Professor Ranjeny Thomas

Professor Ranjeny Thomas has been awarded an AM in the General Division in the Queen’s Birthday 2020 Honours List.

The AM recognises her significant service to medical education and research, and to rheumatology.

Professor Thomas, who holds the Arthritis Queensland Chair of Rheumatology at the University of Queensland Diamantina Institute, is also a consultant rheumatologist at the Princess Alexandra Hospital.

Her research is focused on the biology and clinical use of human dendritic cells in autoimmune disease. Through this work, she developed and tested the first rheumatoid arthritis vaccine.

She has also contributed major insights into the pathogenesis of spondyloarthropathy and autoimmune diabetes.

She is funded by the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation to develop antigen-specific immunotherapy for children with type 1 diabetes.

Professor Thomas is a fellow of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences.

Professor Lorimer Moseley was also awarded an AO in the General Division for his distinguished service to medical research and science communication, to education, the study of pain and its management and to physiotherapy.

He holds the Foundation Chair in Physiotherapy at the University of South Australia and chairs the PainAdelaide Stakeholders’ Consortium of pain researchers, clinicians and consumers.

He is also CEO of the non-profit Pain Revolution – a program to help Australians access community-based pain education through the Local Pain Educator Program.