Professor Jane Halliday AM
Professor Jane Halliday AM
BSc (Hons), PhD, FPHAA
Jane Halliday (Wettenhall ’66) is an Honorary Professor in the Department of Paediatrics at the University of Melbourne, and Principal Fellow and Group Leader of Reproductive Epidemiology at the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (MCRI). Jane’s career as an Epidemiologist began in the early 1980s at MCRI, where she worked as a clinical research associate in the Genetics Department. She completed a PhD in epidemiology in 1994, focusing on prenatal genetic testing.
Jane then worked for the Department of Human Services as Manager of the Victorian Perinatal Data Collection Unit, and as Epidemiologist in charge of the Victorian Birth Defects Register. During this period she was also building her research team at the MCRI, becoming a Group Leader in 2007. Jane has had continuous research support from the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia (NHMRC) for 21 years.
Jane’s research interests include: the evaluation of genetic health services related to prenatal diagnosis and screening for birth defects; measuring the impact of potentially harmful prenatal exposures on the health and wellbeing of babies, children and young adults; and communicating genetic information to families. Communicating research findings to consumers and other stakeholders through media events and public presentations has also been a feature of her career.
Since 1997, Jane has been a chief investigator on 87 funded grants. Her research has produced over 210 peer-reviewed publications and she has been invited to give over a hundred seminars, conference presentations and workshops. In 2010 she was invited to present the prestigious Human Genetics Society of Australasia Conference Oration, in recognition of her outstanding contribution to human genetics in Australia.
Jane has been on many expert committees, including the NHMRC Australian Human Genetics Advisory Committee, the NHMRC Australian Health Ethics Committee and the National Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder Technical Network, advising on Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder research and policy agenda. In addition, Jane has supervised 77 postgraduate students, mentoring them along the way, and has also mentored other researchers.
Jane’s other professional achievements include serving six years as President of the Australasian Epidemiology Association, being selected as a “Brilliant Mind” for the 30-year anniversary of MCRI, and receiving a British Fertility Society Exchange Award in 2018. In 2021, Jane was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia for her significant service to medicine, and to reproductive epidemiology.
Jane enjoys reading, gardening, handicrafts and going on long walks with her dog. She has an interest in bird watching and travelling to remote places to find elusive species. Jane furthers her interest in the natural environment through her role as Chair of the Board of the Wettenhall Environment Trust.
