Ms Karen Dwyer

Karen was the lead physician in Australia’s first and only hand transplant procedure in 2011. Her clinical passion is partnering with patients to support self-management practices through holistic models of care.

Karen completed a PhD in xenotransplantation through St. Vincent’s Hospital, The University of Melbourne and a post-doc in Transplant Immunology at Harvard University Boston, MA, USA. Karen recently completed a Fellowship in Lifestyle Medicine. Karen has previously worked in the education sector as the Deputy Head and Acting Dean of the School of Medicine at Deakin University as well as Clinical Director at Kidney Health Australia.

Karen is a champion for gender equity, which resulted in constitutional change of the Transplantation Society of Australia and New Zealand (TSANZ). She was the Oceania councillor for the International Transplantation Society and remains on the International Women In Transplantation and Education Committees.

Karen’s research interests are varied. She has supervised numerous Higher Degree Research students to completion, published more than 120 peer review articles and received multiple awards including the inaugural Burnstock Oration Prize for contribution to the field of Purinergic Signalling; Women In Transplantation Leader in Transplantation Award from International Transplantation Society; and Ian McKenzie Prize for Outstanding Contribution to Transplantation.