Mary Louise Mclaws Biography
Mary-Louise McLaws AO (née Viney; 17 March 1953 – 12 August 2023) died on that date.
She taught epidemiology at the University of New South Wales for over 30 years, focusing on infectious diseases.
She became a “household name” in Australia during the COVID-19 pandemic due to her constant efforts to educate the public about the sickness.
Mary Louise Mclaws Early life
On March 17, 1953, Mary-Louise McLaws, the daughter of Barry and Louise Viney, was born in Tasmania.
In Bondi, New South Wales, she and her older brother lived with their mother during their early years until moving to the Central Coast, where she attended Gosford High School.
She took the last name of her stepfather, Bruce McLaws. She came from a Jewish family.
McLaws graduated from the University of Sydney with a Bachelor of Science, a Master of Public Health in 1988, a Doctor of Philosophy in 1992, and a Diploma in Tropical Public Health in 1984.
Mary Louise Mclaws Career
McLaws, who started at the University of New South Wales in 1992, “wrote more than 180 research papers” and “supervised and supported many PhD students for decades” during her career.
She was an expert on infections acquired in hospitals and, in 1995, she conducted the first research on HIV/AIDS in Australia, focusing on women who had contracted the virus through male sexual partners.
In 2004, the World Health Organization sent McLaws to Beijing for two months to keep an eye on avian flu.
During the 2002–2004 SARS pandemic, she also advised the government of Hong Kong.
During Australia’s COVID-19 outbreak, McLaws “became widely known to the Australian public through her media appearances.”
She was among the first individuals to openly advocate for the closure of the Australian border and the mandatory use of face masks.
Later on, she advocated for the establishment of vaccination centers and the enforcement of vaccination laws in order to produce herd immunity.
She was named one of the top ten “most culturally powerful people” in Australia in 2021 by the Australian Financial Review.
Mary Louise Mclaws Personal life
McLaws married Richard Flook in 1988, and the two of them had a son and a daughter.
She died on August 12, 2023, at the age of 70, after being diagnosed with brain cancer in January 2022.
Mary Louise Mclaws Honours
McLaws was named an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) in the 2022 Queen’s Birthday Honours list for his “distinguished service to medical research, particularly epidemiology and infection prevention, tertiary education, and health administration.”
In June 2023, the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies hosted a reception for her at Emanuel Synagogue.
Where was Mary Louise McLaws born?
Mary-Louise McLaws, daughter of Barry and Louise Viney, was born in Tasmania on March 17, 1953. She and her older brother grew up in Bondi, New South Wales, with their mother before moving to the Central Coast and attending Gosford High School.
