Mark Gilheany was recently awarded the WT Woodhead Award for his humanitarian and professional efforts.

Mr Gilheany was instrumental in setting up podiatry aid services in central Vietnam to combat lower extremity deformities, such as clubfoot. He volunteered his services from 1996-2001, travelling at his own expense, and later helped raise more than $40,000 to fund a hospital in Danang.

``At the time we were the first western group of practitioners allowed to come in the area and work on local Vietnamese, the trade embargoes had just been lifted after the Vietnam War,'' Mr Gilheany said.

``There were terrific numbers of children with deformities that had never received treatment. That program has been running ever since then.''

He has also successfully campaigned for changes in Federal Government legislation, such as securing rebates for patients' prosthesis and health insurance rebates for podiatric surgery.

A reconstructive foot and ankle surgeon, Mr Gilheany currently works at Gippsland Foot Clinic in Traralgon and in Melbourne.

He said healthy feet were vital to everyday living.

``From six years old to 96 years old if you've got a foot problem from short to long term it can completely ruin your life,'' Mr Gilheany said.

``Your mobility is completely lost and the pain can cause spasms. If your mobility is lost, you're more at risk of chronic disease problems like diabetes and heart disease.''

Mr Gilheany has spent the last 12 years serving on the Podiatrist Registration Board of Victoria, of which he has served as president since 2001.

He has also served as president of the Australasian College of Podiatric Surgeons for the last seven years and served as vice president and secretary for the previous five years.

Mr Gilheany said he was most proud of his role as an educator for the last 20 years, teaching aspiring podiatrists at various universities.