Kirby White | |
---|---|
Born | Charlton |
Education |
University of Notre Dame Australia University of Melbourne Deakin University |
Medical career | |
Profession | General practitioner |
Kirby White is an Australian physician, a general practitioner in Bendigo and an inventor. She was named Victoria's "Local Hero" and nominated for the 2021 Australian of the Year awards. Mattel created a 'Dr Kirby White' Barbie doll to honour her efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic.
White attended Deakin University, where she graduated with a degree in biological sciences in 2005. She moved to the University of Melbourne for graduate studies. After graduating, she worked as a medical scientist in Melbourne. She eventually returned to academia, working toward a Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery at the University of Notre Dame Australia. [1]
White works as a general practitioner in Bendigo. In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia, White realised that they would run out of disposable gowns by the third week. [2] She launched Gowns for Doctors, an initiative that received over $40,000 in crowd funding to create re-usable, launderable hospital gowns. [3] Kirby then worked with commercial textile companies and volunteers to create thousands of gowns. [3]
White was nominated as Victoria's "Local hero" at the Australian of the Year awards for creating washable, reusable gowns for doctors treating patients with COVID-19. [4] [5]
In August 2021, Barbie announced they were creating a White Barbie doll honouring her efforts to protect frontline staff during the COVID-19 pandemic. [6] [7]
White has two children and enjoys classic vintage cars. [1]