RANZCOG New Zealand 2019 Annual Scientific Meeting in Kirikiriroa
Meet our speakers
Professor William Ledger
MA, DPhil (Oxon), MB, ChB, FRCOG, FRANZCOG, CREI
Professor Ledger is Head of the Discipline of Obstetrics and Gynaecology of the Faculty of Medicine at the University of New South Wales, Director of Reproductive Medicine and Senior Staff Specialist at the Royal Hospital for Women and Chair of the Research and Development Committee and a fertility specialist at IVF Australia.
Professor Ledger's research interests focus on in vitro fertilisation and assisted reproduction, impacts of reproductive ageing and disorders such as endometriosis, premature ovarian failure and polycystic ovary syndrome on fertility and quality of life, reproductive effects of cancer treatment and health economic and demographic aspects of infertility. He has published over 270 peer reviewed research papers and edited 13 books on aspects of reproductive medicine.
Professor Robert Norman
AO, BSC (Hons), MB ChB (Hons), MD, FRANZCOG, FRCPA, FRCPath, FRCOG, CREI, FAHMS
Professor Norman holds a personal chair as Professor for Reproductive and Periconceptual Medicine at the University of Adelaide and is a subspecialist in reproductive medicine (CREI) and in endocrine biochemistry (FRCPA).
His major research contributions have been in IVF and reproductive endocrinology, particularly in PCOS, the effect of lifestyle on reproductive outcomes and periconception medicine. Professor Norman is the former Medical Director and an active reproductive medicine specialist at Fertility SA and was formerly CEO of Repromed Pty Ltd. He was President of the Asia Pacific Initiative for Reproduction Society (membership 2000+), Scientific Chair of ASPIRE (2014 and 2016) and Scientific Chair of the Fertility Society (2012 - present). He was awarded an Order of Australia (AO) in 2013. In 2015 he became a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences and in the same year was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Medicine by the University of Adelaide. He has been given the top awards of the American Society of Reproductive Medicine (ASRM), the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE) and the Asia Pacific Initiative on Reproduction (ASPIRE).
Professor Linda Tuhiwai Smith
Ngāti Awa, Ngāti Porou
CNZM, PhD, MA (Hons), BA,vDipT
Professor Smith is a Professor of Education and Māori Development at the University of Waikato. She holds the position of Pro-Vice Chancellor Māori. Professor Smith is a Fellow of the American Association for Research in Education. She serves on a number of New Zealand’s research organisations and funding bodies. Professor Smith was made a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2013 for her contribution to Māori Education.
Well known for her work in Kaupapa Māori research, Professor Smith’s book "Decolonising Methodologies: Research and Indigenous Peoples" is recognised as the prescribed text globally for Indigenous scholarship. Professor Smith’s work demonstrates her commitment to the well-being and intellectual and political self-determination of Indigenous Peoples. Her latest research has drawn together more than 120 indigenous scholars for the first ever Handbook of Indigenous Education.
Professor John Newnham
AM, MB, BS, MD W.Aust, FRCOG, FRANZCOG, DDU, CMFM
Professor John Newnham is Head of Division and Professor of the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Western Australia Medical School, Chief Scientific Director of the Women and Infants Research Foundation and an Adjunct Professor at Peking University, Beijing. His enduring research and clinical passion has been to unravel the mysteries of life before birth, how health and disease throughout our lifespan may result from events while we are a foetus, and how common illnesses and disabilities can be prevented by strategies during pregnancy.
During his time at UWA, Professor Newnham’s research has led to worldwide changes in clinical practice, in particular in the management and prevention of preterm labour. Professor Newnham pioneered the Raine Study, one of the largest successful prospective cohorts of pregnancy, childhood, adolescence and now early adulthood to be carried out anywhere in the world. More recently in July 2018 he led the development of the Australian Preterm Birth Prevention Alliance which is the world’s first national programme aiming to safely reduce the rate of harmful early birth across its population.