Potential Supervisors
All potential PhD candidates are required to discuss their proposed topic of research with a suitable research supervisor before they are accepted into the program. As a research candidate, having the right supervisory team is crucial to your success.
Below you will find a list of researchers who are active within the school. You will find a summary of their research expertise and interests along with their contact details.
To learn more about program offerings and graduate education with the School of Nursing and Midwifery, please visit our courses information page.
 | ACUTE AND COMPLEX CARE |
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Critical Care and Cardiopulmonary
Dr Leanne Hunt
Dr Leanne Hunt
Dr Leanne Hunt is a Senior Lecturer in Nursing and Deputy Director, Clinical Education (Nursing), in the School of Nursing and Midwifery at the Western Sydney University. Leanne began nursing in 1992 as an RN progressing to CNC (trauma) and NUM 1. Leanne worked in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in Paediatric cardiothoracic intensive care for 2 years. Leanne has 11 years of education and research experience and is the current chair of the Critical Care Research in Collaboration & Evidence Translation (CCRICET) research group. Leanne is an affiliate member of the Centre for Applied Nursing Research (CANR), Centre for Oral Health Outcomes & Research Translation (COHORT) and the Ingham Institute of Applied Medical Research. Leanne is a qualitative and mixed methods researcher focusing on critical care practice/patient outcomes, workforce development and clinical practice experience. Leanne’s work is collaborative and multidisciplinary and has impacts on critical care patients, families, student nurses, the future nursing workforce and the profession of nursing.
Leanne's main research interests and expertise includes:
- Critical care
- Workforce development
- Undergraduate clinical placement
Leanne's main methodolgical expertise includes:
- Qualitative
- Mixed methods
Currently supervising (PhD), (MHons), (BNHons)
- 2 PhD
Students to completion (PhD), (MHons), (BNHons)
- 1 BNHons
Contact details
Phone: +61 2 4570 1676
Email: l.hunt@westernsydney.edu.au
Dr Fiona McDermid
Dr Fiona McDermid
Dr Fiona McDermid is a lecturer in the School of Nursing and Midwifery. Dr Fiona McDermid completed her PhD in 2017 on the transition of clinical nurses to academia under a framework of liminality. Following on from her doctoral work, Fiona is further exploring the concepts of resilience and transition within workforce and communities. She is currently involved in a project centered on emergency departments highlighting the concept of resilience and retention and was successful in obtaining an Early Career Research grant for this study. She is also involved in the Women's Health stream of research and is currently undertaking work on women's experiences of menopause. She has published and presented research both nationally and internationally.
Fiona's main research interests and expertise includes:
- Women's Health
- Emergency Workforce Resilience
Fiona's main methodological expertise includes:
- Qualitative studies and analysis
Currently supervising (PhD), (MHons), (BNHons)
- 2 BNHons
- 1 PhD
Students to completion (PhD), (MHons), (BNHons)
- Nil
Contact details
Mobile: +61 408 675 169
Email: f.mcdermid@wsternsydney.edu.au
Twitter: @fiona_McDermid
Dr Stephen McNally
Dr Stephen McNally
Stephen is proud to say that he has gained a vast amount of experience in academia over the last 30 years and currently holds a senior leadership position in the School of Nursing and Midwifery. Stephen gained his PhD in 2007, titled “Triage Education: From Experience to Practice Standards”. He continues to remain actively engaged in research, publishing in peer reviewed journals and presenting at national and international conferences. During his tenure he has retained his clinical expertise in all areas of critical care, particularly emergency. Stephen continues to successfully supervise Higher Research Degree students and Stephen would welcome the opportunity to discuss research interests and a plan with any potential higher degree research students.Stephen possesses extensive clinical, teaching and research experience with background in Qualitative/quantitative research, mixed methods design and systematic reviews.
Stephen's main research interests and expertise includes:
- Critical care
- Patient safety
- Nurse education
- Men's health (developing area of interest)
Stephen's main methodological expertise includes:
- Quantitative research
- Quantitative research
- Mixed methods design
- Systematic Reviews
Currently supervising (PhD), (MHons), (BNHons)
- 1 BNHons
- 1 MRes
- 1 PhD
Students to completion (PhD), (MHons), (BNHons)
- 6 BNHons
- 1 MRes
Contact details
Phone: +61 2 9685 9508
Email: s.mcnally@westernsydney.edu.au
Twitter: @smcnally33
Dr Gift Mutsonziwa
Dr Gift Mutsonziwa
Gift is a lecturer in the School of Nursing and Midwifery at the Western Sydney University with various teaching roles and coordinating Foundations for nursing practice (Summer school) and Clinical leadership. He has more than 15years of clinical and education experience in Emergency and Intensive care settings as a clinical nurse consultant (CNC). Gift has presented research topics at three national round table conferences and several conferences at the district level. His academic qualifications are Dip GN; BNurse, M.Hons Nursing (1st class), M.Emerg Nursing, and PhD.
Gift's main research expertise includes:
- The lived experiences
- Emergency care nursing
- Intensive care nursing
- Nursing education
- Infection control
- Learning through simulation
- Consumer participation in care
- Healthcare worker's experiences
Gift's main methodological expertise includes:
- Qualitative and mixed methods
- Phenomenology
- Interpretive phenomenology
- Narrative analysis
- Thematic analysis
- Content analysis
- Surveys
Currently supervising (PhD), (MHons), (BNHons)
- Nil
Students to completion (PhD), (MHons), (BNHons)
- Nil
Contact details
Phone: +61 410 292 360
Professor Kath Peters
Professor Kath Peters
Professor Kath Peters RN BN (Hons) PhD is an academic in the School of Nursing and Midwifery at Western Sydney University. Kath has extensive clinical nursing and research experience with a strong background in health research and qualitative methodologies. Kath is actively engaged in research and regularly disseminates research outcomes in peer reviewed journals and at national and international conferences.
