Nikki Percival

Dr. Nikki Percival is an Associate Professor in the School of Public Health at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS), within the Faculty of Health. Her expertise spans health promotion, implementation science, and Indigenous health systems strengthening. She holds dual academic leadership roles, including Chair of the Equity and Diversity Working Group (2017–2020) and membership in the Athena Swan Self Assessment Team at UTS.

Dr. Percival’s research focuses on reorienting health systems toward prevention and health equity, with particular emphasis on Indigenous Australian communities. She has pioneered methodologies such as developmental evaluation and continuous quality improvement to enhance health program effectiveness. Her work integrates participatory action research and systems-level interventions across primary care, chronic disease prevention, and mental health promotion.

Education: PhD in Public Health, Master of Public Health, and Bachelor of Science. She has over 29 years of professional experience in health promotion, including roles as Project Manager for chronic disease prevention initiatives and Director of a Health Promotion Strategy Unit.

Grants & Leadership:

• Lead investigator on NHMRC-funded projects (e.g., CRE-STRIDE 2020–2025, Aboriginal Child Mental Health 2019–2024)
• Principal investigator for UTS-funded evaluations (e.g., Caddyshack Program 2023–2025)
• Member of editorial boards for Health Promotion Journal of Australia and Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health

Awards: Recognized for social justice contributions (2019) and rising academic excellence (2017). Her work emphasizes ethical reflection in health promotion practice and Indigenous health equity.

She collaborates with the Primary Health Care Research and Information Service (PHCRIS), advancing evidence-based health promotion tools. Current supervision focuses on Indigenous nutrition programs, childhood malnutrition in Ghana, and implementation science applications.