Laureate Professor Roger Smith AM has been awarded the SRI Distinguished Scientist Award at Society for Reproductive Investigation 2019 Annual Meeting in Paris.

Laureate Professor Roger Smith AM has been awarded the SRI Distinguished Scientist Award at Society for Reproductive Investigation 2019 Annual Meeting in Paris.

The award is made annually to a senior member of the society who has made significant and lasting contributions to the society and to scientific research in reproductive medicine.

This award has been presented to exemplars in the field since 1982, Laureate Professor Smith is the first person in the Southern Hemisphere to receive this award, a tribute to the trailblazing work he is doing in Hunter.

As Co-Director of the HMRI Pregnancy and Reproduction research program and Director of the Mothers and Babies Research Centre, Laureate Professor Smith has dedicated his career to improving the health and wellbeing of babies and their mothers worldwide.

For more than 30 years Laureate Professor Smith has dedicated his life to exploring all aspects of pregnancy, with a special focus on Indigenous Australians, and is also working to address specific issues that women face in remote and challenging regions such as Nepal.

Being born at the right weight, at the right time, is one of the major determinants of lifelong health and wellbeing. As such, Laureate Professor Smith is working to improve the birth weight and health for all babies on the planet.

As leader of the multidisciplinary Mothers and Babies Research Centre, Laurate Professor Smith works with a large team of researchers who are all driven by the one goal: improving outcomes for mothers and babies. “I am honoured to receive this award,” Laureate Professor Smith said. “Each member of my team brings their own area of expertise to the table and it’s exciting to lead such a dynamic group of researchers in the Hunter who are delivering results for populations around the globe.”

The Society for Reproductive Investigation was formed in 1953 to ‘stimulate, encourage and provide opportunities for research in pregnancy’. It aims to advance reproductive and women’s healthcare by training and mentoring future generations of investigators in basic, translational and clinical scientists.