Professor Stephen Tong is a clinician-scientist (specialist obstetrician) at The Mercy Hospital for Women and The University of Melbourne. An NHMRC Practitioner’s Fellow, he is a co-Director of Mercy Perinatal. He is strongly focused on translational research - developing new diagnostics and treatments to tackle major complications that threaten the lives of mothers and babies. His team has taken 5-6 laboratory discoveries to international clinical trials and cohort studies running in United Kingdom, South Africa, New Zealand, Chile and across Australia.

These include drug treatments to treat ectopic pregnancy and preeclampsia and diagnostics to prevent stillbirth.

He has published over 180 papers. Since 2015 he has published in Lancet, Nature Communications, Hypertension (10 papers), Human Reproduction Update; multiple publications in BMC Medicine, American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, eBiomedicine, and others.

He currently holds a Synergy Grant (as CIA) and an NHMRC Fellowship. He has held 14 NHMRC Project Grants (six as CIA). He has received three NHMRC Achievement awards (2007, 2012, 2017) and delivered over 60 invited national/ international presentations. He is a board member of the Menzies Research Institute, an editorial board member of the journals Hypertension, BMC Medicine; and Chair of the Multiple Sclerosis Flagship Scientific Advisory Committee (Menzies Institute Initiative)

Professor Cathy Cluver completed her undergraduate medical studies and postgraduate studies at Stellenbosch University. She qualified as an Obstetrician-Gynaecologist cum Laude in 2011 and was awarded the Daubenton Medal for outstanding results in the Fellowship examination of the College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of South Africa and the medal for the Best Postgraduate Student for a Structures Masters Qualification at Stellenbosch University.

She completed her certificate in Maternal-Fetal Medicine in 2016 at Tygerberg Hospital after doing a year’s fellowship training in Melbourne, Australia in Maternal Fetal Medicine. She is actively involved in research and her PhD revolves around looking for a possible treatment for pre-eclampsia. She has been awarded the Discovery Academic Fellowship, a fellowship from SAMA and funding from Australia for this research.

She is accredited for first trimester screening with the Fetal Medicine Foundation and is a member of the International Society for Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynaecology, the South African Society for Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynaecology and the South African Society for Obstetrics and Gynaecology.

She is actively involved in undergraduate and postgraduate teaching at the Stellenbosch Medical School. She has published over 25 peer reviewed articles and has written chapters for undergraduate and postgraduate textbooks.

Professor Sue Walker is a maternal fetal medicine sub-specialist and an academic clinical researcher. She has founded and continues to lead the Perinatal Medicine Department at Mercy Hospital for Women, which has flourished into a tertiary referral site for some of the highest risk pregnancies in Victoria. Sue obtained her FRANZCOG and MD in 2000 before completing MFM sub-specialty training in 2004 and undertaking a Maternal Fetal Medicine fellowship at the world leading Mt Sinai Hospital, Toronto in 2007. She returned to Mercy Hospital for Women creating capacity in the domains of complex high risk pregnancy care, teaching, sub-specialty training and research. In 2011 she was appointed to a prestigious named chair: the Sheila Handbury Chair of Maternal Fetal Medicine, University of Melbourne. In 2018, Prof Walker received an Order of Australia Medal for distinguished service to the field of obstetrics and gynaecology as an academic and clinician, and for her enormous contribution to professional organisations.