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. Further information about the current HSCU Industry projects can be found at drhelenskouteris.com.au.
The Team
Executive Team
Professor Helen Skouteris – Head
Dr Darshini Ayton – Deputy Head, NHMRC Investigator Fellow
Dr Briony Hill – Deputy Head, NHMRC Early Career Fellow
Leaders of Industry Partnerships
| Dr Darshini Ayton | Lead, Baptcare Aged Care Industry Partnership |
| Dr Claire Blewitt | Lead, Bestchance family Child Care and Alannah Madeline Foundation Industry Partnerships |
| Dr Rachael Green | Lead, HEALing Matters, Department of Department of Families, Fairness and Housing (DFFH), and Centre for Child and Family Welfare Industry Partnerships |
| Dr Briony Hill | Lead, MacKillop Family Services and Good Shepherd Health in Preconception, Pregnancy and Postpartum workplace portal industry partnerships |
| Dr Heather Morris | Lead, MacKillop Family Services and SNAICC Industry Partnerships |
| Dr Mandy O’Connor | Lead, Queen Elizabeth Centre, Relationships Australia Victoria and Good Shepherd Industry Partnerships |
| Dr Renee O’Donnell | Lead, Baptcare Child and Family Services Industry Partnership |
Research Fellows and Research Assistants
| Dr Heidi Bergmeier | Leading work in maternal and child lifestyle health across the first 2,000 days |
| Dr Lauren Bruce | Project Manager, MyCare Ageing randomised controlled trial |
| Alex Chung | Leading work in childhood lifestyle health, obesity prevention and the role of policy |
| Anna Crawford-Parker | Working across HEALing Matters industry partnership |
| Kostas Hatzikiriakidis | Working across Baptcare, MacKillop, and HEALing Matters industry partnerships |
| Mara Kyranakis | Working across maternal, child and family health and welfare projects |
| Seonad Madden | Working across the MacKillop Family Services and Good Shepherd Health in Preconception, Pregnancy and Postpartum workplace portal industry partnerships |
| Dr Stephanie Pirotta | Senior clinician and Research Fellow, BetterBrains randomised controlled trial |
| Melissa Savaglio | Working across Baptcare and MacKillop industry partnerships |
| Madelaine Smales | Working across HEALing Matters industry partnership |
| Ruby Tate | Working across HEALing Matters industry partnership |
| Jacob Thomas | Working across HEALing Matters industry partnership |
Individual Collaborators of the Health and Social Care Unit
Click here to read about our individual collaborators.
Media Advisor
Michelle Putt
HSCU Business Manager Contact us
Tracy TaylorTracy.Taylor@monash.edu
PhD Students
| Julie Avery | Implementation and evaluation of a trauma responsive educational practice model for community services |
| Emma Galvin | Implementation and evaluation of a trauma-informed practice model within a residential out-of-home care setting |
| Michelle Gooey | Bridging the gap: translating childhood obesity prevention policy into clinical practice |
| Angie Jaman | The effectiveness of a psychologically informed environment in achieving outcomes in youth refuge |
| Pragya Kandel | Motivation and readiness for lifestyle behaviour change in preconception women |
| Seonad Madden | A Workplace Digital Health Intervention to Promote Healthy Lifestyles and Wellbeing for Women across the Reproductive Years: An Intervention Mapping Approach |
| Alex Mullins | The Utility of My Health Record in the Emergency Department |
| Melissa Savaglio | Developing a community-based psychosocial intervention for young people with mental illness |
| Madelaine Smales | Understanding drug and alcohol use among young people within Out-of-Home Care |
| Andrea Tamblyn | An intervention to optimise the physical early childhood education and care environment to support children’s social and emotional development |
| Jacob Thomas | LGBTIQA+ Youth: A Global Investigation into Their Power and Wellbeing |