Professor Bev Lawton ONZM (Ngāti Porou), is an internationally recognised expert in women’s health. Professor Lawton founded Te Tātai Hauora o Hine (the National Centre for Women’s Health Research Aotearoa) in 2005. Her influential research addresses health inequity by driving kaupapa Māori (by Māori, with Māori, for Māori) research innovation to transform health services, systems, and policy across Aotearoa and around the world. With a focus on improving maternal and infant health for wāhine Māori, Professor Lawton leads Whānau Manaaki - a body of research which seeks to address inequitable outcomes. In 2023 Professor Lawton was awarded the Beaven Medal by the Health Research Council of New Zealand for excellence in translational health research. In 2021, she received the Women of Influence Innovation, Science & Health Award, and in 2020 the RANZCOG Māori Women’s Health Award. Professor Lawton is the co-chair of the international Alliance for Perinatal and Reproductive Justice.