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Professor Robyn O'Hehir

Professor Robyn O’Hehir has been a key international figure in allergy and asthma research and clinical care for 20 years. She is amongst a small group of academic clinician scientists who successfully combine a strong track record in basic research with a clear commitment to clinical medicine, in this way demonstrating the value of translational medical research.

The contribution of Professor O’Hehir to the allergy and respiratory field ranges from basic animal studies on the immunology of allergy and epitope mapping, through translational research on novel immunogens designed to invoke protective immunity, to clinical research on the pathophysiology and management of asthma. She has published more than 140 papers in national and international peer reviewed journals, with 32 papers cited more than 20 times each.

Professor O’Hehir has won over $18 million in personal competitive grant support since re-establishing her research in Australia in 1997, including continuous funding of $7 million from NHMRC, including a current Program grant. She is Director of the Monash node of the Cooperative Research Centre for Asthma, a $35 million national initiative, which was refunded for a second seven year term in 2005 as the CRC for Asthma and Airways (a $54 million national research initiative). Professor O’Hehir has been elected to Editorial Boards of the three top international journals in allergy and clinical immunology and currently serves as an Associate Editor of the International Archives of Allergy and Immunology.

She is regularly invited to give plenary and symposium keynote talks at national and international meetings, with three/four invitations at this level annually, including lectures at the American Academy of Allergy Asthma and Immunology and the European Respiratory Society. She has supervised 30 postgraduate students for PhD and MD degrees, and has served on a number of national committees including NHMRC (Project and Program Grant Panels), Australasian Society for Clinical Immunology and Allergy, Australian Lung Foundation and Asthma Australia.

Professor O’Hehir is Director of the Department of Allergy, Immunology and Respiratory Medicine at The Alfred Hospital with 120 staff, studying and treating the full range of allergic and respiratory conditions. She is noted for offering the highest quality of leadership to a broadly based Department, with strong areas of basic research, clinical research, public health commitment and specialist clinical practice. She is actively engaged in national and international clinical trials, to ensure that her combined research and clinical duties focus on translation of research findings into improved Hospital and community clinical practice.