Honorary Membership

The Perinatal Society of Australia and New Zealand recognises members of the society who have made a significant contribution to perinatology and/or to the society. 

Nominations for Honorary membership are made to the PSANZ Board through the branch committees. 

Honorary membership is bestowed at the Annual General Meeting. 


A/Prof Lynn Sinclair

Bestowed: 2020

Lynn Sinclair joined the University of Technology Sydney in 2017. In the leadership roles of Director of Postgraduate Nursing Studies, Deputy Associate Dean and Acting Associate Dean Lynn managed day to day operations and led strategic initiatives related to teaching and learning in the Faculty of Health. In 2020 Lynn was appointed Associate Professor and Associate Dean (Teaching and Learning). Lynn completed a PhD in Nursing at UTS and undergraduate studies in Edinburgh, Scotland. With a background in intensive care, mental health, midwifery and neonatal nursing, Lynn has more than 30 years’ experience in varying healthcare environments. As a neonatal nurse and accomplished leader in her field, a key motivation for Lynn’s work has been improving outcomes for neonates and their families at greatest risk for adverse outcomes and poorer long-term health. She has extensive collaborative networks and partners with consumers and health professionals across disciplines in research and its translation and the provision of education and training. Lynn contributes to various strategic and professional boards, working parties and advisory groups at local, state, national and international level to improve the quality of neonatal care provision. This work has included health policy and guideline development, implementation and evaluation and award-winning quality and innovation initiatives. Lynn is the current President of the Perinatal Society of Australia and New Zealand and has been a Board member of the Society since 2013.

Susan Heath



Bestowed: 2020

Clinical Midwifery Consultant for High Risk Pregnancy at Westmead Hospital in Sydney, Australia and past Treasurer of PSANZ

Associate Professor Kaye Spence AM

Discipline: Neonatal Nursing
Bestowed 2015

Kaye Spence is a clinical nurse consultant in neonatology and holds an Honorary Professorial position at Queens University Belfast, Northern Ireland. Kaye has been active in professional organisations, and was a founding member and secretary of the Australian Neonatal Nurses Association, the inaugural President of the Australian College of Neonatal Nurses, a founding member and secretary of the Council of International Neonatal Nurses and President of the Perinatal Society of Australia and New Zealand. She describes herself as a leader and guardian of clinical practice and a clinical researcher. She is actively involved in evidence based clinical guideline development and has many publications and book chapters. Kaye is supportive of clinical nurses to be active researchers, initiated, and leads a clinical neonatal nursing research fellowship program in her unit. To date four of these nurses have won PSANZ New Investigator Awards for their research. Kaye has worked on many national projects, her most influential being with David Henderson-Smart for the awareness and change management for pain in newborn infants across Australia. Her current program of research is focusing on collaboration across organisations and universities to examine the effect on parents of having an infant who requires neonatal surgery, reducing pain during infant immunisation and nursing knowledge and outcomes of neonatal care. In 1999, she received a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for her services to professional organisations and nursing education. In September 2013, she received the Inaugural Judith Meppem Lifetime Achievement Award from the Nursing and Midwifery Office in the Ministry of Health. Kaye has been an active member of PSANZ and a regular presenter for the past 25 years.

Professor Brian Darlow

Discipline: Neonatology
Bestowed 2013

Professor Darlow is a neonatologist in Christchurch, New Zealand and has been involved in Perinatology for over 25 years in clinical care, research and in leadership in the field of neonatal paediatrics. Professor Darlow has chaired perinatal committees in Australia and New Zealand, was a founding member of the Australian and New Zealand Neonatal Network, has been a council member of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians and has been on organising committees for perinatal meetings. Professor Darlow is known internationally for his work on the causes, prevention and epidemiology of retinopathy of prematurity and bronchopulmonary dysplasia, and for his excellent follow-up studies. Professor Darlow is the CureKids Professor of Paediatric Research at the University of Otago and has been awarded the Christchurch School of Medicine Gold Medal for Research Excellence and the Royal Australasian College of Physicians John Sands medal for outstanding contribution to College affairs. Professor Darlow is well known to members of the society for his regular contributions to meetings over many years, both as an invited speaker and through submitted abstracts, as well as his role in organising committees and in judging for awards.

