Health Sciences

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As the biggest provider of healthcare professionals, our Faculty of Health Sciences is one of the largest and broadest health faculties in the country, covering almost all specialties. Strengths lie in allied health, nursing and translational research, which is deeply embedded through partnerships with not-for-profits, service providers and the entire WA health system.

Through the health sciences, we discover new medical breakthroughs and develop our understanding of the mind and mental wellbeing. We make waves in crucial research, such as disease management, neurosciences, genomics, human movement and rehabilitation, and metabolic health.

Our students who inspire

Following in her mother’s footsteps

Dr Ellen Engelke, a fresh Curtin medical graduate, follows in her mother Catherine’s footsteps, championing rural and Indigenous health.

Supported by the Australian Rotary Health Indigenous Health Scholarship, Ellen is dedicated to making a meaningful impact in Aboriginal and country communities.

Curtin Health Community

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Our Impact

Speech clinic makes meaningful change

In 2022, Jordan Bowling suffered a serious brain injury after falling off a cliff, that left him fighting for life. After re-learning how to walk and talk, the 23-year-old is now making meaningful progress thanks to Curtin’s student-led speech clinic, which personalises sessions to meet his age, interests and needs.

Climate change linked to stillbirths

Sheets of fire raging through bushland against an apocalyptic sky. It’s an all-too-familiar sight in Australian summers, alongside native animals limping through blackened habitats while helicopters drop water bombs.
Australia’s climate has warmed by about 1.47°C since national records began in 1910, with climate change turbocharging our vulnerability to extreme weather events such as fire, drought, floods, storms, hurricanes, and heatwaves.

Meet Andy

WA Chief Health Officer and Curtin grad Dr Andy Robertson has treated Navy personnel, been threatened at gunpoint, managed WA Health’s response to the 2004 Bali bombings, and has now also coordinated WA’s COVID-19 response.

“My proudest moments have been providing public health and medical services to areas which really need some help at the time, getting them through a difficult period until their own services can get back on their feet.”

Meet Neesha

Curtin psychology grad Neesha Seth enjoyed the good times as a uni student, but she also took her studies seriously – and has a flourishing career to show for it.

Now she is the President of United Nations Association of Australia’s WA Young Professionals Network, manages her own consultancy in organisational psychology and presents for a chat show called The Couch.

Meet Ezz

Afghanistan refugee and nursing graduate Ezz Rahmati said attaining a tertiary education at Curtin changed his life.

Growing up in the war-torn country surrounded by violence and poverty Ezz never gave up hope of a brighter future.
Using his nursing degree, he hopes to work in developing nations, where he can help those less fortunate access common medicine and prevent unnecessary deaths from treatable infections.

Child hugging earth

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Health Sciences Scholarships 

 Jump Start Nursing

Jump Start Nursing

Registered nurses are key to a safe healthcare system. In this time of workforce shortage, attracting students to study nursing is essential so that we can continue to offer person centred quality care to individuals, families and communities.

Jump Start Nursing will assist first-year nursing students with $500 which will allow them to purchase critical items needed for their clinical placements. Uniforms, mask fitting, police clearance and CPR training all add up, and many students struggle to find the money to cover these costs.

You have the opportunity to support first-year nursing students with their out-of-pocket expenses by donating to Jump Start Nursing. Let’s extend a helping hand and ensure all students can excel in their nursing career without delay.

How you can help

Jump Start Nursing student

Jump Start Nursing

You have the opportunity to support first-year nursing students with their out-of-pocket expenses by donating to Jump Start Nursing. Let’s extend a helping hand and ensure all students can excel in their nursing career without delay.

Home away from Home

Home away from Home

The Home Away From Home Scholarship gives first year Health Sciences students from a rural background the home they need; a home that comes with the support required to flourish and succeed and become the health professionals of the future.

Volunteer with us

Volunteer with us

Fabienne Vonarburg

Fabienne Vonarburg

Head of Advancement, Health Sciences

Fabienne joined the team in November 2018 and assists the Faculty of Health Sciences in its fundraising and engagement efforts to create mutually beneficial, long-lasting relationships between donors and Curtin.

