Rate My Professor Joshua Fisher

Dr Joshua Fisher is a Postdoctoral Fellow in the School of Medicine and Public Health at the University of Newcastle, Australia. He is based at the Hunter Medical Research Institute within the Mothers and Babies Research Program and contributes to the Priority Research Centre for Reproductive Science. Fisher completed his Doctor of Philosophy in 2020 at Griffith University, following a Bachelor of Biomedical Science (Honours) and Bachelor of Biomedical Science from the same university. His research specializes in elucidating the mitochondrial mechanisms driving placental dysfunction in pregnancy complications including gestational diabetes mellitus, preeclampsia, fetal growth restriction, and stillbirth. By understanding these processes, his work seeks to identify therapeutic targets to restore placental function and enhance maternal and fetal outcomes.

Fisher has garnered recognition for his contributions, receiving the Y.W. (Charlie) Loke Award twice (2018, 2019), Society for Reproductive Biology Travel Awards (2018, 2019), Elsevier New Investigator Award (2021), and the HMRI Newcastle Permanent Emerging Innovator Award (2024). He was a finalist for the ANZPRA New Investigator Award at SRB (2018) and the Elsevier Trophoblast Research New Investigator Award (2018). His publication record is prolific, with key papers such as "Placental mitochondrial function and structure in gestational disorders" (Holland et al., 2017, Placenta, 234 citations), "Placental mitochondria and reactive oxygen species in the physiology and pathophysiology of pregnancy" (Fisher et al., 2020, Clinical and Experimental Pharmacology and Physiology, 139 citations), "Mitochondrial dysfunction in placental trophoblast cells experiencing gestational diabetes mellitus" (Fisher et al., 2021, Journal of Physiology, 94 citations), and recent works like "Placental iron utilisation in fetal growth restriction: alterations in mitochondrial haem synthesis and iron–sulphur cluster assembly pathways" (Botha et al., 2026, Journal of Physiology). With over 1,100 citations, Fisher's research has advanced understanding in placental biology. He holds leadership positions as an executive member and ECR representative for the Australian New Zealand Placental Research Association (ANZPRA) and International Federation of Placental Associations (IFPA), and serves on the editorial board of the Journal Trophoblast Research. Additionally, he has secured over $500,000 in seed funding as Chief Investigator A and is committed to mentoring early-career researchers.