Professor Judith Finn recognised as an ILCOR Giant
The Australian Resuscitation Council is proud to announce that Professor Judith Finn has been named an ILCOR Giant, recognising her extraordinary impact on resuscitation science and prehospital emergency care over more than three decades.
Professor Judith Finn PhD, MEdStud, GradDipPH, DipAppSci, BSc, RN, RM, ICCert, FCNA, FAHA, ERC(Hon.) is a global leader in resuscitation science and prehospital emergency care, with a career spanning over three decades. Her enduring commitment to the ILCOR mission to improve cardiac arrest outcomes makes her an exemplary for the ILCOR Giant Award.
Professor Finn began as a Clinical Nurse Consultant in High Dependency Care in South Australia. Transitioning to academia in the late 1980s, she has educated generations of healthcare professionals and resuscitation scientists.
Her PhD in the late 1990s, which examined prognostic factors in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA), laid the foundation for her lifelong pursuit of improving survival. Professor Finn was pivotal in establishing the Australian Resuscitation Outcomes Consortium (Aus-ROC), a binational collaboration uniting leading researchers and ambulance services in Australia and New Zealand. As Director (2012–2019), she led two world-first trials, led the development of the Australia and New Zealand OHCA Registry -which now covers 100% of both countries and informs clinical practice and health policy.
She 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. She has published over 280 peer-reviewed papers, holds an h-index of 70, and has more than 21,000 citations. Her work includes landmark resuscitation trials—PACA and PARAMEDIC 2 (adrenaline), RINSE (hypothermia), and EXACT (oxygen)—that have influenced international resuscitation guidelines. Since 2013, she has directed the Prehospital, Resuscitation and Emergency Care Research Unit (PRECRU) at Curtin University, collaborating closely with St John Ambulance and leading the Western Australian OHCA registry.
Professor Finn has been deeply involved with ILCOR, 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 (2015–2023). She 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 since 1993, and currently chairs the Western Australian Branch and continues to teach on the ALS instructors courses.
Professor Finn exemplifies the leadership, scholarship, and mentorship envisioned by ILCOR. She has supervised over 20 postgraduate students and championed diversity across disciplines, gender, and geography. Her team and students have received numerous prestigious national and international awards.
Through her innovation, education, and leadership, Professor Judith Finn has shaped the global evidence base for resuscitation and inspired a generation of scientists. Her work embodies the spirit of the ILCOR Giant Award, and her recognition as an ILCOR Giant is richly deserved.
Congratulations to Judith’s fellow Giant Awardees, Dianne Atkins, Robert “Tino” Greif, Rudy Koster, and Robert Neumar! They now join an impressive and elite group of notable individuals who have been honored since 1985 as Giants.