Our Research Team
Associate Professor Jonathan Hallett
Lead Researcher
Jonathan is an Associate Professor in the School of Population Health at Curtin University, where he specialises in health promotion, political theory, and policy advocacy for public health students at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels. His research is primarily conducted through the Collaboration for Evidence, Research and Impact in Public Health (CERIPH), a multidisciplinary applied research group that focuses on translational research and community partnerships. In addition, he is a member of the management team for the Sexual Health and Blood-borne Virus Applied Research and Evaluation Network (SiREN), as well as an IUHPE Registered Health Promotion Practitioner. Jonathan also holds roles as the Regional Associate Editor (WA) of the Health Promotion Journal of Australia and a Councillor with the City of Vincent. His research interests are focused on the impact of vested/commercial interests and ‘morality politics’ on public health policy, as well as the intersections of stigma and discrimination with health inequalities among marginalised populations. His current research projects include examining young people and children’s exposure to gambling marketing, the development of sex work regulatory models and law reform, experiences of domestic violence among women from CaLD backgrounds during COVID-19, and the primary healthcare needs of the LGBTIQA+ community in Western Australia.
Declaration of Interests
In the last five years, Associate Professor Hallett has been involved in research projects funded by Healthway, the Department of Health (Western Australia), Curtin University, Living Proud and HepatitisWA.
Dr Louise Francis
Project Coordinator
Louise is a health promotion lecturer in the Curtin School of Population Health and completed her PhD investigating the public health implications of gambling, specifically electronic gambling machines, in the community. She holds an Honours degree in Health Science and has previously taught in the School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine at Monash University. Louise has also worked in the community sector, including with local government on community-based capacity building projects in Melbourne’s eastern metropolitan region, and as a Gambling Policy Officer in Melbourne’s south-western suburbs. Her research interests extend to public health policy and social equity.
Declaration of Interests
In the last five years Dr Francis has been involved in research projects funded by the Royal Society of Public Health (UK).
Associate Professor Gemma Crawford
Researcher
Gemma is a pracademic with over 20 years of experience in health promotion and public health. She is currently a Course Coordinator and Associate Professor at Curtin University’s School of Population Health, where she focuses on undergraduate and postgraduate teaching, student supervision, and real-world research. Gemma is a qualitative and mixed methods social scientist whose research concentrates on vulnerable and marginalised populations, migration and health, determinants of health, homelessness, sexuality, alcohol and other drugs, public health systems, regulation and policy, infectious and non-communicable diseases, injury and mental health. She currently manages several research and evaluation projects, including the Sexual Health and Blood Borne Virus Applied Research and Evaluation Network (SiREN) and the Community of Practice for Action on HIV and Mobility (CoPAHM). She is the current national President and Board Chair of the Australian Health Promotion Association (AHPA), is an IUHPE Registered Health Promotion Practitioner and was recognised for meritorious service as the youngest Life Member of the AHPA in 2020.
Declaration of Interests
In the last five years, Associate Professor Crawford has been involved in research projects funded by Curtin University, the Western Australian Health Promotion Foundation, the Royal Life Saving Society of Western Australia, Injury Matters, Living Proud, the Australian Health Promotion Association, the Aboriginal Health Council of Western Australia, the Department of Health (Western Australia), the Sexual Health Research Fund (QLD), WAAC and Hepatitis WA. She is the National President and Board Chair of the Australian Health Promotion Association.
Professor Bronwyn Myers
Researcher
Bronwyn is the Director of the Curtin enAble Institute at Curtin University and previous Deputy Director of the Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drug Research Unit at the South African Medical Research Council. She has adjunct appointments at the South African Medical Research Council and the University of Cape Town, within the Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health. A clinical psychologist by training, Bronwyn is passionate about reducing health disparities and promoting social justice for vulnerable and underserved people globally. Over the past two decades, she has conducted clinical research focused on the development, testing, and implementation of psychological and health system interventions to improve access to, outcomes and quality of care for people with substance use and co-occurring mental and physical disorders. Bronwyn’s work has a strong service user, workforce development, and systems strengthening focus. She previously served as the Secretariat to the International Reference Group to the United Nations on HIV and Injecting Drug Use and is a current member of the UNODC’s technical expert group on International Standards and Quality Assurance for Drug Use Disorder Treatment.
Declaration of Interests
In the last five years, Professor Myers has been involved in research projects funded by the US National Institute of Drug Abuse, National Institute of Mental Health, and National institute of alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. She has also been funded by the UK National Institute of Health and Care Research (NIHR), Healthway, Channel 7 Telethon Trust, and The West Australian Department of Health.