Professor Alastair MacLennan AO

Discipline: Obstetrics
Bestowed 2012

Professor Alastair MacLennan was a founding member of the Australian Perinatal Society, and became its President when that Society amalgamated with New Zealand, to form PSANZ. He has held the positions of Treasurer, Secretary, Vice President and President in PSANZ. He presented the President’s Medal to the Society. Alastair has been an active researcher in many areas of perinatal medicine, including preterm birth, placental disorders, multiple pregnancy, the hormonal induction of labour, fetal monitoring, labour ward practices and intrauterine growth restriction. His research publications on these and other topics have had over 3,600 citations in the past 15 years. His current research focus is the genetic and antenatal causes of cerebral palsy, with a view to its prevention. This research has interacted directly with PSANZ. He chaired the PSANZ 1995 initiative to set up and publish a consensus statement on the causes of cerebral palsy, and he then chaired the BMJ International Cerebral Palsy Task Force in 1999. The consensus statement arising from that was endorsed by PSANZ, as was the US Cerebral Palsy Statement to which Alastair also contributed. Professor MacLennan’s research and contributions to perinatology have been recognised in recent times with the award of SA Scientist of the Year for the Public Good in 2009, and being made an Officer in the Order of Australia in 2011.

Professor James King

Discipline: Obstetrics
Bestowed 2011

Professor James King has been a member of PSANZ member for over 25 years, attended 25 annual congress meetings and been invited PSANZ speaker on several occasions, in addition to regular PSANZ presentations. He was an inaugural member Cochrane Pregnancy & Childbirth review group, inaugural IMPACT member and inaugural Chair PSANZ Perinatal mortality special Interest Group.

Doctor Neil Roy

Discipline: Neonatology
Bestowed 2011

Dr Neil Roy led the development of the first state-wide Neonatal Emergency Transport Service (NETS). This service was not only transport, but also incorporated education and advisory and referral networks. The NETS handbook has been steadily improved by his successors to be widely used as a neonatal reference for practitioners outside tertiary centres. Neil has contributed regularly to PSANZ annual meetings, including as an invited plenary speaker and session chair. His work facilitated the creation of a research culture that allowed Colin Morley, Lex Doyle, Peter Davis and others to take research at the Women’s in Melbourne to the forefront of national and global neonatal research.

Professor David Tudehope AM

Discipline: Neonatology
Bestowed 2010

Professor David Tudehope was a founding member and Chair of the Queensland Branch of Australian Perinatal Society, and became its Secretary when that Society amalgamated with New Zealand, to form PSANZ. David's major areas of clinical research include the longitudinal follow up of cohorts of high risk infants, epidemiology of perinatal infection and audiological testing of term and preterm infants. David is the author of the neonatal textbooks "Primer of Neonatal Medicine" and three editions of "Essentials of Neonatal Medicine", as well as 15 chapters in medical textbooks. He has published 137 scientific papers in refereed journals. After 30 years as Director of Neonatology, Mater Mothers' Hospital, Brisbane, Professor Tudehope retired from this position in 2008. David is now enjoying sitting on the 'back bench' as a Neonatal Paediatrician.

Professor Peter Stone

Discipline: Obstetrics
Bestowed 2014

Professor David Henderson-Smart AO 

Discipline: Neonatology
Bestowed 2008

Professor Jeffrey Robinson 

Discipline: Obstetrics
Bestowed 2008

Doctor Michael Adamson 

Discipline: 
Bestowed 2008

The Reverend Professor Victor Yu AM

Discipline: Neonatology 
Bestowed 2008

Doctor Hazel Headington 

Discipline: 
Bestowed

Doctor Tony Baird

Discipline: 
Bestowed

Doctor Jane Zucollo

Discipline: 
Bestowed

Doctor Wendy Haddon

Discipline: 
Bestowed

Doctor Rita Teele

Discipline: 
Bestowed

Doctor Ross Howie

Discipline: Neonatology
Bestowed

Doctor David Becroft

Discipline: Pathologist
Bestowed

Doctor Tony Cull

Discipline: Neonatology
Bestowed

Penelope Dunkley

Discipline: Neonatal Nurse
Bestowed

Violani Wills

Discipline: Midwife/Neonatal CCN
Bestowed