Well-known clinical haematologist and professor at the ANU Medical School, Dr Dipti Talaulikar has been named as a finalist in the 2023 ACT Woman of the Year Award.
The awards recognise contributions in a wide range of areas such as arts and media, education, volunteering, community advocacy and inclusion, and women’s safety.
Dr Talaulikar’s clinical experience covers a broad range of malignant blood disorders with a special interest in leukaemia, myeloma, lymphoma and myeloproliferative neoplasms.
She moved to Australia two decades ago and has been dedicated to improving patient well-being and tailoring personalised treatment plans for those in her care.
“It has been nearly 2 decades since I moved to Australia with my young family. I started work at Canberra Health Services and at the fledgling ANU Medical School soon after, and was the first PhD student of the school.”
Dr Talaulikar completed her PhD investigating occult bone marrow involvement in Diffuse Large B-cell lymphoma. She has also been the principal investigator and co-investigator of several lymphoma, leukaemia and myeloma trials. She says:
“As a blood cancer doctor, my initial training in India in a highly competitive and gender-biased environment fostered a keen awareness of inequities in medicine, both for patients and for healthcare workers.”
Dr Talaulikar adds:
“My subsequent training in Australia for my Fellowships and PhD, has allowed me to use my core knowledge and skills to develop socially meaningful and impactful programs that support diversity and inclusion.”
At ANU, Dr Talaulikar started as an associate lecturer at CHS and recently was awarded the full academic title of Professor at the Australian National University (ANU). She says:
“I have enjoyed the journey of learning and growth very much and look forward to contributing to the territory and more broadly to the Australian and global community. There is much I want to achieve for all of us.”
In 2020, Dr Talaulikar was awarded the prestigious ANU VC Award for Excellence in Education. She has published several clinical research articles in leading publications and is a fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians (FRACP) and Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia (FRCPA).
With reference to her nomination in the ACT Women’s Awards, Dr Talaulikar says that she is pleased to be nominated. She observes:
“I am here to do everything I can to raise awareness, support coming generations, and help organisations with increasingly diverse workforces optimise their outcomes.”
The ACT Women’s Awards recognises women, non-binary, and gender diverse people who improve the status and lives of women and girls in the ACT or achieve significant advancements towards gender equality.
All awards finalists will also be added to the ACT Women’s Honour Roll, a compilation of women who have received one of the following awards since ACT self-government began in 1988.
The ACT Women’s Awards and the ACT Honour Roll ceremony will take place as part of International Women’s Day celebrations in early March 2023.
Listen to Dr Dipti Talaulikar’s exclusive conversation with Dr Amit Sarwal about her journey and life in Australia.
