Robert M. Douglas (doctor)

Robert Matheson Douglas was born in South Australia in 1936. He studied medicine at the University of Adelaide, graduating in 1959. In 1967 he took up a position as Specialist Physician and Deputy Medical Superintendent of the Port Moresby hospital in Papua New Guinea.

Life
Robert M. Douglas prefers to be called Bob. He was born to Rev. John and Ruth Douglas and was the second of three boys. He attended Newcastle Boys Selective High School and later Fort Street High School in Sydney. He is married, with three children and 11 grandchildren. Bob enjoys working on his organisation, Australia 21, writing poetry, reading and spending time with his family.

Career
In Papua New Guinea, he developed an interest in respiratory infections particularly the prevention of pneumonia, which led to work in the USA on licensure of pneumococcal vaccine. This interest led to a position with the World Health Organisation, working on programs to reduce child deaths from pneumonia. After working as an academic in public health he became Dean of Medicine at the University of Adelaide, and later Director of the National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health, and Coordinating Editor of the Acute Respiratory Infections Group of the Cochrane Collaboration. He is a former President of The Public Health Association of Australia and of The Australasian Epidemiological Association.

Community
In 2001, after retiring as Emeritus Professor at The Australian National University, he founded Australia 21 - a non-profit organisation developing research networks on issues of importance to Australia's future. He is currently Chairman of the Board.

Along with the Nature and Society Forum he is also  exploring  the feasibility of developing some prototype SEE-change centres in Canberra. This is a new mechanism to enable Australians to connect with each other and the environment and to refurbish our spirit, our hope and our understanding of the future. A place where ordinary Australians have the opportunity to debate and consider new directions for our society.

He is also a committed environmentalist.

Honours
In recognition of his contribution to medicine, particularly respiratory disease and the development of public health training in Australia, he was made an Officer of the Order of Australia in 2000.

In 2006 he was nominated as the Australian of the Year.