Vale Associate Professor Phyllis Min-yü Lau

Words by colleague and friend Dr Andre Priede

Melbourne Dental School is saddened by the passing of Associate Professor Phyllis Min-yü Lau, a respected academic, graduate research coordinator, mentor and colleague known for her contributions to primary care research.

With an educational background in pharmacy including a Bachelor of Pharmacy, a Graduate Diploma in Drug Evaluation and Pharmaceutical Sciences, and a PhD focused on adverse drug reactions in oncology - she joined the Department of General Practice in 2004, where I would later meet Phyllis.

During her time at the Department of General Practice she performed many and varied roles, including the Deputy Lead of the Diabetes and Cardiometabolic Disease Research Group and Graduate Research Coordinator. Among her other accomplishments, she established cultural awareness programs for medical students and served as the Statewide Coordinator of the Primary Health Care Research, Evaluation & Development Program. Phyllis also held several positions with the Australian Association of Academic Primary Care, including Treasurer (2016–19), Vice President (2019–20), and President from 2020 to 2023.

Phyllis pursued a wide range of research interests, including health service delivery, Indigenous health, cultural sensitivity in health communication, interprofessional collaboration in care and research, as well as chronic disease detection and management. She has authored over 100 journal articles and secured more than $17M in research funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) and the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) throughout her career.

She also effectively supervised numerous research projects and students, which is how I initially met Phyllis.  Over the years, I was fortunate to collaborate with Phyllis on several diabetes projects, through which I gained a great deal of knowledge from her.

Phyllis was a strong advocate for interprofessional education and collaboration, particularly emphasising oral healthcare's role in primary care. She worked extensively with our Melbourne Dental School students and colleagues on projects related to IPE, diabetes management, oral health screening tools for diabetes providers, and halitosis management.

Her loss will be deeply felt, and our School extends its deepest condolences to Associate Professor Lau’s family, friends, students and colleagues. Phyllis has made a lasting impact on primary  care in Australia and internationally. But for me, her greatest impact is on a personal level. I’m going to miss her wisdom, generosity, effortless grace, kindness, and humanity.