World-renowned obstetrician and gynaecologist joins MHTP

Professor Ben Mol

The Monash Health Translation Precinct (MHTP) welcomes Ben (Willem) Mol, who started last week as Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at Monash University and as Consultant Obstetrics and Gynaecology at Monash Health.  

Professor Mol’s research is focused on the organisation of multi-centric evaluative research in Obstetrics, Gynaecology and Fertility.

“My research is focused mainly upon everyday practices—my most important task is the stimulation and innovation of evaluative research in obstetrics, gynaecology and reproductive medicine,” Professor Mol said.

After studying medicine at the University of Amsterdam, Professor Mol worked in the Department of Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics at the Academic Medical Centre, Amsterdam (AMC). In 1999 he obtained his doctorate with honours at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Amsterdam with his dissertation entitled Evaluating the effectiveness of diagnostic tests: tubal subfertility and ectopic pregnancy. 

Professor Mol trained as a gynaecologist at the University Medical Centre (Universitair Medisch Centrum) in Utrecht and from 2002 he was a senior researcher in the department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the AMC. From 2003 to 2007, he worked as a gynaecologist-perinatologist at the Maxima Medisch Centrum, in Eindhoven, and between 2007-2013 as Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the AMC in Amsterdam. 

Professor Mol was instrumental in initiating the Dutch consortium for Research in Women’s Health, in which 70 hospitals collaborate in multicentre trials.  Main topics that were evaluated were timing and methods of induction of labour, prevention of preterm birth with pessary, tocolysis, indications for IVF, tubal flushing for infertility and treatment of menorrhagia.

He has worked at the University of Adelaide since 2014, and holds an NHMRC practitioner fellowship, which was awarded as the highest ranked application in 2014. During his time in Adelaide, Professor Mol developed extensive relations with Asian universities.

“I am delighted to be starting my appointment at Monash University and Monash Health,” Professor Mol said.

“My ambitions at Monash are to translate the findings of clinical practice, to initiate a Victorian clinical trial network in women’s health research, to extend my global collaborations and to mentor junior colleagues in these ambitions.”

Professor Mol’s professional adage is ‘A day without randomisation is a day without progress'.