Staff

Professor Kathy Eagar is Director of AHSRI and is involved in all aspects of the Institute’s work. She has over thirty five years of experience in the health and community care systems, during which she has divided her time between being a clinician, a senior manager and a health academic.

She has authored over 450 articles, papers and reports on management, quality, outcomes, information systems and funding of the Australia and New Zealand health and community care systems. Professor Eagar has an established track record of undertaking large and complex health service research projects and has significant expertise in the design and management of large multidisciplinary research and evaluation projects with a well-established track record in research translation. She has a tradition of achievement in undertaking policy-relevant research projects in partnership with the health system.

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Rob is Deputy Director of AHSRI and Director of CHSD. His position supports research projects in sub and non-acute care, casemix development, community health classification and health financing. Rob undertakes the day to day management of CHSD and directly manages many of its projects.

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Elizabeth joined the Institute in 2003 as the full time Business Manager. Elizabeth is responsible for managing the Institute’s finances, negotiating all Institute contracts, and managing the Institute’s IT requirements. She is also responsible for coordinating the development of refinements to SNAPshot, an integrated software package developed and managed by the Institute.

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Professor Belinda Goodenough is a behavioural scientist with 20 years of experience in the fields of psychology, education and health services research.

She has a specific interest in knowledge translation and implementation research, with a goal to improve our understanding of how the ‘real world’ can get best value from research investment. Belinda has applied these skills in areas as diverse as pain, cancer, childhood health, and over the past decade, ageing and dementia.

In addition to CHRISP, Belinda has other roles at UOW: Executive Director for Dementia Training Australia, and Editor for the Australian Journal of Dementia Care.

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Hilarie is the Director of ePPOC, the electronic Persistent Pain Outcomes Collaboration. Prior to joining AHSRI, she worked in a variety of not-for-profit and government roles that focused on using administrative datasets for research and outcome measurement. Hilarie has qualifications in psychology, biochemistry and a PhD in psychophysiology.

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Since joining the Institute in 2011, Professor Kathleen Clapham has led a strong program of research in Indigenous health at AHSRI.

A descendent of the Murrawarri people of NSW, she holds a PhD in Anthropology and has over 25 years of experience as an academic in higher education. Prior to joining the Institute she was the Director of the Woolyungah Indigenous Centre at the University of Wollongong and the Head of Yooroang Garang: School of Indigenous Health at the University of Sydney.

Kathleen has been Chief Investigator on numerous National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) and Australian Research Council (ARC) funded and other studies with an Indigenous health focus, including community based interventions and health services research aimed at improving the health and safety of Indigenous people. 

Her research interests include: the social determinants of health; equity in health care; Indigenous injury prevention and safety promotion; and Indigenous child health and resilience. Her projects focus largely on Indigenous people in urban communities, and involve collaborations with research, government and non-government organisations, including those within the Illawarra and Shoalhaven regions.

Professor Clapham leads a skilled core team of researchers on these projects, and the Indigenous health research agenda at AHSRI is also progressed through significant contributions and collaborations with AHSRI members and other experts in Indigenous research across the University and externally. She is also a Visiting Professorial Fellow within the Injury Division of The George Institute for Global Health at the University of Sydney.

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Dr Barbara Daveson commenced her role as PCOC Director in 2019. Barb came to us from Cancer Australia where she has been managing their national lung cancer program as well as initiatives to support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Prior to that, Barb worked at the Cicely Saunders Institute in London as a lecturer in health services research in palliative care.

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Professor Elizabeth Beattie has extensive clinical nursing, curriculum development, teaching and research experience in psychiatry and gerontology and has worked with people with dementia and their caregivers for over 25 years. She is currently an Honorary Fellow at AHSRI.

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Ray has made significant contributions in a range of areas, such as Sample Survey Design and Analysis, Robust Statistical Methods, Small Area Estimation, Graphical Methods in Statistics, Computer Intensive Statistical Methods, Statistical Modelling and Inference, Longitudinal Data Analysis, and Analysis of Computer-Linked Data.

