Dr. Louise Alexander is an Associate Professor in Mental Health Nursing at Deakin University's School of Nursing & Midwifery (Faculty of Health). She holds prior academic roles including Senior Lecturer (ACU, 2018–2023) and Lecturer positions (ACU and Holmesglen Institute). Her research focuses on mental health nursing workforce sustainability, stigma reduction, simulation-based education, and curriculum development. Key interests include nurse resilience, pandemic impacts on healthcare workers, and improving student attitudes towards mental illness. Education: PhD from Deakin University; GCHE qualification Certifications: University of Melbourne's Emerging Leaders & Management Program (2021–2022) Teaching: Leads courses in forensic mental health, therapeutic communication, and health promotion Research Highlights: Recent work examines pandemic trauma among nurses, alcohol consumption trends post-COVID, and leadership's role in workforce retention. Her studies emphasize qualitative methods and integrative reviews to address systemic challenges in mental health nursing education and practice. Awards/Grants: No explicit awards listed; research supported by institutional collaborations. Active in developing transition-to-practice programs and evaluating simulation-based training efficacy. Labs/Teams: Collaborates with interdisciplinary teams on mental health workforce resilience and stigma reduction initiatives. Engages in national and international nursing education networks.
Dr Virginia Hagger is a Senior Lecturer in Nursing at Deakin University's School of Nursing & Midwifery, part of the Faculty of Health and the Institute for Health Transformation. She specializes in diabetes education, self-management, and psychological wellbeing. Her research focuses on structured education programs, diabetes distress, and workforce development. She holds a PhD and Master of Public Health from Deakin University. Dr Hagger has led numerous national and international studies, including interventions targeting diabetes distress, insulin therapy barriers, and telehealth support. She is affiliated with the Quality and Patient Safety (QPS) Strategic Research Centre and the Australian Centre for Behavioural Research in Diabetes . Awards include the 2019 Alfred Deakin Medal and 2017 Vice-Chancellor's Award for Teaching Excellence. Her teaching spans undergraduate and postgraduate nursing, including units on diabetes pathophysiology and psychosocial contexts. Current doctoral students focus on diabetes distress, social support in Ethiopia, and autonomy in insulin management. Over 30 peer-reviewed articles and grants (e.g., MRFF-funded HypoPAST and LISTEN trials) underscore her contributions to diabetes care innovation and workforce training.
About Vipul Jain: Associate Professor Vipul Jain leads Supply Chain and Logistics Management at RMIT University’s School of Accounting, Information and Supply Chain Management. With over 20 years of academic experience, he has held senior roles at institutions like Victoria University of Wellington (NZ) and IIT Delhi (India), contributing to curriculum development, research strategy, and academic-industry collaboration. His international collaborations span over 20 global institutions, emphasizing interdisciplinary research in supply chain resilience, sustainability, and Industry 4.0. Education & Academic Leadership: Previously served as Programme Director for Master of Technology (Industrial Engineering) at IIT Delhi, leading the establishment of the Modelling and Analysis of Supply Chain (MASC) Lab. Holds editorial roles for journals like International Journal of Intelligent Enterprise and Computers & Industrial Engineering . Research Focus: Specializes in supply chain design, sustainability, circular economy, and business analytics. His work integrates ICT and big data to address complex supply chain challenges, with notable contributions to vaccine distribution, blockchain adoption, and post-pandemic resilience. Over 145 peer-reviewed publications, including high-impact journals like OMEGA and International Journal of Production Economics , reflect his prolific output. Industry Impact: Conducted management training for organizations like JCB and IBM. Served as an expert assessor for New Zealand’s Ministry of Business and Industry and advised the Indian Railways. His research has been funded by the Department of Science and Technology (India) and EU initiatives like FP6 I*PROMS. Awards & Recognition: Ranked #7 in India’s top logistics academics (2018), recipient of Literati Awards (2024, 2020), and multiple editorial leadership roles. Active in global conferences, including co-chairing ANZAM 2023. Labs & Collaborations: Founded MASC Lab at IIT Delhi. Collaborates with Coventry University, Monash University, Hong Kong Polytechnic, and institutions in Switzerland, Spain, Canada, and the U.S. Focus areas include sustainable supply chains, digital transformation, and crisis resilience.
