Interim Vice-Chancellor and President
Senior Professor Eileen McLaughlin is the Interim Vice-Chancellor and President of the University of Wollongong (UOW), serving until Professor Max Lu assumes the role at the end of May 2025.
Senior Professor McLaughlin previously served as the Interim Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research and Sustainable Futures) until the end of February 2025, leading UOW’s research strategy and innovation agenda.
A molecular biologist by training, Senior Professor McLaughlin’s career exemplifies the transformative power of STEM education. Growing up in Scotland, she earned a Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Molecular Biology from the University of Glasgow, followed by a PhD in Reproduction from the University of Bristol.
Her research career began at the Centre for Reproductive Medicine in Bristol before she moved to Australia for a postdoctoral position at CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems, where she developed novel methods for controlling animal reproduction to reduce the impact of feral species on agriculture. Professor McLaughlin is internationally recognised for her expertise in assisted reproduction, environmental toxicology and developmental biology, with 180+ research publications, 11,000+ citations, an H-index of 60 and over $37M in competitive grant funding.
Senior Professor McLaughlin has also held several positions at the University of Newcastle NSW and was the Director of the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Auckland New Zealand, Executive Dean of Science and Technology at the University of Canberra and the inaugural Dean of Science at Western Sydney University, Australia, and most recently, the Executive Dean of the Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health at the University of Wollongong.
Senior Executive Assistant:
Stacey Thomas
Senior Executive Assistant to the Vice-Chancellor
Ph: +61 2 4221 3909
Email: stacey_thomas@uow.edu.au
Location:
The Vice-Chancellor’s Unit
Building 36
University of Wollongong
NSW, 2522, Australia