ARMI Ambassadors will play a vital role in representing the Institute at local and international events and functions, speaking about the Institute’s work and the importance of the research program. ARMI Ambassadors work closely with the Director, the Executive and the Leadership Advisory Board to communicate ARMI’s mission to discover and translate regenerative medicine.

Ambassadors

The Hon John Brumby AO

The Hon John Brumby was Premier of Victoria from 2007 to 2010. He has immense experience in public life serving for more than 10 years as Treasurer and then Premier of Victoria, six years as Leader of the Victorian Opposition and seven years as Federal member for Bendigo during the period of the Hawke Government.

In Government, Mr Brumby was a champion of science, technology and innovation with major new investments in the Australian Synchrotron, the new Florey Neuroscience Centre, the $250 million BioResource Centre, the Centre for Regenerative Medicine, the expansion of WEHI and the new $1 billion Comprehensive Cancer Centre.

Since retiring from politics, Mr Brumby has accepted a number of Board positions. He is Chairman of the Motor Trades Association of Australia (MTAA) Superannuation Fund, Chairman of Citywide Solutions Pty Ltd, Chairman of BioCurate Pty Ltd, Chairperson of the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Trust, and National President and Chairman of the Australia China Business Council. In addition, Mr Brumby is an Enterprise Professor at the University of Melbourne and is Chair of the Melbourne School of Government Advisory Board.

John is actively involved in a range of community and not-for-profit organisations through his work as the Chairman of Trustees of the Joe Welch Bursary Trust, Chairman of the Fred Hollows Foundation and Chairman of the Olivia Newton-John Cancer Research Institute.

Dr Janine Kirk AO

Janine Kirk is the founding Chief Executive of The Prince’s Trust Australia which was established to represent the charitable interests of His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales in Australia.

Prior to her current role, Janine was a partner at EY where she was responsible for establishing and leading the Victorian Government and Public Sector practice for the firm, and was the Leader Community responsible for the firm’s corporate responsibility engagement across Oceania. Janine was also a director of the Ernst & Young Foundation.

In addition to her role at the Prince’s Trust Australia, Janine is also currently Chairman of the Melbourne Prize Trust; Chairman, the Australian Regenerative Medicine Institute Leadership Advisory Board; Chairman of the PNG KuKuKuKu Tribe Advisory Council, and a Director of the Invictus Sydney Games. She is a Founding Member of the Berry Street Childhood Alliance and an Ambassador for Teach for Australia and the Australian Community Foundation.

In 2016 Janine was awarded a Deakin University Vice-Chancellor’s Distinguished Fellows Award for her contribution to business, education and the community. Janine was also awarded a Member of the Order of Australia in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List in 2006 for her contribution to Melbourne and to child welfare. She received an Honorary Doctor of Law from Monash University in 2007, and was appointed a Vice- Chancellor Professorial Fellow at Monash University in 2012-2015. She is a recipient of The Centenary Medal, is a British Chevening Scholarship winner; was made a Fellow of the Victorian Endowment for Science Knowledge and Innovation, and was awarded Life Membership of Berry Street Victoria, The Committee for Melbourne and The BioMelbourne Network for her contribution to those organisations.

The Hon Dr Kay Patterson AO

Dr. Patterson was a Senator for Victoria for 21 years.  Prior to entering the Senate she managed a small business before attending university and attaining a PhD in Psychology.  She taught at Sydney and Monash Universities and held senior academic positions including Chairman of the School of Behavioural Sciences at the Lincoln Institute of Health Sciences (now at Latrobe University).

She was elected to the Senate in 1987 and in Government held a number of executive positions including Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Immigration and the Minister for Foreign Affairs. In 2001, she was appointed to Cabinet as Minister for Health and Ageing and then in October 2003 Minister for Family and Community Services and Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Women’s Issues.  She retired from the Cabinet in 2006 and from the Senate in June 2008.

In 2002 when Minister for Health she took legislation through the Senate on behalf of the Government which permitted within very strict parameters the creation of stem cell lines from donated embryos excess to IVF requirements.  In 2006, she developed a private member’s bill which passed into law in December of that year, to extend existing legislation permitting research using somatic cell nuclear transfer.

