A/Prof Lyndal Parker-Newlyn holds dual leadership roles as Academic Lead: Rural Medical Education and Academic Lead: MD Admissions at the University of Wollongong (UOW).

Her research interests include rural medical workforce, equity in medical school selection, and curriculum design to support socially accountable healthcare. She has presented nationally and internationally on admissions reform, rural generalism, and curriculum design and is involved in collaborative research projects exploring predictive validity of selection tools, distributed medical education models, rural workforce challenges, and the integration of non-academic capabilities into medical curricula.

As part of the senior leadership team, Lyndal oversees the strategic and operational development of rural medical education within the UOW Doctor of Medicine (MD) program, ensuring that curriculum design addresses the healthcare workforce needs of rural and regional communities. She also serves as Academic Lead: Shoalhaven campus, managing the day-to-day academic operations of one of the three main campuses of the UOW Graduate School of Medicine.

In parallel, Lyndal leads MD admissions, providing strategic oversight of the selection process and ensuring it remains equitable, evidence-based, and aligned with the program’s commitment to diversity and workforce relevance. She leads policy development and assessment frameworks and chairs the national GAMSAT and GEMSAS Policy Committees, contributing to the continuous refinement of graduate medical school admissions across Australia. She is regularly sought by national and international colleagues for collaboration and consultation in admissions matters.

Since joining UOW in 2006, A/Prof Parker-Newlyn has played a key role in medical education, particularly in developing the Case-Based Learning curriculum and contributing to teaching in clinical reasoning, ethics, and the social determinants of health. She is currently Co-Chair of Phase 1 of the MD program and continues to lead innovation in both curriculum design and delivery.

She holds a Bachelor of Medicine (Honours) from the University of Newcastle and is a Fellow of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (FRACGP). Her postgraduate qualifications include a Master of Health Science (Education) from the University of Sydney and a Master of Education (Educational Leadership – with Distinction) from UOW. She has recently completed a Doctor of Philosophy (Medicine) at UOW, researching non-academic attributes in medical student selection, specifically focusing on the selection of rural students. 

With more than 20 years of clinical experience as a Royal Australian Navy medical officer and rural general practitioner, A/Prof Parker-Newlyn is deeply committed to rural health equity. She has held senior leadership roles in medical workforce development and advocacy, including Deputy Chair of the NSW Rural Doctors Network and Deputy Chair of Rural Health Workforce Australia, and has represented general practitioners on ministerial-level committees. Lyndal is deeply committed to fostering quality medical education, evidence-based student selection, strengthening rural generalism, and addressing workforce issues affecting rural communities.