HSRAS & EMCR

BIO: Luise is an epidemiologist and health systems sustainability researcher in the Health Systems Resilience and Sustainability Theme of HEAL. Her research explores ways to reduce the carbon footprint of healthcare through "green care" (low carbon alternatives) and "lean care" (reducing low value care) with a focus on carbon hotspots such as respiratory inhalers (funded by a HEAL Innovation Grant) and volatile anaesthetic gasses. She leads the HEAL Indicators development, is a member of the academic partnership to the NSW Health Net Zero Leads program, providing research support to clinicians on decarbonising clinical care, and of the Wiser Healthcare Research Collaboration.

Science Comms

BIO: Associate Professor Carmel Williams is Director of the Centre for HiAP Research Translation at the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute and Co-Director of the WHO Collaborating Centre for Advancing Health in All Policies. She led the development of South Australia's Health in All Policies approach and numerous collaborative projects addressing social and environmental health determinants. Her work bridges research, policy, and practice to inform public policy. She holds honorary academic appointments at the University of South Australia and the University of Adelaide.

At-risk Populations & Life Course Solutions

BIO: Dr. Caitlin Wyrwoll is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Human Sciences at the University of Western Australia. After completing her PhD at UWA, she undertook postdoctoral research at the Queen's Medical Research Institute in Edinburgh. She now leads her own research group at UWA. Her work uses preclinical and human data to explore how early life environments, including climate change, affect reproductive health—focusing on maternal health, pregnancy, and long-term outcomes for children and adults.

At-risk Populations & Life Course Solutions

BIO: Aster is an early career researcher at the School of Human Sciences, University of Western Australia. She is currently undertaking a post-doctoral fellowship in the Healthy Environments and Lives (HEAL) Network as a research policy and practice fellow under the At-risk Populations & Life Course Solutions theme. She is working on the Extreme Heat and Pregnancy Complications (EHPC) project, a transdisciplinary effort involving investigators across Australia, focused on understanding the biological vulnerability to extreme heat exposure during pregnancy. Her areas of experience in research include maternal and child health, health disparities, chronic diseases, and mental health.

FSW

BIO: A/Prof. Thava Palanisami is an Associate Professor at the University of Newcastle's School of Engineering. His research challenged the assumption that contaminants occur singly, showing that chemical mixtures—like PAHs and metals—are more toxic and bioavailable. He led Australia's first field-level implementation of a Risk-Based Land Management approach for contaminated sites, influencing national risk assessment and remediation practices.

BIO: Professor Erica Donner is an environmental scientist specializing in chemical and microbiological risk assessment, particularly in wastewater, recycled water, irrigation, food systems, and wildlife habitats. Her research explores how pollution drives antimicrobial resistance (AMR) by linking chemical selective pressure to microbial ecology. She is Director of Industry Partnerships, co-leads the One Health Science stream for the OUTBREAK consortium, and is a Chief Investigator in the international JPI AMR WAWES network.

BAPE

BIO: Jingyi is a research fellow in Environmental Health and Climate Risk Assessment in Faculty of Health, University of Canberra. She is a member of the Healthy Environments and Lives (HEAL) National Research Network. Her PhD research focused on the long-term effects of early life exposure to fire smoke emissions on children's health. She is currently participating in a project evaluating the impacts of active travel infrastructures on travel habits, public health and the environment. Her research interests are bushfires, extreme weather, air pollution and public health under the context of climate change.

Biosecurity & emerging Infections

BIO: Dr Eloise Skinner is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow within the ODeSI research group at UQ and holds a Bachelor of Science (Zoology & Ecology majors), a Masters of Wild Animal Biology and a PhD in Epidemiology.

Dr Skinner has a background in research on the environmental and climate factors driving the transmission of environmentally mediated diseases across different spatial and temporal scales. She is particularly interested in investigating the dynamics, relative importance and impacts of land-use change, species interactions and climate change on infectious disease dynamics. Her main study system of interest is vector-borne diseases which can have diverse and unexpected outbreaks following environmental changes.