Kath's main research interests and expertise includes:
- Nursing Workforce
- Women's and Family Health
- Vulnerable Populations
Kath's main methodological expertise includes:
- Qualitative Research
- Feminist Research
Students to completion (PhD), (MHons), (BNHons)
- 8 PhD
- 8 BN (Hons)
Contact details
Phone: +61 2 4620 3567
Ageing and Aged Care
Associate Professor Hui Chen (Rita) Chang
Dr Rita Chang 
Dr. Chang is an accomplished researcher and clinician with more than 20 years of experience in the field of aged care and dementia. She completed her PhD from the University of Sydney in 2009 and has held various leadership positions within nursing schools, where she has excelled in teaching and research. Dr. Chang has received numerous awards for her contributions to teaching, including the Vice-Chancellor's Award for Outstanding Contribution to Teaching and Learning in 2010, 2011, and 2012, as well as the Award for Excellence in Job Management of the Year as Head of School in 2010. She has also been recognized for her research, receiving the Vice-Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Research Supervision in 2022.
Dr. Chang has established and maintained partnerships with national and international institutions, collaborating on interdisciplinary research and supervising higher research degree students. She has secured funding from industry partnerships and government tenders for clinical research on feeding difficulties, dementia and driving, and delirium care, as well as a WHO iSupport project. Additionally, Dr. Chang serves on the Grants Committee of the Australian Association of Gerontology (AAG) Research Trust since 2021, Board of Directors, of Multicultural Communities Council of Illawarra (MCCI), founding President of Taiwanese Scholar Australia Association (TSAA), nursing home accreditation advisor, member of the committee of dementia and age-friendly city promotion, member of the committee of long-term care development panel and accreditation appraiser of residential aged care facility, by government invitation, to the Department of Health and Aging.
Rita's main research interests and expertise includes:
Dr. Chang's research interests include carer support in the aged and dementia care, cross-cultural dementia care, dementia education for health professionals and carers, and other forms of dementia care, as well as workforce development in a variety of aged care settings, including community, residential, and hospital. She is well-versed in the effects of increased cultural, linguistic, and religious diversity in consumers and the workforce on care models, communication, and care quality in aged and dementia care. Her most recent study focused on the knowledge translation of healthcare practitioners who work with the seniors and their families.
Rita's main methodological expertise includes:
- Qualitative studies (phenomenological study, focus group interview, Observational studies)
- Quantitative studies (cross-sectional study, randomised controlled trial, non-randomised or quasi-experimental trials, longitudinal study)
Currently supervising (PhD), (MHons), (BNHons)
- 5 PhD (Co supervisor)
- 1 PhD
Students to completion (PhD), (MHons), (BNHons)
- 3 PhD
- 1 MPhil
2021 Benjamin Mu-Hsing Ho (PhD) (Primary supervisor)-Strategies to Improve the Knowledge and Clinical Skills for Recognition and Management of Delirium of Critical Care Nurses
2023 Zhenyu ZHANG (PhD) (Co-supervisor)-A Machine-Understandable Ontology for Representing the Domain Knowledge Specific to Non-Pharmacological Treatment of Behavioural and Psychological Symptoms of Dementia
2023 Alera Bowden (PhD) (Co-supervisor)-Exploring the impact of ageing simulation education on acute care nurses' older people
2014 Yun Yan Chen (MPhil) (Primary supervisor)-Effectiveness of Reminiscence therapy for people living with dementia in nursing home setting
Contact details
Phone: +61 2 9685 9034
Mobile: +61 450 162 006
Email: r.chang2@westernsydney.edu.au
Twitter: @RitaCha78298491
Dr Antoinette Cotton
Dr Antoinette Cotton 
Dr Antoinette Cotton is Senior Lecturer and the Academic Course Advisor for the Bachelor of Nursing (Honours), and Bachelor of Nursing (Advanced) programs in the School of Nursing and Midwifery, Western Sydney University. She has extensive experience in participating and leading curriculum development at program and unit level, and at undergraduate, honours and postgraduate level. She is a registered nurse and registered midwife and has had a wide variety of clinical experience. She is a nurse academic experienced in qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods. She has supervised and co-supervised BN (Honours) students to completion and is currently co-supervising Master of Nursing (Honours), Master of Research and PhD candidates, and undertaking the role of principal supervisor for a doctoral candidate. She has a background in research, scholarship and publishing in the areas that include critical reflective practices, clinical supervision, health research in cyberspace, palliative care, workforce issues, women’s health, aged care and health issues related to vulnerable populations.
Antoinette's main research interests and expertise includes:
- Ethical Leadership
- Clinical Leadership
- Mentorship
- Clinical supervision
- Aged Care
- Women’s Health
- Cancer screening
- Disability Community
- Palliative Care
- Ethical and methodological issues in Online Research
- Education and workforce
- Curriculum design for undergraduate, honours and postgraduate programs
- Educational preparation for professional practice
- Critical reflective practices for the professions
- Experiences of students in nursing programs
Antoinette's main methodological expertise includes:
- Qualitative Research Methods
- Mixed Methods Designs
- Co-design Methodologies
- Translational Research
Currently supervising (PhD), (MHons), (BNHons)
- 2 PhD
- 1 MHons
- 1 MRES
Students to completion (PhD), (MHons), (BNHons)
- 1 PhD
- 4 MRES
- 2 BNHons
- 4 BAppsSc(Hons)
Contact details
Phone: +61 2 6985 9501
Professor Jane Frost
Professor Jane Frost 
Professor Jane Frost is a Professor of Nursing. She is a Principal fellow of the Higher Education Academy and certified Lego® Serious Play® facilitator. Jane received an AAUT citation in 2021 for her work in nurse education. She is an experienced educator, clinician, and academic, and a TEDx Speaker. In 2017, Jane was the first person in Australian to be conferred as a Doctor of Nurse Practitioner. Jane has had an extensive clinical career and is passionate about education and work integrated learning. Jane enjoys teaching and employs innovative techniques to prepare students for the realities of clinical practice. To create authentic learning experiences, and enhance epistemic fluency, Jane uses simulation techniques such as Mask-Ed™, HoloLens (mixed reality headsets), 360-degree video, AI and virtual reality. Jane is internationally recognized for her work using technology in nurse and interprofessional education.
