Amanda Margaret Meredith Oakley is a New Zealand-based dermatologist, specialising in

melanoma Melanoma is the most dangerous type of skin cancer; it develops from the melanin-producing cells known as melanocytes. It typically occurs in the skin, but may rarely occur in the mouth, intestines, or eye (uveal melanoma). In very rare case ...

research and

teledermatology Teledermatology is a subspecialty in the medical field of dermatology and probably one of the most common applications of telemedicine and e-health. In teledermatology, telecommunication technologies are used to exchange medical information (conc ...

. She is a founder and former editor-in-chief of

DermNet DermNet is a worldwide clinical resource website about dermatology and skin conditions. Its co-founder and former editor-in-chief is dermatologist and Adjunct Associate Professor Amanda Oakley. The website was launched in 1996 under the umbrella ...

Medical career

Oakley graduated from the

University of Bristol The University of Bristol is a public university, public research university in Bristol, England. It received its royal charter in 1909, although it can trace its roots to a Merchant Venturers' school founded in 1595 and University College, Br ...

in 1979, and completed postgraduate studies in Auckland, London and Durham before emigrating to New Zealand. She has been a practicing dermatologist at

Waikato Hospital Waikato Hospital is a major regional hospital in Hamilton, New Zealand. It provides specialised and emergency healthcareWaik ...

since 1987. In 1995, Oakley and a group of New Zealand dermatologists created DermNet, a medical resource site focused on dermatology. Oakley learned how to code and programme to create the website, which was made to be a source of information for dermatologists and patients. DermNet was registered as a charitable trust in 2013. Oakley has been the Clinical Director of the Department of Dermatology of the Waikato District Health Board, and currently teaches as an Honorary and Adjunct Associate Professor at the

University of Auckland The University of Auckland (; Māori: ''Waipapa Taumata Rau'') is a public research university based in Auckland, New Zealand. The institution was established in 1883 as a constituent college of the University of New Zealand. Initially loc ...

's Waikato Clinical Campus. Oakley was the president of both the New Zealand Dermatological Society and the Australian and New Zealand Vulvovaginal Society from 2011 to 2013.

Honours

In March 2017, Oakley won the Lifetime Achievement Award at the New Zealand Charity Technology Awards for her tenure as creator and editor-in-chief of DermNet. In November 2017, DermNet won the New Zealand Ministry of Health's Clinician's Challenge in the active project/development category for the proposal to train artificial intelligence software to recognise skin diseases in images through pattern recognition. In the

2018 Queen's Birthday Honours The 2018 Queen's Birthday Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded as p ...

, Oakley was appointed a

Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit () is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have ...

, for services to dermatology.

Selected publications

*''Teledermatology''. CRC Press (2002). *''Dermatology Made Easy''. Great Britain: Scion Publishing Ltd (2017).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oakley, Amanda Alumni of the University of Bristol Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Companions of the New Zealand Order of Merit New Zealand dermatologists Women dermatologists