Em Bould

Em Bould is a Senior Research Fellow in the School of Primary and Allied Healthcare at Monash University, with Adjunct Senior Research Fellow positions at La Trobe University's Living with Disability Research Centre and James Cook University's College of Public Health, Medical & Veterinary Sciences. Their research focuses on generating evidence to bring about positive change for vulnerable groups, particularly through employment supports and human-animal supports that facilitate social and community inclusion.

Em Bould holds a PhD in Psychology from the University of Wolverhampton (awarded April 4, 2006), a Postgraduate Certificate in Learning and Teaching in Higher Education from the same institution (awarded June 1, 2005), and a BSc (Hons) in Psychology & Music from the University of Roehampton (awarded June 29, 2001).

Em's research interests center around practices, programs and policies to enable participation of people with cognitive disability; social inclusion for people with cognitive disability; mainstream employment pathways for people with neurological disability; and supporting social connections for healthy ageing. Their work integrates quantitative methodologies with co-design and co-production expertise involving lived experience experts, service providers and government agencies. Em has extensive experience in developing AAA-accessible digital and print resource design for health and disability sectors.

Analysis of Em's recent publications reveals a strong focus on animal-assisted interventions, particularly examining their role in reducing social isolation and supporting community inclusion across various populations including people with cognitive disabilities, autism, and those experiencing healthy ageing. Their work spans multiple disciplines including occupational therapy, disability studies, human-animal interaction, and rehabilitation medicine, with a consistent emphasis on practical applications of research findings.

• Employment CoLab joint winner of the award for Excellence in Injury and Disability Management (Return to Work / Community) at the 2021 Excellence in Personal Injury Education Foundation (PIEF) Award ceremony
• FMNHS Dean's Award for Excellence in Industry Education Programs (team)
• National Research Award of the Australasian Society for Intellectual Disability, 2017, for the paper: Conundrums of Supported Living: The Experiences of People with Intellectual Disability
• Rehabilitation, Ageing and Independent Living (RAIL) Research Centre Early-Mid Career Researcher Grant
• Vice-Chancellor's Education and Research Excellence Awards 2021

Em Bould actively supervises PhD students and has received multiple research grants, including the Rehabilitation, Ageing and Independent Living (RAIL) Research Centre Early-Mid Career Researcher Grant. Current projects include the 'PaPs: Pilot of an Animal-Assisted Activity program in residential aged care' as Primary Chief Investigator, the 'Early Evaluation of the National Centre of Excellence in Intellectual Disability Health', and research on 'Environment and behaviour mapping in Residential Aged Care'. Em serves on multiple editorial boards including BMC Health Services Research, Human-Animal Interactions Journal, and Australian Journal of Social Issues.

Em leads and participates in several collaborative research initiatives focused on disability inclusion, with particular emphasis on developing accessible resources and implementing co-design approaches. Their work with the 'My Allied Health Space' initiative demonstrates commitment to practical knowledge translation in the health and disability sectors.