Ruth Bonita, also known as Ruth Bonita Beaglehole, is an Australian–New Zealand academic, and is an emeritus professor at the

University of Auckland The University of Auckland (; Māori: ''Waipapa Taumata Rau'') is a public research university based in Auckland, New Zealand. The institution was established in 1883 as a constituent college of the University of New Zealand. Initially loc ...

, specialising in stroke. In 2006 she was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to medicine. She is also an Honorary Doctor of Medicine at Umea University.

Academic career

Bonita was born and grew up in New South Wales, where her father was the head of a mining rescue service. In 1966 she met Robert Beaglehole on a boat to China, and they married the following year. The couple went to London together in 1970, where Beaglehole trained at Guys and the

London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) is a public university, public research university in Bloomsbury, central London, and a constituent college, member institution of the University of London that specialises in public hea ...

, and then to the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC, UNC–Chapel Hill, or simply Carolina) is a public university, public research university in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States. Chartered in 1789, the university first began enrolli ...

, where Bonita earned a

Masters in Public Health The Master of Public Health (MPH), Master of Science in Public Health (MSPH), Master of Medical Science in Public Health (MMSPH) and the Doctor of Public Health (DrPH), International Masters for Health Leadership (IMHL) are interdisciplinary profes ...

. Bonita then joined the faculty of the University of Auckland. As a research fellow, she became interested in the causes and prevention of strokes, on which there was little research at the time. She led the Auckland Regional Coronary or Stroke (ARCOS) study, which began in 1980. The two-year ARCOS study then became part of the MONICA project (Monitoring the Trends and Determinants of Cardiovascular Disease), a longer-term international multicentre project led by the

World Health Organisation The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations which coordinates responses to international public health issues and emergencies. It is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, and has 6 regional offices and 15 ...

. Bonita completed a

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

titled ''The epidemiology and management of cerebrovascular disease'' at the

in 1985. In 1999 Bonita was invited to become the director of surveillance of non-communicable diseases at WHO in Geneva. This led to an interest in global public health policies, and ways to adapt public health guidelines for lower-income countries. Bonita retired in 2004, and was appointed professor emeritus at the University of Auckland.

Honours and awards

In 2006 Bonita was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to medicine. In 1996 she was made an Honorary Doctor of Medicine at Umea University, where she is on the Advisory Board of the Aging and Life Course Programme.

Selected works

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References

External links

''Robert Beaglehole & Ruth Bonita: Transforming Public Health''
5 Feb 2014 via YouTube {{DEFAULTSORT:Bonita, Ruth New Zealand academics New Zealand women academics Academic staff of the University of Auckland University of Auckland alumni University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill alumni Beaglehole family Year of birth missing (living people) Living people