Janes's main research interests and expertise includes:
- Learning and Teaching
- Simulation
- Technology-enhanced learning and caring
- Aged care
- Dementia
- VR
- Extended reality
- Interprofessional education
Janes's main methodological expertise includes:
- Qualitative
- Mixed Methods
- Phenomenology
Currently supervising (PhD), (MHons), (BNHons)
- 5 PhD
Students to completion (PhD), (MHons), (BNHons)
- 1 PhD
- 2019 Louise Nicholson (Professional Doctorate of Nurse Practitioner(research)) (primary supervisor) Barriers and enablers for the Australian oncology nurse practitioner to engage in research in and on practice: A descriptive phenomenological study.
Contact details
Phone: +61 2 4620 3322
Email: j.frost3@westernsydney.edu.au
Twitter: @JaneFrostWSU
Professor Deborah Hatcher
Professor Deborah Hatcher
Professor Deborah Hatcher, RN, Dip(Teach), BHSc(N), MHPEd, PhD MACN is the Dean of the School of Nursing and Midwifery and Parramatta South campus Provost at Western Sydney University.
Deborah is a registered nurse and experienced academic with 30 years of program co-ordination and teaching at undergraduate and postgraduate level, in Australia, Hong Kong and Singapore.
Deborah has a network of international, national and local partnerships and is regularly invited to review nursing programs given her extensive experience in curriculum development and quality assurance. Professor Hatcher’s research and scholarship is focused on ageing and aged care, palliative care, chronic illness and primary health care in acute care and community settings. Deborah supervises BN (Honours), Master of Research and PhD students.
Deborah is a member of the Australian College of Nursing, a member of the Executive of the Australian and New Zealand Council of Deans of Nursing and Midwifery and NSW Chair of the Australian and New Zealand Council of Deans of Nursing and Midwifery.
Deborah's main research interests and expertise includes:
- Ageing and aged care
- Palliative care
- Chronic illness
- Primary health care
Deborah's main methodological expertise includes:
- Grounded theory and other qualitative methods
- Mixed methods research
Currently supervising (PhD), (MHons), (BNHons)
- 5 PhD
Students to completion (PhD), (MHons), (BNHons)
- 3 PhD
- 1 MRes
- 3 BNHons
- 2021 Tiffany Northall (PhD) (Primary Supervisor) - Factors that influence health professionals in residential aged care placement process
- 2020 Gladis Kabil (MRes)(Associate Supervisor) - Emergency nurses’ experiences of the implementation of early goal-directed fluid resuscitation therapy in the management of sepsis
- 2020 Tracy Parrish (BN Honours 1st Class)(Associate Supervisor) - The experiences of Sessional Nurse Academics utilising High Fidelity Simulation in an Undergraduate Nursing Program: A Case Study
- 2019 Sharma Ratnayake (PhD) (Associate Supervisor) - Exploring the experiences of undergraduate nursing students on nutrition with older people: A mixed method study
- 2017 Karen Watson (PhD) (Primary Supervisor) - Essential oils for agitation management in older adults: A mixed method study
- 2016 Melissa Janssons (BN Honours 2nd Class)(Associate Supervisor) - Exploring palliative care experiences of adults living in an inner regional area of New South Wales
- 2015 Spasija Volcevska (BN Honours 2nd Class)(Associate Supervisor) The experiences of Registered Nurses caring for older people with mental illnesses in an Emergency Department
Contact details
Phone: +61 2 9685 9817
Email: d.hatcher@westernsyney.edu.au
Twitter: @DHatcher888
Dr Leanne Hunt
Dr Leanne Hunt
Dr Leanne Hunt is a Senior Lecturer in Nursing and Deputy Director, Clinical Education (Nursing), in the School of Nursing and Midwifery at the Western Sydney University. Leanne began nursing in 1992 as an RN progressing to CNC (trauma) and NUM 1. Leanne worked in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in Paediatric cardiothoracic intensive care for 2 years. Leanne has 11 years of education and research experience and is the current chair of the Critical Care Research in Collaboration & Evidence Translation (CCRICET) research group. Leanne is an affiliate member of the Centre for Applied Nursing Research (CANR), Centre for Oral Health Outcomes & Research Translation (COHORT) and the Ingham Institute of Applied Medical Research. Leanne is a qualitative and mixed methods researcher focusing on critical care practice/patient outcomes, workforce development and clinical practice experience. Leanne’s work is collaborative and multidisciplinary and has impacts on critical care patients, families, student nurses, the future nursing workforce and the profession of nursing.
