Connecting Women Lunch 2025
May 16 @ 12:00 pm - 4:00 pm AEST
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BioMelbourne Network’s Connecting Women Lunch celebrates, connects, inspires and empowers Victoria’s vibrant health technologies sector. The premier event serves as a platform to highlight the achievements and contributions of women in our sector, fostering a sense of community and collaboration.
The event creates a space for women (and allies) from across Victoria and Australia to network, share experiences, and build relationships. A must-attend event since 2008, it has grown to unite almost 600 attendees ranging from senior leaders to early-career professionals.
About the Lunch
The Connecting Women Lunch is a celebration. It showcases the accomplishments of women who made significant impacts in the biotechnology and medical technology (devices, diagnostics and digital) ecosystem. It serves as an opportunity to recognise their leadership, innovation, and perseverance.
By showcasing women’s leadership and success, the event demonstrates how greater diversity and inclusion in the health technology fields can be good for business. It aims to inspire the next generation of leaders and professionals by showcasing role models who have excelled in this previously male-dominated sector.
Event details
Date: Friday 16 May 2025
Time (AEST):
11:45am: Registration opens
12:00pm: Pre-lunch drinks and networking
12:30pm to 3:00pm: Lunch and program
3:00pm to 4:00pm: Post-lunch networking function
Format: In-person only
Venue: Sofitel Melbourne on Collins, Grand Ballroom, 25 Collins St, Melbourne 3000
Host: Karen Parr, BioMelbourne Network
Registration: Member tickets $250, non-member tickets $500.
Note: All CSL, Seqirus and CSL Behring registrations must go through their office for bookings.
2025 speakers
Double the dialogue: two speaking panels during the Lunch will deliver a richer experience for all.
A formidable pair’s personal leadership qualities will be apparent as they highlight the real-world impact that the leadership of our home-grown expertise and companies are having in advancing women’s health.
Following our keynote speakers, be inspired by Guests of Honour: a panel of extraordinary women will share their insights and offer personal stories on how they’ve challenged established norms and embraced responsibility with their own unique leadership journeys.
Driving women’s health forward: Australia has truly led the way on cervical cancer prevention. On the back of Australian research, we were the first country in the world to deliver a nationally funded HPV vaccination program – a well-known scientific achievement across our sector.
However, the lesser-known but equally important advancement has been the complementary medical diagnostics story of our cervical screening program – built by local clinical, public health and laboratory expertise. This initiative is not only putting Australia on track to be the first country in the world to eliminate cervical cancer, but is also enabling expertise export to equip our Indo-pacific neighbours in their own efforts to eliminate the disease.
Engage with our keynote speakers Associate Professor Misha Coleman, Director from the Australian Centre for the Prevention of Cervical Cancer, and Kerrie Castor, community advocate for self-collection. Misha and Kerrie will share a compelling and personal ‘fireside chat’ on how new self-collection technology put the consumer and community at its heart to disrupt the status quo and empower women to command responsibility over their own health.
Scroll down to read more about our speakers.
Join us for this empowering event
Ticket limit
We appreciate that tickets to the Lunch are highly sought after, so to ensure fairness and encourage new connections, each organisation may book up to 10 tickets with priority given to the first booking. Please note that if additional tickets are booked, those registrations will be cancelled and refunded, in line with the guidance shared previously. If this impacts your booking, we will be in touch directly. Thank you for your understanding and support.
Seating arrangements
We encourage you to register colleagues and friends who support women in the workplace, are role models for the next generation and champions of equality.Whether you have bought an individual ticket or purchased collectively as part of a group, all guests will be spread out throughout the room and we cannot guarantee that you will be seated with friends.This provides a powerful opportunity for networking and exploring new opportunities for growth and collaboration.We trust you will enjoy the experience of engaging with like-minded individuals who you may not ordinarily have the opportunity to meet.
