Jo is a psychological scientist and independent research consultant, specialising in social health and wellbeing.

In 2020, she co-founded the Global Initiative on Loneliness and Connection an international charity, focussed on improving social health across the world. Jo serves as a scientific consultant and advisor to a wide range of local, national, and international organizations tackling loneliness and social isolation, including Pharmacy Addressing Loneliness and Social Isolation, the French Federation for Social Connection, the Canadian Alliance for Social Connection and Health, and the World Health Organization. A major focus of her current work involves knowledge transfer to government, policymakers, community organizations and health care providers, to ensure that research evidence benefits those who need it most.

* Board Chair, Global Initiative on Loneliness and Connection

* Advisor, Development of a multi-country measure of social connection (a partnership between Annecy Behavioral Science Lab and GILC).

* Scientific Advisor, Pharmacy Addressing Loneliness and Social Isolation the first international pharmacy iniative committed to raising awareness and addressing loneliness and social isolation to improve the health of patients and society.

*Consultant, Biological basis of Loneliness and Serious Mental Illness (NIH RO1 grant, Boston, USA).

* psychological science, loneliness and social connection

* workforce education and trraining on social health

* information technology and design to improve social connection and wellbeing

* Improving workforce education and training on social health

* Climate change and social health 

* Associations between social connection and mental disorders in  Australia 

* Co-developing digital health education materials: Content for an app       targeting the social and emotional impacts of hearing loss.

* Vice Chair & Deputy Scientific Chair, Ending Loneliness Together

* Research Professor, School of Psychology, UWA.

* Adjunct Professor, School of Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences, UWA.

* Senior Clinical Psychologist, Clinical Research Centre, North Metropolitan Health Service - Mental Health (WA).

* World First training on loneliness for pharmacy workforce, in partnership  with the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia (PSA) https://palsglobalnetwork.com/pharmacy-training/

* Global Loneliness Awareness Week - international advocacy and public  education on the importance of social health

* World first Public Health Guidelines for Social Connection (Canada)

* Social Connection Policy Lab, a partnership between GILC and the World Health Organisation to facilitate the development, implementation and exchange of evidence-based policies for the prevention & mitigation of isolation and loneliness.  

* GILC Global Loneliness Awareness Week Webinar: Poverty and Social Connection (Keynote speaker). June 10^th, 2025. Live recording here.

* Understanding the power of social health as a key pillar of wellbeing in all communities.

* New South Wales. Parliament. Legislative Council. Standing Committee on Social Issues. Report no. 65. The prevalence, causes and impacts of loneliness in New South Wales.

"We also recognise that the individual and community level initiatives should be accompanied by necessary workforce development to enhance the capacity of healthcare and community professionals to identify people at risk of loneliness and support them to connect with appropriate services and initiatives. We agree with the stakeholders who identified these roles as significant individual and community level resources to be harness in a society-wide approach to addressing loneliness. The committee applauds PALS for the initiatives they have shown in this space to strengthen the capacity of this widespread resource of pharmacists to reach in to those at risk. The committee recommends that the NSW Government develop a workforce development strategy to build the capacity of health and community professionals, to identify people at risk of loneliness and connect them with appropriate supports in consultation with the sector."

Recommendation 17 That the NSW Government develop a workforce development strategy to build the capacity of health and community professionals, to identify people at risk of loneliness and connect them with appropriate supports in consultation with the sector.

(p.143).