معرفی
Professor Julie Leask is a social scientist and professor at the University of Sydney, School of Public Health within the Faculty of Medicine and Health. She co-leads the Social and Behavioural Insights in Immunisation research group and is also affiliated with the Susan Wakil School of Nursing and Midwifery. As a visiting professorial fellow at the National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance, she contributes to national immunization research and policy. Professor Leask holds an NHMRC Investigator Leadership Fellowship and serves on various national and international advisory committees related to vaccination.
Professor Leask earned her PhD in Public Health from the University of Sydney in 2003, following a Master of Public Health from the same institution in 1998. Her educational background also includes a Certificate of Midwifery from Northern Sydney Area Midwifery School (1991) and a Diploma in Health Science, Nursing from University of Technology Sydney (1990), giving her a unique interdisciplinary perspective that bridges clinical practice with public health research.
Professor Leask's research focuses on the social and behavioural aspects of vaccination, vaccine uptake, communication strategies, and strengthening vaccination programs and policy. She applies knowledge and methods from psychology, sociology, public health ethics, communication, and implementation science to understand and address vaccine hesitancy and improve immunization coverage. Her work includes developing the Sharing Knowledge About Immunisation (SKAI) communication package to support conversations between parents and health care workers, and she has contributed to international efforts to standardize surveys for understanding influences on vaccine uptake. Analysis of her recent publications shows a strong emphasis on vaccine hesitancy across diverse populations, the impact of policies like 'No Jab, No Pay,' and cross-cultural studies of vaccination attitudes in countries including Australia, Italy, and Indonesia.
Professor Leask has received numerous prestigious awards recognizing her contributions to public health and vaccination research:
- Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) in the General Division in 2024
- Rosemary Bryant Award, Australian Primary Health Care Nurses Association, July 2023
- President's Award, Public Health Association of Australia – group award for the Collaboration on Social Science and Immunisation, 2022
- Supervisor of the Year 2021 (Medicine), Sydney University Postgraduate Representative Association
- The Australian Financial Review 100 Women of Influence, 2019 Overall and global category winner
Professor Leask supervises several PhD students including Maria Christou-Ergos, Belinda Bruce, Catherine Helps, and Rebika Nepali. She has been instrumental in developing and implementing research grants focused on vaccination communication, vaccine hesitancy, and improving immunization coverage. As chair of the WHO working group for measuring the Behavioural and Social Drivers of Vaccination (2018-2022), she led international efforts to standardize metrics for understanding vaccination behaviors. Her NHMRC Investigator Leadership Fellowship supports her ongoing research in social and behavioral aspects of immunization and vaccine communication.
Professor Leask co-founded the Collaboration on Social Science in Immunisation (COSSI) in 2016, which aims to inform Australian immunisation policy with evidence from social sciences. She leads the Social and Behavioural Insights in Immunisation research group at the University of Sydney and is a member of the Sydney Infectious Diseases Institute. Her team has developed innovative communication tools like the SKAI package and has conducted extensive research on vaccine hesitancy, risk communication during health emergencies, and the impact of policies like Australia's 'No Jab, No Pay' on vaccination rates. She has also been instrumental in establishing the Vaccine Acceptance Research Network now based at the Sabin Vaccine Institute.
