Nadia Badawi AM is a medical researcher and an expert on newborn

encephalopathy Encephalopathy (; from grc, ἐνκέφαλος "brain" + πάθος "suffering") means any disorder or disease of the brain, especially chronic degenerative conditions. In modern usage, encephalopathy does not refer to a single disease, but r ...

and

cerebral palsy Cerebral palsy (CP) is a group of movement disorders that appear in early childhood. Signs and symptoms vary among people and over time, but include poor coordination, stiff muscles, weak muscles, and tremors. There may be problems with sensa ...

. She is the Chair of Cerebral Palsy 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 ...

Life

Badawi grew up in Egypt and trained in

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

neonatology Neonatology is a subspecialty of pediatrics that consists of the medical care of newborn infants, especially the ill or premature newborn. It is a hospital-based specialty, and is usually practised in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs). The ...

there. She later moved to Dublin, Ireland, and arrived in Australia in 1992 to work with

Fiona Stanley Fiona Juliet Stanley (born 1 August 1946) is an Australian epidemiologist noted for her public health work, her research into child and maternal health as well as birth disorders such as cerebral palsy. Stanley is the patron of the Telethon Kid ...

at the Telethon Institute for Child Health Research in Perth. Enrolling 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 with Stanley as her supervisor, Badawi worked on a research project for her Ph.D, completing it in 1998. The research, into newborn encephalopathy, remains unique in the world. A publication by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and the

American Academy of Pediatrics The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) is an American professional association of pediatricians, headquartered in Itasca, Illinois. It maintains its Department of Federal Affairs office in Washington, D.C. Background The Academy was founded ...

described her work as the "best available evidence" on neonatal encephalopathy. In 1997, Badawi moved to Sydney and took up the position of head of the Grace Centre for Newborn Care at the

Royal Alexandra Hospital for Children The Children's Hospital at Westmead (formerly Royal Alexandra Hospital for Children) is a children's hospital in Western Sydney. The hospital was founded in 1880 as "The Sydney Hospital for Sick Children". Its name was changed to the "Royal Alex ...

. In 2009,

Cerebral Palsy Alliance Cerebral Palsy Alliance (formerly The Spastic Centre) is an Australian nonprofit organisation helping babies, children, teenagers and adults living with cerebral palsy and other neurological and physical disabilities. Its therapy teams work ...

appointed Badawi as Australia's first Chair of Cerebral Palsy, at the

University of Notre Dame Australia The University of Notre Dame Australia (UNDA) is a national Roman Catholic private university with campuses in and in Western Australia and Sydney in New South Wales. The university also has eight clinical schools as part of its school of med ...

, to supervise projects funded by the Research Foundation of Cerebral Palsy Alliance. In 2015 the position moved to the

Sydney Medical School The University of Sydney School of Medicine, also known as Sydney Medical School (SMS) is the graduate medical school of the University of Sydney. Established in 1856, it is the first medical school in Australia. In 2018, Sydney Medical School j ...

at the University of Sydney. In 2015, Badawi co-established the International Cerebral Palsy Research Foundation in the USA. She is a significant contributor to the Australian Cerebral Palsy Register Group, a national register held by the Cerebral Palsy Alliance Research Institute.

Awards and honours

In the

2014 Queen's Birthday Honours The 2014 Birthday Honours were appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded as part of ...

, Badawi was appointed to 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 service to paediatrics and neo-natal intensive care medicine as a clinician and researcher, and for her promotion of research into cerebral palsy.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Badawi, Nadia Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Members of the Order of Australia Australian medical researchers Australian women medical doctors Australian medical doctors Egyptian emigrants to Australia University of Western Australia alumni Academic staff of the University of Sydney