Professor Dobson has contributed to health and medical science through the design and conduct of large-scale, long-running epidemiological studies that have improved understandings of population health issues, methodology of measurement and statistical analysis, and the education of future generations of expert biostatisticians. Her work includes leading Australia’s contribution to the world’s largest epidemiological study of coronary heart disease; the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women’s Health; the health of members of the Australian Defence Force who have deployed overseas. She was the first chair of the Biostatistics Collaboration of Australia, a consortium of universities that has graduated over 300 postgraduate biostatisticians.