Lara McKenzie

Dr. Lara McKenzie is a Research Fellow at The University of Western Australia (School of Social Sciences) and an Honorary Research Fellow at Macquarie University (School of Communication, Society, and Culture). Her work focuses on Australian society, gender, age dynamics, kinship, family structures, and cultural change. She authored Age-dissimilar couples and romantic relationships: Ageless love? (2015) and has explored education inequality, precarity in academia, and pandemic-related vaccination behaviors. Current research includes the 'Coronavax' project on pandemic preparedness.

Her research interests span age-dissimilar relationships, romantic love, autonomy, and social policy. Recent studies address vaccination decision-making during pregnancy, gendered parenting roles in vaccine responsibility, and healthcare access in regional Australia. Publications highlight themes of social inequality, neoliberalism, and e-learning in higher education.

Lara’s 46+ publications span articles, reviews, and chapters in journals like Sociology of Health and Illness and Higher Education. Her work is cited widely (276 citations, h-index 10), with contributions to policy and Mendeley readership. Research collaborations include studies on pandemic responses and rural health disparities.