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Professor David Currow is the Chief Cancer Officer of NSW and Chief Executive Officer of the Cancer Institute NSW, the NSW Government’s cancer control agency. Prior to his appointment to this position in March 2010, Professor Currow was the foundation Chief Executive Officer of Cancer Australia, the Commonwealth's cancer control agency. Professor Currow leads the Cancer Institute NSW team, whose expertise and remit include cancer prevention, early detection and screening, cancer service performance, reporting and development, and strategic investment in translational cancer research. Through these vital areas, Professor Currow advances the role of the Cancer Institute NSW in its capacity to decrease the incidence of cancer, increase the survival for people who are diagnosed with cancer and improve the quality of care for people with cancer. Cancer outcomes continue to improve as a result of whole-of-system changes. Professor Currow is the previous president of the Clinical Oncological Society of Australia and past president of Palliative Care Australia. He has served on the American Society of Clinical Oncology working party on palliative care education, chaired the working party for the Union of International Cancer Control on Palliative Care for the United Nations summit on non-communicable diseases, and has been on faculty for the Australia & Asia Pacific Clinical Oncology Research Development workshops (ACORD).

Simon is Senior Professor of Health Economics at the University of Wollongong and a member of AHSRI and CHSD. Simon has extensive experience in teaching and applying decision analytic methods for economic analysis in Health Technology Assessment. 

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Dr Mario Fernando is a Professor in the School of Management and Marketing, University of Wollongong. His research interests are centred on exploring how responsible executive action leads to positive individual, organisational and societal outcomes. Currently, Mario is conducting research in leadership, business ethics and human resource management areas.

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Professor John Glynn is the former Dean of the Sydney Business School, University of Wollongong. Professor Glynn has wide international experience in management development programs. He is an advisor to a number of companies, government agencies and departments including the National Audit Office (UK), the Australian Audit Office, the NSW Parliament's Public Accounts Committee and the OECD. Professor Glynn has particular interests and expertise in the areas of strategy formulation management of change, financial management and performance appraisal across all levels of the public and private sector. He taught accounting, financial management, public sector management and corporate strategy. His research interests are primarily public sector financial management and the management of change. Previous academic appointments in the UK were at the Universities of Exeter and Kent.

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An international award-winning nurse academic, Liz has a strong interest in Primary Health Care nursing. In particular, her PHC research expertise relates to the nursing workforce in primary care, chronic and complex disease and lifestyle risk factor reduction. Additionally, Liz has undertaken research around the nursing academic workforce and teaching and learning in nursing. Liz has extensive experience in mixed methods research, as well as having led several systematic reviews.In 2018, Liz was inducted in to the Sigma Theta Tau International Nurse Researcher Hall of Fame in recognition of the significant and sustained national / international recognition of her work and its positive impact on the profession and the community. At the University of Wollongong, Liz plays a leadership role developing PHC nursing research, as well as engaging multidisciplinary academics within Primary Health Care to address the growing challenges in providing health care within the community.

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Valerie Harwood is a Professor of Sociology and Anthropology of Education and an Australian Research Council Future Fellow. Valerie’s research is centred on a social and cultural analysis of participation in educational futures. This work involves learning about collaborative approaches and in-depth fieldwork on educational justice with young people, families and communities.

Professor Helen Hasan has expertise in Information Systems (IS), Knowledge Management and Human Computer Interaction. Helen manages a Usability Laboratory (ATUL), was a major contributor to the Australian Knowledge Management Standard and is founding director of Living Connected, a non-profit social enterprise to promote seniors’ wellbeing through digital inclusion. Helen has supervised over 30 research students to completion and, in 2012, received the Vice–Chancellor’s Award for Research Student Supervisor of the year. She received the Vice-Chancellor’s Award for Interdisciplinary Research Excellence in 2015 and, in 2017, was a member of a team that won the Award for Community Engagement. In 2020 Helen was recognised for Outstanding Commitment to the Community when Living Connected was Highly Commended in the Illawarra Businesswomen’s Awards.