Sarah Bankins is an Associate Professor at Macquarie University's Department of Management. Her research focuses on AI's impact on work, organizational ethics, and human resource management. She holds editorial roles at The Australian Journal of Management and Group and Organization Management . Before academia, she worked in public sector HR and management consulting. Education: PhD from Queensland University of Technology, B. Business/B. Economics from University of Queensland, and a Graduate Certificate in Tertiary Teaching from University of Newcastle. Research Interests: AI ethics, future of work, workplace technology, and interdisciplinary collaboration with fields like computer science and philosophy. Recent articles explore AI's role in decision-making, workplace trust, and educational ethics. Key projects include studies on mining sector mental health and ethical AI applications. Awards include teaching excellence (2013) and research supervision (2017).
Kylie King is a Senior Lecturer at the School of Psychological Sciences at Monash University and affiliated with the Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health. She joined Monash University in November 2019 as an Impact Fellow and transitioned to her current Senior Lecturer role in February 2023, where she focuses on fostering research connections with industry, community, and people with lived experience. Her educational background includes a Doctor of Psychology from Deakin University (2001) and a PhD completed in early 2020 focusing on suicide prevention. Prior to joining Monash, she worked as a psychologist specializing in addictions and spent ten years (2009-2019) as a Research Fellow at the Melbourne School of Population and Global Health at the University of Melbourne. Dr. King's research primarily centers on suicide prevention, with particular emphasis on males and communities experiencing disproportionate suicide rates. Her work integrates program evaluation methodologies to develop targeted interventions and suicide prevention education. She leads research teams focused on creating evidence-based approaches to address mental health challenges in vulnerable populations. Her research aligns with UN Sustainable Development Goals related to health and wellbeing. Analysis of her recent publications reveals a strong focus on gender-specific suicide prevention, particularly for men and older males, as well as attention to culturally specific approaches for Indigenous communities. Her work bridges clinical psychology with public health interventions, examining how societal factors, occupational environments, and cultural contexts influence mental health outcomes and suicide risk. Associate Editor, Australian Psychologist Journal (2020-present) Associate Editor, Australian Psychologist Journal (2021-present) Guest Editor, Frontiers in Public Health (2020) Dr. King is actively involved in peer review responsibilities and currently leads significant research projects including "Preventing suicide in boys and men" (2020-2026), "Formative evaluation of suicide prevention gatekeeper training for aged care workers" (2023-2025), and "Zest – A personalised, digital intervention for sleep and wellbeing in Australian shift workers" (2023-2026). She is accepting PhD students for research supervision through Monash University's Supervisor Connect platform. Her research team operates at the intersection of clinical psychology and public health, developing evidence-based interventions for vulnerable populations with strong emphasis on community-centered approaches and collaboration with individuals with lived experience of mental health challenges.
Professor Thomas Astell-Burt is a Professor of Cities and Planetary Health at the University of Sydney's School of Architecture, Design and Planning. His work focuses on the intersection of urban environments, green spaces, and public health. He is a member of the Sydney Environment Institute and the Charles Perkins Centre. His research examines how urban planning and green infrastructure can mitigate health inequities, combat climate change, and improve mental/cardiometabolic health. Key areas include nature prescriptions, heat-related mortality, and the role of green spaces in reducing loneliness. Recent grants include projects on aged care workforce sustainability, nature-based strategies for loneliness reduction, and the PANDA Trial for cardiometabolic disease prevention. Over 180+ publications span peer-reviewed journals like Scientific Reports , Climate , and PloS One , with a focus on global health trends and urban environmental policies. His work bridges epidemiology, urban design, and interdisciplinary collaboration to inform evidence-based health policies. Key affiliations include leadership roles in global health initiatives and collaborations with institutions like the University of Glasgow. His research has been cited in policy frameworks addressing urban sustainability and planetary health.
