Who is Queensland’s new Chief Health Officer: Fascinating career of Dr John Gerrard revealed

The man given the honour of becoming Queensland’s new Chief Health Officer has a more-than impressive track record, including groundbreaking research into AIDS and ebola, and was at the forefront of the early handling of the Covid-19 pandemic.

He was the first in Queensland to treat a patient with Covid-19, but the current director of Infectious Diseases at Gold Coast University Hospital and newly appointed Chief Health Officer is no stranger to firsts.

With more than 30 years of experience under his belt, Dr John Gerrard holds an impressive track record in groundbreaking research in emerging infectious diseases and vaccine development in Australia.

In 1994, while working as a junior doctor the Royal Prince Alfred (RPA) Hospital, Dr Gerrard discovered and published the earliest case of Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) in the country from 13 years prior.

In doing so he rewrote HIV/AIDs history in Australia, concluding that the immunodeficiency disease existed in the country as early as July 1981 – around the same time of the publication of the first American case reports.

An internationally respected and awarded researcher and clinician, Dr Gerrard is also known for being a prominent figure in the tackling of the ebola outbreak in West Africa.

Queensland's new Chief Health Officer Dr John Gerrard. Picture: NIGEL HALLETT

In 2014, Dr Gerrard established Australia’s first ever treatment centre and spent six weeks in Sierra Leone in West Africa as part of the international response to the largest ebola epidemic in history.

Five years later, he received a national honour of the Humanitarian Overseas Service Medal – awarded to Australians who provide service overseas in hazardous circumstances – for his work on the centre.

But in 2020, the latest emerging virus landed on his own doorstop.

As Covid-19 made its way to Australia, Dr Gerrard was the first to treat a patient in Queensland with the disease.

Tom Hanks and his wife Rita Wilson were among the first cases of Covid-19 in Queensland and were treated by Dr John Gerrard.

He became instrumental on the front line, designing the Gold Coast University Hospital to manage patients with the highly infectious disease – even treating Hollywood A-lister Tom Hanks and his wife.

He was the medical specialist lead in two separate international Covid-19 responses, one aboard the Diamond Princess in Japan in February 2020 and the other in the Dutch Antilles in early 2021.

So as Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk appoints Dr John Gerrard as Queensland’s new CHO on Monday morning, she did so with the utmost confidence.

Dr Gerrard was the medical specialist aboard the Diamond Princess in Japan in February 2020. (Photo by Carl Court/Getty Images)

“As we enter this new stage of the pandemic it is vital to have someone of Dr Gerrard’s high standing as our chief health officer,” she said.

Dr Gerrard said it was a “profound honour” to take on the role vacated by Dr Jeannette Young.

“It is a deep and concerning responsibility to take on at this time,” he said.

Originally published as Who is Queensland’s new Chief Health Officer: Fascinating career of Dr John Gerrard revealed