Kayla Smurthwaite

Kayla Smurthwaite is a Research Fellow and lecturer in environmental health at the National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health, Australian National University (ANU). She specializes in epidemiological study design, environmental health risk assessment, and PFAS exposure research. Her work focuses on community health impacts of environmental contamination, particularly in Australian communities affected by PFAS exposure from firefighting foams and asbestos. She has contributed to major studies like the PFAS Health Study and Air Services Australia Study, addressing health concerns and policy implications.

Education: BMEDS (Honours) and PhD from ANU. Research Interests include environmental epidemiology, exposure measurement, risk communication, and slow-moving environmental disasters like loose-fill asbestos and PFAS contamination. She teaches the Human Health, Environment and Climate Change course for the Masters of Public Health program.

Her research spans applied epidemiology methodologies, systematic reviews, and qualitative studies, with a focus on occupational health (e.g., firefighters' PFAS exposure) and climate change impacts on infectious diseases in Pacific Island nations. Recent projects include feasibility assessments for occupational respiratory disease studies and systematic reviews on botulism and zoonotic pathogens.

Labs/Teams: Collaborates with ANU's Centre of Epidemiology for Policy and Practice, and international teams on global health issues. Supervises research students in environmental and public health domains.