Distinguished Professor Maree Teesson AC is Director of the Matilda Centre, Director of the NHMRC Centre of Research Excellence in Prevention and Early Intervention in Mental Illness and Substance Use (PREMISE), and an NHMRC Leadership Fellow at the University of Sydney. Maree is Chair of Australia's Mental Health Think Tank and Chair of the Million Minds Mental Health Research Mission Expert Advisory Panel. Maree is a Former National Mental Health Commissioner (2018-2021), an Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences Fellow, a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Social Sciences, and a Fellow of the Royal Society of New South Wales.

Maree was awarded the University of Sydney's Faculty of Medicine and Health's inaugural Distinguished Professor Award in 2023. Maree was announced as a Companion of the Order of Australia in the Australia Day 2018 Honours List, awarded a Westpac/Australian Financial Review 100 Women of Influence (Innovation), and awarded an Australian Museum Eureka Prize for Outstanding Mentor of Young Researchers. Maree has made a major contribution to Australia’s health and medical research effort in the field of mental health and substance use. In particular, she is known nationally and internationally for her research on the comorbidity between mental health and substance use disorders.