• Tell us about yourself.

I moved to Australia 15 years ago from the UK, where I had spent 20 years working in health at Universities and Research Institutes, in Clinical Development in the Pharmaceutical Industry and as a private practitioner (general counselling and eating disorders). My background is in Psychology and Behavioural Science and I have taught Psychology, Health Psychology, Behavioural Science and Mental Health in to Psychology, Nursing and Medicine programs at both undergraduate and postgraduate level. I have been a Head of Discipline for Psychology and for Behavioural Science and Mental Health at JCU and enjoyed supporting students in their transition to professional roles as Clinical Psychologists and Doctors.

• What persuaded you to make the move to UNE, a comparatively small regional university?

I moved from JCU to take up a Public Health Service role in Victoria 5 years ago, as the Director of Research for Barwon Health. Barwon Health is Victoria’s largest regional health service with 1,100 beds and 7,000 staff. My role was to build research capability, increase collaborations and research partnerships and create a vibrant research culture at the health service , after 5 years much of that was well on the way and it was time to look for a new challenge.

The role of Director, New England Institute of Health Research is very similar to the role I had at Barwon Health and similarly has a focus on building partnerships, collaborations and research capability, I find growth phases very enjoyable and that really appealed to me about the nature of this role and in the wider context of the University restructure with increased opportunities for cross School and Faculty collaboration.

I have lived and worked in regional and rural areas the entire period I have been in Australia and I find smaller communities more welcoming, innovative and self-reliant. I enjoy the engagement with community that being employed at a regional University allows.

• Your research interests are quite diverse. What is your current area of interest?

One of the joys of a broad discipline background is the opportunity to contribute to diverse projects and areas of interest, the main thread of my research career to date has been contributing to improving population health and wellbeing, more recently that has become a focus on integrated care and taking a more systems approach to healthcare delivery.

I am also interested in health professional education and training, the quality of learning environments and the transition from learner to practitioner. A long standing interest has been elite athlete performance and health and wellbeing, particularly risk of mood disorders and suicide.

• You are relatively new to your role. Have you settled in well and what are your impressions of UNE and Armidale to date?

I arrived in August so have had the pleasure of seeing Spring arrive, reset and come back again! The physical environment of the UNE campus is glorious and a pleasure to walk around, I am still learning my way around campus and finding different meeting rooms so have been enjoying the environs whilst doing that. I have done a round of meets and greets with more to come and am beginning to engage with key external stakeholders, so looking forward to establishing those relationships.

I have been enjoying the music, arts and local producers that Armidale has to offer and have not yet got over the novelty of only being a few minutes from everything and that most parking is free!

The off leash dog park has been a great way to meet people (and their dogs!) and I have been warmly and generously included in social events as a result.

• What are the immediate priorities you have to focus your attention on?

The Institute is a new entity for UNE and the development of a strategic plan, vision and mission collaboratively with our key internal and external stakeholders to serve the interests of the health of the communities of New England and the North West slopes is the most immediate task. A consultation and development process will commence in the new year.

• Anything else you want to share with us?

I’m excited to be here at a moment in time when growth is key to UNE strategy, and with UNE as a member of the NSW Regional Health Partner Centre for Innovation in Regional Health I am looking forward to participating in realising the potential of that partnership for the benefit of the health of the communities in our region and Australia’s rural and regional communities more generally.