CRCATSIH Program Leader: Alwin Chong

Program 3: Enabling Policy and Systems

Alwin Chong is a Wakamin man from North Queensland and is currently the Senior Research and Ethics Officer for the Aboriginal Health Council of South Australia (AHCSA), which he joined in 2001 after nine years with the University of South Australia.

One of his main roles at AHCSA is the development and implementation of a research agenda that responds to the research interests of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community. He also manages the Aboriginal Health Research Ethics Committee (AHREC), a sub-committee of the Council and the peak ethics body for Aboriginal health research in SA.

Alwin is a member of the SA Statewide Cancer Clinical Network, the Statewide Cardiology Clinical Network and the Statewide Rehabilitation Clinical Network. These networks have been established to develop a service plan covering all of SA using models of care based on population need.  He is also a member of the Rural and Remote Mental Health Service Advisory Committee, which has been responsible for advocating and promoting the employment of Aboriginal consultants.

Alwin’s association with the CRCAH and its predecessor the CRCATH dates back to 2003. He has been personally involved in key CRC activities, including being Project Leader for the ‘Improving the Culture of Hospitals’ project and assisting with the CRCAH’s successful bid in 2009 for a five-year extension to its research program as the CRCATSIH. 

He is particularly keen to contribute to building the capacity of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health networks through his program leadership role in the CRCATSIH.