Prof Sue Walker AO

Clinical leadership

Sue’s clinical leadership extends beyond Mercy Perinatal and is evidenced by her many national roles, including with NHMRC and Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists. Sue has served on RANZCOG Council for 6 years, is Deputy Chair of the Women’s Health Committee, and has been Chair of the Maternal Fetal Medicine sub-committee from 2012-6. This committee has oversight for trainee selection, accreditation and assessment for the CMFM qualification in Australia and New Zealand.  Sue is co-director for Genetics of the North East, a ‘whole of life’ genetics service operating between Austin Health, the Northern Hospital and Mercy Hospital for Women. Sue is a fetal surgeon and current clinical lead for the Victorian Fetal Therapy Service, a three centre state wide collaboration responsible for delivering fetal surgery services to the women of Victoria and surrounding regions.  Sue serves on the Neonatal Mortality Sub-Committee, Consultative Council on Obstetric and Paediatric Mortality and Morbidity (CCOPMM), a committee that reports directly to the Minister of Health. 

Academic achievements

Sue is currently the Head of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Melbourne, in recognition of her contribution to teaching, engagement, leadership and research. 

Sue teaches in the Women’s Health rotation of the MD, University of Melbourne and has received numerous teaching awards. She also teaches midwifery students from LaTrobe University, trainee obstetricians at Port Moresby Hospital, University of Papua New Guinea and delivers ultrasound teaching to specialists in South Africa.  Sue has developed the Fetal Medicine at Twilight educational series which attract a large local audience and are streamed live to sites across Australia and overseas (link to MP education: Twilight). She instigated the bi-annual Medical Disorders in Pregnancy Symposium (link to MP education: MDIP). She has been on the organizing committees for several national and international conferences and co- led the 2015 and 2016 Global Obstetric Update conference (link to MP education: GOU). 

She has contributed over 100 publications in influential journals of the specialty (e.g. Obstetrics and Gynecology, British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology) and prestigious interdisciplinary journals (Lancet, BMC Medicine, Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, Gut, American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine).  She has obtained over $A2M in competitive grants, including as chief investigator on National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) project grants.  She serves on the NHMRC Grant Review Panel, participates in grant and publication peer review, recently completing her term as Associate Editor for ANZJOG, the national journal of our specialty.  She frequently delivers invited presentations at national and international meetings. 

Sue leads the Perinatal Research Group, where her research interests include disorders of fetal growth, prevention of stillbirth and the impact of sleep disordered breathing on pregnancy. She is proud to be a clinical affiliate of the Translational Obstetrics Group, partnering in clinical trials for the treatment of pre-eclampsia and potential biomarkers to reduce the risk of stillbirth.