Rate My Professor Gavin Pereira

Professor Gavin Pereira is a Professor in the Curtin School of Population Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, at Curtin University, where he leads the Epidemiology Research Lab. He is an epidemiologist, environmental health researcher, and biostatistician holding an National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Investigator Grant from 2020 to 2025. His academic background includes a PhD from the University of Western Australia, a Master of Applied Statistics from the Australian National University, a Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) from the University of Western Australia, and a Graduate Certificate in Research Commercialisation from Queensland University of Technology. Pereira's research specializations encompass epidemiology, perinatal health, environmental health, and biostatistics. His fields of research include biostatistics, environmental sciences, epidemiology, paediatrics, and reproductive medicine. He leads large international studies to review clinical guidelines of the World Health Organization, evaluate vaccination effectiveness, investigate air pollution and climate change impacts on children's health, and develop prognostic models for stillbirth and perinatal morbidity using machine learning and big data.

Pereira's career history at Curtin University features leadership roles such as Discipline Lead of Health Economics and Data Analytics, Chair of the Research Committee in the School of Public Health, Population Health Theme Lead in the Faculty of Health Sciences, and Director and Associate Director of Research and Research Training in the School of Public Health. Previously, he was Professor at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Researcher at Yale University's Center for Perinatal, Pediatric and Environmental Epidemiology and School of Environmental Studies, and held positions at the Telethon Kids Institute and the University of Western Australia's School of Population and Global Health. Among his major awards and honors are the Curtin University John de Laeter Award for Research Leadership and Researcher of the Year (2022), IPUMS Global Health Research Award (2022), Curtin University Publication Prize (three times, 2025), Public Health Association of Australia WA Branch Mentor Award (2023), NHMRC Sidney Sax Fellowship (2012-2015), Curtin University Award for Research Excellence – Business, Society and Communities (2019), Raine Medical Research Foundation BrightSpark Award (2017), and several travel and early career awards. Key publications include 'Risk of stillbirth, preterm delivery, and fetal growth restriction following exposure in a previous birth: Systematic review and meta-analysis' (2018, British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology), 'Developing evidence-based recommendations for optimal interpregnancy intervals in high-income countries: Protocol for an international cohort study' (2019, BMJ Open), 'Development of a model for particulate matter pollution in Australia with implications for other satellite-based models' (2017, Environmental Research), 'Fine particulate matter and risk of preterm birth in Connecticut in 2000-2006: A longitudinal study' (2014, American Journal of Epidemiology), and 'Traffic emissions are associated with reduced fetal growth in areas of Perth, Western Australia' (2011, Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health). He has served on multiple NHMRC investigator, fellowship, project, and ideas grant review panels for over ten years.