Associate Professor Efron has a 25 year record in child neurodisability research, particularly psychopharmacology and child health services research, and is a recognised clinical and academic leader in developmental paediatrics in Australia. He has been a consultant paediatrician at the Royal Children’s Hospital, Melbourne for over 30 years. He is Associate Professor of Paediatrics at the University of Melbourne, Department of Paediatrics, and a Senior Research Fellow at the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, where holds a Clinician Scientist Fellowship.

Associate Professor Efron has attracted $4.9M in nationally competitive grants and has had 58 papers (plus 5 book chapters) published/accepted in the last 5 years. He was a member of the Reference Group for the 2009 NHMRC Guidelines on ADHD, and has held a number of roles with the Royal Australasian College of Physicians. He supervises early career researchers, and is involved in the training and examination of medical students and paediatricians. He teaches on developmental disorders for a range of professionals, and is regularly invited to comment on child development issues in the media.

Associate Professor Efron has conducted both investigator-initiated and industry-sponsored drug trials. He has demonstrated evidence-based clinical translation and innovation, including establishing three multidisciplinary clinics for children with neurodevelopmental disorders: ADHD, epilepsy-associated neurodisability, and Tourette disorder. Dr Efron’s institutional affiliations provide a strong platform for the dissemination of research findings into practice. He is on the steering committee of the Australian Paediatric Research Network, and is active in the Neurodevelopmental and Behavioural Paediatric Society of Australasia - effective mechanisms for knowledge transfer and practice improvement. He collaborates with clinicians (paediatricians, psychiatrists, psychologists, nurses), health economists, and biostatisticians on randomised controlled trials, longitudinal studies, quality improvement projects, and audits. He has current collaborations with Monash University, LaTrobe University, Deakin University, University of Sydney, Macquarie University, and University of WA. He is on the editorial board for the Journal of Paediatrics & Child Health, and regularly reviews manuscripts for leading international journals.

Associate Professor Efron and his team are conducting trials into the therapeutic uses of cannabinoids to treat severe behavioural problems in children and adolescents with intellectual disabilities and autism. He brings to ACRE extensive research experience and clinical leadership, in particular in relation to developmental and mental health disorders of childhood and adolescence, and the potential role for cannabinoids as a novel therapy.