fiona juliet stanley (born 1 august 1946) is an australian epidemiologist. she is known for her public health work, her research into the health of mothers and children, and birth disorders such as cerebral palsy. in 1990, she was the founding director of the telethon institute for child health research. now called "telethon kids institute", the institute helped show that folic acid before and during pregnancy can stop spina bifida in babies. she is a professor at the school of paediatrics and child health at the university of western australia. she is also and the unicef australian ambassador for early childhood development. she was named australian of the year in 2003.