معرفی
Heather Cleland is an Adjunct Clinical Associate Professor in the Department of Surgery at Monash University, affiliated with the School of Clinical Sciences at The Alfred. She is a practicing Plastic Surgeon and Head of the Victorian Adult Burns Unit at The Alfred Hospital, where she leads clinical and research initiatives in burn care and trauma surgery.
Her research interests center on burn injuries, plastic surgery, trauma systems, epidemiology, and preventive medicine. She focuses on improving patient outcomes through clinical registries, quality improvement programs, and translational research in wound healing and infection control. Her work contributes to public health and aligns with UN Sustainable Development Goals related to health and well-being.
Recent publications highlight trends in burn injury epidemiology, trauma system effectiveness, patient-reported outcomes, and infection surveillance. Her research leverages large-scale registry data from Australia and New Zealand to inform clinical practice and policy. She is actively involved in national burn care strategy and data standardization efforts.
- Member, Australian Society of Plastic Surgeons
- Past President and current board member, Australian and New Zealand Burn Association
- Chair, Burns Registry of Australia and New Zealand Steering Committee
- Chair, Board Burns Quality Improvement Program Committee
- Member, Court of Examiners, Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (Plastic Surgery)
- Editorial Board Member, Burns journal
Dr. Cleland supervises higher degree research students and is a Chief Investigator on multiple national projects, including a Phase I clinical trial on engineered skin for burn wound closure. She has published over 100 peer-reviewed articles and contributes to surgical education through roles in the Australasian Foundation for Plastic Surgery’s Education Committee and the Donor Tissue Bank Committee.
She is based at The Alfred Hospital and leads the Skin Tissue Laboratory research group, focusing on regenerative approaches to burn reconstruction and long-term functional recovery.
