Prof Stephen Tong

Professor Stephen Tong is the Co-Director of Mercy Perinatal. He is a Professor of Obstetrics at The University of Melbourne and an obstetrician at Mercy Hospital for Women.

As a clinician scientist and an academic obstetrician, Stephen is keenly focused on developing diagnostics and therapeutics for major pregnancy complications. He has a profound interest in finding new treatments for preeclampsia and developing a diagnostic test for placental health.

Stephen is involved in many cohort studies and clinical trials running across low and middle-income countries. He has led research spanning the entire translational spectrum – from papers reporting important translational laboratory findings, ‘first in pregnant women’ phase I trials, to large and randomised, multi-centre trials. He is similarly an integral part of the Mercy Perinatal Epidemiology Group.

Stephen has co-authored over 250 papers. Since 2020, he has published co-senior author papers and invited editorials in Lancet, BMJ, Nature Communications, Nature Medicine, JAMA Paediatrics, JAMA Psychiatry, Lancet Global Health, JAMA Network, BMC Medicine, among others.

A strong advocate for mentorship, Stephen has supervised a significant number of obstetric clinicians undertaking PhDs in Australia over the past 15 years. Many of his mentees have raced up the academic ladder, emerging as Senior Lecturers, Associate Professors and young Professors.

Additionally, Stephen holds an NHMRC Fellowship (L2) and a Synergy Grant (as CIA) and is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences. Alongside his duties as Co-Director of Mercy Perinatal, Stephen is also the Director of Research at Mercy Health and Chair of the Advisory Board of The Robinson Research Institute.