Mary-Louise McLaws (; 17 March 1953 – 12 August 2023) was an Australian
epidemiologist. Specialising in infectious diseases, she was a professor of epidemiology at the
University of New South Wales for over 30 years. During the
COVID-19 pandemic, she became a "household name" in Australia, regularly providing public information and advice on the disease.
Early life
Mary-Louise McLaws was born in
Tasmania on 17 March 1953, the daughter of Barry and Louise Viney. She and her elder brother spent their early years with their mother in
Bondi, New South Wales, before moving to the
Central Coast where she attended
Gosford High School. She took the surname of her step-father Bruce McLaws.
She was raised in a Jewish family.
McLaws attended the
University of Sydney, graduating
Bachelor of Science and later completing a diploma in tropical public health in 1984, Master of Public Health in 1988 and Doctor of Philosophy in 1992.
Career
McLaws joined the
University of New South Wales in 1992. During her career she "wrote more than 180 research papers and supervised and supported many PhD students for decades".
[ She specialised in hospital-acquired infections.][ Her early research also included a 1995 study on HIV/AIDS in Australia, which examined women who had acquired HIV from their male sexual partners.
In 2004, McLaws was sent to Beijing for two months to monitor ]bird flu
"Bird Flu" is an urumee melam-dance song by recording artist M.I.A. on her second studio album ''Kala'' (2007). It was released as a digital download in 2006 through XL Recordings under exclusive license to Interscope Records in the US. Cri ...
for the World Health Organization. She also consulted to Hong Kong's authorities during the 2002–2004 SARS outbreak
The 2002–2004 outbreak of SARS, caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV or SARS-CoV-1), infected over 8,000 people from 29 countries and territories, and resulted in at least 774 deaths worldwide.
The outbreak wa ...
.
McLaws became "widely known to the Australian public through her media appearances" during the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia.[ She was one of the first public advocates for mandatory face masks and the closure of the Australian border.][ She later advocated for mandatory vaccination, including the establishment of vaccination hubs to achieve herd immunity. In 2021 she was named by the '']Australian Financial Review
''The Australian Financial Review'' (abbreviated to the ''AFR'') is an Australian business-focused, compact daily newspaper covering the current business and economic affairs of Australia and the world. The newspaper is based in Sydney, New Sou ...
'' as one of the ten "most culturally powerful people" in Australia during the year.
Personal life
McLaws married Richard Flook in 1988, with whom she had a son and a daughter.[ She was diagnosed with brain cancer in January 2022, and died on 12 August 2023, at age 70.]
Honours
McLaws was appointed 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 ...
(AO) in the 2022 Queen's Birthday Honours, for "distinguished service to medical research, particularly to epidemiology and infection prevention, to tertiary education, and to health administration".
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:McLaws, Mary-Louise
1953 births
2023 deaths
21st-century Australian Jews
21st-century Australian women scientists
Academic staff of the University of New South Wales
Australian women epidemiologists
COVID-19 pandemic in Australia
COVID-19 researchers
Deaths from brain cancer in Australia
Deaths from cancer in New South Wales
HIV/AIDS researchers
Jewish Australian academics
Jewish women scientists
Officers of the Order of Australia
University of Sydney alumni
World Health Organization officials