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Elena Marchetti joined the Faculty of Law as a Research Professor in May 2011.  In 2009, Elena (with Professor Kathleen Daly and Dr Jackie Huggins) was awarded a five-year ARC Discovery Grant and Research Fellowship to research the use of Indigenous sentencing courts in sentencing partner violence offenders.  Elena’s other research interests include Indigenous and feminist critiques of justice processes, and access to justice for minority groups.  She has extensive knowledge of speciality courts, particularly those involving Indigenous offenders and is the author of a number of articles, chapters and reports in the areas of Indigenous justice, and intersectional race and gender analyses of legal processes. Her PhD research, completed in 2005, considered why the Australian Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody was unable to take intersectional race and gender approach in its analysis.  Prior to commencing the ARC Research Fellowship, Elena taught in the areas of criminal law and procedure, family and domestic violence, and evidence.  She is a member of the UOW Faculty of Law’s Legal Intersections Research Centre and has previously served as a Sessional Member of the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal.

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Professor Grace McCarthy is the Dean of the Sydney Business School, University of Wollongong, teaching and researching leadership and entrepreneurship postgraduate subjects. Grace sits on AHSRI’s Management Advisory Board, the Boards of The Disability Trust and The Illawarra Connection, and chairs the UOW College Academic Board. Grace also supervises a number of doctoral students. In 2012, Grace was awarded an Australian Government Office of Learning and Teaching citation for ‘Using a coaching approach to inspire a love of learning among students and colleagues’. Grace is a member of the Editorial Board of the International Journal of Evidence-Based Coaching and Mentoring. Her book, "Coaching and Mentoring for Business", was published by Sage in March 2014

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Dr McMahon has worked as a General Practitioner in the Illawarra since 1979. He has been actively involved in the development of clinical training, particularly General Practice training, for the region and served a term of office as the first Director of Clinical Training for the Illawarra Area Health Service. 

Dr Lorna Moxham is Professor of Mental Health Nursing in the School of Nursing, Midwifery and Indigenous Health, faculty of Science, Medicine and Health. Lorna has experience as Head of School, Dean of Graduate Research and has held numerous senior governance roles in university’s such as Chair: Research Committee of Academic Board and Chair: University Human Research Ethics Committee.

Initially qualified as a psychiatric nurse at Rozelle Hospital in Sydney, Lorna continued her passion for lifelong learning graduating from UWS with a Diploma of Applied Science and Bachelor of Health Science. She then graduated from UNSW with a Master of Education. Additionally, Lorna has a Graduate Certificate in Occupational Health & Safety and also in Quality Management and a PhD.

Lorna has held numerous university and community appointments including four at ministerial level: These include Chair: Central Queensland Health Community Council, Mental Health Review Tribunal, Regional Planning Advisory Committee and the QLD Priority Housing Committee. Additionally, Lorna was a Board Director for Central Queensland Mercy Health and Aged Care and the Australian College of Mental Health Nurses and a member of the Executive for the Australian and New Zealand Council of Deans of Nursing and Midwifery.

Passionate about health care and its valuable contribution to the wellbeing of our society, Lorna’s specific area of expertise rests within mental health nursing. She is a Fellow of the Australian College of Mental Health Nurses and also the Australian College of Nursing.

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Melanie's research has focused on utilising marketing concepts to attract more volunteers and foster carers, by investigating which types of people are likely to be interested in and good at these different roles, and how they can be targeted by customised marketing campaigns. This has involved bringing various disciplines together – including marketing, psychology and creative design – to develop new marketing campaigns that are effective in reaching and motivating people to take up these roles. Practically, results have been used by local volunteering and foster care organisations to develop new marketing and branding strategies that have resulted in significant increases in their numbers of volunteers and foster carers.

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David Steel is Senior Professor in Statistics, School of Mathematics & Applied Statistics, University of Wollongong. His research interests include survey methods, statistical design and analysis for survey, census and aggregate data. Professor Steel has active links with industry, which includes projects with ABS, NZ Ministry of Health, NSW Health and Statistics New Zealand. He is the Director of the National Institute for Applied Statistical Research Australia.

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Distinguished Professor Patsy Yates, PhD, RN, FACN, FAAN is jointly appointed as Head, School of Nursing at Queensland University of Technology, Lead Researcher for the Cancer Nursing Professorial Precinct at Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital, and Director for Queensland Health’s statewide Centre for Palliative Care Research and Education (CPCRE).

