Dr. Shola Faniran is the founder and CEO of Healthy Child Development Network (HCDN).

Dr Shola obtained her MBBS from the University of Ilorin, Nigeria in 1991 before relocating to Australia, where she obtained a PhD in Medicine from the University of Sydney in 1998. The focus of her PhD was childhood asthma in which she investigated the risk factors, characteristics and management of asthma in children in both Australia and Nigeria. After her PhD, Dr Faniran went on to complete paediatric training at the Sydney Children’s Hospital and the Children’s Hospital at Westmead.

Dr Shola is a Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians (Paediatrics and Child Health). She has a special interest in child behaviour and development, child mental health, child protection and child public health. She also completed advanced training as a developmental paediatrician in Australia. Dr Shola is a registered test user (educational and ability/attainment tests) by the British Psychological Society.

Dr Faniran is currently the Medical Director, Neurodevelopmental Centre, the Children’s Medical Centre, Dubai. The centre caters for children with learning difficulties, autism, developmental delay, speech delay and chronic medical problems.

Dr Shola maintains a high standard of patient care. She has published widely and contributed to the normative literature in child health. Her publications include refereed academic papers in leading international journals such as Archives of disease in Childhood, Chest, Thorax, European Respiratory Journal and Journal of Peadiatrics and Child Health. Dr Shola has also presented several conference papers in child health and was an invited speaker at the Royal Australasian College of Physicians congress and the Arab Health Congress.

Dr Faniran is committed to a child and family centered focus in her practice - understanding the crucial role of the family in the healthy development of children. She encourages active participation of the whole family and young person when identifying appropriate management strategies and services for her patients. She also welcomes and encourages feedback from clients and their families on how to better improve services.