He was a leader in education at the hospital and also through the Royal Australasian College of Physicians (RACP). He received the RACP John Sands Medal in 2015, and the Howard Williams Medal in 2023. He was Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Paediatrics & Child Health from 2009-2021. Prof. Isaacs was a leader in paediatric clinical ethics and established and led the Children’s Hospital at Westmead Clinical Ethics Service until his retirement in 2021. He was profoundly respected for his clinical work and advocacy in refugee and asylum seeker child health.
He established and led the Health Assessment for Refugee Kids (HARK) clinic in Sydney and was a leading voice in witnessing to the trauma imposed on children through immigration detention. After consulting on children being held in immigration detention in Nauru, he was prominent in the Kids off Nauru campaign.
In Memoriam: Professor David Isaacs. From World Society for Pediatric Infectious Diseases (WSPID)