I am a specialised mental health nurse and researcher with over 30 years of clinical and epidemiological expertise. I have been employed by UWA since 1994 and have a broad range of research interests. However, underpinning all my research has been the aim to improve the lives and care of people living with mental illness.

From 1989-1993 I worked at the Institute of Psychiatry London. My work involved a longitudinal survey examining morbidity and service usage of elderly people in Gospel Oak, North London, an intervention study evaluating the effects of community psychiatric nurse intervention compared to usual general practitioner care on community dwelling depressed elderly people and developing and testing a training package for primary health care workers in the recognition and management of depression in older people.

Since starting at UWA in 1994, I have successfully led research projects which assessed the impact of brief motivational interviewing to reduce alcohol use, evaluated changes in mental state in men undergoing hormonal withdrawal treatment for prostate cancer, and investigated early introduction of antidepressant treatment to reduce the incidence of post-stroke depression (RCT).

I have extensive experience with multi-site collaborative research. I coordinated the 1^st and 2^nd Australian psychosis surveys (1997& 2010) and NHMRC funded studies: ‘Barriers to physical health in serious mental illness’ (2013-2016) and ‘An empirical framework for assessing mortality and morbidity in people with psychotic disorders’ (2016-2021).

I believe the physical health of people with severe mental illness cannot be ignored and have:

1. Developed a metabolic screening algorithm which has been including in the Australian Clinical Guidelines for Early Psychosis and an adapted version is being used in NSW and New Zealand. [Med J Aust 209; 190(4):185-90];
2. Surveyed Australian psychiatrists to document their metabolic monitoring practices [Australas Psychiatry, 2016; 24:62-66];
3. As part of an International Consortium, developed and validated SIMple Physical Activity Questionnaire - a questionnaire measuring physical activity in people with mental health problems [BMC Psychiatry, 2020, 20:1-12]
4. Undertaken an audit to help WA South Metropolitan Mental Health Services determine the best ways to deliver healthcare and support staff during COVID-19 [Report]; and
5. Surveyed people with psychotic disorders to better understand their behaviours and attitudes to COVID-19 vaccination [Prev Med Rep 2025;52:103025]

I have an interest in ensuring research is conducted in an ethical manner and so support and mentor young researchers. In 2018, I wrote the content for a free, online course on ‘Conducting research in people with psychotic disorders or severe mental illness’ for the Western Australian Health Translation Network.

I am member of:

• SPGH Research Committee
• Psychosis Australia Research Advisory Council (Deputy chair)
• North Metro Health Service Mental Health Human Research Ethics Committee (Chair 2024)
• Schizophrenia International Research Society Ethics Committee
• Australian Early Psychosis Collaboration Consortium Advisory Council

I am Head of the Neuropsychiatric Epidemiology Research Unit (NERU) and a UWA Research Integrity Advisor.

The Diagnostic Interview for Psychosis, a semi-structured clinical interview which provides a diagnostic classification in accordance with ICD-10 and DSM-IV criteria was developed for the first national psychosis survey. I assisted in its development, its translation into multiple languages including Greek, Korean, Russian and Indonesian. I continue to provide free training to national and international researchers and clinicians in its administration.