Danielle Butler is a Visiting Fellow at the National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health, Australian National University, and a part-time General Practitioner/Researcher at the Institute of Urban Indigenous Health. With 20+ years clinical experience and a PhD (2018), her work focuses on healthcare access equity for underserved populations through linked data analysis, mixed-methods research, and telehealth evaluation. Current projects: Enhancing Safe Telehealth , Patient-Centered Medical Homes , Primary Care Data Linkage Key collaborations: ANU, IUIH, Australian Institute of Health and Welfare Her research combines multilevel modeling of administrative data with participatory action research to evaluate primary care innovations. Recent work examines telehealth impacts , out-of-pocket costs , and Aboriginal health service models . Publications span BMJ Open , BMC Health Services Research , and Health Policy , with emphasis on systematic reviews , linked data methodology , and health equity metrics . Research fingerprint shows dominant themes: Primary Health Care (100%), Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health (66%), Health Services Research (49%), and Telehealth (100%).
Dr. Jiang Qian is a Lecturer at the University of Sydney. He holds a PhD in Marketing from the University of Houston, a Master’s in Finance from Johns Hopkins University, and an undergraduate double major in Information Systems and Finance from the Southwestern University of Finance and Economics. His research focuses on leveraging quantitative models and machine learning techniques to extract insights from large-scale data in marketing and healthcare contexts, particularly in social media, online search, and healthcare markets. Current research supervision includes Jennifer Ye’s project on Audio Data Analytics: A New Dimension in Customer Service Excellence . Dr. Qian’s recent work spans AI applications in breast cancer detection, medical imaging analysis, and reinforcement learning for autonomous systems. His studies address challenges like AI model calibration, training data quality, and radiologist-AI collaboration in clinical settings. Notable contributions include analyzing video cover image impacts on advertisement engagement and exploring multiresolution techniques for medical imaging segmentation. His interdisciplinary approach bridges marketing analytics and healthcare technology, emphasizing practical clinical translation of AI systems.
Professor John Piggott AO FASSA is Scientia Professor of Economics at the University of New South Wales, where he serves as Director of the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence in Population Ageing Research (CEPAR). He has held significant leadership roles at UNSW including three terms as Head of School of Economics, Associate Dean Research for the Business Faculty for 7 years, and Interim Dean of the Faculty. His expertise spans retirement economics, pension systems, and population ageing issues, with particular focus on Asia-Pacific region. His educational background includes: BA from University of Sydney MSc from London School of Economics PhD from University of London Professor Piggott's research focuses on retirement and pension economics, population ageing, and public finance. His work examines pension system designs across different countries, with particular emphasis on emerging Asian economies. He has conducted extensive research on retirement income systems, long-term care financing, and the economic implications of demographic change. His research has significant policy relevance, having informed government reviews and international organizations' work on ageing populations. He has published widely in leading international economics and actuarial academic journals, with recent work analyzing pension reforms in Indonesia, Thailand, and China. His recent publications demonstrate a strong focus on population ageing in the Asia-Pacific region, particularly examining pension systems and long-term care in emerging economies. His work bridges economics, public policy, and health services research, with increasing attention to the interconnections between demographic change, economic development, and social policy in aging societies. His research has directly influenced policy discussions through participation in the Henry Tax Review and Australian Ministerial Superannuation Advisory Committee. Professor Piggott has received numerous prestigious awards and honors: Fellow of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia (1992) Scientia Professor at UNSW (2011-present) ARC Australian Professorial Fellow (2011-2015) UNSW Business School's Staff Excellence Global Impact Award (2020) Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) (2020) Professor Piggott has supervised numerous PhD students including Rafal Chomik, Hoang Hoyen, and T Le Trang. He has secured substantial research funding including multiple ARC grants totaling over $27 million for the CEPAR Centre, Japan Economic and Social Research Institute projects, and Rockefeller Foundation support. His research has directly informed policy discussions through participation in the Henry Tax Review and Australian Ministerial Superannuation Advisory Committee, and he was appointed co-chair of the Think20 Task Force on Aging Population during Japan's G20 Presidency. As Director of CEPAR, Professor Piggott leads a major research center focused on population ageing research, bringing together interdisciplinary expertise to address the challenges of aging societies. The center collaborates with international partners including the US National Academy of Medicine and OECD, and has played a key role in establishing the International Pension Research Association. His work has significant real-world impact, with his research on JobKeeper transition proposals during the COVID-19 pandemic receiving widespread media attention.
