Our Team
Centre admin
Cervical Cancer Elimination
Aminata completed a Bachelor of Social Science at the University of Queensland (UQ) and is currently completing a Master of Public Health. She has worked as a Research Assistant for the UQ Poche Centre for Indigenous Health, Victorian Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (VACCHO), and the Darling Downs and West Moreton PHN. Aminata also has 9 years of experience in academic administration at UQ.
Research Interests:
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health and wellbeing
- Health Information Systems
- Social determinants of health
- Global health policy
- Community Development
Louise has worked in Government and Academic roles as both a Clinician Researcher and Practitioner and as an Epidemiologist. She has experience working as an Epidemiologist in the area of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health within the Government sector, leading the Queensland Health Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Burden of Disease and Injury study in 2017.
Kate has worked in the government, tertiary education and not-for-profit sectors for over 20 years in policy development, program management and executive roles. Her main areas of interest include equitable health policy and funding, strategic planning for organisations, and stakeholder engagement. She specialises in cancer screening and HPV immunisation and has worked within Australia's National Cervical Screening Program since 2007.
Culture and Wellbeing
Sarah completed her undergraduate studies at ANU in biological anthropology and psychology, before being award a John Monash Scholarship and a Roberta Sykes Scholarship to study for an MPhil in Medical Anthropology with Keble College at the University of Oxford in the UK. She was then awarded a Roberta Sykes Scholarship and a Chevening Scholarship to continue on at Oxford for a DPhil in Anthropology at St. John’s College. Her doctoral thesis utilised an Indigenist research framework to ethnographically examine the historical, social, and political factors which influenced the development of Mayi Kuwayu, the National Study of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Wellbeing, and its emphasis on measuring cultural determinants of health.
During her fellowship Sarah plans to continue her work building an Indigenous-led research agenda which explores what helps Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander individuals, communities, and cultures thrive.
After graduating from Psychology Honours from the ANU in 2019, she worked as a research assistant in the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Program in the Research School of Population Health. Makayla is now an Indigenous Postdoctoral Fellow in the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Program, with much of her work based within Mayi Kuwayu: the National Study of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Wellbeing.
Makayla is passionate about holistic health and wellbeing for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, and taking a strengths-based and decolonial approach to health and wellbeing.
Prior to this role, Taleah commenced her administration career with the University of Queensland at the Faculty of Medicine in 2016 as a Business Administration Traineeship. During her employment at UQ, she held several Executive Assistant roles for the Faculty Executive Manager, Associate Dean (Indigenous Engagement), Deputy Executive Dean & Medical Dean, Associate Dean Research, Associate Dean (Academic), Associate Dean (Strategic Development), and the Director at the UQ Poche Centre for Indigenous Health.
Taleah holds a Certificate III in Allied Health, Certificate III in Business Administration, and Certificate IV in Justice Studies and is currently studying a Certificate IV in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Research Theory and Practice.
Jan moved to Canberra in 2008, working with the "Tackling Indigenous Smoking and Indigenous Chronic Disease" sections in the Department of Health before working at the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS) in Canberra in the research section.
Tasha has been involved in health research for nearly 5 years and is passionate about maintaining the health and wellbeing for young mob. She has previously worked for Menzies School of Health Research and the University of Queensland.
Emily's PhD research will explore safety in the Family and Community Safety (FaCtS) for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples Study, using mixed methods. Emily will be supervised by Katherine Thurber.
Roxy has research experience in the development and analysis of large-scale community driven cohort studies, including Mayi Kuwayu: the national study of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander wellbeing, and more recently, the Yukaaywa Purrary study: a national study of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander child and adolescent wellbeing.
Roxy has a background working as a Registered Nurse in Paediatric Intensive Care. Roxy holds a Master of Philosophy (Applied Epidemiology) from the Australian National University. She also holds a Graduate Certificate in Indigenous Research and Leadership from Melbourne University. Her undergraduate degrees include a Bachelor of Nursing and a Bachelor of Health Science (Paramedics) from the Queensland University of Technology.
Bobby has spent the last 8 years working in Commonwealth Indigenous Health policy and programs. She has recently worked in the Non-Government sector working in sexual health in urban, remote and regional areas in WA. This experience has informed her of the importance of public health practice to assist with the complex issues relating to health disparities in Indigenous communities across remote and urban settings. Bobby is also an ambassador for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander HIV Awareness Week (ATSIHAW).
Bobby is excited about the opportunities that the MAE offers, and is committed to contributing to improving health outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. She is looking forward to building new networks.
Outside of work, Koorinya is a mum to two dogs and is actively involved in triathlon and the TRIMOB community.
Rooted in community needs, their approach is grounded in Indigenist methodologies, privileging the voices of First Nations peoples to create meaningful, lasting impacts.
Khwanruethai graduated from the University of Queensland in 2020 with a Bachelor of Health Sciences, majoring in health promotion. In 2023, they were appointed as the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Voice Cluster Convener for the Public Health Association of Australia. Most recently, they were involved in the National ‘Own It’ Cervical Screening Campaign, which aims to raise awareness about the importance of cervical screening and the benefits of the self-collect test. In 2024, Khwanruethai was recognized as one of the Out for Australia 30 Under 30 for their contributions to the LGBTQISB+ community.
