Professor Asha Bowen is an

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Aus ...

Paediatric Infectious Diseases clinician-scientist and a leading voice and advocate for children's health and well-being. She is a Paediatric Infectious Diseases Specialist at

Perth Children's Hospital Perth Children's Hospital (PCH) is a specialist children's hospital in Nedlands, Western Australia, located at the corner of Winthrop Avenue and Monash Avenue on the Queen Elizabeth II Medical Centre (QEII) site. It is Western Australia's s ...

formerly Head of Department, and Head of the Healthy Skin and ARF Prevention team at The Kids Research Institute. She was the former Program Head of the End Rheumatic Heart Disease (END RHD) program (2022-2023) at the

Telethon Kids Institute The Kids Research Institute Australia (until 2024 known as Telethon Kids Institute) is an Australian medical research institute focused on the prevention of paediatric disease and the development of improved treatments to improve the health and ...

. Bowen leads a large body of skin health research in partnership with healthcare workers and community in the

Kimberley Kimberly or Kimberley may refer to: Places and historical events Australia Queensland * Kimberley, Queensland, a coastal locality in the Shire of Douglas South Australia * County of Kimberley, a cadastral unit in South Australia Ta ...

while expanding her team and work to understand skin health in urban Aboriginal children better. She has been widely acknowledged and awarded for her contributions towards improving the health and well-being of Australian children, and addressing existing health inequities faced by First Nations Australian children and their families. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic she contributed her knowledge and expertise to clinical research, guideline development and on several national and public health committees. She has published widely in the area of paediatric infectious diseases and is a recognized expert in the field who regularly contributes to popular Australian media sources such as ''

The Conversation ''The Conversation'' is a 1974 American neo-noir mystery thriller film written, produced, and directed by Francis Ford Coppola. It stars Gene Hackman as a surveillance expert who faces a moral dilemma when his recordings reveal a potential ...

''. Asha has received numerous accolades including Frank Fenner Award for the Australasian Society of Infectious Diseases (2022) and the Eureka Award for Emerging Leader in Science (2020).

Education

After completing her

medical studies Medicine is the science and practice of caring for patients, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care practic ...

at the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD) is a public university, public research university in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in both Australia and Oceania. One of Australia's six sandstone universities, it was one of the ...

, Bowen was awarded a Fellowship of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians ( FRACP) as a paediatric infectious diseases specialist in 2009. She obtained her

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

at the

Menzies School of Health Research Charles Darwin University (CDU) is an Australian public university with two campuses in Darwin, Northern Territory, Darwin and six satellite campuses in metropolitan and regional areas of the Northern Territory. It was established in 2003 after ...

in Darwin in 2014 for her thesis titled "The skin sore trial: exploring a better treatment option for impetigo in Indigenous children living in remote Australia". Her doctoral work involved the development and delivery of the first

randomized controlled trial A randomized controlled trial (or randomized control trial; RCT) is a form of scientific experiment used to control factors not under direct experimental control. Examples of RCTs are clinical trials that compare the effects of drugs, surgical ...

of treatment options for

impetigo Impetigo is a contagious bacterial infection that involves the superficial skin. The most common presentation is yellowish crusts on the face, arms, or legs. Less commonly there may be large blisters which affect the groin or armpits. The les ...

amongst remote living Indigenous Australian children, and, one of the largest

trials in the world.

Career, research, community engagement and impact

Bowen is an expert on ''

Streptococcus pyogenes ''Streptococcus pyogenes'' is a species of Gram-positive, aerotolerant bacteria in the genus '' Streptococcus''. These bacteria are extracellular, and made up of non-motile and non-sporing cocci (round cells) that tend to link in chains. They ...

'' and ''

Staphylococcus aureus ''Staphylococcus aureus'' is a Gram-positive spherically shaped bacterium, a member of the Bacillota, and is a usual member of the microbiota of the body, frequently found in the upper respiratory tract and on the skin. It is often posi ...

'' infections which, if left untreated, can lead to life-threatening complications including

sepsis Sepsis is a potentially life-threatening condition that arises when the body's response to infection causes injury to its own tissues and organs. This initial stage of sepsis is followed by suppression of the immune system. Common signs and s ...

glomerulonephritis Glomerulonephritis (GN) is a term used to refer to several kidney diseases (usually affecting both kidneys). Many of the diseases are characterised by inflammation either of the glomeruli or of the small blood vessels in the kidneys, hence the ...

and

rheumatic fever Rheumatic fever (RF) is an inflammation#Disorders, inflammatory disease that can involve the heart, joints, skin, and brain. The disease typically develops two to four weeks after a Streptococcal pharyngitis, streptococcal throat infection. Si ...

