William Tarnow-Mordi

Professor William Tarnow-Mordi is Professor of Neonatal Medicine in the Faculty of Medicine and Health at the University of Sydney. He earned his MB ChB from the University of Cambridge, completing medical training there followed by specialist training in paediatrics and neonatal medicine. Prior to migrating to Australia in 1999, he served as Senior Lecturer in Neonatal Medicine at Ninewells Hospital and Medical School. Upon arrival, he was appointed inaugural Professor of Neonatal Medicine at the University of Sydney and Director of Neonatology at Westmead Hospital, where he led New South Wales’ busiest neonatal department until 2010. In his current roles, he is Director of Neonatal and Perinatal Trials at the NHMRC Clinical Trials Centre and Foundation Director of the WINNER Centre for Newborn Research at the University of Sydney. He serves on the Steering Group of NSW Health’s Better Treatment for Kids Network and co-chairs the Perinatal Society of Australia and New Zealand Clinical Trials Working Group.

Professor Tarnow-Mordi's research specializations centre on designing and leading large-scale international multicentre randomised controlled trials and cohort studies to enhance outcomes for high-risk newborn infants, particularly extremely preterm babies. His programs address neonatal infection, oxygen therapy, umbilical cord clamping, and anaemia in pregnancy, involving over 30,000 infants across more than 200 neonatal units worldwide. As Principal Investigator, he has spearheaded the BOOST II trial comparing high versus low oxygen saturation targets in 1,135 very preterm infants; the NeOProM Collaboration individual patient data meta-analysis of 4,959 very preterm infants; the Lactoferrin Evaluation in Anaemia in Pregnancy (LEAP-1) trial; and the Australian Placental Transfusion Study evaluating delayed cord clamping. Key publications include "Delayed versus Immediate Cord Clamping in Preterm Infants" (New England Journal of Medicine, 2017), "Outcomes of Two Trials of Oxygen-Saturation Targets in Preterm Infants" (New England Journal of Medicine, 2016), and "Increased 36-Week Survival with High Oxygen Saturation Target in Extremely Preterm Infants" (New England Journal of Medicine, 2011). His contributions have improved survival rates in very preterm infants, shaped global clinical guidelines such as recommendations for delayed cord clamping, and generated major healthcare cost savings by pinpointing ineffective treatments.

Professional Email: william.tarnow-mordi@sydney.edu.au