Professor Samantha Thomas
Researcher
Samantha is Professor of Public Health at the Institute for Health Transformation, Deakin University in Melbourne, Australia. After graduating with a PhD in Community Health from the University of Auckland, Samantha started her career at the World Health Organization in Geneva, before working at King’s College in London. At Deakin University, Samantha’s research focuses on the socio-cultural, commercial, and political determinants of health, and public health advocacy. In particular her research has investigated the impact of harmful industry marketing on young people and women. She is globally recognised as one of the leading public health academics working in the field of gambling reform. Her ground-breaking research on the normalisation of gambling and the impact of gambling industry tactics on young people has received significant political and media attention. Samantha is most passionate about ensuring that young people have a voice and are listened to in policy decisions that impact their health and wellbeing. Her most recent research investigates how young people conceptualise the commercial and political determinants of the climate crisis; the impact of alcohol marketing on women; and parent’s views about government action on harmful industries. Samantha regularly provides testimony to government inquiries, and provides national and international media commentary on contemporary public health issues. Samantha is also Editor in Chief of Health Promotion International.
Declaration of Interests
In the last five years, Professor Thomas has received research funding from the Australian Research Council, Healthway, Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation, and the NSW Office of Gaming. Samantha serves on the Board of the International Confederation of Alcohol, Tobacco and other Drug (ATOD) Research Associations.
Dr Daniel Vujcich
Researcher
Daniel manages the Western Australian Sexual Health and Blood-borne Virus Applied Research and Evaluation Network (SIREN) at Curtin University. He holds a doctorate in Population Health and a Master’s degree in Development Studies (Distinction) from the University of Oxford where he was a Western Australian Rhodes Scholar. He also holds Bachelor of Law (first class honours) from the University of Western Australia. Daniel’s professional focus has been on health issues predominately affecting youth. While at Oxford, Daniel worked as a researcher for the Young Lives Project, a longitudinal, international study of child poverty. After completing his doctorate, he worked as a Policy Officer for the Child and Adolescent Health Service, a Senior Policy Officer in the WA Health Sexual Health and Blood-borne Virus Program, and as a coordinator of two peer-led youth health projects at the Aboriginal Health Council of Western Australia.
Declaration of Interests
In the last five years, Dr Vujcich has been involved in research projects funded by the Australian Research Council, Gilead, the state health departments of Queensland, Western Australia, South Australia and Victoria, ShineSA, Sexual Health Quarters, the Aboriginal Health Council of Western Australia, and the University of Western Australia.
Professor Jonine Jancey
Researcher
Jonine is a Professor of Health Promotion/Public Health at Curtin University and the Director of the Collaboration for Evidence Impact and Public Health (CERIPH), a multi-disciplinary research center in the School of Population at Curtin University. With a keen interest in the impact of harmful industries, including tobacco, alcohol, and gambling, particularly among young people, Jonine is committed to promoting health, preventing disease, and protecting populations from harm, emphasising the translation of research findings into practice and policy. As a respected authority in her field, Jonine is recognised for her extensive research contributions in public health, including leading research projects in the areas of chronic disease prevention, workplace health promotion, and health literacy. She is widely published in peer-reviewed journals and regularly presents her research findings at national and international conferences.
Declaration of Interests
In the last five years, Professor Jancey has been involved in research projects funded by the WA Health Promotion Foundation, WA Department of Health, East Metropolitan Health Service, WA, Injury Matters, Royal Life Saving WA, and Curtin University. She is a Board Member of the Australian Council on Smoking and Health.
Professor Christina Pollard
Researcher
Christina’s research and practice focus is public health, with a particular focus on population groups who are vulnerable to poor health due to their social, environmental or economic circumstances. Christina has worked as a career public servant and academic, she calls herself a ‘pracademic’ – recognising the need for translating research into policy and practice. Throughout her career she undertaken extensive research to inform policy advice and advocacy and to develop and evaluation successful population health interventions. Dr Pollard is a public health dieitian and has managed the development, implementation and evaluation of numerous government public heatlh policies and interventions. She led the Gofor2&5 fruit and vegetable and Find 30 Physical Activity campaigns and the National Obesity Taskforce’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Strategy. Currently Christina is Asssociate Professor of Public Health Priorities and Director of the Public Health Advocacy Institute and Mentally Healthy WA and the Act-Belong-Commit mental health promotion campaign based at Curtin University. She also led the Healthway funded ‘Food Law, Policy and Communications to Improve Public Health- Research Translation Project’ analysing three large nutrition-related government datasets to build the capacity for nutrition epidemiology in Western Australia to inform policy and practice.
