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A father of three whose life-work and passion includes helping dads realise how important they are to children is Western Australian of the Year.

Winthrop Professor Bruce Robinson , who is a fifth generation Western Australian and whose award coincided with his 63 ^rd birthday, co-founded UWA-based not-for-profit initiative The Fathering Foundation and is the best-selling author of a series of books on fatherhood - Daughters and their Dads , Fathering from the Fast Lane , and The Blue Book of Tips for Fathers and Father-Figures .

This work is about health promotion and improving the future of our communities because fathers and father-figures are the most powerful untapped resources for the prevention of problems such as drug addiction, crime, bullying and depression" Professor Robinson said.

Professor Robinson, from the School of Medicine and Pharmacology Sir Charles Gairdner Unit, was also recognised for his  internationally renowned asbestos diseases research and care for asbestos victims as a lung specialist.

Earlier this year he was made a member (AM) in the general division of the Order of Australia in recognition of his ‘significant service to medicine in the area of research into asbestos-related cancers, and to the community, particularly through support to fathers'.

Professor Robinson co-leads a large research team studying cancer immunology and asbestos diseases.  The team has made many discoveries, including the first blood test for mesothelioma, the world's first effective chemotherapy treatment for mesothelioma and other world-first treatments including Australia's first cancer gene therapy trial.

Professor Robinson is also the director of the National Centre for Asbestos-related Diseases , a multi-site NHMRC-funded Centre of Excellence whose hub is the UWA School of Medicine and WAIMR. .

Graduate Michael Sheldrick won the Western Australian of the Year Youth Award. Michael studied political science, international relations and law and is a global policy and advocacy manager with the Global Poverty Project. He recently coordinated the group's End of Polio Campaign.