Melanie Ann Wakefield is an Australian psychologist and behavioural researcher at the Cancer Council of Victoria. She has worked extensively on cancer prevention including tobacco control, through the introduction of plain-paper packaging.

Academic career

Wakefield has a BA, GradDip in applied psychology, (1981) MA and PhD (1994) from the

University of Adelaide The University of Adelaide (informally Adelaide University) is a public research university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. The university's main campus is located on N ...

. Wakefield has been Director of the Centre for Behavioural Research in Cancer at the Cancer Council of Victoria since 2002. Wakefield was a member of the Prevention and Community Health Committee of the

National Health and Medical Research Council The National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) is the main statutory authority of the Australian Government responsible for medical research. It was the eighth largest research funding body in the world in 2016, and NHMRC-funded rese ...

from 2012 to 2015. She is an honorary professor in the Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences at the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb no ...

Honours and recognition

Wakefield was elected Fellow of the

Academy of Social Sciences in Australia The Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia (ASSA) is an independent, non-governmental organisation devoted to the advancement of knowledge and research in the social sciences. It has its origins in the Social Science Research Council of Austr ...

in 2011. She was appointed Officer of the Order of Australia in the

2019 Australia Day Honours The 2019 Australia Day Honours are appointments to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by Australian citizens. The list was announced on 26 January 2019 by the Governor General of Australia, Sir Peter Cosgrove. The Aus ...

for "distinguished service to medical research in the fields of population health and cancer prevention, and as a mentor".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wakefield, Melanie Living people Year of birth missing (living people) University of Adelaide alumni Officers of the Order of Australia Fellows of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia 20th-century psychologists 21st-century psychologists 20th-century Australian scientists 21st-century Australian scientists 20th-century women scientists 21st-century women scientists