Our Members
Indigenous Education and Research Centre
Professor Martin Nakata
Deputy Vice Chancellor, Indigenous Education and Strategy
Prof Nakata is Deputy Vice-Chancellor Indigenous Education & Strategy at James Cook University. He is a leading Indigenous academic in Australia, and the first Torres Strait Islander to graduate with a PhD.
Associate Professor Felecia Watkin Lui
Head of Indigenous Teaching Programs, IERC
Associate Professor Watkin Lui is a Torres Strait Islander woman with giz from Erub, Mabuiag and Badu. Her current research focuses on co-design and knowledge translation in a range of community based settings.
Adjunct Professor Yvonne Cadet-James
Professor Cadet-James is a Gugu Badhun Aboriginal Woman. She is a qualitative researcher in Public Health and Indigenous Health and Wellbeing, and is interested in Empowerment; Maternal, Adolescent and Child Health; Indigenous Health Care Equity.…
Marlene Longbottom
Principal Research Fellow | Indigenous Education and Research Centre
Dr Ailie McDowall
Senior Lecturer, IERC
I am an educational researcher and am currently working on a project about how we prepare postgraduate research students to work with Indigenous research topics. I also teach undergraduate and postgraduate Indigenous Studies students.
Ms Carolyn Trott
MPhil (Indigenous) Student
As a non-Indigenous teacher in rural Victoria, I'm keen to contribute to the self-determination agenda of Indigenous people. My MPhil focuses on the ways learning is represented in the Australian education system's policy and program documents.…
Ms Sarah Burke
MPhil (Indigenous) Student
I am a member of the north-west Queensland Aboriginal community. My MPhil (Indigenous) explores how contemporary non-Indigenous narratives of land impact Indigenous people's relationships with land.
Rikka Eastaughffe
Curriculum Development Officer | Indigenous Education and Research Centre
Kristi Giselsson
Adjunct Senior Research Fellow
I am Secondary Advisor to Ricky Emmerton, a Kalkadoon man, whose Master's degree is in Creative Practice, focusing on Kalkadoon art.
Sam Rannard
Master of Philosophy student | Indigenous Education and Research Centre
College of Arts, Society and Education
Distinguished Professor Sean Ulm
Associate Dean, Research Education
Sean is a professional anthropological archaeologist. Sean’s partnership research with Indigenous communities focuses on persistent problems in the archaeology of Australia and the western Pacific.
Dr Kirstie Broadfield
Cairns Institute Postgraduate Fellow
I am interested in decolonising research, sociology, criminology, mental health, and drug and alcohol rehabilitation that impact the lives of Indigenous Australians.
Ms Linda Llewellyn
PhD Student
I am a non-Indigenous PhD researcher looking at what works for Indigenous students in the classroom for behaviour support; what non-Indigenous teachers can do to improve outcomes for Indigenous children.
Graeme Bonato
Doctor of Philosophy student | College of Arts, Society and Education
Joshua Connelly
Doctor of Philosophy student | College of Arts, Society and Education
In collaboration with Dingaal and Ngurrumungu Traditional Owners I am undertaking an archaeological investigation of the constructed Indigenous seascapes of Jiigurru / the Lizard Island Group, north Queensland. To date we have recorded over 1100 stone constructions on four islands - one of most densely constructed traditional landscapes/seascapes identified on the continent to date.
Nathan Cook
Doctor of Philosophy student | College of Arts, Society and Education
Ricky Emmerton
Master of Philosophy student | College of Arts, Society and Education
Robyn Glade-Wright
Master of Philosophy student | College of Arts, Society and Education
Benedict Gumbaketi
Doctor of Philosophy student | College of Arts, Society and Education
benedict.gumbaketi@my.jcu.edu.au
Geoff Lui
Master of Philosophy student | College of Arts, Society and Education
Sara Mohamed
Doctor of Philosophy student | College of Arts, Society and Education
Dani Nembhard
Doctor of Philosophy student | College of Arts, Society and Education
danielle.nembhard@my.jcu.edu.au
Dom Orih
Doctor of Philosophy student | College of Arts, Society and Education
I am using the Indigenous-developed Family Wellbeing (FWB) program and judging it's feasible in the curriculum of JCU Pathways students. I will have about 15% Indigenous students as participants together with other cohorts of students who are enrolled in the JCU Pathways program.
College of Business, Law and Governance
College of Healthcare Sciences
Ylona Chun Tie
Associate Dean, Research Education | College of Healthcare Sciences
Associate Professor Wendy Li
Psychology, College of Healthcare Sciences
A/Prof Li is an Associate Dean for Research in CHS, Founding Chair of the AusAsian Mental Health Research Group (AMHRG), and founds and leads the Mindfulness Lab at JCU.…
Ms Jodi Brown
Senior Lecturer, Nursing
Dr Amanda Krause
Psychology, College of Healthcare Sciences
As a music psychology scholar based at JCU, Dr Krause studies how we experience music in our everyday lives. Her research asks how our musical experiences influence our health and well-being. www.researchaboutlistening.com…
Ms Kaila Putter
PhD Student, College of Healthcare Sciences
Kaila's PhD research is focused on perinatal mental health, with a particular focus on PAHL's Bamboo program (a peer-support program for first-time mothers).
