Professor Michelle Leech is the Deputy Dean (MBBS) of Monash University’s Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences. In her role as Deputy Dean, Professor Leech oversees the delivery of Monash’s flagship medical program across the Clayton, Gippsland and Malaysia campuses. Her work ensures that the learning objectives and outcomes of both the direct and graduate entry degrees are aligned, and coordinates a range of academic initiatives for Monash medical students. She serves as the Deputy Chair of the Postgraduate Medical Council of Victoria and the Vice President of the Medical Deans Australia and New Zealand.

Professor Leech is currently part of the rheumatology research group within the School of Clinical Sciences at Monash Health. She also maintains a consultant position and heads the Rheumatoid Arthritis Clinic at Monash Health.

She received her Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) from Monash University, and after residency training in internal medicine at Prince Henry’s Hospital, Melbourne, completed her advanced physician training in rheumatology and a PhD at the Monash University Centre for Inflammatory Diseases.

Professor Leech’s clinical research focuses on cytokine biology, glucocorticoid action and cell cycle proteins in the context of Rheumatoid arthritis pathogenesis. She also has an active research profile in medical and interprofessional education. Professor Leech has over 80 peer-reviewed publications including papers in The Lancet Rheumatology, Nature Reviews Drug Discovery, Nature Reviews Rheumatology and Arthritis & Rheumatology. She has been the recipient of National Health and Medical Research Council and National Institutes of Health grants for her work.