Nicola Spurrier
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9 December 1966
Nicola Spurrier PSM | |
|---|---|
 Spurrier speaks on South Australia Police News in 2021 | |
| Born | Nicola Jane Smith 9 December 1966 |
| Alma mater | University of Adelaide |
| Occupations | paediatrician and public health physician |
| Spouse |
David Spurrier (m. 1990) |
| Children | Three |
| Awards | Public Service Medal June 2021 |
| Chief Public Health Officer for South Australia | |
| Assumed office August 2019 | |
| Preceded by | Paddy Phillips |
Nicola Jane Spurrier PSM (born 9 December 1966) is an Australian paediatrician and public health physician who has been the Chief Public Health Officer of South Australia since August 2019.
Spurrier graduated with a Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery from the University of Adelaide in 1990.[1] She has a Graduate Diploma in Epidemiology from the University of Newcastle (1997) and completed a PhD from Adelaide University in 1999, with a thesis titled Parental management of children's asthma:the role of psychosocial factors.[1]
Career
Spurrier worked at the Women's and Children's Hospital in Adelaide from 1993 until 1999, before becoming a lecturer in Paediatrics and Child Health at Flinders University and consultant paediatrician at Flinders Medical Centre.[1][2][3] In 2011, the university awarded her the status of associate professor and in April 2020, professor.[3][2] She is qualified as a specialist in both public health and paediatrics.[2]
Spurrier has worked for SA Health for nearly thirty years,[3] developing and implementing programs and policies focused on child health, obesity prevention and Aboriginal health.[4][5] She is a Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians and the Australasian Faculty of Public Health Medicine.[1]
Spurrier became Chief Public Health Officer for South Australia in August 2019. Four months later, she was involved in the state's response to bushfires.[6] From March 2020, Spurrier led South Australia's response to the COVID-19 pandemic,[4] giving daily press conferences alongside Premier Steven Marshall in which she was called "calm, honest and direct".[5] She became popular with the public and had a cocktail named after her at Adelaide bar 2KW.[7] Despite her "cult following", she ruled out a move into politics.[8][9]
Awards and recognition
Spurrier was one of four nominees for 2021 South Australian of the Year.[4] She was awarded a Public Service Medal in the 2021 Queen's Birthday Honours for outstanding public service to community health in South Australia.[10]
In September 2022, a newly discovered species of bacteria was named Nicolia spurrieriana in recognition of Spurrier's work during the COVID-19 pandemic.[11]