Indigenous Knowledge Systems

BIO: Dr Veronica Matthews, a Quandamooka woman, is Associate Professor at the University Centre for Rural Health, University of Sydney. She co-leads the Centre for Research Excellence in Strengthening Systems for Indigenous Health Care Equity. Her work focuses on improving holistic Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health care systems through quality improvement, systems thinking, and community-based participatory research. She leads efforts to embed Indigenous knowledge and methodologies into inter-sectoral research addressing social and emotional wellbeing and health determinants. She also serves as Co-Chair of the Indigenous Steering Committee and NSW Hub Lead for the HEAL Network.

Indigenous Knowledge Systems

BIO: Sharna is a proud Indigenous woman from the Mbabaram tribe of Queensland, and from Hammond Island of the Torres Strait. She is a nutritionist and Research Fellow at Northern Institute. Sharna has gained numerous awards including the New Colombo Plan scholarship. Sharna is currently completing a double degree studying a Master of Public Health and Master of Health Research with Menzies School of Health Research, where she was awarded the prestigious 'Menzies Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Postgraduate Coursework Scholarship'. Her research interest includes nutrition, climate change, public health, and Indigenous health.

Urban Health & Built Environment

BIO: Ang is a Senior Research Fellow at the Melbourne School of Population and Global Health. Her research concerns the intersections of housing, social wellbeing and climate change, with a focus on applied econometrics and causal inference using panel data. Her research has examined the impact of housing security, affordability, and condition on health and social outcomes. Her current work focuses on the relationship between housing and wellbeing over the life course, and the role of housing as a source of vulnerability and adaptive capacity in response to the impacts of climate change.

ACT Hub

BIO: Professor Sotiris Vardoulakis is Director of the NHMRC HEAL Network and Professor of Environmental Public Health at the University of Canberra. He has held senior roles at Public Health England, ANU, and the Institute of Occupational Medicine. He is also Honorary Professor at the University of Exeter and Adjunct Professor at IIT Madras. For over 25 years, he has advised governments and global organisations on climate change, air pollution, and public health, with research spanning environmental monitoring, modelling, epidemiology, and policy across multiple continents.

ACT Hub

BIO: Ro coordinates the HRI's flagship Master of Public Health program. She has significant experience and expertise at the interface between health, biodiversity, environmental sustainability, and food production, often referred to as One Health, Planetary Health and, or Ecological Public Health. Her research focuses on evidence synthesis for policy, education and addressing barriers to implementation of place-based solutions. Current activities include coordinating Health within the Nexus Assessment for the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services and addressing healthy and sustainable food system transition as co-lead of the Future of Food in the Capital Region network.

TAS Hub

BIO: Dr. Sharon Campbell is a postdoctoral researcher in Environmental Health at the Menzies Institute for Medical Research, University of Tasmania. A member of the HEAL National Research Network, her work focuses on the health impacts of climate-related extreme events such as heatwaves, bushfires, and air pollution. With a background in public health policy, her research is designed to be practical and easily translated into real-world applications.

VIC Hub

BIO: Dr. Nigel Goodman is a Senior Research Fellow in Air Quality and Health at the HEAL Global Research Centre, University of Canberra. An expert in reducing exposure to indoor and outdoor air pollution, he is a member of the HEAL National Research Network and Centre for Safe Air. His research addresses the health impacts of air pollution linked to environmental change and is supported by NESP, NHMRC, state governments, and philanthropic agencies.

VIC Hub

BIO: Shilpi has completed her PhD from Deakin University in Architecture/Planning. She has contributed towards several research projects at Alfred Deakin Research Institute as well as School of Architecture & Built Environment at Deakin University. Her research interests are studying demographic changes, urban planning in residential environments, neighbourhood character, multiculturalism in planning policies and regulations, air quality for urban liveability and air quality at neighbourhood scale. Her extensive teaching experience at Deakin University spans across courses in construction management, urban planning, urban design and architecture.