Declaration of Interests
In the last five years, Professor Pollard has been involved in research projects funded by the Australian Government’s Department of Health and Aged Care and Department of Home Affairs (Safer Communities). She has also been funded by Healthway, Channel 7 Telethon Trust, and the Government of Western Australia’s Department of Health and Mental Health Commission, and the Perron Foundation.
Dr Krysten Blackford
Researcher
Krysten is a Senior Lecturer at Curtin University and a Registered Health Promotion Practitioner. Her research focuses on mixed-methods health promotion, specifically on workforce development, ethical practice, and evaluation. Krysten is also involved in various roles with the Australian Health Promotion Association (AHPA), including serving as a Board Member, Chair of the Health Promotion Ethics Project Working Group, and Digital Strategy Lead for the Health Promotion Journal of Australia. Additionally, she serves as Chair of the Health Promotion Teaching and Learning Community of Practice. Krysten has a PhD, Honours, and BSc (Health Promotion + Nutrition double degree) from Curtin University, and is committed to equitable, ethical, and evidence-informed health promotion research, education, and practice.
Declaration of Interests
In the last five years, Dr Blackford has been involved in research projects funded by Curtin University, Healthway, the WA Network of Alcohol & Other Drug Agencies, and East Metropolitan Health Service.
Associate Professor
Justine Leavy
Researcher
Justine Leavy is an Associate Professor and Discipline Lead of Health Promotion and Sexology. She completed her PhD at the University of Western Australia in 2013, focusing on evaluating a Western Australian state-wide physical activity mass media campaign. Justine has qualifications in public health, dental therapy, and health promotion, and is a Registered Health Promotion Practitioner. Her research interests have spanned various areas, including physical activity and injury prevention, oral health promotion, malaria prevention, prostate cancer, and saddle sores in female cyclists. Justine’s expertise lies in health promotion planning and evaluation methods, health-related mass media campaigns, and their design and evaluation. Recently, she has been interested in translational research and aims to contribute to research that has a strong emphasis on practical application.
Declaration of Interests
In the last five years, Dr Leavy has been involved in research projects funded by Curtin University, the Western Australian Health Promotion Foundation, the Royal Life Saving Society of Western Australia, Injury Matters, the Behaviour Change Collaborative, and SafeWork Australia. She is a Fellow of the Australian Health Promotion Association and Director on the Board of Royal Life Saving Society Western Australia (RLSSWA). For fundraising purposes, RLSSWA holds a Community and Charitable Gaming licensethrough the Victorian Casino and Gambling Control Commission (previously the Victorian Commission for Gambling and Liquor Regulation).
Emeritus Professor
Mike Daube AO
Researcher
Mike is Emeritus Professor in the Faculty of Health Sciences at Curtin University, where he was Director of the Public Health Advocacy Institute. He was previously Director General of Health for Western Australia and Chair of the Australian National Public Health Partnership. He has held many senior positions in government, with further roles including President of the Public Health Association of Australia, President of the Australian Council on Smoking and Health, co-chair of the National Alliance for Action on Alcohol, and chair of many other boards and committees. He has been active in health policy, tobacco, alcohol, gambling, predatory journals and other public health areas for fifty years, and has worked with WHO, governments and health organisations in more than forty countries. Before moving to Australia in 1984 he was the first full-time Director of Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) in the UK, then Senior Lecturer in Health Education in the Department of Community Medicine at Edinburgh University. He has published widely and received numerous awards from state, national and international organisations.
Declaration of Interests
In the last five years, Emeritus Professor Daube involved in research projects funded by the Australian Research Council, Healthway, Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation, National Health and Medical Research Council.
Brooklyn Royce
Honours Student
Brooklyn is a recent BSc (Health Promotion) graduate who is currently enrolled as a Public Health Honours student at Curtin University. Her project will explore exposure, attitudes and perception towards gambling activity, messages, and marketing strategies among young people in Western Australia. During her studies, Brooklyn has volunteered through the Collaboration for Evidence, Research and Impact in Public Health (CERIPH) where she has further developed her research skill set. Brooklyn is enthusiastic to expand her depth of knowledge through her studies and has an interest in gambling, mental health, and drowning prevention.
