Ruthven Blackburn Medal 2025 - award lecture and presentation with Professor Louise Baur

Professor Louise Baur AM

Children's Hospital Westmead Clinical School, Sydney Medical School

Children's Hospital Westmead, WSLHD

The SMS Ruthven Blackburn Medal for Distinguished Contribution to Clinical Research commemorates the life’s work of Professor Charles Ruthven Bickerton Blackburn AC (1913-2016), who was a pioneer of clinical research at the University of Sydney. The medal is awarded every second year to a senior staff member of Sydney Medical School in recognition of a sustained, distinguished and notable contribution to clinical research, and of a demonstrated commitment to mentoring junior colleagues. The 2025 medal has been jointly awarded to Professor Louise Baur from Children's Hospital Westmead Clinical School and WSLHD; and Professor Jacob George, from Westmead Clinical School and WSLHD.

Professor Jane Bleasel, Head of School and Dean, Sydney Medical School, warmly invites you to medal presentation to Professor Louise Baur, followed by talk by Louise on her research achievements.

Louise Baur is Professor of Child & Adolescent Health, incorporating the Douglas Burrow Chair of Paediatrics & Child Health, and an NHMRC Leadership Fellow (L3), at The University of Sydney.

Louise is a long-standing paediatrician at The Children’s Hospital at Westmead where she established, and is currently a member of, Weight Management Services, a program which cares for children and young people with severe obesity. She has made research contributions in many aspects of the treatment and prevention of child and adolescent obesity and related diseases, and is ranked #1 for “pediatric obesity” in Expertscape. Louise is also Director of the NHMRC Centre of Research Excellence in the Early Prevention of Obesity in Childhood (EPOCH CRE; funded 2016-2021; 2022-2026).

Louise has had a range of scientific and professional leadership roles. For example, she is the Immediate Past President of the World Obesity Federation (2024-2026; President 2022-2024) and a Founding Fellow, and currently the President of, the Australian Academy of Health & Medical Sciences (2023-2026). In 2010 Louise was made a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for services to medicine and the community.

When: 4-6:30pm Monday, 28 July 2025

• 4pm: Registration

• 4:30-5:30pm: Lecture and award presentation

• 5:30-6:30pm: Celebratory drinks and canapes

Where: Susan Wakil Health Building Lecture Theatre 321, Western Avenue, University of Sydney, Camperdown