Kirsten Palmer BBiomed Sci, MBBS, PhD, FRANZCOG

Kirsten Palmer is an Associate Professor at the Monash University and Head of Maternal-Fetal Medicine at Monash Medical Centre, Monash Health. She Specialized in the Obstetrics and Gynaecology, and Maternal-Fetal Medicine. She completed her Doctor of Philosophy and Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery at the University of Melbourne. Her clinical and research interests closely align with a strong focus on improving outcomes for women and babies impacted by pregnancy complications. She has a particular focus on disorders of placentation, which lead to pregnancy complications such as preeclampsia and fetal growth restriction. She currently leads a world-first large, multicentre clinical trial exploring the use of melatonin for fetal neuroprotection in pregnancies complicated by fetal growth restriction. In translating melatonin from bench to bedside, the pipeline developed now supports several new promising therapeutics she is translating to address preeclampsia, birth asphyxia, and postpartum hemorrhage. At a national level, Dr. Palmer is also an executive committee member of the Interdisciplinary Maternal and Perinatal Australasian Clinical Trials (IMPACT) network, working to improve perinatal clinical trials across Australia and New Zealand to support the time to completion and then implementation of new advances in perinatal medicine. Locally, she is also a member of the Consultative Council for Obstetric and Perinatal Morbidity and Mortality (CCOPMM) stillbirth sub-committee, aiming to minimize the risk of stillbirth for Victorian families.