Dedee Murrell, a renowned dermatologist with over three decades of experience in advancing skin disease therapies, was recently honored with the “Research and Innovation” award at the 2024 French-Australian Excellence Awards. Her global reputation, contributions to dermatology, and advocacy for greater recognition of women in the field have solidified her standing in the medical community.
Murrell’s journey to success began in a small clinic near St George Hospital in Kogarah, Sydney, where she worked alongside her husband, orthopaedic surgeon George Murrell. Despite her rich international career, it was her husband’s move to Australia that brought her here. “You can blame it on my husband!” she jokes about the decision that ultimately led her to make Australia her home.
Born into a family with French, British, and Irish influences, Murrell was inspired by her mother, who worked in the medical profession. However, she had no plans to follow in her footsteps. “I thought I wanted to become a teacher like my grandmother,” she recalls. Yet, as a child, she found herself drawn to her mother’s medical books and illustrations, sparking a long-hidden interest in the field.
Murrell pursued her medical studies at Cambridge and Oxford, where she discovered her passion for dermatology. “I loved every clinical experience I had at Oxford,” she says. “But when I started working in dermatology, I realized how much I was attracted to the visual aspects of the field. I loved being able to see the diseases I treated.”
Her growing ambition led her to New York, where she became a dermatology intern. This move, which she describes as transformative, opened her eyes to new opportunities. “I had few life experiences outside my home country, so I decided to take a gap year. It changed my life, and I made lasting friendships,” she reflects. During her time in New York, Murrell worked at Rockefeller University, studying under esteemed dermatologists.
However, just as she began to settle into her career, a meeting with George Murrell, who was offered a position as Professor of Orthopaedics at St George’s Hospital in Sydney, altered the course of her life. “It was a tough decision,” Murrell admits. “George was being courted all over America, but when the job offer came in Sydney, I told him, ‘I’m not moving until I have an academic opportunity there.’” In response, George asked the hospital if they needed a dermatologist, and the answer was yes.
In 1995, Murrell moved to Australia with her husband. At the time, the country’s dermatology infrastructure was still underdeveloped, presenting significant challenges. “I had to do two more years of training to regain the status I had in the U.S.,” she recalls. “I received no start-up funding, just a salary.” But her determination paid off, and in 2008, after 13 years in Australia, she became a professor—the first woman to hold such a position in dermatology in the country.
Murrell faced many obstacles during her career, particularly when it came to securing funding. “In Australia, public hospitals don’t fund dermatology as much as in places like the U.S. or Europe,” she explains. “Most grants focus on skin cancer, so it was a challenge to find funding for my research.” She overcame this by creating a charitable foundation dedicated to blistering diseases, channeling the profits into research. “It’s all about being enterprising,” she adds.
Throughout her career, Murrell has pioneered several dermatology initiatives, including founding Australia’s first dermatology clinical trials center and a laboratory focused on blistering diseases. “At first, I had very little experience in this sector, but I saw what was being done in America, and I wanted to bring it to Australia,” she says. “It was tough, but eventually, I had to set up the clinical trials center on my own, handling everything from the budget to the staff.”
In addition to her work with blistering diseases, Murrell has made significant strides in other areas of dermatology, including psoriasis, vitiligo, alopecia, and atopic dermatitis. Her efforts have led to collaborations with other medical institutions and the creation of a national registry for these conditions. Murrell is also a prominent figure in international research, having developed definitions for vesicular diseases and creating outcome indicators used worldwide to measure treatment progress.
In a field that has traditionally been male-dominated, Murrell has become an advocate for women in medicine. “When I was at Oxford, I rarely met any female consultants,” she says. “I didn’t consciously set out to champion women, but I realized that seeing others like you in the field gives you confidence and motivation.” In 2019, she was honored with the International Pioneer Award from the Women’s Dermatology Society for her contributions to promoting women in dermatology.
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