. She is a lead author of the 2018 "National Healthy Skin Guideline: for the Prevention and Public Health Control of Impetigo, Scabies, Crusted Scabies, and Tinea for Indigenous Populations and Communities in Australia - 1st edition". This guideline is designed to support healthcare professionals, including

medical Medicine is the science and Praxis (process), practice of caring for patients, managing the Medical diagnosis, diagnosis, prognosis, Preventive medicine, prevention, therapy, treatment, Palliative care, palliation of their injury or disease, ...

nursing Nursing is a health care profession that "integrates the art and science of caring and focuses on the protection, promotion, and optimization of health and human functioning; prevention of illness and injury; facilitation of healing; and alle ...

allied health Allied health professions (AHPs) are a category of health professionals that provide a range of diagnostic, preventive, therapeutic, and rehabilitative services in connection with health care. While there is no international standard for defining ...

and Aboriginal healthcare providers, in the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of these infections. It has been endorsed by The Royal Australasian College of Physicians, Public Health Association Australia, Rheumatic Heart Disease Australia, The Lowitja Institute,

Murdoch Children's Research Institute The Murdoch Children's Research Institute (MCRI) is an Australian paediatric medical research institute located in Melbourne, Victoria, affiliated with the Royal Children's Hospital and the University of Melbourne. The institute has six resear ...

and

The Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity The Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity is a research institute located in Melbourne, Australia. The Doherty Institute is named after the name of Laureate Professor Peter C. Doherty (Nobel prize winner in 1996). This institute i ...

. She has been involved in research that examined the utilization of rapid molecular point-of-care tests to detect and treat Strep A pharyngitis (

strep throat Streptococcal pharyngitis, also known as streptococcal sore throat (strep throat), is pharyngitis (an infection of the pharynx, the back of the throat) caused by ''Streptococcus pyogenes'', a Gram-positive bacteria, gram-positive, group A str ...

) in remote settings to prevent sequalae. Bowen has been vocal about

antimicrobial stewardship Antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) refers to coordinated efforts to promote the optimal use of antimicrobial agents, including drug choice, dosing, route, and duration of administration. AMS has been an organized effort of specialists in infectious d ...

and

antibiotic resistance Antimicrobial resistance (AMR or AR) occurs when microbes evolve mechanisms that protect them from antimicrobials, which are drugs used to treat infections. This resistance affects all classes of microbes, including bacteria (antibiotic resis ...

issues affecting Indigenous communities residing remote Australia. She has also spoken publicly about shortages in the supply of essential antibiotics, specifically oral

trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole Trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole, sold under the trade names Bactrim, Cotrim (a short form of the British Approved Name, Co-trimoxazole) and Septra, among others, is a fixed-dose combination antibiotic medication used to treat a variety of bacte ...

syrup formulations, needed to treat school sores in Aboriginal children. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic Bowen has been a leading voice on children's health and well-being. She has advocated for keeping schools open and prioritizing vaccination for teachers and school staff alongside other measures of control such as rapid antigen testing protocols. Bowen has contributed to recommendations on the clinical care of children and adolescents with COVID-19 as part of the Australian National COVID-19 Clinical Evidence Taskforce. Bowen is the lead investigator on the SToP (See Treat and Prevent) skin sores and

scabies Scabies (; also sometimes known as the seven-year itch) is a contagious human skin infestation by the tiny (0.2–0.45 mm) mite ''Sarcoptes scabiei'', variety ''hominis''. The word is from . The most common symptoms are severe itchiness a ...

Trial which aims to strengthen skin health practices in partnership with healthcare workers and community in the

. Her research seeks to address the gap in infectious skin conditions between Aboriginal children and other Australian children. Bowen says “I would like to see that Aboriginal children in our country are no more likely to have skin infections and the sequelae of those, such as rheumatic fever, rheumatic heart disease or sepsis than any other children. Working in partnership with Aboriginal people and communities to achieve this, and listening for guidance and opportunities to include a strengths based approach is important'. Bowen is also lead researcher for the "Staph aureus Network Adaptive Platform Paediatrics and Youth" (SNAP-PY) trial which commenced in February 2022 and will involve 7,000 children and adults across more than 100 hospitals in six countries. The trial aims to identify the most effective treatments for ''Staphylococcus aureus'' bloodstream infection. Through her work as a clinician and researcher, Bowen provides supervision and mentoring to RACP Clinical Trainees and higher-degree research students across the

University of Western Australia University of Western Australia (UWA) is a public research university in the Australian state of Western Australia. The university's main campus is in Crawley, Western Australia, Crawley, a suburb in the City of Perth local government area. UW ...

and

Notre Dame University The University of Notre Dame du Lac (known simply as Notre Dame; ; ND) is a private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, United States. Founded in 1842 by members of the Congregation of Holy Cross, a Catholic religious order o ...

Awards and honours

* 2018 L'Oreal-UNCESCO For Women in Science Australia and New Zealand Fellowship * 2019 Bayer Australia Medical Research Establishment Fellowship * 2019 Australian Institute of Policy and Science Tall Poppy Award * 2020 Eureka Prize Emerging Leader in Science * 2022 Frank Fenner Award for Advanced Research in Infectious Diseases * 2024

Medal of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of then ...

* 2024 Fellow of the

Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences The Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences is an academy to promote health and medical sciences in Australia. It was established in June 2014. It cites "The Academy will serve the three purposes identified as of high priority in the 2 ...

National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) * 2010 National Health and Medical Research Council Postgraduate Scholarship * 2015 National Health and Medical Research Council Early Career Fellowship * 2017 National Health and Medical Research Council Project Grant * 2020 National Health and Medical Research Council Investigator Grant * 2021 National Health and Medical Research Council Synergy Grant (CIB) * 2021 National Health and Medical Research Council Clinical Trials and Cohort Studies grant (CIA)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bowen, Asha Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Australian women scientists Australian paediatricians Australian women paediatricians Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia Fellows of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences Fellows of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians Charles Darwin University alumni