
I am an epidemiologist who convenes two courses within the Masters of Science in Health Data Science program, HDAT9100 Context of Health Data Science and the HDAT9900/9901/9902 Dissertations program. I joined the Centre for Big Data Research in Health in 2014, and have been an investigator on two projects using linked health data; one examining the incidence and clinical outcomes of meningococcal disease in children, and the other evaluating healthdirect Australia, a telephone-based health care triage and advice service. I have worked in areas of health policy and developed data governance guidelines to facilitate research between UNSW and public health organisations. I completed my PhD on mortality associated with maintenance treatments for opioid dependence at UNSW in 2009 and my MPH (University of Sydney) in 2004. Prior to working at the Centre for Big Data Research in Health, I worked as a Research Fellow at the Centre for Health Research, University of Western Sydney, a Senior Research Officer at the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, University of New South Wales, and as a Research Officer in a specialist drug and alcohol treatment centre in South Eastern Sydney Local Health District.
As a researcher, I have experience in the use of large administrative health data sets for research. I have worked with a range of data sets including hospital admissions, emergency department presentations, mortality data, notifiable conditions, perinatal data, telephone triage data and registrations for maintenance pharmacotherapies for the treatment of opioid dependence. I have experience in a range of public health fields including drug and alcohol dependence, paediatric communicable disease and telemedicine.
My current role is focused on teaching and convening, but I also support the research work of other projects at CBDRH in a range of tasks, as needed.
I currently convene and teach in the following Masters of Science in Health Data Science courses: