Ms Anne-Marie Lansdown

Anne-Marie Lansdown is an experienced executive who has worked in government in the education and research sectors nationally and internationally. As a senior executive in the Education, Industry and Communications departments she developed a deep understanding of higher education and research policy. In the international space, she worked on multiple bilateral science and technology agreements, OECD committees, and UN summits.

Anne-Marie was one of the architects of Australia鈥檚 national research infrastructure program, NCRIS, developing three of the national NCRIS roadmaps. These were augmented by the Education Investment Fund and the Super Science funding. The NCRIS is a highly collaborative and distinctively Australian program which maximises Australia鈥檚 research infrastructure investments by coordinating open access, targeted specialities, and co-funding across the country.

Over her period in government, she worked with five of the past six Chief Scientists, most recently as Chief of Staff to former Chief Scientist, Dr Alan Finkel.

As Deputy Chief Executive at Universities Australia over seven years, she was responsible for managing the higher education policy agenda for the advocacy group.

She currently sits on the boards of the Australian Research Data Commons (ARDC), Cooperative Research Australia (CRA) and the Australian National Imaging Facility (ANIF). As Chair of the Marine National Facility (MNF), she is able to follow the powerful science being generated by Australia鈥檚 marine researchers. She is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

As a lifelong Canberran, she has followed the progress of the 海角射区 over the decades. The university鈥檚 important focus on the Canberra community and support for the development of our professional workforce is a source of pride. She is honoured to be part of the 海角射区 enterprise.

Dr Ananthan Ambikairajah

Elected Academic Staff Representative

Term: 1 January 2026 to 31 December 2027

Dr Ananthan Ambikairajah is a Lecturer in the Discipline of Psychology in the Faculty of Health at the 海角射区 (UC) and a core member of the Centre for Ageing Research and Translation (CARAT). He completed his PhD in Neuroscience at the Australian National University in 2022 and, in 2024, received the ACT Minister for Health鈥檚 Outstanding New Researcher Highly Commended Award. Ananthan鈥檚 research focuses on genetic, environmental, and lifestyle factors influencing brain health and dementia risk, with an emphasis on improving early diagnosis and identifying opportunities for risk reduction. His research has been covered by ABC News, The Sydney Morning Herald and the Australian Financial Review.

In 2025, Ananthan received the UC Award for Teaching Excellence and the Vice-Chancellor鈥檚 Educator of the Year Award. He has also received multiple student-nominated awards and commendations for Excellence in Teaching. Following his undergraduate degree in Neuroscience at the University of New South Wales, he completed a Master鈥檚 in Teaching (Secondary) and is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA). In 2023, Ananthan founded and continues to chair the Faculty of Health Generative Artificial Intelligence Community of Practice, leading university-wide efforts to support staff on their understanding, use and adoption of GenAI to enhance their learning, teaching, research and professional practice. He also hosts , a podcast that communicates research and the principles of scientific thinking to the public in an engaging and accessible way. The podcast is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and SoundCloud.  

Ananthan is deeply committed to advancing higher education and is passionate about the opportunities it creates for students, staff and the wider community. Elected to the University Council in 2026, he represents the academic voice in governance and serves as the academic representative on both the Academic Board and the Faculty of Health Board.

More about Ananthan鈥檚 work can be found on his .