Susan Pond

Susan Pond serves as Adjunct Professor in the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Sydney. She earned her Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery from the University of Sydney in 1969, followed by a Doctor of Medicine from the University of New South Wales, a Doctor of Science from the University of Queensland, and fellowships including FRACP, FTSE, and FAHMS. Her early career featured roles as Resident Medical Officer at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Medical Registrar at St Vincent’s Hospital in 1971, Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians in 1972, and recipient of a three-year NHMRC Postgraduate Research Scholarship in Clinical Pharmacology at St Vincent’s Hospital. She conducted postdoctoral studies as Merck Sharp and Dohme International Fellow at the University of California, San Francisco, becoming Assistant Professor in the Department of Medicine in 1978, with board certification in Internal Medicine and Clinical Toxicology, and serving as Consultant at the San Francisco Poison Control Centre.

Returning to Australia, Susan Pond was appointed Associate Professor of Medicine and Clinical Pharmacology at the University of Queensland in 1984, advancing to Personal Chair Professor in the Department of Medicine in 1990 as the first woman in that position at the university. She has held adjunct professorships at the Universities of Queensland and Sydney since 1997. In industry, she directed Pharmaceutical Research at Johnson & Johnson Research Pty Limited from 1997, becoming Chairman and Managing Director in 2003, the first female Managing Director of a Johnson & Johnson company in Australia. She served as Interim Director of the University of Sydney Nano Institute from 2017 to 2018, Chair of the Australian Drug Evaluation Committee from 1994 to 1996, and Director of the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation from 2010 to 2014. Currently, she chairs the NSW Smart Sensing Network and serves as President of the Royal Society of New South Wales. A world leader in physiological research on liver functions and mechanisms, her academic interests include hepatic uptake and disposition of drugs and nutrients, novel therapies for poisoned patients, neurotoxicity mechanisms of antipsychotic drugs such as haloperidol, drug therapies for liver cancer, and schizophrenia treatments. She has authored approximately 190 scientific papers and over 20 book chapters, with her work cited more than 7,000 times on ResearchGate. Major awards include Member of the Order of Australia in 1994 for service to clinical pharmacology and toxicology, Wellcome Australia Medal in 1992, Michael Rand Medal in 1995, Centenary Medal in 2003, and Doctor of Science from the University of Queensland in 1997.

Professional Email: susan.pond@sydney.edu.au