Professor Richard Harding

Appointment: Senior Principal Research Fellow, Professorial Fellow.

Telephone: +61 3 9905 2712

Facsimile: +61 3 9905 2053

E-mail: richard.harding@med.monash.edu.au

Pulmonary Development and Programming Group

Richard Harding obtained his BSc and MSc at the University of Melbourne, and took his PhD at the University of Edinburgh. He then undertook 5 years of postdoctoral studies at the Nuffield Institute of Medical Research, University of Oxford UK, where he embarked upon research into the functional development of the respiratory system before and after birth. He moved to the University of Queensland in 1978 as a Research Fellow, and then to Monash University in 1981. During his time at Monash University, Prof Harding has developed a very productive research group with continuous funding from the NH&MRC. In 1992 he was awarded a DSc by Monash University for his work in Developmental Physiology. Prof Harding has supervised numerous Honours and PhD candidates and in 2004 was awarded the Vice-Chancellor’s Award for Post-Graduate Supervision. He is co-editor of four research books on developmental physiology and presently serves as Consulting Editor for Pediatric Research. He is the Founding Convenor of the Australasian Fetal and Neonatal Workshop, which was established in 1985.

The major research interests of his research group are:

1. Mechanisms underlying the effects of fetal growth restriction on postnatal lung development and lung function.
2. The role of premature birth in the early developmental origins of cardio-respiratory diseases.
3. Mechanisms of fetal brain injury caused by hypoxia and/or inflammation: the development of neuroprotective strategies.
4. Effects of alcohol exposure on the fetus during late gestation.