Fiona Stanley school project bio

 

Fiona Stanley is a child health researcher and advocate for improving the health and well-being of children and families. Named Australian of the Year in 2003, Professor Stanley is the Director of the Telethon Institute for Child Health Research in Perth and Chair of the Australian Research Alliance for Children and Youth. She is Professor of Paediatrics at the University of Western Australia.

While she trained and worked as a medical doctor, her move into research was prompted by a desire to prevent -- rather than simply treat -- many of the recurring conditions that she saw in children, particularly from disadvantaged environments.

Her research career has involved establishing a number of comprehensive data bases that track maternal, child and youth health and wellbeing. This has enabled her and her Institute colleagues to look at the causes and prevention of birth defects and major neurological and developmental disorders such as the cerebral palsies and neural tube defects – research that resulted in a world-first campaign to encourage women to take the vitamin folate prior to pregnancy.

With a commitment to improving health as a means to improving social justice, her team has been unpacking many of the social and economic influences that impact so strongly on child health and development. Professor Stanley is passionate about improving the life chances of Aboriginal people and stands strongly for reconciliation.

She has published over 200 scientific papers, four books, more than 30 book chapters and 42 major reports on these topics.  She serves on the Prime Ministers Science, Engineering and Innovation Council, the Australian Statistical Advisory Council, the Federal Government’s Social Inclusion Board and is UNICEF Australia’s  Ambassador for Early Child Development.

She is married to Professor Geoffrey Shellam and together they have two adult daughters. To relax she enjoys swimming, bushwalking and reading biographies.