Philip O'Connell

Professor Philip O’Connell is Executive Director of the Westmead Institute for Medical Research, a position he has held since 2020. He is a Professor in the Faculty of Medicine and Health at the University of Sydney and previously served as Director of Transplantation at the University of Sydney at Westmead Hospital. O’Connell also directs the Centre for Transplant and Renal Research. His qualifications include MBBS, BSc(Med), PhD, FRACP, and FAHMS. As a clinician scientist, he leads research in renal research, nephrology, kidney care, the use of genomics for the development of biomarkers of renal allograft dysfunction, biomarker enrichment for clinical trials in renal transplantation, pancreatic islet transplantation, and xenotransplantation. He is the founding Director of the Australian Clinical Islet Transplant Consortium, past president of The Transplantation Society, and a member of the WHO Task Force on Donation and Transplantation. Professor O’Connell’s research is funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia. He has led WIMR research receiving an MRFF grant on January 31, 2024, and spearheaded new funding for an end-to-end precision medicine research pipeline in Westmead on September 10, 2024.

Professor O’Connell has received major awards including the 2004 T. J. Neale Award of the Australians and New Zealand Society of Nephrology for outstanding contribution to nephrological science, the 2012 Distinguished Achievement Award from the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Sydney, and election as a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences in 2018. His leadership extends to adjunct roles with the Western Sydney Local Health District at Westmead Hospital, University of Sydney/Sydney Health Partners, Westmead Research Hub, AAMRI, and the WIMR Board. Through these positions and his international roles, he has made significant contributions to transplantation medicine and precision medicine in kidney care.

Professional Email: philip.oconnell@sydney.edu.au