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Professor Heather Yeatman is the Head of the School of Health and Society (University of Wollongong) and undertakes her research as a member of AHSRI. Within AHSRI, Heather has a key role in work on healthy public policy, with a specific focus on food policy, and how this translates into standards and regulation. Heather was also President of the Public Health Association of Australia from 2012-2014 and recipient of the Sidney Sax Award for public health in 2016.

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Dr Shahriar Akter is an Associate Professor of Digital Marketing, Analytics & Innovation at the Sydney Business School, UOW. He was awarded his PhD from the UNSW Business School Australia, with a doctoral fellowship in research methods from the University of Oxford. He has published in leading  business & management journals (30+ A* or A ranked articles) with a Google Scholar h-Index of 25 and more than 5000 citations. He received the UOW Vice Chancellor's award for teaching and several prestigious awards for research.

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Associate Professor Marijka Batterham is Director of the Statistical Consulting Centre which provides statistical advice to staff and postgraduate students. Prior to an academic career Marijka was a clinical Dietitian specialising in the management of metabolic abnormalities in HIV/AIDS. After completing a post doctoral position in energy expenditure at the University of Wollongong Marijka remained at UOW initially in Nutrition and now in Statistics. Marijka holds dual professional qualifications from the Dietitian’s Association of Australia as an Advanced Accredited Practising Dietitian and the Statistical Society of Australia as an Accredited Statistician.

Marijka is early adopter of new statistical methods for clinical interventions in weight management including the areas of energy expenditure and physical activity research. Her research focus incorporates energy expenditure and body composition methodology and more recently the use of biostatistics to update and improve the statistical methodology and analysis of broad lifestyle related nutrition based clinical research aimed at weight management. A major issue in these trials is attrition or drop out and researching predictors of attrition and methods to analyse trials with missing data is Marijka's current research priority.

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With a background as an Electronics Engineer, Dr Michael Jones is looking to bridge management and technology issues and take in culture, knowledge management and information systems. Michael enjoys satisfying his natural curiosity through research. He’s now working on a major project with Emergency Service Agencies throughout Australia and New Zealand, looking at creating sustainable volunteer management practices.

Michael is also the Editor-in-Chief of a high ranking journal – the International Journal of Doctoral Studies. This brings an additional field of research to Michael’s portfolio which revolves around doctoral supervision. Michael currently has over 70 peer-reviewed published papers. View a partial list of these papers.

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Peter is a Wulli Wulli/Wakka Wakka man from Queensland. He has worked in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health for over 12 years in government and universities. He recently completed his PhD examining alcohol use and related harms among Indigenous and non-Indigenous university students. Peter has a Bachelor of Health Science, Master of Public Health, and Grad Dip Public Health and Tropical Medicine.

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Kate Senior is a medical anthropologist with extensive (20 years+) experience working with people in remote Aboriginal communities. Her work focuses on how people live and understand health and well being and the barriers they face when accessing health services. Recently Kate's research has focussed on the health and well being of Indigenous adolescents and in 2012 Kate was awarded an Australian Research Council Future Fellowship to explore young people's lived experiences of the social determinants of health. The other major strand of Kate's research is on young people's relationships and sexual health.

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Dr Freidoon Khavarpour has extensive teaching and research experience, in particular educating Aboriginal health workers. He specialises in developing curricula in research for undergraduate and postgraduate students, and distance delivered postgraduate course works in Indigenous Health. He has been involved in numerous government consultancies in NSW, such as the Department of Migration and Indigenous Affairs and community groups such as the Transcultural Mental Health Centre. He will be involved in various research projects with migrant communities, especially Iranian and Persian communities in NSW.

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Malcolm Masso worked as a senior research fellow at the Centre for Health Service Development between 2004 and 2018, prior to which he worked for over 25 years in the health system, including senior management positions in a wide range of hospitals. 

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Karen was a Senior Research Fellow at AHSRI for over 10 years, during which she worked as a member of CHSD and also managed both PCOC and ePPOC at different times. Prior to joining AHSRI, Karen worked in the health system in occupational therapy, community health and health service improvement, as both a clinician and a manager. Her academic qualifications are in Occupational Therapy and Public Health.

