Prof Sharon Dawe is a Professor in Psychology and a Registered Psychologist (Clinical). She holds an Adjunct Professorial appointment at the Australian Centre for Child Protection, University of South Australia and Fellow at Social Policy and Interventions at Oxford University (UK). Her awards include the PVC Health Staff Excellence award for Engagement (2024) and the VC Research Excellence Award for Research Impact (2025).

She has an international reputation and extensive research track record in addiction, mental health, child maltreatment and assessment of neurodevelopmental disorders. She has been working in the field of substance misuse and mental health for over 30 years on a range of clinical interventions for substance misuse, high risk families and child maltreatment. Her most recent work focuses on the interplay between early childhood adversity and exposure to trauma and parenting with a focus on assessment and models of care for neurodevelopmental disorders. She leads a consortium focusing on neurodevelopmental disorders in young children and youth involved in the youth justice system. She has co-developed the award-winning Parents under Pressure program in collaboration with Paul Harnett.