Dr Liza van Eijk
Psychology, College of Healthcare Sciences
Dr van Eijk has strong interest in neuroimaging and neuropsychology; particularly, in identifying biomarkers to improve patient’s lives—assisting with earlier diagnosis, personalizing treatment, or distinguishing between disease subtypes.…
Daniel Lowrie
Senior Lecturer, Occupational Therapy | College of Healthcare Sciences
College of Medicine and Dentistry
Sarah Larkins
Professor, Health Systems Strengthening | College of Medicine and Dentistry
Poornima Ramamurthy
Doctor of Philosophy student | College of Medicine and Dentistry
I will be conducting surveys and interviews for the Indigenous population in rural and remote areas of Far North Queensland region for my project " Oral cancer in rural and regional Australia- awareness, prevention and intervention strategies"
College of Public Health, Medical and Veterinary Sciences
Dr Saparna Pai
Adjunct Research Fellow, AITHM
I have 14 years’ experience in cellular immunology, mostly devoted to studying antigen presentation and CD8+ T cell immunity. This drives my research in understanding immunological processes to develop better treatment for infectious diseases.…
Dr Phurpa Wangchuk
Senior Research Fellow, AITHM
We look at discovering novel anti-inflammatory, anti-parasitic, antimicrobial, and antimalarial drug leads from natural sources—medicinal plants, climate-affected plants, insect fungi, parasitic helminths, and other FNQ flora and fauna.
Lionel Hebbard
Associate Dean, Research | College of Public Health, Medical and Veterinary Sciences
Ms Jessica Muller
Research Academic, IERC
Jessica Muller is a PhD (Health) Candidate and is passionate about improving the cultural safety of healthcare professionals working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and communities.
Elizabeth Meechan
Doctor of Philosophy student | College of Public Health, Medicine and Veterinary Science
My PhD focuses on culturally safe occupational therapy practice when providing a service for Indigenous peoples of Australia. This will be done by hearing the perspectives of occupational therapists collectively as well as (and most importantly) the …
John Cavalieri
Assoc Professor-Animal Reproduction | College of Public Health, Medical and Veterinary Sciences
Sue Devine
Head, Public Health and Tropical Medicine
Supervising two PhD students who are working with Indigenous Allied Health Australia. One is working with IAHA to co-design and evaluate a standardised audit tool that measures both cultural safety and responsiveness for IAHA’s Cultural Respons…
Patricia Field
Doctor of Philosophy student | College of Public Health, Medical and Veterinary Sciences
My research focuses on improving access to cardiac rehabilitation in rural and remote areas of NQ. As such my data collection and ongoing discussion has involved Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the focus communities of Hughenden, Cook…
Roslyn Hickson
JCU Vet Staff | College of Public Health, Medical and Veterinary Sciences
Research Programme with JCU and CSIRO on emerging infectious diseases work, comprising environmental, animal, and human health. There's with a potential focus on community engagement and health system strengthening, particularly in the very northern …
Karma Yeshi
Doctor of Philosophy student | College of Public Health, Medical and Veterinary Sciences
I am currently working in collaboration with Mbabaram indigenous community in Tableland on biosdiscovery of anti-inflammatory drug leads from their medicinal plants used by ancestors for treating inflammation and inflammatory-related diseases.
Andres Ruiz
Master of Philosophy student | College of Public Health, Medicine and Veterinary Science
andres.ruizalvarez@my.jcu.edu.au
I am working with medicinal plant with anti inflammatory properties. Some indigenous are using these plants. So we have to validate that information.
College of Science and Engineering
Redbird Ferguson
Doctor of Philosophy student | College of Science and Engineering
redbird.ferguson@my.jcu.edu.au
I am working with Traditional Owners (Indigenous participants) and Indigenous Knowledges to improve Indigenous Cultural Mapping practices and methods
Karen Joyce
Associate Professor | College of Science and Engineering
One of my students is working on Indigenous cultural mapping. I also work a lot with TO groups, teaching them how to use drones and geospatial tech for monitoring country
Frank Loban
Doctor of Philosophy student | College of Science and Engineering
Navigating the historical trajectories at the cultural interface in the Torres Strait fisheries
Nosare Maika
Doctor of Philosophy student | College of Science and Engineering
My study will contribute to improving living standards of rural indigenous people through adoption and use of environment friendly electricity using improved source of electricity using water energy.
Lim YinJia
Master of Philosophy student | College of Science and Engineering
Mojca Zega
Doctor of Philosophy student | College of Science and Engineering
Carolyn Diedricks
Lecturer in Mathematics | College of Science and Engineering
Research Division
Catherine Randalls
Research Data Manager | eResearch Centre
I am the research data manager and wish to learn of any processes that exist at JCU to help researchers develop their research projects whilst adhering to AIATSIS, NHMRC and Keeping on Track requirements.
Ian Atkinson
Dean | Graduate Research
Interested in research support and better indigenous research data management practice at JCU.
Murtupuni Centre for Rural and Remote Health
Stephanie King
Research Officer | Murtupuni Centre for Rural and Remote Health
External Members
Gerry Turpin
Master of Philosophy student | Australian Institute of Tropical Health and Medicine
Kate Bellchambers
Doctor of Philosophy student | Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research, Australian National University
Janine Gertz
Nura Gili Centre for Indigenous Programs, University of New South Wales Sydney
Emily Hall
School of Human Movement and Nutrition Sciences, University of Queensland
I embed Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander ways of knowing, being and doing into a movement based learning framework to teach socioemotional learning skills.
Vincent Backhaus
Research Fellow, Traditional Owner Engagement in Crown of Thorns Research and Management
I am an Indigenous advisor advising on Indigenous topics
Veronica Matthews
The University Centre for Rural Health, University of Sydney
veronica.matthews@menzies.edu.au