Our Team

Professor Fran Boyle AM
Director

Fran trained as a Medical Oncologist and remains engaged in the treatment of patients with breast cancer at the Mater Hospital in North Sydney. She is an active cancer researcher, having had oversight of over $50 Million in peer-reviewed research funding and over 200 publications. Her current roles include Director of Medical Services at the Mater, assisting in the training of junior doctors and supporting quality and safety initiatives. In 2025 she completed her Leadership for Clinicians training with the Royal Australian College of Medical Administrators.

Her communication training was initiated in 1997 when she was employed by the National Breast Cancer Centre as a clinical advisor. Responding to the psychosocial needs of cancer patients, guidelines and communication workshops led by Dame Lesley Fallowfield from the UK led to enhanced workforce skills. The formation of the first multidisciplinary cancer teams in 2000 led to opportunities to research and facilitate interprofessional learning, which has now evolved throughout the health care sector. Training for emerging challenges in clinical conversations for medical oncology registrars and cancer clinicians remains a focus for her interests at Pam McLean Centre, and she presented our work at the American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting in Chicago in 2024.

Along with teaching awards from the University of Sydney, Fran was awarded Membership of the Order of Australia (AM) in 2008 for her contributions to cancer research, education, advocacy and policy. She currently is a Board member of Metastatic Breast Cancer Action Australia, a consumer led organisation advocating for better communication with patients living with incurable cancer, in collaboration with the Advanced Breast Cancer Global Alliance.

Professor Stewart Dunn
Founding Director

Stewart Dunn is Professor of Psychological Medicine, based in the Sydney Medical School Northern at Royal North Shore Hospital in Sydney. His initial doctoral research, working with Prof John Turtle AO at RPAH, focused on education and psychological support for diabetes patients. In subsequent years he extended his research interests into communication in oncology, His clinical specialty is psycho-oncology, working with cancer patients and their families. He has taught extensively in the Sydney Medical Program and provides support for doctors and medical students experiencing hardship and trauma. From 2000 to 2019, he was Associate Dean for Admissions in the Sydney Medical School. He is currently Chair of the Human Research Ethics Committee for Northern Sydney Local Health District.

Dr Renee Lim
Director of Program Development

Renee Lim has worked for over 15 years as a Locum in Emergency, Geriatrics and Palliative Care. She is also a very experienced stage and screen performer, and these skills, combined with her medical expertise, knowledge in educational pedagogy and design, and experience in program development and organisational and human psychology, form the foundations for both her roles as a senior lecturer at Sydney University FMH, collaborating on many cross disciplinary projects in education and research, and as Director of Program Development at the Pam McLean Centre – devising and implementing its communication skills programs, formats, scenarios and educational outcomes, as well as guiding its strategic focus and facilitating a number of their capstone and innovative new programs. She specialises in individualised learning experiences, exploring the structure of, skills involved in, and psychology around human interactions and behaviours. This extends to her role as CEO and director of the social enterprises, Changineers, which specialises in bespoke educational technology design in the For Purpose sector, and eNayble, offering creative ways to help humans connect.

Richie Hamlet
Administration Officer

Richie joined PMC and the University of Sydney in December 2021. He has a Bachelor of Communication and Media Studies with Distinction (Major in English Literature, Major in Journalism). He has worked in the tertiary medical education sector since 2019, having started working in the medical sector in 2013. Richie previously worked for 2.5 years in administration – including 6 months as Assistant to the Head of School – for the School of Nursing at the University of Wollongong. At PMC Richie coordinates its many and varied projects & events, manages staff resources, and looks after all administrative and financial matters. Within his role at PMC, Richie looks to combine a strong background in customer service and high quality administrative support with his passion for supporting all individuals and communities.

Dr Scott Ashby
Senior Facilitator

Scott is a Kiwi who has expatriated long enough ago to have lost nearly all traces of his accent. He works as an intensivist-in-training based mostly out of Royal North Shore Hospital or one of its many secondments. Scott has always found that communicating effectively in challenging situations is one of the most complex yet rewarding parts of working in medicine, and that these situations are also opportunities to most tangibly ‘make a difference’. This passion has led him to his work as a senior facilitator with PMC.

Margaret Bell
Senior Facilitator

Margie is a registered nurse and midwife and holds a Graduate Diploma in Infectious Diseases. She has experience working in a variety of clinical settings over the past 35 years, some of those in Indigenous communities within Australia. Margie joined the International Humanitarian Organisation, Médicines Sans Frontiers in 2003 as a field worker in countries such as: South and Western Sudan, Nigeria, Haiti, Pakistan and Nepal. Since 2013 Margie has held the position of Women’s Health Medical Advisor to support Field Operations in the field of Sexual Reproductive Health. In this role she is responsible for facilitating workshops and trainings in many different and challenging contexts around difficult subject matter with the ultimate aim of improving quality care for populations. She also plays a key role in assisting field teams to negotiate difficult conversations with local authorities, leaders in the community, patients and their families. Margie joined the PMC in 1999 initially as a scenario actor and for the last 4 years as a facilitator.

Dr Marilyn Paull
Senior Facilitator

Dr Marilyn Paull is a General Paediatrician and Adolescent Physician and is the current Network Head of Adolescent Medicine in the Sydney Children’s Hospitals Network (SCHN). Her main clinical interest is in adolescent chronic illness. She has worked as a RACP training director for 10 years within the SCHN, and more recently focused on skill development in supervision, mentoring, communication and professional development.