I am Director of Policy and Prevention at the School of Public Health and Director of the Sydney Health Literacy Lab at the University of Sydney.

I am a behavioural scientist whose current projects focus on three areas of primary health care: cardiovascular disease prevention, diabetes self-management, and infectious disease control.

I am a behavioural scientist with a strong passion for making health information more accessible and easier to understand and use. I work in collaboration with health services and people in our community to deliver practical and innovative research.

I am a Research Fellow and Biostatistician at Sydney School of Public Health and have worked in medical research since 2014. As a Research Fellow I provide statistical support for Sydney Health Literacy Lab and Centre for Kidney Research. As a Biostatistician, I have worked on linked data projects, major national cardiovascular health trials and registries. I have also assisted registrars and medical students with statistical support in their research projects.

I am an early career research fellow with training in qualitative, quantitative and experimental methods. My current research focuses on women’s reproductive health, including assisted reproductive technologies, pre-conception healthcare, fertility testing and polycystic ovary syndrome.

I am a biostatistician and experimental psychologist, and provide ad-hoc biostatistical consultation to members of SHLL. My research interests are in naturally-occurring acute infections, and the biopsychosocial factors contributing to severity and time to recovery

I am a behavioural scientist working to improve health communication across cancer care and cancer screening. My current projects are focused on communicating about HPV in head and neck cancer and cervical screening, and the potential implementation of a lung cancer screening program in Australia.

I am a behavioural scientist using qualitative and quantitative research to investigate healthcare communication and decision making. My current projects focus on three areas of cancer care: breast cancer screening, ductal carcinoma in situ management, and genomic testing in cancer.

I am a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow and an experienced qualitative researcher, in the Sydney School of Public Health. My PhD research focused on community health literacy and communication in the maternal health setting in Dien Bien Province, Vietnam.

I carry out research in health literacy, with a particular focus on the co-design and evaluation of health literacy interventions for socially disadvantaged populations. My current projects cut across community (e.g. adult education settings) and clinical contexts (e.g. chronic kidney disease).

I am a public health researcher whose research focuses on evidence-based healthcare communication and decision making, with a particular focus on cancer; the psychosocial impact of cancer diagnosis and treatment; and overdiagnosis.

I am a health services researcher and use mixed methods to understand communication and behavioural aspects of low value care. My current work includes studies looking at new models of care for prostate cancer screening, opportunities and challenges for reducing the carbon footprint of healthcare, and developing a measure of carbon health literacy.

I am an experienced researcher with a focus on improving coverage and quality of maternal and child health and nutrition interventions. In the past 15 years, I have led several randomised controlled trials, implementation research, and program evaluations in developing country settings. I am trained in public health and have expertise in study design, quantitative research methods, and analysis techniques. I have taught Master of Public Health courses in several universities and am a co-chair of the WHO-UNICEF’s Child Health Accountability Tracking Advisory group (CHAT).

I am a part of the Sydney Health Literacy Lab, the Menzies Centre for Health Policy and Economics, and Wiser Healthcare Research Collaboration. My research focuses on medication-related health communication and decision making, with a particular focus on older adults, deprescribing, and the primary care setting.

Jenna is an early career postdoctoral research fellow with a particular passion for improving health communication and decision making for older adults. Jenna is experienced in quantitative, qualitative, and experimental research methods and also works collaboratively across cancer screening, women’s health, and digital health information contexts.

Fiona joined the SHeLL team in March 2023 as a Research Administration Officer. Fiona has over 13 years’ research administration experience at the University of Sydney and has built her professional skills by working in various areas of the university including Agriculture & Environment, Psychology and Physics research.

Susan joined the SHeLL team in September 2023 as a Senior Project/Administration Officer. Susan supports the Lab's management team and applies her extensive experience in operational and research administrative management to ensure the smooth functioning of the Lab's activities. With a background in tertiary education, government and not-for-profit sectors, she has a broad range of skills across operations, strategy, finance and administration.

