Lowitja Institute Scholarships

Graham Gee

Originally from Darwin, I am a descendant of the Garawa nation in the Gulf of Carpentaria as well as having Chinese, Filipino and Celtic–Australian ancestry. During the 1990s I worked as a schoolteacher, including a stint as a remote community lecturer in the Top End and time teaching in England, before deciding to undertake a psychology degree at the University of Melbourne.

Since finishing my undergraduate degree and professional qualification four years ago I have worked as a counsellor at the Victorian Aboriginal Health Service (VAHS) while undertaking a combined Masters/PhD degree in clinical psychology. I also sit on the Board of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Healing Foundation and helped establish the Australian Indigenous Psychologists Association, of which I am a proud member.

My PhD research is focused on trauma recovery in urban Aboriginal communities, although I’m really interested in factors and processes related to trauma recovery and healing that are relevant for all our mob, indeed all people. This work links with the research objectives of the Lowitja Institute’s Program 2 through identifying the key risk and protective factors as they relate to trauma experiences, and using that knowledge to improve the mental health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

I aim to finish my thesis by the end of 2012.

Kim O’Donnell

I am a Malyangapa/Barkindji woman from western New South Wales and a custodian of the Mutawintji Lands. I have extensive understanding and experience working with Aboriginal people in health, education and land management and began my professional working career in 1986 as a schoolteacher at Peppimenarti in the Northern Territory. I’ve taught English in Japan, owned and managed a small business, dabbled in the aviation industry as a flight attendant and in early 2002 (when my son began school) returned to university to complete a Master of Primary Health Care. On completion, I gained employment as a Research Associate at Adelaide’s Flinders University where I am based in the Health Care Management Department. I am also the Link Person between Flinders University and the Lowitja Institute.

My current Doctorate of Public Health contributes to the Lowitja Institute’s research agenda in one specific area: the ways in which governments and Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations (ACCHOs) work with each other. It investigates relationships between governments and ACCHOs and the impact these relationships have on accountability, problem solving and decision-making. This work aligns with the goals of the Lowitja Institute’s Program 3 by providing evidence for health system policy and administration reform, and improving capacity to implement programs effectively.

I aim to complete my dissertation in December 2012.

Sarah Ireland

I am a PhD student at Menzies School of Health Research and also a remote area midwife and nurse. My research interests are in cross-cultural reproductive and sexual health, especially in remote Australian Aboriginal communities. My previous research includes work around the clinical outcomes and experiences of Aboriginal women who reject travel to urban centres and instead give birth in their home communities.

Working with the permission of, and in partnership with, Aboriginal women my doctoral research explores the social, cultural and historical factors underlying women’s health in one remote community in the Northern Territory. My research is linked to the work of the Lowitja Institute’s Program 2, which aims to support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities to develop wellbeing and resilience.

Anita D’Aprano

I am a developmental paediatrician originally from Melbourne but I have lived and worked in Darwin and the Northern Territory for four years. On moving to the Top End, I began working at the Menzies School of Health Research and Charles Darwin University on projects focusing on early childhood development and the emotional wellbeing of Aboriginal children in remote communities.

In 2009 I enrolled in a PhD part-time through Menzies. The TRAK (Talking about Raising Aboriginal Kids) study aims to determine whether training remote Aboriginal Health Workers (AHWs) in the use of a culturally adapted developmental monitoring tool is associated with improved practice in the area of early childhood development. As an evaluation of capacity building, and of the implementation of a developmental monitoring tool, the TRAK study is directly aligned with the objectives of the Lowitja Institute’s Program 2. 

Now at the end of the second year of my PhD, and enrolled full-time, I look forward to completion in 2013.

Bo Remenyi

I am a paediatric cardiologist and a fellow of the Australasian College of Physicians. I graduated from the University of Queensland in 1999 and undertook further sub-specialty training at the Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne and at the Starship Children’s Hospital in Auckland, New Zealand. My doctoral studies at the Menzies School of Health Research are focused on the standardisation of diagnostic protocols for early detection of rheumatic heart disease in children, and are part of an international collaboration supported by the World Heart Federation. 

This research falls directly within the parameters of the Lowitja Institute’s Program 1 and aims to produce evidence-based diagnostic guidelines that will provide a robust foundation for early detection of rheumatic heart disease at a community level. As well as maximising the detection of minor degrees of rheumatic heart disease, this research should also help prevent overtreatment of children without rheumatic heart disease. 

My PhD is due for completion in 2012.

Liz Orr

I’m a trained social worker and have been working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people for more than 30 years in a variety of roles, including community health and women’s health research, service delivery and development, university and TAFE teaching and action research evaluation. I’ve also been associated with the Lowitja Institute and its predecessor the CRC for Aboriginal Health for a number of years, both through involvement in research evaluation and through a recent stint as a Link Person at La Trobe University, Melbourne.

Now based at the School of Social Work and Social Policy within La Trobe’s Faculty of Health Sciences, my PhD research is exploring what supports positive working relationships between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander hospital liaison officers and social workers in hospital settings. This work links directly with the research objectives of the Lowitja Institute’s Program 3, which aims to develop evidence-based resources for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health workforce policy as a way of improving and increasing pathways for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander workers in the health sector.

I aim to finish my thesis in 2014.