Gavin Schwarz is a Professor and Head of School at the School of Management and Governance within the UNSW Business School . He specializes in organizational change , organizational failure and inertia , and the dynamics of virtual teams , with a focus on how organizations fail during change processes and how to develop applied strategies for change management . His work spans diverse sectors including healthcare, technology, and education, with publications in leading journals such as Academy of Management Learning and Education and Administrative Science Quarterly . Education : PhD in Management (University of Queensland), MPhil (Hons) in Management (University of Auckland), BA in Management and English (University of Auckland). Grants : 2020 Brock University grant for "University communication in times of COVID-19" , 2020 UNSW Medicine grant for "Translation and change: Embedding effective change management in health" , and earlier Australian Research Council and Gordon J. Samuels Fellowship awards. His research explores the development of knowledge in organizational theories , with an emphasis on collective responses to change , HR management during crises , and technology strategy . He has contributed to understanding organizational communication , team innovation , and structural inertia . His 15 most recent publications cover topics from AI’s role in organizational change to pandemic-driven research adaptation, with keywords spanning management science , behavioral economics , and digital transformation . Scientific Awards 2021-2023 : Outstanding Reviewer Awards (Academy of Management Review) 2017-2020 : Best Reviewer Awards (Journal of Organizational Behavior) 2019, 2013, 2011 : Best Paper Finalist/Awardee (Academy of Management divisions) 2007, 2006 : Editorial Board Excellence (Academy of Management Journal) and Gordon J. Samuels Fellowship As an active supervisor in organizational change and HR development , his work supports healthcare innovation and digital transformation. He serves as Editor-in-Chief for the Journal of Applied Behavioral Science and is on the editorial boards of Academy of Management Review , Journal of Management , and Journal of Organizational Behavior . Contact: g.schwarz@unsw.edu.au
Dr. Suman Adhikari is a Conjoint Lecturer at the School of Clinical Medicine , University of New South Wales (UNSW), focusing on Infectious Diseases , Antimicrobial Stewardship , and Clinical Pharmacology . He has contributed to advancements in antibiotic management, sepsis diagnostics, and e-learning tools for healthcare professionals. University: University of New South Wales School: School of Clinical Medicine Email: suman.adhikari@unsw.edu.au Research Interests: Dr. Adhikari’s work spans antimicrobial stewardship in tertiary care, therapeutic drug monitoring of antibiotics like linezolid, and educational technology for vancomycin use. He also explores pharmacokinetics in parasitic infections and contributes to sepsis pathway optimization . Publication Trends: His recent articles (2017–2023) highlight antibiotic safety , digital education , and infection control . Notable studies include multimodal stewardship in ICU, qSOFA criteria validation, and e-learning tool efficacy for vancomycin training. Contact: Phone: 0411817996 | Location: Gray Street, Kogarah 2217 NSW
Didar Zowghi is a Senior Principal Research Scientist and Science Team Leader at CSIRO Data61, Australia's national science agency. His work focuses on advancing ethical AI systems, data quality frameworks, and requirements engineering methodologies. He leads research initiatives addressing challenges in AI governance, diversity/inclusion in technology, and human-centered AI development. Research interests include AI ethics, data completeness in healthcare systems, and the application of machine learning in requirements engineering. His contributions span theoretical frameworks for responsible AI patterns, empirical studies on user perceptions of AI tools like M365 Copilot, and analysis of AI's role in global diplomatic practices. Zowghi has published extensively on topics ranging from blockchain in supply chains to pedagogical innovations in software engineering education. His work often bridges technical systems and societal impacts, emphasizing real-world implementation challenges through collaborative industry-academia projects. Notable outputs include the Responsible AI Pattern Catalogue and studies examining barriers to data quality in IoT platforms. He has pioneered frameworks linking innovation initiatives to occupational skill requirements and developed tools like Elica for dynamic requirements knowledge extraction in agile teams.
