Top doc to lead Townsville’s research agenda

A kidney specialist with strong ties to North Queensland has taken on Townsville Hospital and Health Service’s most senior research position.

Professor Andrew Mallett began on Monday as the director of clinical research with ultimate accountability for the research vision, capacity and projects across the HHS.

Professor Mallett said there were great opportunities to develop and deliver exciting research projects out of Townsville University Hospital.

“I can see the opportunities that we have here in North Queensland to do some really exciting research,” he said.

“Research is often mystified as this complex and mysterious thing, but it really isn’t. Research is just asking questions and finding answers.

“The reason we do research is because the population benefits from those answers whether it is through a new product becoming available or participating in a trial or by benefitting from a better way of doing business.”

Professor Mallett grew up in Bowen where his father Dr Tony Mallett was a medical superintendent and a local GP.

He was educated a James Cook University and did some of his junior years in Townsville before moving to Mackay and later the Royal Brisbane Women’s Hospital where he has been for the past 12 years including seven as a consultant nephrologist.

Professor Mallett is one of just a handful of national experts specialising in inherited kidney disease and nephrogenetics.

“Recognising genetic causes of kidney disease helps because we can determine treatment options earlier and tailor it more specifically to an individual’s needs,” he said.

“The exciting thing about genetics and the growing genomics field is that it allows us to understand better the underlying causes of kidney disease.

“It is much easier to treat or fix a problem when you understand why the thing, in this
case the kidney, is broken.”

Professor Mallett said his priority was to establish a culture that understood that
research and clinical excellence go hand in hand.

“It is almost impossible to have a good clinical research agenda if you don’t have a
strong clinical excellence culture,” he said.

“I think it is one of the really exciting things about coming to a major tertiary hospital
with a strong partnership with a regional university.

“Ultimately what we are looking for is digestible, practical outcomes that will benefit
our community.”