Francis Mitrou is Principal Research Fellow, Centre for Child Health Research, at The University of Western Australia.

He is also Senior Principal Research Fellow, Program Head of Population Health, and Team Head of the Human Development and Community Wellbeing at The Kids Research Institute Australia.

An economist by training, he is a designer, contributor to, and user of research datasets that focus on socially and developmentally vulnerable children and families. He has expertise in survey development, linked administrative data, child development, Indigenous human development, mental health, economic evaluation, and the economics of child development.

Francis is Chief Investigator and UWA Node Director for the ARC Centre of Excellence for Children and Families over the Life Course (CE200100025; 2020-27), and Lead Investigator on an NHMRC Synergy Grant (GNT2018970: 2023-28) investigating Aboriginal health trajectories. He has been a Chief Investigator on various other research grants and contracts for government to the value of >$50m across his career (2024). He is currently supported by a Stan Perron Foundation People Fellowship (2024-28).

Holding a Bachelor of Economics (Murdoch University 1993), Francis has followed a non-traditional, non-PhD research career path. In a 14-year career as an economist with the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) from 1994-2008, he worked on macro-economic indicators for Commonwealth policy and helped develop, run and report on national economic, health and social surveys. He has worked in academia since 2000, first as an ABS consultant to TKI, then as employee from 2008. He has been associated with The University of Western Australia since 2012.