Stephen James Simpson (born 26 June 1957) is an Australian scientist. He is the executive director of Obesity Australia and was the inaugural academic director of the

Charles Perkins Centre The Charles Perkins Centre (CPC) is an Australian medical research institute, clinic and education hub that primarily focuses on diabetes, cardiovascular disease and obesity, as well as other related conditions. The centre is affiliated with the ...

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 ...

until April 2025.

Early life and education

Stephen James Simpson was born on 26 June 1957 in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

, Australia. He graduated with a BSc from the

University of Queensland The University of Queensland is a Public university, public research university located primarily in Brisbane, the capital city of the Australian state of Queensland. Founded in 1909 by the Queensland parliament, UQ is one of the six sandstone ...

in 1978, and completed his PhD at

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public university, public research university in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV ...

in 1982 on

locust Locusts (derived from the Latin ''locusta'', locust or lobster) are various species of short-horned grasshoppers in the family Acrididae that have a swarming phase. These insects are usually solitary, but under certain circumstances they b ...

feeding physiology, called "The control of food intake in fifth-instar ''Locusta migratoria'' L. nymphs".

Career

Simpson spent 22 years working at

Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...

, in Experimental Psychology, the Department of Zoology, and the University Museum of Natural History. He returned to Australia in 2005 as an ARC Federation Fellow, joining the School of Biological Sciences at the

. In 2018, Simpson became the executive director of Obesity Australia, the oversight body for the Collective for Action on Obesity, The Obesity Collective and was appointed academic director of the newly-opened

at Sydney University in June 2014.

Other activities

Simpson co-wrote, narrated, and presented of the four-part ABC TV documentary series ''Great Southern Land'', broadcast in September 2012. The series was directed by Luke Eve. He has also co-authored articles for newspapers, such as one about the "obesity crisis" in ''

The Age ''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria (Australia), Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Austral ...

'' in April 2015. Simpson has co-authored two science communication books, ''The Nature of Nutrition: A Unifying Framework from Animal Adaptation to Human Obesity'' (

Princeton University Press Princeton University Press is an independent publisher with close connections to Princeton University. Its mission is to disseminate scholarship within academia and society at large. The press was founded by Whitney Darrow, with the financial ...

, October 2012), and ''Eat Like the Animals: what nature teaches us about the science of healthy eating'' (

HarperCollins HarperCollins Publishers LLC is a British–American publishing company that is considered to be one of the "Big Five (publishers), Big Five" English-language publishers, along with Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group USA, Hachette, Macmi ...

, March 2019), which has been translated into 10 languages.

Awards and honours

*2007:

Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science The Fellowship of the Australian Academy of Science is made up of about 500 Australian scientists. Scientists judged by their peers to have made an exceptional contribution to knowledge in their field may be elected to Fellowship of the Academy ...

*2009:

Australian Laureate Fellowship The Australian Laureate Fellowship is an Australian professorial research fellowship awarded by the Australian Research Council. Fellows are chosen each year for five-year awards. In 2023 8 industry-focused Laureate Fellowships were awarded for the ...

*2009: NSW Scientist of the Year *2011: The Wigglesworth Memorial Lecture and Award,

Royal Entomological Society The Royal Entomological Society is a learned society devoted to the study of insects. It aims to disseminate information about insects and to improve communication between entomologists. The society was founded in 1833 as the Entomological S ...

*2016:

Companion of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Australian honours and awards system, Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Monarch ...

*2013:

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the Fellows of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural science, natural knowledge, incl ...

*2013: Honorary Fellow of the

*2015:

Fellow of the Royal Society of New South Wales The Royal Society of New South Wales is a learned society based in Sydney, Australia. The Governor of New South Wales is the vice-regal patron of the Society. It is the oldest learned society in the Southern Hemisphere. The Society traces its ...

*2022:

Macfarlane Burnet Medal and Lecture The Macfarlane Burnet Medal and Lecture is a biennial award given by the Australian Academy of Science to recognise outstanding scientific research in the biological sciences. It was established in 1971 and honours the memory of the Nobel laureat ...

*2023:

Doctor of Science A Doctor of Science (; most commonly abbreviated DSc or ScD) is a science doctorate awarded in a number of countries throughout the world. Africa Algeria and Morocco In Algeria, Morocco, Libya and Tunisia, all universities accredited by the s ...

'' honoris causa'', University of Glasgow *2024: The Wertheimer Award,

World Obesity Federation World Obesity Day, an internationally recognized event, moved to March 4 in 2020 from its previous date on October 11. It serves as an annual platform to raise awareness and advocate for practical solutions in addressing the global obesity crisi ...

*2024: The Ralph Slatyer Medal,

Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public university, public research university and member of the Group of Eight (Australian universities), Group of Eight, located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton, A ...

References

External links

Professor Stephen Simpson
staff profile, University of Sydney {{DEFAULTSORT:Simpson, Stephen 1957 births Living people University of Queensland alumni Alumni of King's College London Academics of the University of Oxford Academic staff of the University of Sydney Fellows of the Royal Society Fellows of the Australian Academy of Science Companions of the Order of Australia Fellows of Linacre College, Oxford Fellows of Jesus College, Oxford