Professor Jill Milroy is a Palyku woman from the Pilbara region and holds dual roles as Pro Vice-Chancellor (Indigenous Education) and Head of the School of Indigenous Studies at The University of Western Australia (UWA). She directs UWA’s Poche Centre for Indigenous Health and leads the University’s Indigenous Education Strategy and Aboriginal Employment Strategy. Her academic leadership extends to key university committees including Academic Board and the Vice-Chancellor’s Advisory Group. Her research focuses on Aboriginal knowledge systems, storytelling, and Indigenous health equity. Notable contributions include children’s books co-authored with her mother, Gladys Milroy, and leadership in national grants addressing chronic disease disparities and mental health. She is recognized with the 2011 Order of Australia for services to Indigenous education. Research Interests: Aboriginal storytelling and knowledge preservation Indigenous higher education policy Mental health equity in Indigenous populations Health professional education reform Recent Research Trends: Her work addresses pandemic impacts on Indigenous communities, culturally responsive healthcare systems, and global Indigenous health equity. Collaborations span Australia, Canada, and New Zealand through projects like the NHMRC International Indigenous Health Research Partnership. Awards: Member of the Order of Australia (2011) Grants & Leadership: Chief Investigator in a $2.8M Medical Research Future Fund project on Indigenous-centred mental healthcare Co-leads the National Suicide Prevention Leadership and Support Program Labs/Teams: Directs the Poche Centre for Indigenous Health and contributes to the Transforming Indigenous Mental Health & Wellbeing initiative.
Michelle Fitts is a Senior Research Fellow in the Wellbeing and Preventable Chronic Disease group, focusing on public health research related to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, women’s health, and remote healthcare systems. Her work contributes to UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 3 (Good Health), 5 (Gender Equality), and 8 (Decent Work). Research Interests : Health equity for Indigenous populations Workforce dynamics in remote health services Digital health interventions for substance use Trauma and concussion management Gender-based violence in healthcare contexts Publication Trends : Her recent articles (2024–2025) emphasize qualitative methodologies, workforce retention in Aboriginal-controlled clinics, AI-driven health tools, and trauma-related healthcare disparities. Topics span SDG-aligned areas like chronic disease prevention and gender justice. Network & Collaborations : Collaborates with institutions in Australia’s Northern Territory and Western Australia, focusing on Indigenous health and rural service delivery. Key partnerships include academic teams in public health and emergency medicine.
Associate Professor Myra Hamilton is a Principal Research Fellow at the University of Sydney Business School, specializing in gender, ageing, and care. She holds a BA (Hons 1) and PhD from the University of Sydney. Her research focuses on work/care reconciliation, policy needs of carers, and retirement income inequalities. She is a member of the Sydney Centre for Healthy Societies and Sydney Policy Lab, and serves on the Board of COTANSW. Education: BA (Hons 1), University of Sydney PhD, University of Sydney Research Interests: Myra’s work examines how policies and services can improve wellbeing in work and care across lifecourses. Key areas include unpaid care responsibilities, retirement income disparities, and intergenerational relationships. She combines academic research with applied policy projects for governments and NGOs. Articles Trends: Recent publications emphasize multigenerational workforce policies, grandparent childcare dynamics, and barriers to formal aged care access. Her 2024 book The Multigenerational Workforce explores age and gender in workplaces. Grants & Advising: Current grants include 'New models of replacement care for working carers' (ARC) and 'Women in Construction Industry Innovation Program'. She has supervised students on topics like aged care services and mature-age labor markets. Labs/Teams: Active in the ARC Centre of Excellence in Population Ageing Research and collaborates with organizations like the Social Policy Research Centre (UNSW).
