Rate My Professor Julie Redfern

Professor Julie Redfern AM is a distinguished Professor of Public Health in the Faculty of Medicine and Health at the University of Sydney, where she served from 2019 to 2024 as an NHMRC Leadership Fellow in the School of Health Sciences. Holding a PhD in Health Sciences from the University of Sydney (2007) with a thesis on patient-centred modular secondary prevention following acute coronary syndrome, a Bachelor of Applied Science in Physiotherapy with First Class Honours (1997), and a Bachelor of Science in Anatomy and Physiology (1993), all from the same institution, she is a practising physiotherapist with clinical experience in cardiac and rehabilitation settings since 1998. Her career trajectory at the University of Sydney includes roles as Research Academic Director (Faculty of Medicine and Health, 2019-2023), Deputy Director of the Westmead Applied Research Centre (2017-2021), Associate Professor in the Discipline of Medicine at Westmead Clinical School (2017-2018), and earlier positions as Senior Research Fellow and Lecturer. She also holds honorary appointments as Clinical Professor with Western Sydney Local Health District and Professorial Fellow at The George Institute for Global Health.

Redfern's research specializes in preventive cardiology, cardiac rehabilitation, secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease, and digital health innovations, particularly mobile phone text messaging interventions. She led the landmark TEXT ME randomized controlled trial, published in JAMA (2015), which demonstrated significant risk factor improvements in coronary heart disease patients through lifestyle-focused text messaging. With over 400 peer-reviewed publications cited more than 11,000 times, key works include the Cochrane review on text messaging for medication adherence (2024) and contributions to national CVD policy recommendations (2023). Her impact is evidenced by major NHMRC funding, including a $2.87 million Investigator Grant Leadership 2—the highest ranked in Health Services. Awards include the 2022 NSW Woman of Excellence, Fellowship of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences (2023), European Society of Cardiology Fellowship (2022), University of Sydney Vice-Chancellor’s Award for Leadership and Mentoring (2021), and numerous trial and publication accolades. She has supervised multiple PhD students to completion and holds leadership roles such as Chair of the Australian Cardiovascular Alliance Scientific Advisory Committee.