Stephen Leeder

Stephen Leeder is an Emeritus Professor of Public Health and Community Medicine in the Faculty of Medicine and Health at the University of Sydney. A distinguished alumnus of the University of Sydney, he graduated with honours in medical science in 1964 and honours in medicine in 1966. He earned his PhD in 1974 for an epidemiological study of factors predisposing to chronic obstructive lung disease and his Doctor of Medicine in 2006 for studies of factors affecting the lung function of children. Following graduation, Leeder pursued post-doctoral training at St. Thomas’s Hospital in London from 1974 to 1975 and at McMaster University in Canada from 1975 to 1976.

Leeder's extensive career spans numerous leadership positions. He served as Foundation Professor of Community Medicine at the University of Newcastle from 1976 to 1985, during which he was also foundation director of the Asian and Pacific Centre for Clinical Epidemiology. In 1986, he joined Westmead Hospital as Professor of Community Medicine and took up the Chair in the Department of Public Health and Community Medicine at the University of Sydney, which later became the Sydney School of Public Health; he headed the department prior to his deanship. From 1997 to 2002, he was Dean of the Faculty of Medicine. He directed the Sydney node of the Menzies Centre for Health Policy from 2004 to 2014 and chaired the Western Sydney Local Health District Board from 2011 to 2016. His research focuses on chronic disease epidemiology, prevention, policy, and care, evidenced by over 550 publications, more than 20,000 citations, and key works such as the 2004 report 'A Race Against Time: The Challenge of Cardiovascular Disease in Developing Economies' and the book 'Healthy Medicine: Challenges Facing Australia's Health Services'. Leeder held editorial positions as Editor-in-Chief of the Medical Journal of Australia from 2013 to 2015 and currently serves as Co-Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Epidemiology. His honors include appointment as an Officer of the Order of Australia in 2004 and election as a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences in 2018. He has shaped public health through leadership as national president of the Public Health Association of Australia for two terms, chair of the NHMRC Health Advisory Committee, and roles on advisory boards including the Better Health Commission and NSW Health Ministerial Advisory Committee, alongside 40 years of medical journalism, public lectures, and committee contributions.

Professional Email: stephen.leeder@sydney.edu.au