She was a member of Monash University Council for twenty years and has been a member of Guides Australia since she was 10 and a Life Member since 2002. She joined Interplast Australia and New Zealand as a Director and Board Member in 2006, was appointed Vice-President in 2009 and retired at the end of her term in 2015.  In September 2008 she was appointed Vice Chancellor’s Professorial Fellow at Monash University until 2015 and in 2016 was appointed a Professorial Fellow in the Monash Faculty of Medicine. She served on the National Mental Health Commission (2014-2016) and the Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation (2014-2016). In 2016 she was appointed, for a 5 year term, as the Age Discrimination Commissioner at Australian Human Rights Commission.  In 2009 she was appointed a Director of the Brockhoff Foundation.  She is also Patron of the Australian Boys Choir.

Dr Zita Unger

Dr Zita Unger has a distinguished career as an evaluator, educator and entrepreneur, drawing on extensive knowledge of organisational development, business acumen and governance. She gained her doctorate in Sociology of Education at the University of Melbourne. Zita was founding Director of a consultancy firm, developing an award-winning online survey management platform and delivering survey-based solutions to corporate, education and public sector clients. She taught Program Evaluation at Deakin University to Instructional Design graduate students.

She is Chair of the Academic Board of Southern Cross Education Institute (Higher Education); Deputy Chair of Monash University Medical Foundation Board; Advisory Board member of the Centre for Program Evaluation at the University of Melbourne; and member of the Defence Reserves Support Council (Vic). She was board member of the Edmund Rice Camps Inc. (Vic) for five years.

She has received the Best Evaluation Policy and Systems Award, and was co-recipient of the Australasian Evaluation Society’s highest award for outstanding contribution to the evaluation profession. She is a Fellow of the Australasian Evaluation Society.

Professor Andrew Dyer

Professor Andrew Dyer was appointed an ARMI Ambassador in November 2025 and has had a long association with ARMI and Monash University. Professor Dyer was appointed as a Member of the ARMI Leadership Advisory Board in 2010 and was subsequently appointed Chair in 2021. After 15 years of service, Professor Dyer retired from the Board in June 2025.
 
Professor Dyer’s eminent professional career has been across many industries, sectors and geographies. These include information systems, telecommunications, energy, professional services, trade & investment, personal injury insurance, dispute resolution, health services and wholesale supply chains. He has worked in the major markets of the United States, Latin America, United Kingdom, rural, regional and urban Australia, as well as assignments in Singapore and Japan.
 
Organisations that Professor Dyer has worked for include IBM, Ernst & Young, Florida Power & Light, Indus International, McKinsey & Co, Victorian Government (Commissioner to the Americas) and the Federal Government (Australian Energy Infrastructure Commissioner).
 
Professor Dyer’s career also includes extensive board engagements, with Chair or member appointments that included the Transport Accident Commission, WorkSafe, Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman, Keystone Radiology, Zenexus, Grampians Water, BrightSource Energy and BidEnergy.
 
He has also maintained extensive engagement with not-for-profit organisations as a volunteer director and/or other forms of contribution.
 
At Monash University, Professor Dyer has been appointed as a Professorial Fellow and Vice-Chancellor’s Professorial Fellow. He serves and has served on a number of Advisory Councils across the University including the Monash Industry Council of Advisors, Monash University Energy Institute, Dean of Engineering Advisory Council, Dean of Information Technology Advisory Council, Business School Advisory Board and the Monash Sustainable Development Institute.  
 
Professor Dyer also chairs the Advisory Board for the Faculty of Fine Arts and Music at the University of Melbourne. Further, he has taught master classes to both undergraduate and graduate students at Monash on topics ranging from sales & sales management, community engagement through to wind farm and wind turbine design and development.
 
In addition to these significant contributions to the University sector as a volunteer, Professor has generously given his time and support to the Arts and has been actively involved with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra as a board member and chair of the Finance committee. Professor Dyer was also a long-term volunteer board member for The Good Foundation (Jamie Oliver’s Ministry of Food), Cancer Council Victoria and East Grampians Health Service. He has also supported the Melbourne Recital Centre and ensembles including Tin Alley Quartet, Quartz Quartet and Ensemble Liaison. 
 
Professor Dyer holds a Bachelor of Engineering with first class honours from Monash University and an MBA from Georgetown University, Washington DC.

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