Alison Brown

Dr Alison Brown is a qualified dietitian and early-career researcher serving as Clinical Teaching and Research Academic within the University of Newcastle’s Department of Rural Health, College of Health, Medicine and Wellbeing. Based in Port Macquarie, she is concurrently embedded as a senior research assistant in the Hunter New England Population Health Research Group, where she leads large-scale trials and implementation projects targeting child health.

Education

• Doctor of Philosophy (Behavioural Science), University of Newcastle – 2023
• Bachelor of Clinical Science, Charles Sturt University
• Bachelor of Nutrition and Dietetics (Honours), University of Newcastle

Research Focus

Across nearly a decade, Dr Brown has specialised in digital health interventions, implementation science, and public-health nutrition for children 0–18 years. She co-designed and leads the national scaling of the SWAP IT m-health program, which reduces discretionary foods in school lunchboxes, and is evaluation lead for Healthy Beginnings for HNEKids, an RCT supporting parents during the first 2000 days of life.

Scientific Awards & Recognition

• No named awards listed; however, her work is cited in policy sources and widely disseminated across news outlets and social media.

Grants & Funding

• NSW Ministry of Health (2024) – Rural Mental Health Partnership – $39,136
• Hunter New England Health Improvement Grant (2024–25) – $24,605
• NSW Regional Health Partners CCI Grant (2023) – $1,000
• Priority Research Centre for Health Behaviour Small Grants (2020, 2021) – $8,600 combined total

Supervision & Collaboration

Dr Brown currently co-supervises one PhD candidate investigating perinatal mental wellbeing via digital health. She is an active member of multidisciplinary teams spanning the University of Newcastle and Hunter New England Health, fostering Communities of Practice that accelerate evidence into practice across New South Wales.