Professor Britta Regli-von Ungern-Sternberg

Paediatric anaesthetist

2025 WA Australian of the Year Nominee

Professor Britta Regli-von Ungern-Sternberg’s leading-edge work is making surgery much less traumatic for children.  

Paediatric anaesthesia is a high-risk speciality with the potential for significant long-lasting harm. Britta’s patient-centred research has spearheaded significant global practice changes, reducing complications and mortalities. Britta’s goal is to ensure that when a child needs a vital operation, it’s as safe and pain-free as possible.  

Britta’s research aims to prevent respiratory complications, evaluate different airway devices, better control pain and understand the impact of anaesthesia in early life on a child’s neurodevelopment. She is relentlessly discovering unique solutions that improve the lives of children undergoing surgery – garnering much international recognition. 

Britta has built a vibrant multi-disciplinary team in Western Australia, creating a hub for paediatric anaesthesia research. She also mentors dozens of junior researchers. 

Britta is the first and only chair of paediatric anaesthesia in Australasia and leads the newly founded Institute for Paediatric Perioperative Excellence.