Leanne's main research interests and expertise includes:
- Critical care
- Workforce development
- Undergraduate clinical placement
Leanne's main methodolgical expertise includes:
- Qualitative
- Mixed methods
Currently supervising (PhD), (MHons), (BNHons)
- 2 PhD
Students to completion (PhD), (MHons), (BNHons)
- 1 BNHons
Contact details
Phone: +61 2 4570 1676
Email: l.hunt@westernsydney.edu.au
Dr Stephen McNally
Dr Stephen McNally
Stephen is proud to say that he has gained a vast amount of experience in academia over the last 30 years and currently holds a senior leadership position in the School of Nursing and Midwifery. Stephen gained his PhD in 2007, titled “Triage Education: From Experience to Practice Standards”. He continues to remain actively engaged in research, publishing in peer reviewed journals and presenting at national and international conferences. During his tenure he has retained his clinical expertise in all areas of critical care, particularly emergency. Stephen continues to successfully supervise Higher Research Degree students and Stephen would welcome the opportunity to discuss research interests and a plan with any potential higher degree research students.Stephen possesses extensive clinical, teaching and research experience with background in Qualitative/quantitative research, mixed methods design and systematic reviews.
Stephen's main research interests and expertise includes:
- Critical care
- Patient safety
- Nurse education
- Men's health (developing area of interest)
Stephen's main methodological expertise includes:
- Quantitative research
- Quantitative research
- Mixed methods design
- Systematic Reviews
Currently supervising (PhD), (MHons), (BNHons)
- 1 BNHons
- 1 MRes
- 1 PhD
Students to completion (PhD), (MHons), (BNHons)
- 6 BNHons
- 1 MRes
Contact details
Phone: +61 2 9685 9508
Email: s.mcnally@westernsydney.edu.au
Twitter: @smcnally33
Dr Tiffany Northall
Dr Tiffany Northall 
Tiffany Northall completed the Bachelor of Nursing, Master of Nursing with distinction and her PhD at Western Sydney University. She also completed a Graduate Certificate in Nursing Education. Tiffany has been a lecturer at Western Sydney University in undergraduate and post graduate nursing. Throughout her nursing career she worked in a variety of positions including primary health care, palliative care, emergency department and was a clinical nurse specialist in discharge planning. Tiffany’s research focuses on the care of older people in hospital, nursing homes and in the community with a specific interest in transfers of care. She also has an interest in the transition, retention and success of enrolled nurses who enter the Bachelor of Nursing degree. Tiffany has applied a variety of research methodologies including phenomenology and mixed methods.
Tiffany's main research interests and expertise includes:
- Aged Care
- Undergraduate nursing student retention
- Success Health professionals decision making
- Critical reflective practices for the professions
Tiffany's main methodological expertise includes:
- Phenomenology Qualitative Methods
Currently supervising (PhD), (MHons), (BNHons)
- 1 PhD
- 1 MRES
Students to completion (PhD), (MHons), (BNHons)2 BNHons
- 1 BNHons
Contact details
Phone: +61 2 4620 3368
Email: t.northall@westernsydney.edu.au
Twitter: @TiffanyNorthall
Dr Shyama Ratnayake
Dr Shyama Ratnayake
Shyama Ratnayake is a registered nurse and an Associate Lecturer in the School of Nursing and Midwifery. She has over 10 years of experience in teaching in tertiary institutions in Australia. Shyama has been employed at WSU since 2010 and has over 5 years of university teaching experience.
Shyama currently coordinates an undergraduate first year clinical unit and is the Deputy First Year Experience Coordinator.
Her research areas include aged care, nutrition, curriculum development and nursing education. She has contributed to a text book dedicated to caring for older people. She has extensive clinical, research and teaching experience in aged care. Her MAppSc work determined the effect of cooking methods and post-processing storage temperatures of polished and unpolished rice. Her PhD work explored the experiences of undergraduate nursing students regarding the nutrition of older people within the current curriculum practices used by the Australian undergraduate nursing degree.
Shyama's main research expertise includes:
- Aged care
- Nutrition
- Curriculum development
- Nursing education
Shyama's main methodological expertise includes:
- Mixed methods designs
- Qualitative designs
- Survey construction
Students to completion (PhD), (MHons), (BNHons)
- Nil
Currently supervising (PhD), (MHons), (BNHons)
- Nil
Contact details
Phone: +61 2 9685 9568
Professor Anna Williams
Professor Anna Williams
Professor Anna Williams holds a PhD in Public Health and Community Medicine. Professor Williams engages in a broad healthy ageing research program situated within primary health care that seeks to make a contribution in four key areas including the:(1) Promotion of the intrinsic capacity of persons to achieve health and well-being; (2) Development of age-friendly environments; (3) Health Service Development and quality; and (4) Development and sustainability of a primary health care workforce. Professor Williams has extensive experience in the implementation and evaluation of complex interventions within primary health care, community health and general practice settings; implementation of person-centred care models in acute and sub-acute care settings, and chronic illness self-management and self-management support. Her research areas have also focused on the assessment and management of lifestyle risk factors by clinicians, the prevention and management of chronic illnesses and health workforce and health services development. She has led or coordinated a number of research programs including randomised controlled trials, systematic reviews and mixed method studies and the evaluation of national, state government and non-government primary health care initiatives.