Krista joined SHeLL in July 2023. Krista obtained her PhD in 2016 and was the first to report on marine debris plastic contamination in the Southern Great Barrier Reef and its impacts on select nesting seabirds. She has undertaken research activities in the litter and marine debris space with a focus in monitoring, impacts and solutions in both Australia and internationally. Krista has also worked in animal health and biosecurity. Obtaining a qualification in public health (2023) Krista has been working with Prof Alexandra Barratt and her team as a research officer in projects related to sustainable healthcare. Krista has also undertaken qualitative research studies with Prof McCaffery’s SHeLL team and is the current program manager for Wiser Healthcare.

Research Assistant Claire Hudson joined SHeLL in November 2023 and will working on various research projects with both Brooke Nickel and Kirsten McCaffery. Claire has an Honours degree in Psychology from the University of Sydney.

Will joined SHeLL as a research assistant in August 2023 and is working on a project investigating socioeconomic variation in healthcare underuse & overuse in Australian public and private hospitals. Will completed a Bachelor of Science (Hons) in Mathematics in 2020, and a part-time Masters in Public Health in 2023 alongside working at Sydney Local Health District.

I joined SHeLL as a Research Assistant in October 2022 working on two projects: Parenting+ and a project related to the use of social media for health literacy. I graduated from the University of Sydney in 2020 with a Bachelor of Arts (Honours in Psychology). As part of my thesis, I investigated intentional forgetting and have also worked in consumer psychology exploring inspiration and trust.

Lucia is currently studying a Master of Public Health, and have been working with SHeLL and Wiser Healthcare since 2022. I have a clinical background, having previously worked as a paramedic. I am particularly passionate about harm reduction measures, such as pill testing, and mental health research.

I joined SHeLL in December 2022 as a research assistant working on the Parenting+ project. I am passionate about public health and previously completed a Master of Public Health with the University of Sydney in 2017. I started my career with the University of Sydney in 2018 and worked for over four years in rehabilitation research. I was involved in multiple mixed-method studies. I have experience working with people with brain injury, people with spinal cord injury, their carers and clinicians.

I joined SHeLL in July 2022 as a research assistant working with Professor Kirsten McCaffery and Dr Julie Ayre. I completed a Bachelor of Science (Hons) in Psychology in 2020 and my honours project was concerned with meaning-making processes and mental health in breast cancer survivors. 

I joined SHeLL in February 2020 as Trial Coordinator for the SUCCESS project working with Dr Danielle Muscat and Professor Angela Webster.

For the previous five years I worked as a Research Technologist in the Division of Cardiovascular diseases, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, USA. I have an educational background in nutrition and dietetics and exercise science which are well-suited to the SUCCESS project which will develop and evaluate an intervention to support patients to engage in shared decision-making and self-management behaviours (including healthy eating; exercise; fluid intake).

Sarah joined SHeLL in January 2024 as a research assistant working with Danielle Muscat on her DECRA critical health literacy project. Sarah completed a Bachelor of Psychology (Honours) (Arts) in 2018 from USYD. Her thesis was titled: “The Type and Timing of Breast Reconstruction after Mastectomy: Qualitative Insights into Women’s Decision-Making”. Since completing honours, Sarah has worked as an RA with the School of Psychology at USYD and on projects focused on the supportive needs of family carers.

Matilda joined the lab in January 2024 to work as a research assistant on the Parenting+ health literacy project led by Danielle Muscat. Matilda will focus on recruitment component of the project. Matilda graduated from the University of Sydney in 2023 with an Honours degree in Psychology (1st Class). Her thesis investigated whether oncology nurses provided emotional support and person-centred communication to caregivers of people with high-grade glioma.

Philomena joined SHeLL as a Research Assistant in January 2024 and will be working with Kirsten McCaffery on a project to educate clinicians on low value-based care. Philomena completed a Masters in Public Health at the University of Sydney in 2022, and currently works on other projects within the School of Public Health including a melanoma clinical trial and the Net Zero project with Kristen Pickles and NSW Health. Philomena also tutors the Intro Epidemiology unit in the Master of Public Health course and is the secretariat for the Women in Global Health Australia Committee.