“I am privileged and grateful to work alongside some of the brightest minds to drive innovative solutions for our health and medical challenges in WA and beyond. I’m honoured to have the opportunity to invite donors and supporters to join us on this exciting journey. It is incredibly humbling to be part of a team that creates the best possible student experiences, advances Curtin’s academic endeavours and assists in finding breakthroughs and research discoveries to make tomorrow better.”

Get in touch with Fabienne to find out how you can support the Faculty. If you’d like to contact the Faculty directly, information is available on their website.

Contact the Advancement Health Sciences team:  

Paulene Tavani

Paulene Tavani

Development Executive, Health Sciences

Elizabeth Houwert

Elizabeth Houwert

Alumni and Development Coordinator, Health Sciences

Oliver Hankinson

Oliver Hankinson

Advancement Officer, Health Sciences

Ellen Engelke

 

Meet Dr. Ellen Engelke, a proud Curtin medical graduate, and her mother, Dr. Catherine Engelke, a Curtin School of Nursing alumna and Senior Medical Officer in Kununurra. Together, they are making a lasting impact on rural and Indigenous health.

This remarkable mother-daughter duo is not only shaping the future of medicine in regional Western Australia but also paving the way for aspiring Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students to follow their dreams. Thanks to the generosity of donors through the Australian Rotary Health Indigenous Scholarship, Ellen was able to focus on her studies, achieve her goals, and be inspired to give back to her community.

For Ellen, medicine is more than just a career—it’s a calling shaped by family, community, and the drive to make a difference. Watching her mother balance medical studies while raising a family instilled in her the belief that she, too, could follow this path.

“Mum studied while I was young, and I remember watching her practice clinical exams on me,” Ellen recalls with a smile. “She never pressured me to follow in her footsteps, but seeing her journey made me believe that if she could do it, so could I.”

Catherine’s own path to medicine was one of resilience. She began her career in nursing, later completing a Postgraduate Diploma in Clinical Nursing (Midwifery) at Curtin in 1996. Determined to pursue her dream, she became a doctor, setting an inspiring example for her daughters.

“I wanted them to know they could achieve anything they set their minds to,” she says.

A Supportive Journey at Curtin

Ellen describes her time at Curtin Medical School as both challenging and deeply rewarding.

“Some of my best memories—and some of my toughest—were from medical school,” she admits. “But the support from staff, peers, and the wider Curtin community made all the difference.”

Being part of a young medical school gave her a strong sense of belonging.

“There’s a real community feel at Curtin,” she says. “We were all in it together, and I made friendships and connections that will last a lifetime.”

Ellen was also awarded the Australian Rotary Health Indigenous Health Scholarship, which eased financial pressures and provided invaluable encouragement.

“The Rotary community genuinely cared about my journey,” Ellen shares. “Their support gave me even more motivation to succeed and give back.”

A Passion for Rural and Indigenous Health

Now embarking on her medical career, Ellen is deeply committed to rural and Indigenous health. Inspired by her experiences in Kalgoorlie, she hopes to build trust within communities and provide lasting care.

“I want to be a doctor that people can rely on—that’s what matters to me.”

Her mother, Catherine, has seen firsthand how Curtin medical students develop strong adaptability and problem-solving skills through the university’s problem-based learning (PBL) approach.

“PBL challenges students early on, but it helps them develop an inquiring mindset and clinical reasoning skills that serve them throughout their careers,” she explains.

Giving Back and Looking Forward

Ellen believes in the power of giving back—something that was instilled in her from an early age.

“A group of strangers believed in me and supported me. That inspires me to do the same for others,” she says.

Her advice to future medical students?

“Be yourself, apply for every opportunity, and when you receive support, make sure to give back.”

As Catherine watches her daughter step into medicine, she is filled with pride.

“She’s going to be an incredible doctor,” she says. “She has the heart, the determination, and the humility to truly make a difference.”

With strong family values and a deep commitment to community, Ellen’s journey is just beginning—proving, just like her mother before her, that dreams are always within reach.