Anna's main research interests and expertise includes:
- Lifestyle Risk Factor modification, health promotion and well-being
- Chronic Illness Prevention and Management
- Person-centred care in sub-acute care and acute care
- Self-management of chronic illnesses
- Provider self-management support
- Primary Health Care workforce support and development
- Support and care to persons living with Dementia and associated co-morbidities or multimorbidity
- Complex interventions in Primary Health Care
Anna's main methodological expertise includes:
- Mixed Methods
- Qualitative research
- Systematic Reviews
- Grounded Theory
- RCTs
Currently supervising (PhD), (MHons), (BNHons)
- 4 PhD
Students to completion (PhD), (MHons), (BNHons)
- 1 PhD
- 2022 Kaara Calma (PhD) (Co-Supervisor) '‘An exploration of final-year undergraduate nursing students’ preparedness to work in general practice’
- 2022 Mary Shivani Sathiyamoorthy (Applied Project, Doctor of Medicine) (Primary Supervisor) 'The role of the primary health care provider in supporting patients with a co-diagnosis of dementia and Type II Diabetes Mellitus to self-manage their T2DM'
- 2022 Javaria Chaudhry (Applied Project, Doctor of Medicine) (Primary Supervisor) 'Informing Guidelines for provider self-management support for patients who are self-managing type II diabetes and cognitive impairment and Dementia' (Applied Project, Doctor of Medicine)
- 2020 IChing Ho (Independent Learning Project, UNSW Medicine) 'Older People's Experiences of Living with, Responding to and Managing Sensory Loss'
Contact details
Phone: +61 2 9685 9046
Email: Anna.williams@westernsydney.edu.au
Twitter: @AnnaWil73688726
Disability
Dr Laynie Hall Pullin
Dr Laynie Hall Pullin
Dr Laynie Hall Pullin is a Registered Nurse and lecturer with a background in rehabilitation, Spinal Cord Injury and working with people with disabilities. She has a Bachelor of Arts, Master of Community Nursing, Master of Nursing (Hons 1st Class) and was awarded her PhD in 2015 for a qualitative grounded theory study which explored the experiences of long-term family carers of people with spinal cord injury in Australia. Laynie has extensive experience in undergraduate and post-graduate nursing education and is an active member of the Australasian Rehabilitation Nurses Association (ARNA). She has been past Vice-President of the NSW/ACT Chapter and a recipient of a national ARNA research grant. In 2014, Laynie was awarded the Medal 43 from the Fellow43 group (incorporating the Spinal Injury Nurses Association) for services to spinal nursing research. She is a peer reviewer for several international journals and is a member of the Translational Health Research Institute (THRI) at Western Sydney University.
Laynie's main research interests and expertise includes:
- Spinal cord injury and long-term conditions
- Rehabilitation
- Disability
- Family care giving
- Nursing education
Laynie's main methodological expertise includes:
- Qualitative methods
- Grounded theory methods
Currently supervising (PhD), (MHons), (BNHons)
- Nil
Students to completion (PhD), (MHons), (BNHons)
- Nil
Contact details
Phone: +61 2 4570 1670
Email: l.hall@westernsydney.edu.au
Twitter: @familycarers
Dr Peter Lewis
Dr Peter Lewis
Peter Lewis is a registered nurse with more than 20 years' clinical experience in paediatrics in Australia and the UK. He has held positions on acute care
inpatient wards, in critical care areas, and as a clinical nurse consultant with services providing holistic care for children and young people with chronic respiratory illnesses. His recent appointment to the academic staff of Western Sydney University enables him to combine his extensive clinical and research experience with a developing interest in undergraduate nurse education to provide him with a well-rounded academic career. His current teaching focus is on nursing leadership and professional communication.
Peter's main methodological expertise includes:
Peter maintains research interests in paediatric, adolescent, and young adult patient populations. He has expertise in conducting research into experiences of chronic illness, experiences of hospitalisation, and in health care service evaluation. He is currently engaged in an evaluation of the Chronic Illness Peer Support program at the Children's Hospital at Westmead. Peter has extensive experience in using both traditional and innovative qualitative methodologies. His study of young people's experiences of transition from adolescence to young adulthood with a cancer diagnosis combined interviews with the production of digital self-portraits to explore the experiences of Growing up with Cancer.
Students to completion (PhD), (MHons), (BNHons)
- Nil
Contact details
Phone: +61 2 4570 1352
Email: p.lewis@westernsydney.edu.au
Dr Kate O'Reilly
Dr Kate O'Reilly
Kate O’Reilly is a Lecturer with the School of Nursing and Midwifery at Western Sydney University and teaches into both the undergraduate and post graduate programs. Kate is the Director of International (Programs and Engagement), in this role she collaborates closely with Hong Kong Baptist University through the offering of the Master of Nursing (Clinical Leadership). Kate has recently completed her PhD and is awaiting conferral. She has contributed to over 20 peer reviewed publications and is a contributing author to book chapters and research reports. Kate has presented at over 20 conference both nationally and internationally. She has received best presenter awards within the School of Nursing and Midwifery and has represented the school on two occasions at the Western Sydney University 3 Minute Thesis competition finals.
Kate's main research interests and expertise includes:
- Rehabilitation following traumatic brain injury
- Working with vulnerable populations
- Women's Health
Kates's main methodological expertise includes:
- Qualitative
Currently supervising (PhD), (MHons), (BNHons)
- Nil
Students to completion (PhD), (MHons), (BNHons)
- 1 BNHons
Contact details
Phone: +61 2 4620 3362
Email: kate.oreilly@westernsydney.edu.au
Twitter: @kateoreilly20
Professor Kath Peters
Professor Kath Peters
Professor Kath Peters RN BN (Hons) PhD is an academic in the School of Nursing and Midwifery at Western Sydney University. Kath has extensive clinical nursing and research experience with a strong background in health research and qualitative methodologies. Kath is actively engaged in research and regularly disseminates research outcomes in peer reviewed journals and at national and international conferences.
Kath's main research interests and expertise includes:
- Nursing Workforce
- Women's and Family Health
- Vulnerable Populations
Kath's main methodological expertise includes:
- Qualitative Research
- Feminist Research
Students to completion (PhD), (MHons), (BNHons)
- 8 PhD
- 8 BN (Hons)
Contact details
Phone: +61 2 4620 3567
Professor Lucie Ramjan
Professor Lucie Ramjan
Lucie Ramjan is an Professor and Director of Academic Workforce (Parramatta) in the School of Nursing and Midwifery at Western Sydney University. She is also a core member of the Translational Health Research Institute (THRI), Young & Resilient Research Centre and an affiliate member of the Centre for Oral Health Outcomes & Research Translation (COHORT) and the Ingham Institute of Applied Medical Research.
Lucie graduated with a Bachelor of Nursing (Honours – 1st Class) in 2003 and was awarded a PhD in 2007. Lucie is a qualitative and mixed methods researcher who is committed to education and workforce research, research with adolescents and young people and mental health research, particularly in the area of eating disorders. Her research scholarship is characterised by interdisciplinary and international collaborations culminating in research outputs and funding success. Most notably Lucie is proud to have secured research funding as first CI on a competitive grant from The Ian Potter Foundation Ltd to develop and pilot test a mentorship program for people with anorexia nervosa. This followed further Research Development Strategic Initiative Funding through Western Sydney University to extend and pilot to people with any type of eating disorder.
Lucie was also invited to contribute to a White Paper on eating disorders and obesity which also secured funding. Lucie is currently supervising 8 research higher degree students and has supervised 12 students to completion [5 PhD; 1 MN(Hons); 1 MPhil; 5 BN(Hons)]. Lucie’s teaching excellence is evidenced by the receipt of two prestigious teaching awards. In 2011, Lucie received the College of Health & Science Learning and Teaching Award and in 2012 Lucie received an Office for Learning & Teaching (OLT) National Citation for Outstanding Contribution to Student Learning. Lucie continues to teach in both the undergraduate and postgraduate programs within the School of Nursing and Midwifery at Western Sydney University.
Other professional activities: Lucie is the Vice-President (WSU) of the Xi Omicron at-Large Chapter of Sigma and the Chair of the Adolescent & Young People Faculty of the Australian College of Nursing. She was previously the Associate Editor for Contemporary Nurse and is now a current Associate Editor for Nursing Open.
Prior to employment at Western Sydney University, Lucie was a clinician working with adolescents at The Children’s Hospital at Westmead (Royal Alexandra Hospital for Children) in roles as a Registered Nurse and Clinical Nurse Specialist.
Lucie's main research interests and expertise includes:
- Adolescent and Young People's Health
- Eating Disorders
- Education and Workforce
Lucie's main methodological expertise includes:
- Qualitative Research Methods
Currently supervising (PhD), (MHons), (BNHons)
- 8 PhD
- 1 MPhil
Students to completion (PhD), (MHons), (BNHons)
- 5 PhD
- 1 MPhil
- 1 MHons
- 5 BNHons
- 2014 - Chandra Poudel (Master of Nursing (Honours) (Co-supervisor) - Career Intention of Nursing Students in Nepal: The CARINA Study
- 2016 - Rasmieh Al-Amer (PhD) (Co-supervisor) - Depression and Self-care In Jordanian Adults with Diabetes: The POISE study
- 2016 - Christine Walker (BN (Hons) 1st Class) (Co-supervisor) - Unleashing the iPad’s potential: The lived experience of undergraduate nursing students when using the iPad for tertiary education
- 2016 - Graham Sean Gough (BN (Hons) 1st Class) (Primary Supervisor) - Men in Nursing: Predictors and antecedents of retention in the first year undergraduate nursing program: The RETAIN Study
- 2016 - Ghada El-Ayoubi (BN (Hons) 2nd Class, Div. 1) (Co-supervisor) - Beyond Hand Hygiene: Investigating Multi-resistant Organism Colonisation in the Intensive Care Unit: The BIOTIC Study
- 2016 - Liz Flannery (BN (Hons) 1st Class) (Primary Supervisor) - End-of-Life Decisions in the Intensive Care Unit – Exploring the experiences of doctors and nurses
- 2019 - Ibrahim Alananzeh (PhD) (Co-supervisor) - The unmet supportive care needs of Arab people affected by cancer (The SNAP study)
- 2019 - Scott Brunero (PhD) (Co-supervisor) - A constructivist grounded theory of generalist health professionals and their mental health work
- 2020 - Jacqueline Rojo (BN (Hons) 1st Class) (Co-supervisor) - CONerns During Clinical PlacemenT: The CONDUCT Project
- 2021 - Gursharan Singh (PhD) (Co-supervisor) - Access and referral to palliative care for individuals with chronic heart failure
- 2022 - Maricris Algoso (PhD) (Co-supervisor) - The value of undergraduate Assistant in Nursing (AIN) employment in the aged care setting: Developing transferable skills and increasing workforce readiness
- 2022 - Rebekah Carter (MPhil) (Co-supervisor) - Feed-forward: Using annotated exemplars to promote student engagement and satisfaction
Contact details
Phone: +61 2 9685 9032
Email: l.ramjan@westernsyney.edu.au
Twitter: @LucieRamjan
Professor Nathan Wilson
Professor Nathan Wilson 
Professor Wilson's research interests are in applied research that enhances the health, wellbeing and social participation of people with long-term disabilities, in particular people with intellectual and developmental disability. Professor Wilson has expertise on the intersection of intellectual disability, social inclusion, the nursing workforce, men’s health and sexual health. With over 110 peer reviewed scientific papers, 2 books and multiple book chapters, Professor Wilson is an Australian disability nurse leader.
Professor Wilson is the President of the Professional Association of Nurses in Developmental Disabilities, Australia (PANDDA), and has led many campaigns to promote the specialty role of nurses who work with people with intellectual disability: http://www.pandda.net/
Professor Wilson presents regularly at national and international scientific meetings and has sustained and developing research collaborations with groups in Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia, Norway, the UK, the USA and South Africa. His funded research projects cover a number of areas including: 1) reducing the use of pyschotropic medication for people with intellectual disability, 2) mentoring young unemployed adults with intellectual disability at Men's Sheds, 3) cross-modal community mobility of young adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder, 4) place of death and people with intellectual disability, 5) disability nursing standards of practice, 6) toward the self-management of type 1 diabetes for people with intellectual disability, 7) increasing the capacity of mainstream nurses to work with people with intellectual disability and/or autism, and 8) oral health and intellectual and developmental disability.
Nathan's main research interests and expertise includes:
- Disability
- Health and Social Care
- Health and Wellbeing
- Social Inclusion
- Nursing Workforce
Nathan's main methodological expertise includes:
Nathan has experience in health and social interventions and mixed methods.
Currently supervising (PhD), (MHons), (BNHons)
- 7 PhD
Students to completion (PhD), (MHons), (BNHons)
- 6 PhD
- 2 M
- 10 BNHons
Contact details
Phone: +61 2 4570 1926
Mobile: 0406 631 384
Email: nathan.wilson@westernsydney.edu.au
 | WOMEN, FAMILIES AND CHILDREN |
|---|
Mother Infant Family Network (MIFam)
Associate Professor Elaine Burns
(Midwifery Supervisor)
Associate Professor Elaine Burns
Elaine Burns is an Associate Professor of Midwifery and Director of Higher Degree Research and Honours, in the School of Nursing and Midwifery. Elaine is an experienced midwifery clinician, educator and researcher. Her research is focussed on breastfeeding, midwifery practice/education and the experience of maternity care. In the topic area of breastfeeding Elaine is ranked number 6 in the SciVal list of Top 500 researchers in the Asia/Pacific. Elaine’s work is multidisciplinary and collaborative and is recognised nationally and internationally with a robust publication track record of more than 40 peer reviewed publications, and 60 conference and seminar presentations, including as invited speaker. Elaine has been awarded multiple research grants to further investigate barriers to breastfeeding and models of maternity care. Her work has been cited in broadcast and print media including more than 50,000 readers in articles written for The Conversation. Elaine is passionate about improving support during pregnancy, birth and the early transition to mothering.
Elaine's main research interests and expertise includes:
- Midwifery
- Breastfeeding
- Postnatal Care
- Pregnancy Care
- Birth
- Women's experiences of Maternity Care
- Migrant and refugee women's experiences
- Peer support
- Oral health
- Homebirth
- Models of care
- Young parents
- Education
Elaine's main methodological expertise includes:
Elaine has conducted large scale national surveys for the collection of both quantitative and qualitative data and has experience in managing large ARC funded projects including qualitative and mixed method studies. Qualitative methodologies include discourse analysis, ethnography, phenomenology.
Currently supervising (PhD), (MHons), (BNHons)
- 3 BNHons
- 3 MRes
- 3 PhD
Students to completion (PhD), (MHons), (BNHons)
- 1 BNHons
- 2 MPhil
- 1 MRes
- 4 PhD
- 2021 MPhil Jenni Doust (Primary Supervisor)
- 2021 MRES Louise Duursma (Primary Supervisor)
- 2021 PhD Hazel Keedle (Co-supervisor)
- 2019 PhD Shu Fei Yang (Co-Supervisor)
- 2018 PhD Jeni Stevens (Co-Supervisor)
- 2018 PhD Titaree Phanwichatkul (Co-Supervisor)
- 2017 MPhil Hazel Keedle (Co-Supervisor)
- 2017 BN Honours Class 1 Heather Sassine (Co-Supervisor)
Contact details
Phone: +61 2 9685 9818
Email: e.burns@westernsydney.edu.au
Twitter: @elainebdmidwife
Professor Hannah Dahlen
(Midwifery Supervisor)
Professor Hannah Dahlen 
Professor Hannah Dahlen Hannah Dahlen AM is a Professor of Midwifery, Associate Dean Research and Higher Degree Research and Midwifery Discipline Lead in the School of Nursing and Midwifery at Western Sydney University.
Qualifications: RN, RM, BN (Hons 1st class), MCommN, PhD, Grad Cert Midwifery (pharmacology), FACM Hannah Dahlen is the Professor of Midwifery, Associate Dean Research and Higher Degree Research and Midwifery Discipline Lead of Midwifery and in the School of Nursing and Midwifery, Western Sydney University. She has been a midwife for 30 years.
Hannah has over 200 published journal articles and book chapters and has strong national and international research partnerships. She has received more than 20 grants since 2000, including being a CI on three NHMRC grants and an ARC Linkage grant. She has spoken at over 100 national and international conferences in the past 5 years and given invited keynote addresses at most of these.Hannah is regularly interviewed in the media and sought out for expert comment.
In 2019 Hannah was awarded a Member (AM) of the Order of Australia (General Division) in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list for her significant services to midwifery, nursing and medical education and research. In November 2012 Hannah was named in the Sydney Morning Herald’s list of 100 “people who change our city for the better” and named as one of the leading “science and knowledge thinkers” for 2012.
