Professor Michael Shanahan | 2024 recipient

Michael Shanahan is the director of the Southern Adelaide Local Health Network (SALHN) rheumatology service based in Flinders Medical Centre, Bedford Park, South Australia.

Michael is dual qualified as a rheumatologist and occupational physician and a registered and practicing general physician. He leads a busy clinical department that services the rheumatological needs of around 400,000 South Australians.

Michael also works at Flinders University where he has an active role in teaching and supervising medical students and higher degree students. His research is mainly in the areas of musculoskeletal medicine and medical education.

His service roles to the Australasian College of Physicians include 2 periods on the Adult Training Committee (ATC) for rheumatology including 9 years as chairperson. He has also served for 9 years on the Australasian Faculty of Occupational and Environmental (AFOEM) Board of Censors/Adult training Committee including 6 years as Chief Censor /Chairperson.

Professor Pamela McCombe | 2024 recipient

Professor McCombe graduated from the Medical School of the University of Queensland.  She trained in Neurology at Prince Henry/Prince of Wales Hospital in Sydney, and then obtained a PhD from the University of Sydney.  This was the start of her interest in Neuroimmunology . She's currently Neurologist at Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital and Professor of Medicine at the University of Queensland Centre for Clinical Research.

Her research interests encompass autoimmune diseases of the nervous system as well as immune response to acquired diseases of the brain.  She has published on multiple sclerosis and its animal models, inflammatory neuropathies, motor neurone disease and myasthenia gravis. She has a special interest in the role of gender and of pregnancy in neurological and immune disease. She's past President of the Australian and New Zealand Association of Neurologists and of Neuroimmunology Australia.

Professor Roger Reddel AO | 2017 recipient

Professor Roger Reddel is the Director of Children's Medical Research Institute (CMRI) and Lorimer Dods Professor, Sydney Medical School, University of Sydney.

A medical graduate of the University of Sydney, Roger trained in medical oncology and was admitted to Fellowship in 1985. He further completed a PhD in cancer cell biology and undertook postdoctoral research in molecular carcinogenesis at the National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland.

On returning to Sydney, Roger set up a lab at CMRI to study cellular immortalisation, an almost-universal characteristic of cancer. He has made many discoveries regarding the enzyme telomerase upon which 85% of cancers depend for their growth, and the alternative mechanism utilised by many of the remaining 10 to 15%. The aim of this research is to develop new forms of cancer treatment.

Roger was awarded the Ramaciotti Medal for Excellence in Biomedical Research and the NSW Premier's Award for Outstanding Cancer Researcher, and elected as a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science.

Professor Michael Hofman | 2024 Recipient

Michael Hofman from the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre was ranked as the top nuclear medicine physician for 2025 in The Australian Top 250 Researchers.

His notable career includes leading landmark research in prostate cancer, including two investigator-led Australian trials that contributed to the global adoption of PSMA PET/CT, a new whole-body cancer scan, and PSMA radioligand therapy, a targeted treatment (The Lancet, 2020 and 2021).

He has published over 300 papers and secured more than $50 million in grant funding in the past decade. He's also an editor for The Journal of Nuclear Medicine and European Urology and enjoys teaching and mentoring the next generation of researchers, currently supervising four PhD candidates.

See past Eric Susman Prize recipients.

Dr R. Kishore Kumar | 2025 recipient

Dr Kishore Kumar is a global neonatologist with experience in India, the UK, the USA and Australia. He trained as a paediatrician in India, completed specialist training in the UK, and earned his Fellowship in Neonatal Intensive Care (FRACP) in Australia. He was recognised early in his career as one of the youngest and most highly qualified neonatologists in the world.

In 1996, Dr Kishore became a naturalised Australian citizen. He recently completed an Executive MBA in Health Care Delivery at Harvard Business School in Boston, USA.

A lifelong leader, Dr Kishore returned to India to found Cloudnine Hospital. The hospital was born from his belief that "pregnancy is a wellness, not an illness," and that no mother should die during childbirth. Through Cloudnine, he has significantly improved maternal and neonatal care standards in India—realising a vision for safer, higher-quality care.

Dr Kishore has received numerous honours for his work, including:

• a felicitation by former US President Bill Clinton
• the Leaders of Tomorrow Award from the Indian Health Minister
•  the Pride of Karnataka Award
• and the Australian Excellence Award.

Dr Jim Croker | 2024 Recipient

Dr Jim Croker has worked as a rheumatologist and general physician in Tamworth since 1988, both at Tamworth Hospital and in private rooms.  He has provided a rheumatology service for a large area of northwest NSW. As well as a focus on clinical work, he has enjoyed supervising and teaching medical students, resident medical officers and medical registrars.

He's currently a conjoint lecturer at the University of New England, a member of the Senior Examining Panel of the RACP and Secretary to NSW Rheumatology Heads of Department. Living in Tamworth has enabled a rich involvement in a rural community and has provided a great environment to bring up his 4 children.

Dr Emily Horsley | 2024 recipient

Emily Horsley was born in the Torres Straits and has lived in New South Wales and Queensland for most of her life. Emily completed Paediatric training through the Sydney Children’s Hospital in 2012 before moving to Queensland Children’s Hospital in 2019 where she now works as a Staff Specialist Paediatrician. Emily has completed a Master of Public Health and Tropical Medicine and is currently completing a Master of Healthcare Leadership. Emily has special interests in staff wellbeing, clinical governance, patient safety and quality improvement.

Dr Horsley takes time to ensure the whole team she works with are well supported and able to access the best ongoing learning while maintaining true work/life balance.

And, if all else fails, Dr Horsley will bake.

“Do you have a favourite saying?” Asked the boy,
“Yes” said the mole.
“What is it?”
“If at first you don’t succeed, have some cake.”
“I see, does it work?”
“Every time”

The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse, Charlie Mackesy (2019).

Dr Duncan Campbell | 2024 recipient

Duncan is a new Infectious Diseases Fellow and a final year advanced trainee in General Medicine. He has worked across remote, regional, and tertiary referral centres in NSW, NT and Victoria, where he currently resides. Duncan is passionate about equity in health care and uses his skills in quality improvement to develop, deliver and review initiatives to improve health outcomes for marginalised groups.

He's a skilled and engaged mentor, supervisor, educator and advocate for junior medical staff. He has been a valued contributor to several working parties and committees to ensure that trainees are optimally supported in their work and training. Together with an exemplary team, he led an educational initiative to design, implement and sustain a regular webinar series tailored to the RACP Infectious Diseases Advanced Training Curriculum.

Duncan is grateful to his husband and family for their enduring support, and to his colleagues for nominating him for this award.

Dr Jack Evans | 2022 recipient

Jack Evans is a proud Wiradjuri man who graduated from the University of Wollongong in 2015 with a Bachelor of Medical and Health Sciences and the University of Sydney in 2020 with a Doctor of Medicine. He is currently working as a resident medical officer at St Vincent’s Hospital Sydney and is a conjoint associate lecturer at St Vincent’s Hospital Clinical School at the University of New South Wales.

He has submitted research in sex differences in baseline characteristics and efficacy of heart failure therapies and is aiming to do more research within cardiology. Jack is interested in sex equality and equality of health care of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, which was a major factor in pursuing a career in medicine.