Dr Suzie Miller

Senior Scientist, The Ritchie Centre

Dr Suzie Miller is part of The Ritchie Centre’s Fetal, Neonatal and Child Health group.

Dr Miller is a physiologist with established research programs investigating brain damage to babies growing in the womb, and how best to either prevent or repair such damage.

Approximately 8-10% of babies are adversely affected by hypoxia (lack of oxygen) or infection during pregnancy. Dr Miller’s research focuses on what happens in the developing fetal brain when pregnancies are compromised by chronic fetoplacental hypoxia/ intrauterine growth restriction, acute hypoxia or infection. She is developing and implementing therapeutic strategies to protect the fetus and newborn, in particular its brain development, with the aim of preventing brain injury or cerebral palsy.

Dr Miller completed her PhD at Monash University in 1999 and gained a postdoctoral position at University College London to study fetal neurodevelopment and neuroprotective strategies. She returned to Australia in 2001 where she established the Clinical and Experimental Perinatal Research Group at Monash University.

Dr Miller has obtained funding as a Chief Investigator on 4 NHMRC Project Grants (3 current) and has research funding from the Cerebral Palsy Foundation. She also held the Glyn White Research Fellowship with the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists in 2005/2006 and has obtained funding from the Bonnie Babes Foundation. Dr Miller has over 20 peer review publications and has been an invited speaker on the fetal effects of hypoxia or infection at a range of National and International conferences.