Rate My Professor Barry Taylor

Emeritus Professor Barry Taylor is a leading figure in paediatric research and education at the University of Otago, affiliated with the Department of Paediatrics and Child Health in the Dunedin School of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine. An alumnus of the Otago Medical School, where he was part of the first group of students completing clinical years in Christchurch, Taylor holds the qualifications MBChB and FRACP. His early career included work in newborn intensive care and research in England before returning to New Zealand. He served as Dean of the Dunedin School of Medicine from 2014 to 2020 and Acting Dean of the Otago Medical School from 2018 to 2020. Additionally, he was former President of the Paediatric Society of New Zealand. Now semi-retired, he continues to teach second-year medical students and actively pursues research.

Taylor's research interests encompass paediatric endocrinology, sudden unexpected death in infancy (SUDI), sleep disorders, obesity prevention, and diabetes. With over thirty years dedicated to SUDI research, he has been instrumental in reducing infant mortality rates in Otago from approximately 30 deaths per year to one every one to two years, through evidence-based campaigns promoting safe sleep positions, reduced parental smoking, and avoidance of bed sharing. He leads the University's Obesity Research Group and serves as Deputy Director of the A Better Start – E Tipu e Rea National Science Challenge. His scholarly impact is evident in highly cited publications, including "Normal sleep patterns in infants and children: a systematic review of observational studies" (2012, Sleep Medicine Reviews), "Results from the first year of the New Zealand cot death study" (1991, New Zealand Medical Journal), "Risk factors for sudden infant death syndrome following the prevention campaign in New Zealand: a prospective study" (1997, Pediatrics), and "Four modifiable and other major risk factors for cot death: the New Zealand study" (1992, Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health). In 2024, colleagues honored his career with a festschrift presentation, recognizing his strategic leadership, tenacity, kindness, and commitment to collegiality and clinical-grounded research.