Professor Claire Wakefield

Prof Wakefield has published, or had accepted, more than 280 journal articles and is named as Chief Investigator on competitive research grants totalling more than $50M. She has received numerous awards for her work, including being named as the NSW Premier’s Outstanding Cancer Research Fellow of the Year.

Prof Wakefield holds an Investigator Grant from the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) and was a Diamond Jubilee International Visiting Fellow at the University of Southampton, UK. Her research interests include improving mental health and quality of life in families affected by serious illness, using:

• Cost-effective interventions
• Novel technologies
• Discovery research to identify at-risk and underserviced groups
• Translational work to affect change in clinical practice

Research Interests:

Research interests include health psychology; palliative care; advance care planning; precision medicine; genomic sequencing; cancer predisposition syndromes; patient education; assisting families to make difficult medical decisions (e.g. deceased organ donation); and challenges faced by children with complex needs. Currently focussing on paediatric oncology research, with projects ranging from newly diagnosed families, on-treatment families, long term survivors and bereaved caregivers.

Broad Research Areas:

Cancer, Health Promotion, Quality of Life

Qualifications:

BPsych(Hons1), MPH, PhD

Specific Research Keywords:

Childhood Cancer, Psychosocial Issues, Adolescence, Genetics, Mental Health, Psychology, Oncology, Paediatrics