Dr Yvonne Ho AM (1983)
Dr Yvonne Ho is a trailblazer in every sense of the word. As a specialist radiologist and nuclear medicine physician, she made history as the first woman radiology director of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Radiologists (RANZCR) and played a pivotal role in bringing PET-CT imaging to Singapore.
Her distinguished service to medicine has been widely recognised; she was inducted into the Victorian Honour Roll of Women in 2013 and appointed a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in 2015.
Yet, Yvonne’s impact extends far beyond the medical field. She is a deeply passionate advocate for women, minority groups, and gender equity. She also holds a Diploma in Music Performance and remains a dedicated champion of music education; a passion she recently shared with the PLC community by performing in the Old Collegians' Orchestra for the College's 150th anniversary celebrations.
We recently caught up with Yvonne to hear more about her current passions and her advice for the next generation of PLC students.
How do you stay connected to the PLC community?
I’ve remained connected to PLC through my role as a committee member for the PLC Old Collegians’ Association. More recently, it was incredibly special to participate in the Old Collegians' Orchestra, performing as part of PLC's 150th anniversary celebrations.
What passions or causes are most important to you right now?
I advocate for humanity in the face of AI-enabled products in the health sector. It’s really important that all AI-enabled products should show evidence of beneficence, non-maleficence, autonomy and justice to humans ahead of machines.1 There should also be conclusively proven scientific evidence of a positive benefit-to-risk ratio of all AI-enabled products before they could or should be used on or by humans at large.
What advice would you give to current students at PLC?
The challenges of our time will continually change and transform. Regardless of that change, my advice is to:
- Stay ethical, stay just.
- Continue to learn through life. Read* widely and think critically (*and by reading, I do not mean social media or the internet).
- Find your true north and remain true to yourself.
- Never give up.
¹ Beauchamp, T. L. and Childress, J. F. Principles of Biomedical Ethics. 6th ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 2009.
Presbyterian Ladies’ College acknowledges the Wurundjeri, Woiwurrung and Boonwurrung people of the Kulin Nation as the Traditional Custodians, by God’s gracious providence, of the land on which our school stands.