Tamara completed a Bachelor of Veterinary Science at the University of Sydney and went on to complete the Department of Agriculture and Water Resources graduate program with a Diploma of Government. She has completed a Masters of Philosophy in Applied Epidemiology at the ANU, and a Professional Certificate of Indigenous Research and Melbourne Poche Leadership Fellows Program at the University of Melbourne. Tamara has also worked as a Researcher at the National Indigenous Australians Agency (NIAA).
She recently completed the MPhil in Applied Epidemiology (MAE) concentrating on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health and wellbeing and measuring disability among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
She specialises in public health, disability, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health and wellbeing. With a key research interest in amplifying the voices from the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander disability community along with increasing research that is community led, designed and driven.
Mikala is planning to undertake her PhD based within the Yardhura Walani National Centre for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Wellbeing Research so she can continue further meaningful community priority driven research in the disability space.
Shavaun has a Graduate Diploma in Indigenous Health Promotion and has worked in the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health sector for 12 years, commencing as an Aboriginal Health Worker and continuing into a researcher role at the ANU.
She is passionate about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health and Wellbeing with a key interest in strengthening Indigenous Data Sovereignty and Governance practices. As an accredited exercise scientist she enjoys providing free physical activity and movement support for her community and actively encourages inclusive movement as a running coach with the Mitchelton IMF runners & walkers.
She has a Bachelor of Modern Asian Studies and Bachelor in Exercise Movement. She has worked in a variety of industries including Defence, Education and Health. She was employed as a Research Assistant at Institute for Urban Indigenous Health from 2019 to 2023 working on the implementation and evaluation of the Integrated System of Care Version 2.
In February 2023 she commenced the Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services (ACCHS) Master of Philosophy in Applied Epidemiology (MAE) scholarship with a field placement at the Institute for Urban Indigenous Health and is expecting to complete it this year.
Enhancing Chronic Disease Care
Dr Wyber completed her medical training in Aotearoa New Zealand, her Master of Public Health at the Harvard School of Public Health and general practice training in Aboriginal Community Controlled Clinics in the Northern Territory of Australia.
She was awarded an NHMRC Emerging Leader Fellowship (2024 – 2029) and an Honorary Heart Foundation Postdoctoral Research Fellowship (2024- 2026).
Dr Wyber’s doctoral research focused on rheumatic heart disease in Australia and internationally. She was the lead author of the RHD Endgame Strategy to eliminate RHD in Australia. Her postdoctoral research continues to address RHD, broader heart health for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and primary care sytems.
Dr Wyber is also an Honorary Senior Research Fellow at the Telethon Kids Institute in Perth and a practising GP.
The intervention will be informed by the findings of the Study of Environment on Aboriginal Resilience and Child Health (SEARCH) and focus on early life course factors contributing to health and wellbeing, and secondary prevention of chronic disease.
A holistic intervention will be co-designed and implemented together with a health service and community focusing on CVD risk assessment and management for young adults.
Tobacco Free Research Group
Dr. Maddox’s program of research has focused on developing population based Indigenous heath info-systems using community driven processes. This research has been generating primary data platforms to better understand and improve Indigenous health and wellbeing, including mental, emotional, spiritual and physical health. Such health information systems work with Indigenous communities and service providers to obtain information to better understand, inform and evaluate programs and policies, such as tobacco use. His program of research has also included strengths-based conversations about respectful relationships and preventing domestic violence.
Nicola works as a Research Fellow on the Tobacco Free program at the National Centre for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Wellbeing Research. Her primary work is an evaluation of the Tackling Indigenous Smoking program. The evaluation will focus on implementation quality and efficiency, and quantify the impact and outcomes of the Tackling Indigenous Smoking Regional Tobacco Control Grants on smoking prevalence and other tobacco-related indicators.
Before pursuing his PhD, Dr Odo worked as an Assistant Professor, lecturer and graduate assistant in different Universities in Ethiopia, where he taught public health courses such as Epidemiology, Biostatistics, Research methods, Health Service Management, Health Economics and Environmental Health, and served as an academic advisor. Additionally, Dr Odo has a few leadership experiences including working as a program learning and implementation coordinator for Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC) project, implementation research which was led by Addis Ababa University in collaboration with Harvard T.H Chan School of Public Health for more than two years. During his PhD study, he worked as a senior research assistant at the School of Public Health (SPH), the University of Queensland (UQ).
Dr Odo has big data analysis experience and a strong international collaboration, and he is a member/fellow researcher of the Australian Based Ethiopian Researchers Network (ABReN) and the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) Collaborator Network.
Andrew is a PhD candidate at the Research School of Population Health, Australian National University/ affiliated with the NHMRC Centre for Research Excellence in Achieving the Tobacco Endgame. His research focuses on policy issues and knowledge translation related to the tobacco endgame for Australia, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ perspectives on the tobacco endgame.
Ms Pope has 8 years’ experience working in the Indigenous Health and Wellbeing space, including the development of clinical and family wellbeing services, such as the Birthing in Our Community program, which improved maternal and child health outcomes for Indigenous families. She has extensive experience in community-controlled health organisations and community organisations, and competency in research with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.