2025 MACH-Track Cohort

Dr Giang is an Advanced Trainee in Clinical and Laboratory Haematology at the Royal Melbourne Hospital.

He studied at the University of Melbourne, completing a Bachelor of Biomedicine with an Honours research year at WEHI in the immunology division, before obtaining his Doctor of Medicine.

Dr Giang completed his internship and Basic Physician Training at the Royal Melbourne Hospital (RMH), before beginning joint advanced training in clinical and laboratory haematology at Eastern Health. He completed laboratory training at Monash Health and returned to RMH.

His pursuit of research is motivated by the many paradigms shifts in haematology, born from research examining molecular and cellular biology. He hopes to contribute to a growing understanding of lymphocyte cell biology, and is particularly interested in lymphocyte growth, survival and death.

Through MACH-Track, Dr Giang aims to grow his research skills, enrich his PhD and establish a strong foundation for a clinician scientist career.

Dr Lego is a Paediatric Endocrinology Fellow at the Royal Children’s Hospital.

He completed a Bachelor of Medicine/Batchelor of Surgery with clinical distinction at University of Tasmania in 2016 and has continued training in general paediatrics and paediatric endocrinology.

Dr Lego’s research interest is prevention and ultimately cure of Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) with novel treatments. This interest has been inspired by observing rapid improvements in management of T1D in recent decades and ongoing development of new therapies.

Through MACH-Track, Dr Lego hopes to contribute to the growing body of evidence around T1D prevention and learn from experienced researchers in the field. He is looking forward to expanding his understanding of research methods to build his skills as a clinician researcher to achieve better patient outcomes.

Dr Leong is an Advanced Trainee in Respiratory and Sleep Medicine at Austin Health.

She completed a Bachelor of Medicine/Bachelor of Surgery (Honours) at Monash University in 2016 and undertook her training at Peninsula Health, Monash Health and the Royal Hobart Hospital.

Dr Leong is interested in improving care for patients living with lung cancer – especially with the introduction of the National Lung Cancer Screening Program in 2025. Her research interests lie at the intersection of thoracic oncology, public health and health policy.

Through MACH-Track, Dr Leong hopes to collaborate with leading experts in the field to enhance her research skills and theoretical knowledge. Ultimately, Dr Leong envisions a career as a clinician researcher who strives to advance lung cancer patient care through innovation, education and advocacy.

Vanessa Leonard-Roberts is an Emergency Nurse Practitioner at Northern Health (NH).

She completed a Bachelor of Nursing at RMIT University in 2011 before commencing her graduate year at NH. In 2017, Ms Leonard-Roberts earned a Master of Nursing Practice with an emergency specialisation. She subsequently undertook a two-year Nurse Practitioner Candidacy and completed a Master of Advanced Clinical Nursing (Nurse Practitioner) in 2021.

Ms Leonard-Roberts has a passion for research and is particularly interested in advanced practice and the transition process for nurses moving into advanced practice roles. Her broader interests include women’s health, herbal medicine and the stigma and shame surrounding medical error.

She is passionate about nurse-led research and believes MACH-Track provides a unique opportunity to integrate clinical insights into research, while promoting the professional development of the nurse practitioner role.

Dr Phakey will commence his role as an Ophthalmology Trainee at The Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital in 2025.

Since completing a Doctor of Medicine and studies in public health and epidemiology at The University of Melbourne, Dr Phakey has been working as a registrar at The Royal Melbourne Hospital.

Dr Phakey has developed an interest in examining the frequency of ocular conditions within the population. He has completed research at The Centre for Eye Research Australia (CERA) investigating the incidence of infectious and inflammatory causes of eye disease.

Through MACH-Track, Dr Phakey hopes to contribute to research that leads to the improved diagnosis, prevention and management of eye disease – particularly among at-risk and underrepresented communities.

Ms Stanley is a Nurse Practitioner (NP) and Nurse Unit Manager of the Kidney Transplant Service at the Royal Melbourne Hospital.

She completed her Bachelor of Nursing at Deakin University and Graduate Diploma of Advanced Clinical Nursing and Master of Nursing at the University of Melbourne.

Ms Stanley has worked in nephrology for thirty years. Her work as a NP started in 2003 – completing one of the first Victorian Health Department funded NP demonstration projects to evaluate the impact and feasibility of NP roles in Victorian health services.

She aims to push the boundaries of kidney transplantation – using research to improve patient care for live kidney donors. She is interested in providing people with better access to education and kidney donor suitability assessment.

Ms Stanley believes MACH-Track offers her an expert, well-structured and supported study approach with increased flexibility to provide ‘research in action’.

Ms. Walkley is a Clinical Research Nurse in Orthopaedic Surgery at Austin Health – coordinating research projects with Patient Reported Outcome Measures (PROMs) and co-establishing the Orthopaedic Research Centre.

In 2007, Ms. Walkley completed a Bachelor of Nursing/Bachelor of Arts at ACU. She later completed a Graduate Certificate in Children’s and Young People’s Health at the University of Queensland, and a Certificate in Immunisation and Travel Health and Master of Public Health at the University of Melbourne.

Ms. Walkley is passionate about embedding the patient voice into surgical success measures. She is currently completing a Learning Health Systems Academy Digital Health Fellowship – implementing digital PROMs to screen for frailty in older surgical patients.

Through MACH-Track, Ms. Walkley aims to advance her research into the clinical utility of PROM data. She hopes to harness existing digital platforms to expand pre and post-surgery PROMs to Austin Health’s surgical units.

Dr Yeoh is a Medical Oncology Advanced Trainee at Western Health.

She competed her medical degree at Monash University in 2016 and her internship and basic physician training at the Alfred Hospital, before commencing advanced training at Ballarat and Frankston Hospitals.

Dr Yeoh was inspired to become a clinician-researcher when she completed her Bachelor of Medical Science honours research year at the Victorian HIV Service in 2015. She saw how clinical dilemmas could be investigated to inform evidence-based practice. She was also motivated by seeing how her supervisors collaborated with consumers to advocate for improved clinical outcomes.

Dr Yeoh is passionate about preventing and improving cancer outcomes for immunosuppressed populations, such as transplant recipients and the use of immune checkpoint inhibitors.

Through MACH-Track, Dr Yeoh hopes to build collaborative networks in her pursuit of her PhD and explore clinically relevant questions towards this goal.