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The School of Population Health welcomes the return of Professor Bruce Armstrong as Adjunct Professor. Prof Armstrong is a significant person in the disciplines of epidemiology and public health, both on the international stage and in the history of the disciplines at UWA.  He has been the colleague, supervisor and mentor of some of our top WA and UWA Pubic Health professors, including Professor Michael Hobbs, Professor D’Arcy Holman and Professor Fiona Stanley.

Prof Armstrong has had a rich and illustrious career.  Following completion of his medical studies at UWA, Prof Armstrong completed his PhD at the University of Oxford under the supervision of Prof Sir Richard Doll after which he returned to Western Australia and was offered the vacant position of Director of Health Research and Planning within the Health Department of WA (DoH WA).  Whilst incumbent in this position Prof Armstrong developed a research programme in cancer epidemiology and began to use the state’s earliest linked data (linked public hospital separation records for individual patients).  Additionally, he supported Prof Fiona Stanley with her child health research.

It was around this same time that Prof Armstrong and Prof D’Arcy Holman were introduced professionally , culminating in D’Arcy completing his PhD under the supervision of Prof Armstrong.  An NHMRC funded Research Unit in Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine in WA was also established with, with Prof Armstrong as its Director and D’Arcy as its first PhD graduate.  The Research Unit was important for epidemiology, playing a leadership role for over ten years in developing modern epidemiological research in Australia.

In 1987 Prof Armstrong was appointed Professor, Epidemiology and Cancer Research (a Cancer Council WA funded Chair).  In late 1988 he left the role to become Commissioner for Health for Western Australia.  Further prestigious appointments followed.  Prof Armstrong was invited become Deputy Director of the World Health Organisation’s International Agency for Research on Cancer in Lyon France (1991); appointed Director of the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (1994 – 1996); Director, Cancer Research and Registers Division, NSW Cancer Council (1996 – 2002); Head, School of Public Health at the University of Sydney (2002 – 2005); and Senior Visiting Scientist, International Agency for Research on Cancer (2014).  Most recently Prof Armstrong Bruce worked part time at the Sax Institute of which he was a founder, and was Chair of the Bureau of Health Information, a NSW Statutory Corporation.  Prof Armstrong is also an Emeritus Professor at the University of Sydney’s School of Public Health.

The School of Population Health at UWA is indeed honoured to welcome Prof Bruce Armstrong to an Adjunct Professorial position with us.

Media references

Professor Colleen Fisher , Head of School of Population Health, +61 8 6488 2193

Fiona Maley , Marketing and Research Coordinator, +61 8 6488 1299