Dietary requirements
When booking general release tickets, please ensure you specify relevant dietary requirements for yourself and/or everyone you are booking for (please state dietary needs simply).Given the large number of guests expected at this lunch, we kindly ask that dietary requests are reserved for those with specific food needs or restrictions.Specific food needs may include: vegetarian, vegan, pescatarian, gluten free, dairy free, lactose free, no red meat, no seafood, low FODMAP, Halal (please contact us directly should you require Kosher).Food restrictions (allergies or intolerances): if applicable, please ensure you specify ‘allergy to (food type)’ or ‘intolerance to (food type)’ when booking.Any queries, please contact Nicole Pitcher on npitcher@biomelbourne.org or 03 9063 4757.
Cancellation Policy
General release tickets:
Full refund can be given up to 4 weeks prior to the event.
No refunds will be made within 4 weeks of the event.
BioMelbourne Network is delighted to announce our support for the Australian Centre for the Prevention of Cervical Cancer at the 2024 Connecting Women Lunch.
The ACPCC is committed to preventing cancer and infectious diseases through excellence in the provision of population health services that support screening and vaccination.
As part of our commitment, the ACPCC continues to work with Australian and international partners to achieve the World Health Organization’s goal of eliminating cervical cancer as a public health problem, primarily through vaccination.
Our team are committed to supporting the effective delivery of HPV vaccination and cervical screening programs to ensure women and people with a cervix everywhere can be free from cervical cancer. It’s anticipated that Australia will be the first country in the world to achieve this, by 2035.
We would like to extend our thank you to our wonderful supporters, helping us making this event a success and supporting our sector: CSL – our premier sponsor, the City of Melbourne, Radium Capital and Phillipe Ormonde Fitzpatrick – our major sponsor, Avatar and Melbourne Convention Bureau – our signature sponsors and mexec, Cell Therapies, Telix, Crux Biolabs and LaTrobe University – our supporting sponsors.
There’s still a couple of sponsorship opportunities available for the 2025 Lunch; please contact info@biomelbourne.orgor 03 9063 4757 to discuss how we can partner together to amplify your commitment to the sector.
Associate Professor Misha Coleman
Misha has worked in global public health for 22 years, and has lived and worked in countries including Vietnam, Cambodia, South Africa and the Middle East, Africa and Pacific regions. Misha has been the CEO and Executive Director of four not-for-profit organisations including the Global Health Alliance Australia, was the Mayor and a City Councillor at the City of Yarra for eight years and also worked with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in Canberra and at the Australian Embasssy in Vietnam. During COVID, she was the Team Leader for projects in the Philippines and Indonesia, the Co-Director of the new Barwon Public Health Unit, and she also led work on the high risk accommodation responses in Melbourne’s public housing. Originally a midwife – working in indigenous Australia and in large townships outside Capetown during apartheid – Misha also has qualifications and work experience in law, development studies, social science and monitoring/evaluation. Now at the ACPCC, she manages many of the centre’s State and Federal Government contracts, in additional to the centre’s expanding international portfolio. She has two children who were both born in Thailand, and a strong passion to eliminate cervical cancer throughout the Asia Pacific region.
Kerrie Castor
Kerrie Castor, a proud Djab Wurrung woman from the Grampians region, grew up in Bendigo before moving to Melbourne to study drama and dance. With over 30 years of experience in teaching, she is passionate about drama and dance education. She currently works at the Victorian Aboriginal Child and Community Agency (VACCA) in the Navigator program, supporting Aboriginal young people and families in Melbourne’s outer east. This program, funded by the Department of Education, helps disengaged students (12–18) re-engage with education or find employment opportunities.
Kerrie is also a strong advocate for cervical cancer screening. After more than a decade without testing, she used a self-screening method that led to a quick and reassuring follow-up. Her experience has made her a vocal supporter of self-collection, emphasising its accessibility and ease.
Through her dedication to education, community support, and health advocacy, Kerrie is committed to empowering young people and improving access to vital health services for women.
Kerrie is also a strong advocate for cervical cancer screening. After more than a decade without testing, she used a self-screening method that led to a quick and reassuring follow-up. Her experience has made her a vocal supporter of self-collection, emphasising its accessibility and ease.
Through her dedication to education, community support, and health advocacy, Kerrie is committed to empowering young people and improving access to vital health services for women.
