Health Minister Simeon Brown has named three new appointments to the Health Research Council (HRC) Board and confirmed the current leadership will stay on.

Dr Margaret Whilsher, Dr Colin McArthur and Paul Foster-Bell have been appointed for three-year terms. Professor Lester Levy has been reappointed as Chair and Jeroen Douwes as Deputy Chair for a further three years.

The rest of the Board continues: Professor Cameron Grant, Professor Brett Cowan, Professor James MacLaurin, Dr Frances Hughes and Associate Professor Riz Firestone.

Brown said the HRC “plays a central role in managing the Government’s investment in health research,” including advising on national health research policy, administering funds, initiating research and sharing findings. He said the appointments are intended to keep the Board “strong and balanced” to provide stability and governance “as the organisation undergoes significant change as part of wider science sector reforms.”

Whilsher is a senior clinician and former health system leader; McArthur is an intensive care specialist and clinical researcher; Foster-Bell is a former National MP and career diplomat. Levy is a long-time health governance figure who has previously chaired multiple health boards. Douwes is an academic leader in public health research.

The HRC oversees the distribution of public funding for health research and sets priorities for investment.

The announcement did not detail who the new appointees replace or when the terms begin.