Carole James

Professor Carole James is a leading academic in Occupational Therapy at the University of Sydney's Sydney School of Health Sciences, within the Faculty of Medicine and Health. She holds a PhD (Occupational Therapy), MHSc (Occupational Therapy), BSc (Occupational Therapy), and Dip COT. Prior to her current role, she spent over 20 years at the University of Newcastle, contributing to occupational therapy and workplace health programs. Her research focuses on workplace injury management, mental health in mining, functional capacity evaluations, and obesity prevention in occupational settings.

Her research interests are centered on work environments, injury prevention, and occupational health, particularly in the mining sector. She has collaborated extensively with industry partners to address occupational hazards and translate research into practice. Key projects include the RESHAPE workplace wellness program and studies on lung disease in coal miners.

Professor James has been awarded multiple honors, including the 2018 Early Career Research Excellence Award and the 2017 AusIMM Best Paper Award. She supervises students across disciplines like Occupational Therapy, Physiotherapy, and Psychiatry. Her grants include funding from Coal Services Health and Safety Trust and Port Waratah Coal Services Limited for projects on dust exposure and workplace health.

Her teaching emphasizes occupational rehabilitation and emerging practices in a multi-professional health environment. She has pioneered initiatives such as the 'Out of the Box' healthy eating program for miners and contributed to evidence-based guidelines for functional capacity evaluations.