Join us for a panel event that will help separate fact from fiction.
Menopause is a natural stage in life and every woman’s experience is different. While it has long been a source of stigma, conversations about menopause are becoming more mainstream and the ‘hot flush gold rush’ has seen an increase in the number of products that claim to provide relief from symptoms. But what does the evidence actually say about living well during this transition?
Join the Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences and the Royal Women’s Hospital for a panel event that will explore the latest research on menopause and help separate fact from fiction.
Professor Martha Hickey
Professor Martha Hickey is a clinical psychologist and Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the University of Melbourne. Her clinical and research area is menopause. In her clinical practice she leads Australia’s largest menopause service, focusing on cancer patients. She led the COMMA (Core Outcomes in Menopause) global initiative to standardise reporting in clinical trials of menopause treatments. She also led the first Lancet series on menopause, published in 2024, and was ‘topic expert’ for the 2024 NICE guidelines on menopause. She has a strong commitment to evidence-based medicine and is an Editor for the Cochrane Collaboration and Lancet Obstetrics, Gynaecology and Women’s Health.
Dr Sarah White
Dr Sarah White is the Chief Executive Officer of Jean Hailes for Women’s Health, Australia’s national digital gateway for women’s health information and the leading non-governmental organisation providing women’s health information and education to the general public and health professionals. She is a member of the Victorian Women's Health Advisory Council and the Therapeutic Goods Administration’s Women’s Health Products Working Group, and was a member of the former National Women’s Health Advisory Council.
Dr Marita Long
Dr Marita Long is a Victoria-based GP who works across clinical practice, medical education and has more recently started working as an academic in teaching and learning at the Department of General Practice and Primary Care at the University of Melbourne. Marita is involved in dementia risk reduction projects through UNSW and was recently appointed a Clinical Associate Professor at the Wicking Dementia Education and Research Centre at the University of Tasmania. Marita has a strong interest in women’s health and cognitive health and is the GP lead of a women’s brain care clinic at Jean Hailes for Women’s Health. She is a current committee member for the Australian Society of Psychosocial Obstetrics and Gynaecology, a member of the Women in General Practice RACGP committee and is the President Elect of the Australasian Menopause Society. She is the first GP to be appointed as an Honorary Medical Advisor for Dementia Australia.
Yumi Stynes (Moderator)
Yumi Stynes is a broadcaster and author. She has been working in Australian media for more than two decades, first as a music reporter, arts reporter and pop culture interviewer to working now as a writer and authority on sex education, consent, women’s issues, race issues, food and art. She is the face and voice of the hugely popular ABC podcast, 'Ladies, We Need to Talk', 'I Heart Trivia' on I Heart Radio, the podcast 'SEEN' on SBS, and the popular food podcast '5 Minute Food Fix'.
