Major contributions to research
Judy is acknowledged as a world authority on airway smooth muscle biology.
- Her considerable body of research has led to an understanding of what goes wrong at a cellular and molecular level in the smooth muscle of asthmatics, which will lead to new and better treatments
- She was the first to publish the results of studies on airway smooth muscle derived from human asthmatic biopsies describing abnormalities in smooth muscle and airway remodelling in severe, persistent cases
- More recently Judy has expanded her interests to include other lung diseases including: pulmonary fibrosis, transplantation medicine, lymphangioleiomyomatosis and mesothelioma
Career highlights
Judy gained her medical degree at the University of Sydney, graduating in 1968 with a MB BS Hons. In 1980 she was awarded a PhD after completing her post- graduate studies.
On graduating Judy spent a year working as a Resident medical officer, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital. After a two-year stint in England doing executive council practitioner training she returned to Australia where she took up a position as Director of Staff Health at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in Sydney.
After completing her post-graduate work she was awarded a Martin Hardie Memorial Research Fellowship by the Asthma Foundation of NSW and a position as National Health and Medical Research Council (NH&MRC) Senior Research Officer.
In 1980 she began a distinguished career in the Department of Pharmacology, University of Sydney and over the next two decades was appointed as a Senior Research Fellow, Principal Research Fellow and then Senior Principal Research Fellow of the NH&MRC.
She was also appointed to the Respiratory Medicine Department of Royal Prince Alfred Hospital as an Honorary Clinical Assistant, Professorial Associate and an Associate Physician. In 1999 she became affiliated with the Woolcock Institute of Medical Research as Head of the Cell Biology Group.
On the academic front she became an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Sydney in 1992. Five years later she was made a Professor, a position she holds to the present day.
Much in demand as a reviewer, Judy was the first Australian to be elected to the editorial board of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, serving a term of six years. Judy also reviews manuscripts for all the major national and international respiratory journals and applications to national and international granting bodies.
Judy has also found time to chair and be a member of many important research and granting bodies such as the Strategic Research Development Committee of the NHMRC, NHMRC regional grants interviewing committees, discipline and Fellowship panels from 1990 to the present.
In 2002 she was the chair of the NSW Young Tall Poppy committee, which aims to celebrate academic endeavour in a manner akin to sporting endeavour.
From 2003-2006 she chaired the Research Committee of the National Health and Medical Research Council and a member of NH&MRC Council.
Judy was awarded FRACP as 'distinguished scientist'(1995) and the Research Medal from the Thoracic Society of Australia and New Zealand (1998).