Fiona Stanley

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Fiona Stanley

Professor Fiona Stanley AC (born August 1, 1946) is an Australian epidemiologist noted inter alia for her work on cerebral palsy.

Fiona Stanley was born in Sydney, New South Wales. In 1956 the Stanleys moved to Western Australia. She then went to St Hilda’s Girls School before studying Medicine at the University of Western Australia, graduating in 1970. Her clinical experience in hospitals and at the Aboriginal Clinic in East Perth sparked an interest in epidemiology and public health. She spent six years in the United States and the United Kingdom researching these areas before returning to Perth to establish research programs at the University and within the health department.

She is the founding Director of the Telethon Institute for Child Health Research, in Subiaco, Western Australia. The Telethon Institute is a multi-disciplinary research facility that investigates the causes and prevention of major childhood diseases and disabilities. She also held the position of CEO of the Australian Research Alliance for Children and Youth, and is a professor of Paediatrics at UWA.

During her high profile career, Professor Stanley has focussed on the importance of using population data to provide significant health, social and economic benefits to the community. In 1977, her research group established the WA Maternal and Child Health Base. It is a unique collection of data on births from the entire state which has proved a valuable resource in predicting trends in maternal and child health the effects of preventive programs.Professor Stanley’s research also includes strategies to enhance health and well-being in populations; the causes and prevention of birth defects and major neurological disorders such as cerebral palsies; the causes and lifelong consequences of low birth weight; and patterns of maternal and child health in Aboriginal and Caucasian populations.

She was the subject of an Australian stamp in 2002 when a series of six stamps showing eminent medical Australian scientists was issued. She was Australian of the Year in 2003.

See also: People on stamps