Professor Rebecca Mason, MBBS (Hons), PhD, is Professor of Endocrine Physiology in the School of Medical Sciences within Sydney Medical School at the University of Sydney. She earned her Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery with Honours in 1975 and her PhD in Medicine in 1981 from the University of Sydney, complemented by clinical experience in endocrinology. Leading the Vitamin D, Bone and Skin Laboratory in the Anderson Stuart Building, her research centers on vitamin D and calcium physiology, including metabolism, specific uptake and retention mechanisms for 25-hydroxyvitamin D in skeletal muscle cells, actions in bone and skin cells, and the protective effects of vitamin D compounds against ultraviolet radiation-induced DNA damage and photocarcinogenesis. Her group investigates the role of skeletal muscle in maintaining vitamin D status during periods of low UVB exposure, such as winter. Professor Mason formerly served as Head of the Discipline of Physiology and Deputy Director of the Bosch Institute. She pioneered one of the first assays in Australia for measuring vitamin D compounds in blood, demonstrated extra-renal production of the active vitamin D hormone 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D, and established the roles of vitamin D in skin biology, including reduction of UV-induced DNA damage.

With over 240 publications and more than 11,000 citations, Professor Mason's work has profoundly impacted the field, influencing Australian health policies such as revisions to sun exposure guidelines to balance skin cancer prevention with vitamin D synthesis, and updates to vitamin D position statements for Australia and New Zealand, including those for pregnancy, infants, and children. Key publications include "Evidence for a specific uptake and retention mechanism for 25-hydroxyvitamin D in skeletal muscle cells" (Endocrinology, 2013), "The effect of parathyroid hormone on the uptake and retention of 25-hydroxyvitamin D in skeletal muscle cells" (Journal of Steroid Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 2017), "UV-induced DNA Damage in Skin is Reduced by CaSR Inhibition" (2022), and "Sunlight, skin cancer and vitamin D" (2024). She has held leadership positions as Past President and life member of the Australian and New Zealand Bone and Mineral Society, and serves on the boards of Osteoporosis Australia and Healthy Bones Australia. In 2022, she was awarded the Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for service to medical research in vitamin D, and received career recognition from the International Workshop on Vitamin D.

Professional Email: rebecca.mason@sydney.edu.au