Dr Sparrow is a research scientist with over 30 years post-doctoral experience in blood-related research, particularly transfusion biology and blood component research.

Her current role is Senior Research Fellow / Project Manager for the Australian and New Zealand Massive Transfusion Registry, based in the Transfusion Research Unit, School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne. She is also the Principal Consultant for Transfusion Science.

Prior to joining the Transfusion Research Unit at Monash University in 2016, Dr Sparrow was for 20 years the scientist-manager in charge of the Melbourne R&D laboratory of the Australian Red Cross Blood Service (1993-2014).

She has designed and led major programs of internationally-competitive laboratory-based research focused on blood components, particularly red blood cells, aimed at improving blood component quality, safety and efficacy. 

In 2006, in recognition of the quality and relevance of her team’s research, Dr Sparrow was invited to join the internationally-respected Biomedical Excellence for Safer Transfusion (BEST) Collaborative, being the first Australian to become an invited scientific member.  In 2018, Dr Sparrow was awarded Honorary (life-time) membership of the BEST Collaborative, the first Australian to receive this award. 

Dr Sparrow is the author of >80 scientific papers in international peer-reviewed publications.