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Frances served as the AROC Director from 2006 to 2020. She has extensive health sector experience at a senior level in both the public and private sectors, holding senior executive roles involving management of national projects or functions prior to joining AHSRI.

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Dr John Daniels is an academic, clinician and administrator in the Aboriginal community controlled health sector where he has worked for over 30 years. He has published refereed journal articles, book chapters and has been a Chief Investigator on NHMRC funded research grants whose primary focus has been in Indigenous health. In addition to his interest in Aboriginal health, he has worked as an administrator in the public health sector and is a board member of the Sydney Local Health District.

Dr Dominic Dawson has extensive experience in the health sector having worked as a clinician, educator and a manager. He worked for many years as a physiotherapist in India, the UK and here in Australia in a variety of clinical specialties before developing an interest in Education and Management. Over the last 11 years he has held various senior management positions and has been instrumental in contributing to health reform implementation and clinical services improvement. Dominic is currently the Associate Director, Business Intelligence and Efficiency at South Eastern Sydney Local Health District. A key part of his role is providing leadership and direction in facilitating the implementation of Activity Based Funding at the LHD. 

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Roy Harvey was Bill Hayden's research officer from 3 January 1973; then Statistician and Actuary for Medibank and Medibank Private to 1979; Health Economics Research Unit with John Deeble at ANU to 1986; Head of Health Services Division of the AIH(W) to 1995; Professor of Health Economics, Centre for Health Services Development (now AHSRI) University of Wollongong, involved in Australian health services research and consulting, then consultant and project leader for AusAID and World Bank on 15 projects in China, Eastern European, South East Asia and Pacific Island countries to 2007.

Jan's expertise greatly assists the Institute's work on understanding the evidence behind measurement tools and assisting with the design of measurement tools.

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Dr Grahame Simpson currently works at the Brain Injury Rehabilitation Research Group, Ingham Institute. Grahame does research in the field of traumatic brain injury.

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Dr Joshua Fan coordinates the MSc (Logistics) and Master of Project Management programs. Prior to joining the Sydney Business School, University of Wollongong, he worked as a consultant in the IT and Logistics industries. Joshua’s main international research links are with the Anderson Graduate School of Management, University of California. His teaching and research interests centre on operations research, strategic supply chain management, electronic business and workflow optimisation. Dr Fan is also a co-director of one of the Sydney Business School’s (University of Wollongong) research centres - the Centre for Strategic Supply Solutions.

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Martin Gold is a senior lecturer. He joined academia following a lengthy career in the funds management industry. His research encompasses multi-disciplinary themes of investment governance, risk management and innovation. Martin engages with and maintains strong relationships with industry firms and stakeholders, including regulators.Within ASHRI, Martin’s research interests are focused upon applying scientific methodologies and principles to the design and management of complex organisational systems to provide improved practical outcomes.

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Dr Tam Ha is keenly involved in doing research that has an impact and can be translated to improve the health outcomes of the population. Two areas of particular research interest for Tam are: (1) Epidemiology of cancer (2) Innovative educational research to inspire the next generation to learn creatively, imaginatively and be much more competent that the current generation.

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Dr Mendolia joined the School of Economics in 2012 (now the School of Accounting, Economics & Finance), after having worked at the Social Policy Research Centre (UNSW) and at the University of Aberdeen (Department of Economics and Health Economics Research Unit).

Silvia's research interests are in empirical health and labour economics, with a strong focus on the family well-being. Silvia was awarded her PhD in 2011 and she has published two chapters of her PhD thesis in the Journal of Population Economics and the Review of Economics of the Household.

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Patricia is a National Health and Medical Research Council Early Career Fellow in the School of Public Health and Community Medicine, where she co-leads the Child and Adolescent Health theme. She is also an Honorary Research Fellow at The George Institute for Global Health. Patricia's research centres on strengthening health pathways for people who are disproportionately impacted by injury, violence, and trauma with a focus on integrating trauma-informed care in health settings. A

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Milena was a Research Fellow in the AHSRI team from 2012 to 2019. She has postgraduate qualifications in Statistics and a Bachelor’s degree in Mathematical Sciences (Honours I). She currently works with the Silver Chain Group and is an Honorary Fellow at AHSRI. 

