Mariko Carey

Professor Mariko Carey is a Research Fellow with the School of Medicine and Public Health at the University of Newcastle, Australia. She is an interdisciplinary social scientist whose work focuses on the co-creation, evaluation and translation of psychosocial and health interventions, including models of care. Carey is a NHMRC Translating Research into Practice (TRIP) Fellow working within the Priority Research Centre for Health Behaviour at UON, with an internationally recognized reputation in behavioral science research.

Her educational background includes a Doctor of Psychology (Health) and a Bachelor of Science (Honours), both from the University of Melbourne. Prior to joining the University of Newcastle in 2009, she gained significant experience through roles at The Cancer Council Victoria (2007-2008) as Senior Research Fellow and at Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre (2003-2007) as Research Assistant/Fellow.

Professor Carey's research program has a strong focus on real-world translation of evidence into practice. Her work spans multiple health domains including mental health care beyond the consultation room, cancer survivorship, dementia care, and women's health. She has developed innovative approaches such as pre-consultation mental health screening in general practice settings and care coordination interventions for people living with dementia. Her transdisciplinary approach allows her to translate core behavioral science principles across various health conditions and settings, from stroke rehabilitation to cervical cancer screening in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Her research has demonstrated significant gaps in patient-centered care, such as her finding that around 50% of people with elevated depression scores aren't identified by their general practitioners during standard consultations. She addresses these gaps through pragmatic interventions that can be implemented within existing healthcare systems.

• 2016 Vice Chancellor's Award for Research Supervision Excellence, The University of Newcastle
• 2011 Newcastle University Postgraduate Student's Associate Supervisor of the Year Award

Professor Carey has supervised 12 PhD students to completion and serves as Co-Director of the HMRI Women's Health Research Program. She has been a chief investigator on 13 category 1 grants (NHMRC, MRFF, ARC) with 8 as either Chief Investigator A (lead) or Chief Investigator B. Her leadership extends to her recent term as Interim Director of the Central Coast Research Institute, where she implemented researcher and organizational affiliate schemes to foster collaboration. She currently leads research teams focusing on dementia care coordination, mental health screening in primary care, and women's health interventions including responses to domestic violence and workplace sexual harassment.