Dr Bowen, Head of Skin Health at the Wesfarmers Centre of Vaccines and Infectious Diseases, based at The Kids Research Institute Australia
Dr Asha Bowen’s passion for ending skin disease began after working as a paediatric infectious disease specialist in the Northern Territory.
She was startled to discover that Indigenous children living in remote communities had the highest reported burden of skin infections in the world – one in every two kids had skin sores or scabies at any one time.
“As well as being painful and itchy, skin infections can lead to serious, life-threatening illnesses such as chronic heart and kidney disease. A big part of the problem is that skin infections often aren’t recognised and are left untreated. They have become so common that they are considered ‘normal’ even by health care providers and this is something we urgently need to change,” said Dr Bowen.
“I’ve been looking at strategies to reduce the burden of skin infections so that kids have healthy skin and healthy lives.”
Now Dr Bowen, Head of Skin Health at the Wesfarmers Centre of Vaccines and Infectious Diseases, based at The Kids Research Institute Australia, has been awarded a 2018 Fellowship as part of the prestigious L’Oréal-UNESCO Women in Science program.
Dr Bowen’s dedication to ending skin infections in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children made her a stand-out choice as one the most outstanding early-career female scientific researchers in Australia.
Professor Jonathan Carapetis, Director of The Kids Research Institute Australia, says Dr Bowen’s commitment to research in this field is inspiring, especially to other up-and-coming women in science.
“Reducing skin infections is a true game-changer if we want to close the gap and end the disparity for kids living in remote Indigenous communities,” said Professor Carapetis.
“Dr Bowen is an outstanding researcher, clinician and mentor to young people starting out in this profession, so I applaud both her work in this area and her recognition as part of the L’Oréal-UNESCO Women in Science program.”
Dr Bowen is currently spear-heading numerous skin health projects throughout north-west WA, including the upcoming SToP Trial designed to see, treat and prevent skin infections throughout Aboriginal communities – set to be launched in partnership with Kimberley Aboriginal Medical Services, WA Country Health Services-Kimberley and Nirrumbuk Health Services this year.
In addition, Dr Bowen led the development of the first National Healthy Skin Guideline, which helps clinicians and health care workers throughout Australia to easily recognise and treat painful skin infections.
Dr Bowen’s new fellowship will be officially announced at a ceremony held at the National Gallery of Victoria on Thursday 15 November.