Louise Causer

Louise Causer is a Senior Lecturer at The Kirby Institute, University of New South Wales, where she leads the Decentralised Diagnostics Implementation Research Group. She is also a member of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Research Education Committee and serves as the Post Graduate Coordinator at The Kirby Institute. Her work focuses on applied epidemiology, implementation evaluations, and health services research in infectious diseases.

• MBBS (University of Sydney, Australia)
• MScPH (London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK)
• DTM&H (London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK)
• PhD (UNSW, Sydney, Australia)

Dr. Causer specializes in multidisciplinary research aimed at improving infectious disease control for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in rural and remote Australia. Her work emphasizes the integration of novel diagnostic technologies for STIs, HIV, and respiratory infections in primary care settings. She prioritizes stakeholder collaboration to influence policy and practice, particularly in the Asia Pacific region.

Her recent publications highlight advancements in point-of-care testing for STIs, COVID-19, and hepatitis C, with a focus on sustainability, quality assurance, and real-world implementation challenges. These studies span diverse geographic and clinical contexts, including Indonesia and Papua New Guinea.

Scientific awards and honors include:

• NHMRC PhD Scholarship (2013-2015)
• NHMRC Early Career Research Fellowship (2019-2022)
• NHMRC Research Excellence Award - Frank Fenner Early Career Fellowship 2018
• NSW Premiers Prize, Science and Engineering - Early Career Researcher of the Year (Biological Sciences) 2021

Dr. Causer has supervised and mentored students through her role in the Kirby Institute Cooper HIV AIDS Research Training (CHART) Program since 2019 and has contributed to teaching UNSW Medicine Phase 1 Facilitator (TP2 BGD) in 2020 and 2023. Her research has attracted over 13.5 million in grants and includes over 55 peer-reviewed publications.

She has led initiatives such as the First Nations Infectious Diseases Point-of-Care Testing Program, collaborating with Flinders University International Centre for Point of Care Testing to implement molecular STI diagnostics in 75+ clinics nationwide.