Liana Leach

Liana Leach is a Research Fellow in the Department of Health Economics, Wellbeing and Society at the Australian National University (ANU), located within the College of Health & Medicine. She holds a PhD from ANU and a Bachelor of Applied Psychology from the University of Canberra. Her research focuses on mental health epidemiology, particularly the social determinants of health, work-family conflicts, and mental health transitions during parenthood. She has conducted extensive studies on the impact of work and caregiving roles on mental health, with a strong emphasis on policy and community interventions.

Dr. Leach has secured over $4.9 million in funding from government and non-governmental organizations, including the Medical Research Future Fund and the Australian Research Council. She has authored 80+ peer-reviewed articles and contributed to government reports, including analyses of mental health impacts during the COVID-19 pandemic. Her work integrates large-scale epidemiological data with community intervention studies, supported by partnerships with organizations like the Perinatal Wellbeing Centre (PWC), which she served on the Board of from 2015–2021.

Her research spans topics such as postpartum mental health, workplace bullying, and the syndemic effects of wildfires and pandemics on maternal and child health. She teaches postgraduate courses on social determinants of health and has led projects like the 'Great Disruption of COVID-19' study, examining work-family dynamics during crises. She collaborates with interdisciplinary teams on initiatives like the CHIME Australia project, focusing on perinatal mental health through social singing interventions.