Professor Leanne Redman was appointed as the second Academic Director of the Charles Perkins Centre commencing her tenure on 9 February 2026. Professor Redman takes over from the Centre’s Inaugural Academic Director, Professor Stephen J Simpson.

Born in Australia, Professor Redman graduated from Southern Cross University with a Bachelor of Human Movement Science with honours, before gaining her PhD from the University of Adelaide in 2004 and a Master of Clinical Research in 2011 whilst in the US at Tulane University. A Professor of Clinical Science, Professor Redman currently holds a number of positions at Louisiana State University’s Pennington Biomedical Research Center, including the LPFA Endowed Chair in Nutrition and Associate Executive Director for Scientific Education.

Over the past 20 years, she has pioneered groundbreaking research on women’s health issues, including the study of obesity in pregnancy, the optimisation of maternal nutrition and childhood obesity prevention. At Pennington Biomedical, Professor Redman’s work has focused on how diet and physical activity influence body composition and energy metabolism: she has designed and conducted clinical trials with manipulations to diet and physical activity to study the body energy stores and how they are defended by the body’s metabolism. The goal of her research is to understand the mechanisms of obesity development and to develop effective interventions for treatment and prevention.

As Director of the Nutrition Obesity Research Center and Professor of Reproductive Endocrinology and Women’s Health, Redman’s research focuses on the transmission of obesity between generations. She has published more than 300 research articles, reviews and book chapters on themes including diet, exercise, obesity and pregnancy, and her work cited more than 28,000 times.

In 2025, Professor Redman won the American Society for Nutrition’s McCollum Award, given to a clinical investigator who is recognised as a major creative force, actively generating new concepts in nutrition. This award joined her prior recognitions as the TOPS Award from The Obesity Society in 2023, two national mentoring awards and the LSU Presidential Laurels Medal in 2023.