Professor Lynda (Lyn) Dent Beazley (born 1944) is a
neuroscientist and educator based in
Perth
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...
, Western Australia. She is currently an Honorary Distinguished Fellow at the Institute of Advanced Studies at the
University of Western Australia
The University of Western Australia (UWA) is a public research university in the Australian state of Western Australia. The university's main campus is in Perth, the state capital, with a secondary campus in Albany, Western Australia, Albany an ...
, and the Sir Walter Murdoch Distinguished Professor of Science at
Murdoch University
Murdoch University is a public university in Perth, Western Australia, with campuses also in Singapore and Dubai. It began operations as the state's second university on 25 July 1973, and accepted its first undergraduate students in 1975. Its n ...
.
Among other awards, she has been named an
Officer 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 ...
for her contributions to medical science
a Fellow of the
Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering and
Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science.
Education
Beazley studied zoology at
Oxford University
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
, before completing a PhD at
Edinburgh University on the development of vision and its recovery after injury.
Career
She set up her research group as a
National Health and Medical Research Council research fellow at the University of Western Australia in 1976, which she held until 1994 when she was appointed professor. Research stemming from a collaboration with Professor John Newnham led to changes in clinical practice around administration of
corticosteroid
Corticosteroids are a class of steroid hormones that are produced in the adrenal cortex of vertebrates, as well as the synthetic analogues of these hormones. Two main classes of corticosteroids, glucocorticoids and mineralocorticoids, are involv ...
s to women at risk of
pre-term delivery with prematurely mature fetal lungs, improving respiratory function in pre-term infants.
Beazley was Western Australia's Chief Scientist from 2006 to 2013, advising the State Government on science, innovation, and technology. Her work included setting up a nationwide hotline for
laboratory technicians in schools, working for healthier waterways across the state by establishing Dolphin Watch, and she was successful in securing Western Australia as the host of the low frequency part of the telescope of the
Square Kilometre Array
The Square Kilometre Array (SKA) is an intergovernmental international radio telescope project being built in Australia (low-frequency) and South Africa (mid-frequency). The combining infrastructure, the Square Kilometre Array Observatory (SKA ...
(SKA-low) at the
Murchison Radio-astronomy Observatory in Western Australia. She was a Mission Leader for the Australia Israel Chamber of Commerce (WA) mission to Israel in 2008.
Beazley is also known as an educator and education advocate, spanning lecturing at university level, and working to encourage school child engagement in science, and is a Fellow of the Australian College of Educators.
Beazley is a current or former board member of the
Royal Perth Hospital
Royal Perth Hospital (RPH) is a 450-bed adult and teaching hospital located on the northeastern edge of the central business district of Perth, Western Australia.
History
The hospital traces its history back to the first colonial hospital, whi ...
Research Foundation, the Western Australian Art Gallery Foundation, the
Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network, and the Ear Sciences Institute of Australia. She is a patron of the Reflections Through Reality Foundation, the Western Australian Naturalists' Club, and Vice-Patron of the Western Australia Royal Society. She is a current or former Advisory Board member for Monash Vision Group for Bionic Vision, and the
Australian Research Council
The Australian Research Council (ARC) is the primary non-medical research funding agency of the Australian Government, distributing more than in grants each year. The Council was established by the ''Australian Research Council Act 2001'', ...
Centre of Excellence for Integrative Brain Function. Beazley is also a member of the Technology and Industry Advisory Council of the Western Australian Government. She was a Trustee of the
Western Australian Museum from 1999 to 2006. She helped establish the Brightwater Lyn Beazley Scholarship for research into acquired brain injury rehabilitation.
Recognition and awards
In 2009, a new species of
sponge
Sponges, the members of the phylum Porifera (; meaning 'pore bearer'), are a basal animal clade as a sister of the diploblasts. They are multicellular organisms that have bodies full of pores and channels allowing water to circulate through t ...
discovered in the Perth Canyon off
Rottnest Island
Rottnest Island ( nys, Wadjemup), often colloquially referred to as "Rotto", is a island off the coast of Western Australia, located west of Fremantle. A sandy, low-lying island formed on a base of aeolianite limestone, Rottnest is an A-class ...
was named ''
Manihinea lynbeazleyae'' after Beazley.
* 2009 Awarded
Officer 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 ...
for her services to medical science
*2009 Fellow of
Australian Academy of Technology & Engineering
* 2011 Western Australian Women's Hall of Fame
* 2012 Governor's Award for Giving
*2013 Inducted into WA Science Hall of Fame
* 2015
WA Australian of the Year
*2015
RiAus
The Royal Institution of Australia (RiAus) is a national scientific not-for-profit organisation with a mission to "bring science to people and people to science". It opened in October 2009.
Concept
The concept of a Royal Institution of Austral ...
Honorary Bragg Membership
* 2014 Paul Harris Fellow of
Rotary International
Rotary International is one of the largest service organizations in the world. Its stated mission is to "provide service to others, promote integrity, and advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace through hefellowship of business, prof ...
* 2018 Honorary Doctor of Science ANU
*2019
Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Beazley, Lyn
1944 births
Living people
Australian neuroscientists
Australian women neuroscientists
Officers of the Order of Australia
Fellows of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering
Fellows of the Australian Academy of Science