Robert Matheson Douglas AO (born 8 December 1936). He studied medicine at 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 ...

, graduating in 1959. In 1968 he took up a position as Specialist Physician and Deputy Medical Superintendent of the

Port Moresby (; Tok Pisin: ''Pot Mosbi''), also referred to as Pom City or simply Moresby, is the capital and largest city of Papua New Guinea. It is one of the largest cities in the southwestern Pacific (along with Jayapura) outside of Australia and New Z ...

hospital in

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...

Life

He was born to Rev. John and Ruth Douglas and was the second of three boys. He attended

Newcastle Boys High School , motto_translation = With Oars and Sailsi.e. with all one's might , streetaddress = Turton Road, Waratah , city = Newcastle , state = New South Wales , postcode = 2298 , country ...

and later

Fort Street High School Fort Street High School (FSHS) is a Education in Australia#Government schools, government-funded Mixed-sex school, co-educational Selective school (New South Wales), academically selective secondary school, secondary day school, located in Petersh ...

in Sydney. He is married to Rosemary with three children and 13 grandchildren.

Career

In Papua New Guinea, he developed an interest in respiratory infections particularly the prevention of pneumonia, which led to work in the US on licensure of pneumococcal vaccine. This interest led to a position with the

World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of h ...

, working on programs to reduce child deaths from

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...

. After working as an academic in public health he became Dean of Medicine at the University of Adelaide, and later Director of the National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health, and Coordinating Editor of the Acute Respiratory Infections Group of the

Cochrane Collaboration Cochrane (previously known as the Cochrane Collaboration) is a British international charitable organisation formed to organise medical research findings to facilitate evidence-based choices about health interventions involving health profess ...

. He is a former President of The Public Health Association of Australia and of The Australasian Epidemiological Association.

Community

In 2001, after retiring as Emeritus Professor at

The Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public research university located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton encompasses seven teaching and research colleges, in addition to several national academies and i ...

, he founded Australia 21, a non-profit organization. From 2002 to 2012 he was Chairman of the Board and director. With the Nature and Society Forum, he helped to develop SEE-Change, an NGO in Canberra that works to enable Australians to connect with each other and the environment. He is a committed environmentalist.

Honours

In recognition of his contribution to medicine, particularly respiratory disease and the development of public health training in Australia, he was made 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 ...

in 2000. In 2006 he was nominated as the

Australian of the Year The Australian of the Year is a national award conferred on an Australian citizen by the National Australia Day Council, a not-for-profit Australian Governmentowned social enterprise. Similar awards are also conferred at the State and Territo ...

. In October 2008 he received the ACT Conservation Council's Supreme Green Hero award. In April 2011, he was named the ACT Environmental Volunteer of the Year.''The Conversation'' Accessed July 6, 2020
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References

External links

Australia 21

Robert Douglas at www.itsanhonour.gov.au

Australian of the Year
{{DEFAULTSORT:Douglas, Robert M. Officers of the Order of Australia People from the Australian Capital Territory Australian medical researchers Australian public health doctors 1936 births Living people People educated at Newcastle Boys' High School University of Adelaide alumni People educated at Fort Street High School Australian epidemiologists Australian National University faculty