the Australian Institute for Policy and Science, the La Trobe University Excellence in Research Award, first prize in the British Medical Association Book Awards for his textbook Foot Problems in Older People: Assessment and Management, and a Fulbright Senior Scholarship to Harvard University. In 2016, he was awarded a Doctor of Science from the University of New South Wales, a higher doctorate in recognition of a substantial and sustained contribution to scientific knowledge. According to ExpertScape, Professor Menz is the #1 ranked world expert on foot research.

Professor Menz’s current research focuses on the epidemiology and management of foot disorders in older people, with a particular emphasis on osteoarthritis. Learn more about Professor Hylton’s research.

Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences

The AAHMS was established in 2014 to provide an impartial and authoritative voice for healthcare, informed by the best available evidence and expert advice from the best and brightest in health and medical research. The Academy is an independent, interdisciplinary body of more than 400 Fellows – elected by their peers for their distinguished achievements and exceptional contributions to health and medical science in Australia.

Learn more about the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences.