Showing the world Australian (NSW) health

Anne O’Neill is the Director, Enterprise, International Partnerships & Clinical Trials at Office for Health and Medical Research in NSW Health. Australian Health Journal spoke with Anne about her background, career, role and her work.
Coming from a country town in the mid-north coast of New South Wales, Anne was inspired at an early age to have a career in STEM. She studied a Bachelor of Science at the University of NSW and “fell in love with the medical sciences”.
She worked as a Research Manager at the Children’s Hospital when it moved from Camperdown to Westmead. This started her focus on medical research in a role that lasted nearly 15 years.
Moving to policy, Anne was interested in “how government worked”, and found her stride at NSW Health, to be at the organisation for the past 10 years.
Through the Medical Devices Fund and other commercialisation programs, Anne has been involved in policy work, supporting the sector for new initiatives that deliver better health outcomes, as well as for the economy and in creating high value jobs in New South Wales.
Together with Investment NSW, NSW Health have taken delegations to international conferences such as BIO, the largest biotechnology conference. And in her role of building international partnerships, Anne relishes the opportunity to showcase NSW health innovation and clinical processes to the rest of the world.
Anne is passionate about working in NSW Health and what the department is delivering. She urges anyone looking to work in the agency look at what the programs deliver, the impact of the work and the value created.