Person
Sullivan, Colin Edward (1945 - )
AO FAA
- Born
- 3 August 1945
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia - Occupation
- Medical educator and Medical scientist
Summary
Colin Sullivan is internationally recognised as a leader in the research and management of sleep disorders. His research achievements include: unravelling the basic mechanisms of how breathing is altered in sleep; recognition of the extent of upper airway obstruction in infantile apnoea; and the discovery of the mechanism of sleep-induced worsening of blood pressure in pre-eclampsia. Sullivan invented the nasal continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machine for the treatment of sleep apnoea. This led to the development of the company ResMed to commercialise and promote the export and wide-spread use of the device. Sullivan played a leading role in the establishment of the world's first sleep apnoea clinic, at the University of Sydney, and paediatric research laboratories at the Children's Hospital, Camperdown, and other New South Wales children's hospitals. Sullivan has been Professor of Medicine at the University since 1991.
Details
Chronology
- 1967
- Education - BSc (med) (hons), University of Sydney
- 1970
- Education - MB BS, University of Sydney
- 1970
- Career position - Junior Resident Medical Officer, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital
- 1971
- Career position - Fellow in Thoracic Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Sydney
- 1972
- Career position - Registrar in General Medicine, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital
- 1976 -
- Education - Fellow, Royal Australasian College of Physicians
- 1976 - 1978
- Career position - John Read Memorial Travelling Fellow of Asthma Foundation of New South Wales and Post-doctoral Research Fellow, Department of Medicine, University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- 1977
- Education - PhD, University of Sydney
- 1978
- Award - Cecile Lehman Mayer Research Award, American College of Chest Physicians
- 1979 -
- Career position - Honorary Physician, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital
- 1979 - 1983
- Career position - Senior Lecturer in Medicine, University of Sydney
- 1983 - 1991
- Career position - Associate Professor of Medicine, University of Sydney
- 1988 - 1990
- Career position - Inaugural President, Australasian Sleep Association
- 1991 -
- Career position - Professor of Medicine, University of Sydney
- 1991 -
- Career position - Director, Sleep Disorders Centre, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital
- 1994
- Award - Thoracic Society of Australia and New Zealand Medal
- 1997 -
- Award - Fellow, Australian Academy of Science
- 2008
- Award - Distinguished Achievement Award, Australasian Sleep Association
- 2009
- Award - Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) for service to medicine as an innovator in the field of sleep disorders and the development of equipment and treatment practices
- 2012
- Award - Neil Hamilton Fairley Medal, Royal Australasian College of Physicians
Related entries
Published resources
Journal Articles
- Sullivan, C. E., Berthon-Jones, M., Issa, M. G. and Eves, L., 'Reversal of obstructive sleep apnoea by continuous positive airway pressure applied through the nares', Lancet, 31 (8225) (1981), 862-5. Details
Resources
- 'Sullivan, Colin Edward (1945 - )', Fellows of the Academy, Australian Academy of Science, 2019, https://www.science.org.au/profile/colin-sullivan. Details
- 'Sullivan, Colin E (1945-)', Trove, National Library of Australia, 2009, https://nla.gov.au/nla.party-1211662. Details
Resource Sections
- Mellor, Lise, 'Sullivan, Colin Edward MB BS 1970 PhD 1977 FRACP FAA FTSE', in University of Sydney School of Medicine Online Museum, Faculty of Medicine Online Museum and Archive, University of Sydney, 2008. https://www.sydney.edu.au/medicine/museum/mwmuseum/index.php/Sullivan,_Colin_Edward. Details
Rosanne Walker and Helen Cohn
Created: 25 May 2001, Last modified: 10 June 2025