Dr Amandeep Hansra and Professor Cassandra Szoeke have taken out major awards with the Australian Medical Association, recognised for their strong contributions to medicine and research.
Dr Amandeep Hansra was awarded the AMA’s 2026 President’s Award at the AMA26 National Conference in Melbourne on Sunday night. It is an acknowledgement of her leadership in digital health, medical innovation, doctors’ wellbeing and the care of vulnerable communities.
Dr Hansra, a Sydney-based general practitioner and Chief Clinical Advisor (Medicine) at the Australian Digital Health Agency, is also the founder of Creative Careers Medicine – a global community supporting doctors’ career development and professional growth.
She will be speaking at Women’s Agenda’s 2026 Women’s Health and Wellbeing Summit, on the “Longevity Beyond Bro Science” panel in Sydney on Tuesday.
Dr Hansra has also worked across Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health, homeless health, refugee health, occupational medicine and travel medicine.
“Through Creative Careers in Medicine, she has created a global community that supports doctors to develop new skills, explore new opportunities and navigate an increasingly complex healthcare system,” AMA President Dr Danielle McMullen said.
“Her work supporting doctors, championing innovation and caring for vulnerable communities exemplifies the values this award seeks to recognise.”
Dr Hansra said she was “incredibly honoured and genuinely surprised” to receive the award.
“I’ve always believed that doctors can make a difference far beyond the consulting room, through leadership, innovation, education and advocacy, while never losing sight of the patients and communities we serve,” she said.
“This award really belongs to the many people I’ve had the privilege to work with over the years, especially those who have helped build Creative Careers in Medicine and Australian Medical Angels. Together, we’ve shown what’s possible when clinicians come together with a shared purpose to improve healthcare.”
Meanwhile, neurologist and world-leading expert on sex-specific medicine, dementia and women’s health, Professor Cassandra Szoeke, was awarded the AMA’s Gold Medal.
Professor Szoeke was recognised for her outstanding contributions to medicine, advancing women’s health and healthy ageing through pioneering research, clinical leadership, health policy reform, and advocacy that has transformed understanding of sex-specific health.
She also spoke at last year’s Women’s Health and Wellbeing Summit.
“Professor Szoeke was the principal investigator of the Women’s Healthy Ageing Project, the longest study of women’s health in Australia, and authored the book Secrets of Women’s Healthy Ageing,” Dr McMullen said.
“She is an internationally recognised consultant neurologist and world-leading expert on sex-specific medicine and her research on dementia, ageing and women’s health has informed major national and international policy bodies, including the World Health Organization.”
“Professor Szoeke has also been an incredible leader in the sector with extensive experience across clinical medicine, academia, government advisory roles and health system governance, including with the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing and CSIRO.”
Professor Szoeke accepted the award on Sunday, acknowledging the 438 women who spend more than 30 years of their lives participating in research, one annual visit at a time.
”None of them will be cured by what we found. They did it for the women who come after them,” she said.
“So many great leaders have held this medal before me. It is a humbling list to be added to, and I do not take the honour lightly.
“Nearly two in three Australians living with dementia are women — 274,000 of them. Not only because we live longer: past ninety, dementia runs in women at 1.4 times the rate in men. When evidence is that clear and still does not reach the bedside, you stop proving and start implementing.
“Advocacy has its limits. You can make the case for years and watch nothing move. At some point you stop asking the system to change and start building it yourself. So we built the first sex-specific healthcare course in Australia, accredited across nine colleges, and put it in front of doctors nationally. Not another report.”
Dr Samantha Pillay takes out women’s health award
Dr Samantha Pillay OAM, Australia’s first urologist to exclusively sub-specialise in female and functional urology, was awarded the 2026 AMA Women’s Health Award on Sunday. It comes after more than two decades of work advancing gender equity, patient care and leadership in medicine.
“Dr Pillay’s career is a powerful example of what sustained advocacy for women in medicine can achieve — both for patients and the generations of clinicians coming up behind her,” Dr McMullen said.
“She is a leading voice of women’s health in Australia having spent more than two decades advancing gender equity, patient care and leadership in medicine.
“Dr Pillay has gone far beyond building an incredible practice to advance women’s health, she has amplified underrepresented health issues by creating infrastructure for the whole sector, including training courses, a free bladder diary app, and public education resources.”
A number of other doctors were also recognised through the awards program, including Dr Sarah Lee, Dr Kerrie Aust and Dr Dayna Duncan.