Professor Sandy McFarlane is Professor of Psychiatry and the Head of the University of Adelaide Centre for Traumatic Stress Studies. He is an international expert in the field of the impact of disasters and posttraumatic stress disorder. He is a recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies for outstanding and fundamental contributions to the field of traumatic stress studies. He has held to role the Senior Adviser in Psychiatry to the Australian Defence Force, and the Department of Veterans Affairs. He holds the rank of Group Captain in the RAAF specialist reserve. Apart from his interest in disaster victims, military personnel and other civilian accidents, he has significant experience in the provision of care to emergency service personnel. His research is supported by the Department of Veterans Affairs, and NHMRC program and partnership grants.

He has published over 300 articles and chapters in various refereed journals and has co-edited three books. In 2011 he received the Officer of the Order of Australia award which recognized his “outstanding contribution to medical research in the field of psychiatry, particularly posttraumatic stress disorders, to veterans’ mental health management, and as an author”.