Eliza joined SHeLL as a Research Assistant in January 2024. She is working with Carissa Bonner on several projects including the health literacy environment surrounding cardiovascular disease and CVD risk assessment and knowledge translation during public health emergencies. Eliza is also working with Rachael Dodd on a trial evaluating the implementation of an information resource about HPV-related oropharyngeal cancer in clinical practice.

Eliza completed a Master of Psychology (Clinical) at UNSW in 2023. Prior to this, she graduated from a Bachelor of Psychology (Honours; Class I and the University Medal) at the University of Sydney. Her thesis explored the experiences and support needs of informal carers of people living with multimorbidity.

Marguerite Tracy is a senior lecturer with the Specialty of General Practice with a 20 year background in general practice. Her current clinical work is at the Centre for Addiction Medicine in Western Sydney Local Health District. Her interests are in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ health, addiction medicine, medical education and person-centred health care. Working with Professor Lyndal Trevena and Dr Heather Shepherd Marguerite recently completed her PhD investigating question prompt list tools designed to facilitate patient question asking as part of shared decision making. Marguerite is also a member of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners Expert Committee - Quality Care.

Associate Professor Jesse Jansen was a Co-founder of SHeLL and is an Honorary Associate Professor, Sydney School of Public Health.

Dr Heather Shepherd BA (Hons) RN DipHE PhD is a registered nurse, research academic and Senior Lecturer in the Susan Wakil School of Nursing and Midwifery. Her teaching and research roles are founded on her expertise as a health communication and health services researcher and her clinical background in critical care, reproductive and sexual health nursing, and health services management.

Dr Rachel Thompson is a behavioural scientist with training in health psychology and shared decision-making and a Senior Lecturer in the Discipline of Behavioural and Social Sciences in Health, Sydney School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health.

Anders is a visiting researcher to the lab and is a behavioural research scientist at the Dept. of Public Health, University of Southern Denmark and an associate researcher at the Institute for Excellence in Health Equity, New York University. Anders principal area of research centers on structural racism and discrimination and population health. Specifically, he investigates how persistent systemic oppression of people from racial and ethnic minoritized groups cause and maintain population inequities and health disparities. He also studies the structural and social determinants of health inequalities experienced by people with mental illnesses and intellectual disabilities. Additionally, Anders research includes a focus on social connectedness, social identity, and both mental and physical health outcomes. In all of his research he maintains a strong applied and solution-oriented focus.

I am a behavioural sciences research fellow and the goal of my research is to improve the medical decision-making, psychosocial wellbeing, and clinical care of people with chronic health conditions, and their family carers. I have joined SHeLL to manage a large qualitative study exploring the impact of patient reported experience information on consumers and hospital staff’s healthcare decision-making and behaviours.

I am a PhD candidate at the School of Public Health. My research uses mixed methods to evaluate the health literacy demands of COVID-19 health information and to explore how people from non-English speaking backgrounds access, use and appraise health information.

I am a public health researcher, completing my PhD in youth-focussed social media health communication. Other projects I'm involved in focus on adolescent digital health literacy, youth social media use and vaccination delivery systems.

I am a PhD student and research assistant investigating the psychological impacts of lung cancer screening, test results, overdiagnosis and false-positives, and strategies for improving psychological outcomes associated with lung cancer screening

I’m a PhD candidate motivated to deliver trustworthy health information to the public. My current projects are focused on the use of plain language summaries to communicate research findings to a lay audience.

I am a PhD student in the Sydney School of Public Health under the supervision of Dr Danielle Muscat and Professor Kirsten McCaffery. My research is a mixed qualitative/quantitative study which is part of the Parenting Plus program, designed to improve health literacy and health outcomes for parents and babies in communities in Western Sydney.

My PhD is a qualitative study exploring the effectiveness of virtual care in diabetes management with a focus on patients and health providers’ experience, benefits and behavioural changes.

PhD student Dipti Zachariah has over 20 years’ experience in multicultural /population health in the public health sector and learning and development in the private sector. In the private sector she developed culturally diverse workforce solutions for a global multinational and managed a successful training consulting career with Fortune 500 clients across Asia Pacific, Europe and North America.