Susan Prescott
Professor of Paediatrics, University of Western Australia
Professor Susan Prescott is a Professor of Paediatrics at the University of Western Australia and a Paediatrician and Immunologist at Perth Children’s Hospital. A trailblazer in early life health research, she is the Founding Director of the $26 million Kids Research Institute Australia at Joondalup Health Campus, and of inViVO Planetary Health—a global initiative of the Worldwide Universities Network exploring the vital connections between personal and planetary health through social and ecological justice.
Her research focuses on the developmental origins of health and disease (DOHaD), particularly early risk factors for inflammation that contribute to allergies, obesity, and mental health conditions. Susan was the Founding President of the DOHaD Society in Australia and New Zealand and has held international leadership roles including Director of the World Allergy Organisation and Head of Children’s Allergy Immunology Research at UWA.
She has published over 300 scientific articles and authored several award-winning books for general audiences, including The Secret Life of Your Microbiome, which won the 2018 Independent Publishers Book Award (Health). Over her distinguished career, she has raised over $50 million in research funding and received numerous accolades, including an NHMRC Practitioner Fellowship and a Winston Churchill Fellowship. Deeply committed to the social determinants of health, Susan brings a holistic lens to her work—an approach inspired by her pioneering grandparents, both accomplished figures in medicine and academia.