QLD Hub

BIO: Dr Paul Barnes has over 28 years of experience as an applied academic and public sector manager covering emergency and risk management, and policy development on disaster risk reduction at both State and Federal levels. He holds an undergraduate degree in Environmental Health Sciences and a Doctorate examining risk and occupational health & safety management within in the Queensland Fire & Rescue Service.

His professional and academic interests include policy and practice development for disaster risk reduction and enhancing institutional resilience in the face of socio-technical-ecological impacts of climate change & weather variability; Asymmetric threat assessment (One Health & biosecurity); & National-level (all-hazards) Risk Management strategies.

Dr Barnes current role is as HEAL Senior Research, Policy and Practice Fellow within the Centre for Environment & Population Health (School of Medicine and Dentistry).

QLD Hub

BIO: Professor Nicholas Osborne is an epidemiologist and toxicologist whose research uses environmental epidemiology to explore disease pathways. He is currently investigating eDNA as a novel exposure measure for pollen and biodiversity, and its links to atopic disease. He has led grants in the UK and US and collaborates on projects involving DNA barcoding of grass pollen, pollen and traffic pollution effects, and solar irradiance and bone health.

WA hub

BIO: Dr. Mara West is a proud Yamatji Elder and respected changemaker with over 50 years of leadership in Aboriginal education, health, and policy. She is a cultural governance advisor at the Kids Research Institute and chairs several national and state-level advisory groups, including HEAL WA's Aboriginal Steering Group and the North Metro TAFE Governing Council. Dr. West has pioneered on-Country education delivery and developed award-winning training models for Aboriginal job seekers. Her work centres Aboriginal voices in research and policy, fostering inclusive, culturally grounded solutions. In 2023, she was awarded an honorary doctorate by Murdoch University.

BIO: Prarthana Borah is a sustainability expert with over two decades of experience in environment and sustainability and is acknowledged as an authority in climate and air quality management, biodiversity conservation and education for sustainable development.

Prarthana has played lead roles by working in and heading organizations in sustainability ranging from topics such as air pollution, climate change, nature conservation, corporate disclosures, and environment education with over twenty years of experience in strategic planning, program leadership, institutional fundraising, local stakeholder engagement, and implementing national and international sustainability programs.

BIO: Professor Linda Payi Ford is a Senior Research Fellow at Charles Darwin University's Northern Institute. A Rak Mak Mak Marranunggu Traditional Owner from Kurrindju, her research is grounded in her Mirrwana and Wurrkama methodology, which informs Indigenous research across disciplines. Her work spans academia, teaching, cultural preservation, and advocacy for threatened Aboriginal languages and Country in the Finniss and Reynold River regions of the Northern Territory.

BIO: Caroline is an Aboriginal Accredited Practicing Dietitian with a Masters of Public Health. She currently works as a Researcher – First Nations Knowledge at the Sydney School of Health Sciences University Department of Rural Health- Northern Rivers.

Rural & Remote Health

BIO: Dr. Zubair Ahmed Ratan is a globally recognized public health researcher specializing in digital health, telemedicine and mental health. He completed his PhD in Public Health at the University of Wollongong. Before pursuing his PhD, he earned his MBBS in Bangladesh and MSc in South Korea. Dr. Ratan has secured ten competitive research grants including Australian Academy of Science. Dr. Ratan's research continues to drive transformative solutions in digital health and public health, particularly in underserved communities.

Rural & Remote Health

BIO: Lawrence Guodaar is a trained environmental geographer specialising in human-environment interaction and sustainability. Most of his research uses mixed methods to understand social and environmental systems' resilience through developing adaptation interventions to mitigate climate change risks and improve food security. His research has included supporting vulnerable Indigenous communities in developing culturally acceptable adaptation interventions to address environmental changes and associated risks, including mental health. He has experience engaging and supporting Traditional Owners and Native Title Holders in Aboriginal communities in central Australia to make effective decisions regarding natural resource management on country.

Lawrence's PhD focused on the intersection between climate change, Indigenous knowledge and food security in dryland rural communities.

Data and Decision Support Systems

BIO: Charlotte is a research associate at the Curtin School of Population Health. She is engaged with the data and decision support systems theme of the HEAL National Research Network.