Sue Jacobs awarded 2016 Woodward Medal of Excellence

18 August 2016 | Events

Associate Professor Sue Jacobs has been awarded the 2016 Woodward Family Medal of Excellence, the highest honor awarded at the Women’s Awards. 

Sue is the Director of Nurseries, Neonatal Services, at the Women’s.

 

Considered one of the world’s leading neonatal researchers, Sue was also described at the award presentation tonight as an empathetic teacher and leader of young paediatricians and trainees.

“She is a genuine all-rounder who excels as a clinician, a researcher, an administrator and as a teacher,” said Professor Peter Davis, Director of Neonatal Medicine at the Women’s.

“As a researcher Sue has done some of the biggest, most important research in the world.”

Former NICU mum Silvana Favorito said Sue was like a superstar to her family. “She was more than just a doctor, she was a lifeline.”

“Most people get excited when they see a celebrity, we hear Sue’s name … and it is like we have seen a superstar.”

Her colleagues described Sue as a team player who brought out the strengths in others and had a reputation for achieving consensus no matter how controversial the topic. 

The Woodward Medal of Excellence is named in honor of Lady Lois Woodward.

In presenting the award tonight her son Ted Woodward said his family was proud that the Woodward Family Medal of Excellence was the highest honor awarded as part of the Women’s awards program.

“It specifically recognises the extraordinary achievements of an individual who has contributed to improving the health of women and/or newborns,” Mr Woodward said.

“My mother, Lady Woodward, was a member of the Women’s Board for 14 years. She was chair for three of those years.

“During this time the high standard of patient care and the dedication of the specialist nursing and medical staff and their skills in developing innovative ideas and research impressed her so much that when she retired from the Board in 1995, the Woodward family decided to endow a Medal of Excellence.”

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