Dr Jane Latimer

Dr Jane Latimer AO is Professor Emerita in the School of Public Health at the University of Sydney and has been recognised internationally for her research in low back pain and Indigenous health; and her powerful leadership and advocacy for Women in STEM. In 2023 she was appointed an Officer in the Order of Australia (AO) for distinguished service to tertiary education and research, particularly public health, and to women.

Low back pain and other musculoskeletal conditions affect over 6.8 million Australians and are the leading cause of disability in Australia. Jane’s work has focussed on changing this by designing and leading high quality clinical trials to identify the most effective treatments. These trials have been some of the most challenging and influential in the field including placebo controlled trials of surgery and trials of opioid medication where there is significant potential for harm.  She has received over $22m to fund her work and has published in the world’s leading medical journals including New England Journal of Medicine, Lancet and Nature.

Jane also works as Director of Strategy for Elizabeth Broderick & Co., an organisation focussed on gender equality and cultural change. In this role she is a key advisor to the Principal working across the Principal’s portfolios, including UN Special Rapporteur and Independent Expert on the Working Group on Discrimination against Women and Girls, and Founder and Convenor of the Champions of Change Coalition (CCI), a globally recognised not for profit organisation for achieving gender equality.  Her dual academic and culture roles have allowed her to follow her passion to be innovative, and a driving force for positive change in the world. Jane has been an invited mentor for both University and Industry programs and recognises the responsibility a good mentor has to move beyond advice and coaching and to use their positional power to advance the careers of mentees.