2005 Australian of the Year --- Dr Fiona Wood FRACS AM

'My first impression of Australia was how sunny it was. I love the lifestyle and am very pleased I chose to move here.'

In 2005, Fiona Wood earned Australia’s most prestigious award, Australian of the Year. Originally from Yorkshire in the United Kingdom, Fiona graduated from St Thomas’ Hospital Medical School in London in 1981. She migrated to Perth in 1987 after marrying Australian-born surgeon Tony Kierath and, in 1990, Fiona completed her plastic surgery training in Western Australia.

Fiona’s dedication to the Australian people and her love of working and living in Australia is reflected in her many medical achievements. She is the co-founder of Clinical Cell Culture, which is a private company dedicated to ongoing research into the treatment of burns, a clinical professor with the School of Paediatrics and Child Health at the University of Western Australia, and Director of the McComb Research Foundation. In addition, Fiona was the recipient of the 2003 Australian Medical Association ‘Contribution to Medicine’ Award and was named a National Living Treasure in 2004.

In 2002, the world media profiled Fiona and her team’s tireless work on burns victims of the Bali bombings, especially bringing positive recognition for her revolutionary spray-on skin technique which was used successfully, along with holistic multidisciplinary burn care.

Fiona is a permanent resident of Australia, the mother of 6 children, loves sport and is immensely proud to be an Australian.