Molly Wardaguga Research Centre
Professor Kildea is recognised internationally as a midwifery leader, a health services researcher and an advocate for returning birthing services to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander control; and rural and remote communities. She is passionate about the year before and after birth and sees it as the best time to positively impact mums, bubs and families. She uses research for social change.
Associate Professor Yvette Roe is Njikena Jawuru woman from the West Kimberly region, Western Australia who has more than 20 years’ experience working in the Indigenous health sector. As an Aboriginal scholar, Yvette’s research is co-designed with families, communities and service providers, and aims to improve health for Indigenous Australians.
Associate Professor Gao is an obstetrician trained in China with additional experience and qualification in health economics. Yu is dedicated to applying advanced statistical and health-economic evaluation skills to detect the associations underneath phenomenon and create evidence for better policymaking decisions.
Dr Hickey is an early career researcher with a focus on the social inequalities of health and workforce development in the Indigenous context. She has a particular interest in translating evidence into practice to improve social and health outcomes, increasing the research capacity of emerging Indigenous researchers and the cultural safety of non-Indigenous health providers.
Sarah is a Central Arrernte woman born and bred in Alice Springs, NT. Her work in data collection and collation of women's stories about their birthing journeys, ensure that women's voices are heard in developing the best culturally safe maternity care.
Dr Ireland is a medical anthropologist, nurse, midwife and early career researcher with expertise in cross-cultural qualitative research methods, especially collaborative approaches with Aboriginal people and community development. An associate editor of the Health Promotion Journal of Australia, she is currently undertaking a project called ‘Caring for Mum on Country’.
Julie is a research midwife and lactation consultant who has a passion for education, research and providing the best clinical care for women and babies in their breastfeeding journey. She is currently supporting a service-wide research translation project to embed the Thompson Method of breastfeeding across the Mater hospital.
Kayla is an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander woman whose family comes from Bundjalung county, in the Northern NSW region. As a community researcher, she is passionate about seeing women throughout their pregnancy journey, up until bub is six months old.
Luciana is passionate about working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, communities and services. She is undertaking a PhD through the Molly Wardaguga Research Centre and evaluating strengths-based programs to improve health and birthing outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander mums and babies.
Mel is an Aboriginal woman descending from the Gumbangirr and Dharawal nations. She lives in Wandandian country within the Yuin Nation. Having completed a Bachelor of Midwifery and Master of Primary Maternity Care, Mel is the Midwife and Birthing on Country Project Officer for the Waminda South Coast Women’s Health & Welfare Aboriginal Corporation. Mel is passionate about improving the health and wellbeing of her people and is responsible for coordinating the Shoalhaven Birthing on Country model from a community perspective to ensure the community voices are being heard and put into practice.
Birri O’Dea is a proud Birri-Gubba (Wiri) and Kungalu woman, with a background in business (MBA) and human resources, as well as performance measurement and management. Driven to contribute to the achievement of culturally safe healthcare for all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, Birri plans to undertake a PhD at the Centre on completion of her Master's studies. Her doctoral studies will build on the work she is currently conducting in the Indigenous Birthing in an Urban Setting study.
Dr Haora values the privilege of learning from diverse peoples, cultures, traditions and life experiences. She is committed to decolonizing birthing and revaluing Indigenous knowledges. Her research is driven by a desire to acquire understanding, in order to achieve best possible health and wellbeing outcomes, supported by best possible healthcare.
Jenne has worked in Women’s Health policy, program design, management and evaluation for the last thirty years. Her client-driven research and evaluation provides an evidence base for assessing the current and long term effectiveness of programs and providing strategic advice to drive innovation and future investment. Jenne specialises in programs where gender inequality, stigma and discrimination drive vulnerability and epidemics, for example, programs addressing maternal and infant health, Indigenous health and wellbeing, sexual and reproductive health, and infectious diseases that threaten global security (HIV, TB and other blood-borne viruses). Jenne’s work engages affected communities and partners throughout the project, combining human rights, evidence-based and public health approaches.
Jenne has lived and worked extensively in Australia, Cambodia, Thailand, Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and India.