Research Team

Associate Professor Ray Lovett is an Aboriginal (Wongaibon) epidemiologist with extensive experience in health research, public health policy development and evaluation.

Ray has a clinical background as a registered nurse and Aboriginal health worker. His research involves the integration of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture with improving health outcomes and health services.

Professor Emily Banks is a public health physician and epidemiologist with interest and expertise in large scale cohort studies, pharmacoepidemiology, women’s health, Aboriginal health and healthy ageing.

Emily is an NHMRC Senior Research Fellow, the Scientific Director of the 45 and Up Study and Head of Chronic Disease Epidemiology at NCEPH, Australian National University.

Professor Ngiare Brown is from the Yuin nation (south coast NSW). Professor Brown was the first identified Aboriginal medical graduate from NSW and is one of the first Aboriginal doctors in Australia.

Ngiare’s research interests include culturally appropriate approaches to child and adolescent health and wellbeing.
This includes building the evidence base through collaborative and multidisciplinary research, translation and service delivery.
She uses a cultural determinants approach to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health and wellbeing.

Associate Professor Mark Wenitong is from the Kabi Kabi tribal group of South Queensland. He is an Adjunct Associate Professor at James Cook University in the School of Tropical Public Health.

As the Senior Medical Officer at Apunipima Cape York Health Council, Mark works on health reform across Cape York Aboriginal communities, focusing on clinical governance and strategic primary health care planning.

Associate Professor Terry Dunbar is the Director of the Yaitya Purruna Indigenous Health Unit, Faculty of Health Science, at Adelaide University. She has developed strong relationships and working history with a range of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander groups across the Northern Territory through research and research governance.

Terry has worked in senior management levels in policy development and service delivery for both Commonwealth and State level public services.

Professor Catherine D’Este is the Chair in Biostatistics at NCEPH, Australian National University. She has been involved in studies with a wide variety of different content areas, designs and settings.

Catherine’s research includes cardiovascular disease, randomised controlled trials and challenging methodological areas such as longitudinal studies and meta-analysis. Other themes include multidisciplinary research and capacity building.

Dr Wei Du is a fellow at NCEPH, Australian National University. He holds a PhD in epidemiology and applies bio-statistical methods to the design of population health studies and associated data analyses.

Wei also holds a Master of Public Health, Master of Science and Technology, and a Bachelor of Medicine degree.

Dr Lisa Strelein is the Director of Research – Indigenous Country and Governance at AIATSIS. This includes her role as the Director of the Native Title Research Unit. Lisa is also an Adjunct Professor at the National Centre for Indigenous Studies.

Her research and publications focus on the relationship between Indigenous peoples and the state. Lisa also examines the role of the courts in defining Indigenous peoples’ rights.

Associate Professor Janet Smylie is a Métis family physician and public health researcher in Toronto, Canada. Through her work with Well Living House in Toronto, Janet’s goal is to ensure that every child born in Canada has the opportunity to live a full and healthy life.

Her research bridges Indigenous knowledge systems and knowledge translation, public health knowledge, perinatal surveillance and Indigenous health information systems.

Professor Sandra Eades is a Noongar woman from Mount Barker, Western Australia. She is the Domain Head of Aboriginal Health at the Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute.

Sandra completed a medical degree in 1990, working as a general practitioner. She then began her research career, focussing on the epidemiology of Indigenous child health in Australia.

In 2003, Sandra became Australia's first Aboriginal medical doctor to be awarded a Doctorate of Philosophy.

Dr Jill Guthrie is a Wiradjuri woman and a Research Fellow at NCEPH, Australian National University. She has over twenty years experience in public health and offender health.

Jill’s recent work examines the relationship between health and justice, with a specific interest in Justice Reinvestment. In 2013-16, she led a justice reinvestment research project with the Cowra community.

Jill has worked closely with key Indigenous and non-Indigenous experts to build relationships to enable other justice reinvestment research and advocacy partnerships.

Dr Anna Olsen is a Senior Lecturer at the Research School of Population Health, Australian National University. Anna leads a number of public health research projects and convenes the ANU Master of Public Health. She also supervises post-graduate students in public health, psychology, medicine and anthropology.

Anna is published in the fields of illicit drug use, women’s health, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health and health inequalities. She has a long-term commitment to social science and health research.