Biography
A/Prof Leeanne Grigg was Cardiology Director at Royal Melbourne Hospital (RMH) from 1995 until the end of 2023 and Divisional Director at RMH between 2013 – 2020. A/Prof Leeanne Grigg was Head, Adult Congenital Cardiac Service at RMH from 1990 until 2024. She set up the first Adult Congenital Cardiac service in Australia at the RMH in combination with the Royal Children’s Hospital in 1990, after completing her cardiology training initially at the RMH with further training in adult congenital cardiology at Toronto General Hospital, Canada. The congenital cardiac service was developed to look after the first adult complex congenital heart survivors of complex paediatric cardiac surgery performed for the first time from the 1960’s onwards. In addition, she introduced transoesophageal echocardiography procedures at RMH in 1990 and commenced the first structural cardiac interventions at RMH in 1994 (ASD/PDA/coarctation/pulmonary artery percutaneous procedures).
Over the last 30 years the Adult Congenital Cardiac Service at RMH has grown from just a few patients to over 4000 patients with transition referrals from the Royal Children’s hospital of ~200 patients per year. The service now includes arrhythmia cardiologists, structural interventional cardiologists, obstetric cardiologists, heart failure and pulmonary hypertension cardiologists all with expertise in treating complex congenital cardiology patients. The RMH provides a Statewide structural congenital intervention service (including percutaneous pulmonary valve implantations) as well as a Statewide congenital cardiac surgery service (including Ross procedures).
A/Prof Leeanne Grigg has fostered a multidisciplinary team approach in the Adult Congenital Cardiac Service involving Congenital cardiac nurses, cardiologists and cardiac surgeons as well as fostering research in this expanding area. She has over 150 published papers, as well as ongoing research projects in several multicentre projects at RMH.
A/Prof Leeanne Grigg has been Deputy National President of the Heart Foundation of Australia, President Victorian Division Heart Foundation 2002-2009, past Chair of the Victorian Division of Cardiac Society of ANZ and past member of the Medical Advisory Board, Ambulance Victoria. She is a current member of the Steering Committees of ANZ Fontan registry and CHAANZ.
She was awarded Member Order of Australia (AM) in 2022 and the “Melbourne Award” from the RMH in 2020.