Associate Professor Chris Poulos is a senior rehabilitation physician and the Foundation Hammond Chair of Positive Ageing and Care with the University of NSW. Dr Poulos is also the current President of the Australasian Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine and a Director of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians. He holds a Master’s Degree in health policy and management, and in 2012 was awarded his PhD for work on utilisation review and the rehabilitation patient journey. He has many years of clinical experience working with people with disabling conditions, helping them to achieve their maximum level of functioning, quality of life and independence. He is an experienced researcher and teacher in the areas of rehabilitation and aged care and is a Visiting Principal Fellow with AHSRI. In addition, he has undertaken a number of consultancies about the delivery of rehabilitation and sub-acute care services. His main clinical and research focus is on helping individuals and their carers achieve whole person wellness and developing workforce models to promote this aim.

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Abhijeet Ghosh is a senior primary healthcare planner and health information manager. Abhijeet has wide experience as a public health researcher and epidemiologist with expertise in secondary data analysis, quantitative population health data analysis, health information management, and health data interpretation for health services planning.

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Dr Heike Schütze is a lecturer at the School of Health and Society and undertakes her research as a member of AHSRI. Heike’s work has a focus on developing, implementing and evaluating complex interventions in the health care setting. She has a particular interest in improving health outcomes for marginalised and minority populations by improving health care access and reducing inequities. Heike has experience in randomised controlled trials in primary care; equity focused health impact assessments; and developing, implementing and evaluating health care interventions.

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Irit's research focus is on relationships in the context of workplaces.  This includes interpersonal relationships, value-creating aspects of relationships (e.g., civility, engagement, retention), and stakeholder relationships as expressed through CSR. She has experience in using various methodologies, including mixed-methods, qualitative research, and grounded theory. Irit is interested in research which involves aspects of relationships, and contributes to the transformation of humanity in accordance with the UN's Sustainable Development Goals.

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Lyn is an award-winning public health academic with expertise in the use of social marketing to promote health in the diverse areas of: dementia risk reduction, dementia help-seeking and service utilisation, cancer help-seeking in CALD communities, organ donation, cold and flu risk reduction behaviours, and the promotion of physical activity in children. Read more. 

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Dr Louisa Smith is a Research Fellow at AHSRI. Louisa’s research interests centre on the relationship between experiences of disability across the life course, complexity, social policy and social change. Her research works across the disciplines of sociology, disability studies and policy studies. Prior to arriving at AHSRI in 2018, Louisa worked at UNSW, Sydney as a Lecturer and Education and Training Lead at the Intellectual Disability Behaviour Support Program. In 2015 Louisa (and other chief investigators from UNSW, La Trobe, Monash and QUT) was awarded an ARC Linkage, Lost in Transition: Improving the lives of young people with complex support needs. Louisa’s innovative inclusive teaching has been recognised with a citation from the Australian Association of University Teaching (2017) and a UNSW Vice Chancellor's Award for Teaching and Education (2016). Louisa approaches all research and teaching as means of fostering social inclusion and belonging, through co-production, arts based methods and knowledge translation at all stages of the process.

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Paula joined the AHSRI team in 2019 and is the Office Manager for the Institute. She also provides administrative and project support to PCOC . She holds a Graduate Certificate in Management and a Bachelor of Science (Hons) in Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics.

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Branden joined AHSRI as Analyst Programmer and software developer in April 2018. He received his bachelor’s degree in Software Engineering from the University of Central Florida, and has since gained experience in mobile, desktop, and web development across multiple industries and sectors. His primary role will be development and support of the ePPOC software program epiCentre and he will also assist in the continuing development of AOS.

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Thuyen joined AHSRI as an analyst programmer in November 2020. He holds a Bachelor of Science in IT degree from the University of Technology, Sydney and a Master in IT Management from the University of Sydney. Thuyen has extensive experience in working with clinical research, having worked for more than 10 years at the NHMRC Clinical Trials Centre.

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Lucinda joined AHSRI in 2016 and provides administrative assistance to the office, primarily working in website development and project support.

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Erin joined AHSRI in 2018 and provides administrative assistance to the Institute.

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