Professor Judith Finn is a global leader in resuscitation science and prehospital emergency care, with a research profile spanning over three decades. Judith began her career as a critical care registered nurse (RN), quickly rising to the position of Clinical Nurse Consultant in a Surgical High Dependency Unit in Adelaide, South Australia. From early in her nursing career Judith was involved in teaching advanced life support (ALS) and recognition of the deteriorating patient – and she introduced defibrillation by non-critical care RNs (using a manual defibrillator) into private hospitals in Adelaide in the late 1980s.
“I became involved in resuscitation initially as an educator, teaching advanced life support skills and recognition of the deteriorating patient to registered nurses - because I had seen in clinical practice the importance of the role of the nurse in preventing and managing in-hospital cardiac arrest. My doctoral research in 2002 investigated the prognostic determinants of survival after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. The findings highlighted to me the importance of strengthening each of the links in the chain of survival - and laid the foundation for a future career in resuscitation science.”
Transitioning to academia in the 1990s, Judith has educated generations of healthcare professionals and resuscitation scientists. Her PhD (awarded in 2002) examined prognostic factors in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) and laid the foundation for her lifelong pursuit of improving survival after OHCA. Professor Finn was pivotal in establishing the Australian Resuscitation Outcomes Consortium (Aus-ROC) in 2012, which has grown to be a binational collaboration uniting leading researchers and all ambulance services in Australia and New Zealand. As Director of Aus-ROC (2012–2019), Judith led two world-first trials and led the development of the Australian and New Zealand OHCA Registry -which now covers 100% of both countries and informs clinical practice and health policy. Judith has secured over $30 million in competitive research funding. In 2018, she was awarded the prestigious title of John Curtin Distinguished Professor—the highest academic honour at Curtin University - in recognition of her sustained contributions to the university and the broader community. Judith has published over 280 peer-reviewed papers, with more than 22,000 citations and holds an h-index of 70 (Google Scholar). Her work includes landmark resuscitation trials - PACA and PARAMEDIC 2 (adrenaline), RINSE (hypothermia), and EXACT (oxygen)—that have influenced international resuscitation guidelines and clinical practice. Since 2013, Judith has been Director of the Prehospital, Resuscitation and Emergency Care Research Unit (PRECRU) at Curtin University, collaborating closely with St John (Ambulance) WA and leading the Western Australian OHCA registry.
Professor Finn has been deeply involved with ILCOR for over two decades, serving as Co-Chair of the Interdisciplinary Task Force (2002–2005), Co-Chair of the Education, Implementation and Teams Task Force (2010–2015), and as a member of the Scientific Advisory Committee (2019–2023). Judith has co-authored ILCOR publications since 2004, including three updates of the OHCA Utstein Template. Her international standing is reflected in her 2012 Fellowship of the American Heart Association and her 2017 honorary membership of the European Resuscitation Council. In Australia, she has been a key figure in the Australian Resuscitation Council (ARC) since 1993 and currently Chairs the Western Australian Branch. She also continues to teach on the ARC ALS Instructors course – as the designated ‘Educator’.
Professor Finn exemplifies the leadership, scholarship, mentorship and collaboration envisioned by ILCOR. She has supervised over 30 postgraduate research students and championed diversity across disciplines, gender, and geography. Through her innovation, education, and leadership, Professor Judith Finn has shaped the global evidence base for resuscitation and inspired a generation of scientists.