About us
We’re a multidisciplinary team of researchers with expertise across public health, developmental, health and clinical psychology, exercise and nutrition, women’s and children’s health, ageing and dementia, media and communications, epidemiology, randomised controlled trials, intervention mapping, evidence synthesis, and implementation science, including evaluation of intervention effectiveness.
This wide-ranging experience allows us to work together on health, social service and educational sector improvements that can be successfully translated to better health, social and developmental outcomes for children, young people, adults and families. The knowledge we generate is crucial to transforming policy across these sectors.
Industry and community partnership is integral to our success. We’ve led more than 50 industry research consultancy projects over the last five years, each of them involving embedding our research fellows, research assistants or PhD students within the partner group to counteract siloing. In so doing we lead theoretical and methodological rigour, capacity building and change across the research-industry partnership, as opposed to just delivering a final report.
The Team
Executive Team
Contact us
To contact us, please email HSCU@monash.edu
HSCU Advisory Council
The HSCU Advisory Council provides strategic advice on how to best maintain and/or grow and strengthen HSCU.
Administration Coordinator
Heidi Alysandratos (HSCU)
Marketing, Media and Communications Advisor
Michelle Putt (HSCU & CRE-HiPP)
Short Course Coordinator
Caroline Trin (HSCU)
Leaders of Discipline Areas and Industry Partnerships
| Dr Claire Blewitt | bestchance Child Family Care Researcher-In-Residence; Lead, Alannah Madeline Foundation Industry Partnerships; Lead, ARC Discovery Project (2024-27) |
| Dr Emma Galvin | Lead, HEALing Matters, Department of Families, Fairness and Housing (DFFH) Industry Partnership; MacKillop Researcher-In-Residence ReLATE Industry Partnership |
| Dr Michelle Gooey | Lead, SEMPRE program of research (Strengthening implEMentation Practice and Research with Equity) |
| Ahlia Griffiths | Lead, VILLAGE, Consumer and Community Involvement (CCI) for SEMPRE program of research (Strengthening implEMentation Practice and Research with Equity) |
| Dr Briony Hill | Lead, Stigma and Psychosocial Wellbeing Team (Maternal Health); ARC Discovery Early Career Researcher (DECRA) (2023-2025); Lead, NHMRC Investigator Grant (2026-2030) |
| Colleen Kelly | Lead, First People’s Health and Wellbeing Industry Partnership |
| Dr Heather Morris | MacKillop Family Services Researcher-In-Residence Industry Partnership; ARC Discovery Early Career Researcher (DECRA) (2024-27) |
| Dr Mandy O’Connor | Queen Elizabeth Centre Researcher-In-Residence Industry Partnership |
| Dr Melissa Savaglio | BaptistCare Researcher-In-Residence Industry Partnership |
| Dr Marta Woolford | Lead, Aged Care Research; Dementia Australia Research Foundation Fellow; working across Researcher-In-Residence Industry Partnerships - Regis Aged Care and Mercy Health Aged Care |
Research Fellows and Research Assistants
| Kym Blyth | Working across weight stigma in maternity care research |
| Michelle Dever | Working across weight stigma in perinatal period research; ageing and aged care research |
| Charlotte Fox | Working across ARC Discovery Project – Educator-child interactions and childhood social and emotional learning |
| Sofia Grage-Moore | Working across various HSCU research projects |
| Dr StellaMay Gwini | Associate Biostatistician |
| Dr Haimanot Hailu | Working across SEMPRE program of research (Strengthening implEMentation Practice and Research with Equity); Weight stigma in perinatal period research |
| Dr Sara Holton | Adjunct Senior Research Fellow – women’s health and health equity |
| Dr Nicole Papadopoulos | Working across behavioural interventions for children who experience developmental challenges or complex neurodevelopmental disorders |
| Yihan Sun | Working across ARC Discovery Project – Educator-child interactions and childhood social and emotional learning; Our Place Voice of Children Industry Partnership |
| Dr Andrea Tamblyn | Working across ARC Discovery Project – Educator-child interactions and childhood social and emotional learning |
| Chloe Tran | Working across ARC Discovery project – Weight stigma in the preconception, pregnancy and postpartum periods |
PhD Students
Zaynah Ali (Monash University PhD Scholar)
Evaluation of a community pharmacy intervention that promotes the safe and effective use of contraceptive medicines amongst women at high risk of unintended pregnancy
Kym Blyth (Full-time PhD Scholar)
Weight-stigma in maternity care: The impact of restricting care access for larger-bodied women
Michelle Dever (Monash University PhD Scholar)
Weight stigma in preconception, pregnancy and postpartum women: A socioecological perspective
Charlotte Fox (Monash University PhD Scholar)
Evaluating the Implementation of the Socio-Emotional Engagement and Development (SEED) Program
Sofia Grage-Moore (Monash University PhD Scholar)
Evaluating the Researcher in Residence Model at MacKillop Family Services
Sue Anne Hunter (Part-time PhD Scholar)
Creating culturally safe environments in the primary school education system within Victoria for First Nations children
Angie Jaman (Salvation Army Industry PhD Scholar)
The effectiveness of a psychologically informed environment in achieving outcomes in youth refuge
Pragya Kandel (APA PhD Scholar)
Motivation and readiness for lifestyle behaviour change in preconception women
Ann MacRae (Part-time PhD Scholar)
Trauma informed care in aged care services
Yihan Sun (Monash University PhD Scholar)
Advancing trauma-informed practice in early childhood educational context
Chloe Tran (Monash University PhD Scholar)
Transcending individual blame and weight stigma for preconception women – perspectives of healthcare
Hayley Wainwright (Mackillop Industry PhD Scholar)
How can transition planning be implemented to improve outcomes for young people in residential out-of-home care?
Associate supervisor from HSCU
Lane Carrandi (Monash University PhD Scholar)
Advancing healthcare through the development of an economic implementation toolkit
Kevin Kristian (Monash University Indonesia PhD Scholar)
Understanding needs of the caregiver of people living with dementia in Indonesia