Level was founded by a group of University of Sydney medical students in 2015 as a forum to discuss and advocate for gender equality in medicine, and also to provide a place of inspiration for women in all levels and disciplines of medicine. It’s now run by a diverse range of medical students and junior doctors from around Australia, with projects and research fellowships across the country.
Josephine De Costa (Chief Executive Officer & Founder)
Josephine de Costa is a junior doctor based in Darwin, with undergraduate degrees in Arts and Law. She is passionate about women’s health and surgery, particularly in low-resource settings, and is hoping to combine her experience in law and policy with clinical medical practice. She founded Level in her first year of medicine, after being shocked by the widespread nature of gender-based discrimination and sexual harassment amongst Australian doctors. Apart from Level, she is currently working on research projects with both Médecins Sans Frontières and the World Health Organisation, and has previously worked with the End12 campaign to decriminalise abortion in New South Wales. Outside of medicine, she is also a strong advocate for refugee and asylum seeker rights, and a passionate supporter of ethical eating.
Grace Fitzgerald (Chief Operations Officer)
Grace is a junior doctor in Western Melbourne, and is currently Level Medicine’s COO. In 2017, Grace wrote Level Medicine’s Pay Equity research brief, and co-authored our submission to the senate enquiry on the economic implications of gender inequity. Grace is involved in Level Medicine because she passionately believes that we can’t possibly rectify societal inequities without making sure our institutions are representative of the world we would like to live in. Grace wants to make sure Level Medicine has a presence all across the country, and involves the voices of people at all levels (ha!) of the medical hierarchy. Outside of medicine and being a rampant feminist, Grace loves literature, red wine and a sneaky dose of techno on a Saturday night.
Danjel Miladinovic (Advocacy & Policy coordinator)
Danjel is a final year medical student at the University of Sydney and is Level’s Policy & Advocacy Co-ordinator. She has a background in the Arts with a particular interest in Art History. Danjel is involved in Level’s research surrounding gender disparity and advocates for intersectional gender equity. Since making the transition to Medicine, she has become involved in sourcing data on the inequities of modern medicine, with particular interest in gender prejudices and discrimination.
Imogen Janus (Workshop project manager)
Imogen is a final year medical student at Sydney Medical School. She is one of Level’s workshop project managers, working on building up the ‘Voicing your Values in Medicine’ workshop program. Imogen is passionate about thinking about gender in an intersectional manner and including gender non-binary, transgender, and intersex people in conversations about gender in medicine.
Maddie Otto (Workshop project manager)
Maddie is a second-year medical student at the University of Notre Dame in Sydney and one of Level Medicine’s workshop project managers. Prior to studying medicine, she worked and studied as a musician in Melbourne. She has a background in community arts, which combined her love for both the arts and disability support. She is an advocate for intersectional gender equity, and is passionate about accessibility and inclusive practice within the healthcare system.
Meredith Grey (Workshop team member)
Meredith is a final year medical student at the University of Sydney with an arts and humanities background, and works within Level’s workshop team. “After experiencing somewhat of a culture shock entering medicine, I was so grateful to find in Level a group of passionate people working on real cultural change in all areas from medical schools through to national policy. Keeping an active conversation in this industry about gender and other forms of inequity in health is crucial to spurring change and gaining support for a new type of medical culture, and I’m excited to be part of a team that is doing just that”. Outside of medicine, most of her time is consumed with holding her dog’s face in her hands and telling him how precious he is, or taking photos of him while he sleeps.
Joshua Gold (Workshop team member)
Joshua is in his final year of medical school at the University of Sydney, having completed a Doctorate in Neuroscience at the University of Oxford. Currently, he is engaged in research and presentation as part of Level Medicine’s workshop program. He is interested in working to improve the broader understanding of diversity issues, especially among heterosexual and cisgender male individuals. In his spare time, Joshua enjoys running, playing squash, and doing cryptic crosswords.
Elizabeth Lim (Advocacy team member)
Liz is a third-year medical student at Bond University. She is new to the Level Medicine team, but in her short time here, has loved being a part of the work that the organisation is undertaking across Australia. She is currently coordinating Level’s Advocacy Project, which focuses on developing a practical guide to promote gender equality at the medical school, hospital and specialist training college level. Outside of this, she enjoys navigating the challenges that have come with new adulthood: bulk-cooking, committing to regular exercise and FaceTiming her parents before they have to ask.
Amanda Scopelliti (Secretary)
Amanda is currently in her second year of Medicine at the University of Sydney. She has a background in medical research, completing her PhD at the University of Sydney, and a post-doc at Weill Cornell Medicine in NYC. Amanda is passionate about challenging discrimination based on race, gender and class particularly within the conservative field of Medicine. She is very proud to be a part of the inspiring Level Medicine team, joining as the Secretary in 2018.
Lindsay Liu (Treasurer)
Lindsay is a second-year medical student at the University of Sydney who loves brunching, travelling and playing sport. “I’m so excited to step into the role of Treasurer for Level Medicine in 2018, a perfect role to combine creativity and innovation with a strong pragmatic backbone. Ever since attending seminars held by Level, I’ve been inspired to take on a more active role in shaping our perspective of gender equity from within the medical field, and beyond. It is through the avenue of better understanding and empathy, the core qualities that any excellent medical professional possesses, that we can drive action”.
Elysia Abbott (Media relations officer)
Elysia is a final year medical student at the University of Sydney and is Level Medicine’s media relations officer. She loves talking about gender, reading about politics, and eating Italian food, In her free time she teaches her friends how to make gnocchi and engages in discussions about diversity and discrimination.
Nimisha Aithal (Publicity and design officer)
Nimisha is a junior doctor based in Townsville, North Queensland. She is passionate about raising awareness and advocating for gender equity with in medicine and into society as a whole. She has previously worked with the Australian Medical Students Association as a gender equity team member and Sexual Health Course Co-ordinator. Nimisha was heavily involved in implementing the Women in Leadership Mentor Program and creation of sexual health education modules. Apart from medicine, Nimisha is involved in dance and theatre frequently juggling performances with the daily rollercoaster of doctor-ing.
Shehani Gunasekera
Shehani is in her fourth year of medicine at Adelaide University. “I chose to apply for Level Medicine last year because of my desire to learn and cooperate with a group of like-minded individuals, passionate about challenging the inequities that exist not only in the medical realm but in our wider society. Having been inspired by the resilience of women like UBER’s Susan Fowler, a victim of foul-play and harassment conducted by her supervisors, I realise the necessity for me to play my part in bringing to light similar injustices through research and advocacy”. Beyond medicine, in her spare time she enjoys baking, criticising cringy movies with my friends and listening to Kendrick Lamar songs.