November 1, 2022

Emeritus Professorship for a passionate advocate of medicine and science

Professor Wilfred Yeo on his life journey and achievements throughout his career

A scholar, an excellent teacher and a profound leader is how one would describe Professor Wilfred Yeo, who has dedicated his life to medicine and science for more than three decades.

Today (Tuesday, 1 November), Professor Yeo was honoured with an Emeritus Professorship during a conferral ceremony at UOW.

He was recognised for his outstanding contributions to the field of medicine and his exceptional contributions to the local community.

“It is an honour to be named an Emeritus Professor. I am humbled and equally thrilled about this recognition by UOW,” Professor Yeo said.

Professor Yeo was born in Gibraltar, a British Overseas Territory, and did his schooling there before moving to the UK to pursue further education.

Making the most of the opportunities life throws at you is a way of life for him.

Before starting medical school at the University of Sheffield, UK, in 1978, he was forced to have a gap year because in 1977 there were no places at UK medical schools for overseas candidates from Gibraltar. He had the grades and a scholarship from the Gibraltar government but no place at medical school. He then decided to go and live in the UK, and write to every medical school dean and registrar asking if they had a spare place.

“That year was interesting because I took two aptitude exams at around the same time, before being offered jobs. The first was as an executive officer in the Civil Service Department of the British Civil Service. The second exam and job offer was as a computer programmer for International Business Machines (IBM),” recalls Professor Yeo.

“I had already started at the Civil Service earning the princely sum of 200 GBP per month. When IBM called I set my price at 250 GBP per month, but they didn’t bite. When I secured my place at medical school with an unconditional offer, I resigned from the Civil Service, went home to Gibraltar and sold Walls ice creams at the beach, earning 475 GBP per month for a 25-hour week!

“I sometimes wonder how different my life would be if I wasn’t given a place at medical school in 1978. Or if IBM had offered their job first.”

_{Pic (L-R): Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Health and Sustainable Futures) Professor David Currow, Deputy Chancellor, Mr Warwick Shanks, Professor Wilfred Yeo, and Vice-Chancellor, Professor Patricia M. Davidson at the ceremony.}

Professor Yeo was offered a place at medical school in Sheffield UK, when 30 others were rejected for that single place. And later, he went taking on governance and leadership roles at the Royal College of Physicians UK, became the Clinical Vice President at the British Pharmacological Society, and sat on committees on human research ethics.

In 2007, he emigrated to Australia from the UK to become Foundation Professor of Medicine at UOW.

Since joining UOW, he has held multiple leadership positions at UOW such as the Director of the Division of Medicine at the Illawarra Shoalhaven Local Health District (ISLHD), Graduate School of Medicine Associate Dean for Teaching Hospitals, Deputy Executive Director of the Illawarra Health and Medical Research Institute (IHMRI), and Director of its Clinical Research and Trials Unit.

Professor Yeo has made outstanding contributions in medical education, cardiovascular and pharmacological research, and has personally delivered and developed quality clinical services. As an expert in clinical trials, his work has been published extensively in cardiovascular medicine and pharmacology.

He developed postgraduate training in medicine for Physician Trainees, and enhanced recognition of Wollongong Hospital as a major teaching hospital, one of the key factors for improving student clinical placements, and patient quality of care. He was consecutively voted Clinician of the Year by the Wollongong University Medical Students Society in 2017, 2018 and 2020 recognising his work and contributions to the field of medicine.

Professor Yeo retired from UOW this year and has built a body of exceptional work over 38 years in medical education and has been an outstanding leader and an achiever.

“I tried to be a good role model in patient, colleague and student interactions. I encouraged individuals as well as organisations to believe in themselves. I worked hard as a leader in many roles at UOW and the local health service to create a respectful and effective work environment with a flat hierarchical structure,” Professor Yeo said.