Elizabeth Jane Elliott is an Australian clinician scientist. She is a Member of the

Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

(AM), for services to

paediatrics Pediatrics ( also spelled ''paediatrics'' or ''pædiatrics'') is the branch of medicine that involves the medical care of infants, children, adolescents, and young adults. In the United Kingdom, paediatrics covers many of their youth until the ...

and child health, as well as an Elected Fellow of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Science (AAHMS), Fellow of the Royal Society of NSW, and Fellow of the Academy of Child and Adolescent Health. She was the first female to win the

James Cook Medal The James Cook Medal is awarded on an occasional basis by the Royal Society of New South Wales for "outstanding contributions to science and human welfare in and for the Southern Hemisphere". It was established in 1947 from funds donated by Henry F ...

, awarded by the Royal Society of NSW for contributions to human welfare. She is a

Distinguished Professor Distinguished Professor is an academic title given to some top tenured professors in a university, school, or department. Some distinguished professors may have endowed chairs. In the United States Often specific to one institution, titles such ...

of paediatrics at the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...

and a Consultant Paediatrician at the Sydney Children’s Hospitals Network, Westmead, and regarded as a "pioneer in fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, advocacy and patient care". Elliott is the Founder and Director of the Australian Paediatric Surveillance Unit, which conducts research on rare

childhood diseases The term childhood disease refers to disease that is contracted or becomes symptomatic before the age of 18 or 21 years old. Many of these diseases can also be contracted by adults. Some childhood diseases include: Diseases from three years to ...

. She has a national and international reputation in research, has held two prestigious Practitioner Fellowships from the NHMRC (National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia) and currently holds a Medical Research Futures Fund Next Generation Fellowship.

Early life

Elliott was raised in a family of medical practitioners, with a mother who worked with disabled children and a father who was an obstetrician and gynaecologist. Her maternal grandfather was an ANZAC who landed at Gallipoli on 25 April 1915 and set up resources for mobile medical clinics. Her paternal grandfather delivered Australia's first surviving quadruplets in Bellingen NSW. She worked in her first paediatric job at Blacktown Hospital and then worked in the UK in the 1980s. Elliott went to

SCEGGS Darlinghurst , motto_translation = Let Your Light Shine , established = , type = Independent single-sex primary and secondary day and boarding school , denomination = Anglicanism , oversight = , educational_authority = New South Wales Departm ...

for her high school education and the Women's College within the University of Sydney, where she was the Senior Student. She obtained her MBBS, MPhil in Public Health and a research Doctorate in medicine from University of Sydney. She is a Fellow of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, UK (FRCPCH); the

Royal College of Physicians The Royal College of Physicians (RCP) is a British professional membership body dedicated to improving the practice of medicine, chiefly through the accreditation of physicians by examination. Founded by royal charter from King Henry VIII in 1 ...

, London (FRCP); and the Royal Australasian College of Physicians (FRACP).

Career

She has worked in paediatric health, as well as fetal alcohol syndrome. In addition, Elliott visited Christmas Island with a team of medical professionals to determine the health of children, who were asylum seekers and refugees in detention. Invited by Professor

Gillian Triggs Gillian Doreen Triggs (born 30 October 1945) is an Australian academic specialising in public international law. In 2019, she was appointed by United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres as Assistant Secretary-General of the United Natio ...

, the team interviewed over 200 children, including unaccompanied minors, and reported on their physical and mental health, including the presence of respiratory viruses, and instances of self-harm among parents and children. This led to her publishing her findings for the

Australian Human Rights Commission The Australian Human Rights Commission is the national human rights institution of Australia, established in 1986 as the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (HREOC) and renamed in 2008. It is a statutory body funded by, but opera ...

on the “health and well-being of children in immigration detention”. She has worked on the health of indigenous populations in Western Australia, and Asia. She also is part of a team travelling to Vietnam to improve health outcomes, with a combination of research and clinical work. Elliott reported "the combination of research and clinical work keeps me grounded – nothing is more rewarding than seeing a severely ill child recover".

Awards, honours and recognition

* 2018 – AMA Excellence in Healthcare award. * 2018 – First women to win the

awarded by the Royal Society of New South Wales. * 2016 – Fellow of the

Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences The Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences is an academy to promote health and medical sciences in Australia. It was established in June 2014. It cites "The Academy will serve the three purposes identified as of high priority in the 20 ...

(FAHMS). * 2011 – John Sands College Medal from Royal Australasian College of Physicians. * 2013 – 100 Women of Influence, Australian Financial Review and Westpac. * 2008 – Howard Williams Medal and Oration. * 2008 – Member of the Order of Australia.

External links

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Elliott, Elizabeth Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Members of the Order of Australia 21st-century Australian women scientists Australian women academics Australian paediatricians Women pediatricians University of Sydney alumni Academic staff of the University of Sydney Fellows of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences Fellows of the Royal Society of New South Wales People educated at Sydney Church of England Girls Grammar School