Hannah's main research interests and expertise includes:
- Midwifery
- Normal birth
- Birth interventions
- Media
- Water Birth
- Perineal trauma
- Incontinence
- Epigenetics
- Oral Health
- Health Policy
- Acupuncture
- Homebirth
- Birth Centres
- Fear
- Risk
- Birth trauma
- Human rights in childbirth
- Models of care
- Vaginal examination
- Maternal death
- Maternal complications
- Perinatal outcomes
- Young parents
- Obesity
- CALD women's outcomes
- Birth positions
- Birth experiences
Hannah's main methodological expertise includes:
Hannah has experience with both quantitative and qualitative methodologies. She has undertaken systematic reviews (meta-analysis and meta-synthesis) , randomised controlled trials, prospective cohort studies, retrospective cohort studies, population based studies, surveys, grounded theory, narrative analysis, phenomenology, ethnography, thematic analysis, content analysis (qual and quant), and mixed methods.
Currently supervising (PhD), (MHons), (BNHons)
- 2 BNHons
- 2 MRES
- 9 PhD
Students to completion (PhD), (MHons), (BNHons)
- 6 BN(Hons)
- 5 M(Hons)
- 13 PhD
Hannah has had 6 Honours completions, all First Class Honours. Two of her Honours students received the University Medal in 2011 and 2016. In total Hannah has had 24 Honours/HDR completions since 2009.
- 2009 - Jeni Stevens (BN Honours 1st Class) (Primary Supervisor) - Midwives’ and Doulas’ Perspectives of the Role of the Doula in Australia: A qualitative study
- 2010 - Heather Pearce (BN Honours 1st Class) (Co-supervisor) – Pregnancy related low back and pelvic girdle pain: Listening to Australian women
- 2011 - Holly Priddis (BN Honours 1st class and UWS University Medal) (Primary Supervisor) - Facilitating physiological birth positioning in two different birth settings: An ethnographic exploration into facilitators and inhibitors
- 2016- Hannah Olley (BN Honours 1st Class) (Co-supervisor) . Facilitating closeness between babies with congenital abnormalities
- 2017- Heather Sassine (BN Honours 1st Class) (Primary Supervisor) – The needs and experiences of women who choose homebirth in Australia: a national survey
- 2017- Jo Hunter (BN Hons). (1st Class) (Primary Supervisor) The experiences of privately practising midwives in Australia who have been reported to the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency: A qualitative study
- 2012 - Felicity Copeland(Masters Hons) (Co-supervisor)Midwives interpretation of childbirth through photo elicitation
- 2012 - Susan Harvey (Masters Hons - Award for best thesis 2014) (Co-supervisor) – Judgement, hope and identity: Stories of health care mothering in the perinatal period from women receiving opioid treatment
- 2014 - Suha Hussein (Masters Honours – Award for best thesis 2014) (Co-supervisor) - The barriers and facilitators of introducing evidence-based practices around the use of episiotomy in Jordan.
- 2015 - Hazel Keedle (Masters Honours) (Primary Supervisor) - Women’s reasons for and experiences of having a homebirth following a previous caesarean section.
- 2018 Leonie Hewitt- (Masters Research- High Distinction) (Primary Supervisor). What attributes do Australian midwifery leaders identify as being essential to effectively manage a Midwifery Group Practice (MGP)?
- 2013 - Christine Catling (PhD) (Co-supervisor) - The influences on women who choose a publicly funded homebirth
- 2014 - Debra Betts (PhD) (Co-supervisor) – Acupuncture treatment in threatened miscarriage: A mixed methods study.
- 2015 - Melanie Jackson (PhD) (Primary Supervisor) - Birthing Outside the System.
- 2015 - Holly Priddis (PhD) (Primary Supervisor) – An evaluation of Health Services for women who have experienced severe perineal trauma: A mixed methods study.
- 2015 - Mike Amour (PhD) (Co-supervisor) - The effectiveness of acupuncture in the treatment of primary dysmenorrhea: A mixed methods study
- 2015 – Kate Levett (PhD) (Co-supervisor) - The Complete Birth Study: Effectiveness of a complex antenatal education program incorporating complementary medicine techniques for pain relief in labour and birth for first time mothers: A mixed methods study
- 2018 - Jeni Stevens (PhD) (Primary Supervisor). Facilitators, barriers and implications of immediate skin-to-skin contact after caesarean section: An ethnographic study
- 2018 Alison Teate (PhD) (Primary Supervisor). From Worry to hope: An ethnography of midwife-woman interactions in the antenatal appointment.
- 2019 Lindsay Cole (PhD) (Co-supervisor) – Discourse Analysis on giving birth in South Australia: An ethnomethodological approach
- 2017 Simone Ormsby (PhD) (Co-supervisor) - Evaluation of the effectiveness of acupuncture treatment for antenatal and postnatal depression
- 2021 Suha Hussein (PhD) (Co-supervisor) –Jordanian women’s perceptions od episiotomy and other birth interventions” an intergenerational qualitative study
- 2021 Elizabeth Rigg (PhD) (Primary Supervisor) – The role of unregulated birth workers in Australia from the perspective of birth workers and women
- 2021 Hazel Keedle (PhD) (Primary Supervisor) – The experiences of women planning a VBAC in Australia
Contact details
Phone: +61 2 9685 9118
Email: h.dahlen@westernsydney.edu.au
Twitter: @Hannahdahlen
Dr Rakime Elmir
(Midwifery Supervisor)
Dr Rakime Elmir
Dr Rakime Elmir is a lecturer in both the nursing and midwifery directorates. Her passion is midwifery and believes in providing women the 'choice' to make informed decisions. Rakime completed her PhD in 2012 focusing on women's experiences of severe postpartum haemorrhage and emergency hysterectomy. Since completing her doctoral work, she has extended her research interests around father's experiences of traumatic birth and midwives experiences of obstetric emergencies.
Rakime's main research interests and expertise includes:
- Qualitative research
- Birth trauma
- High risk / complications in pregnancy and birth
- Father's birth
- Postnatal experiences
- Women's health
Students to completion (PhD), (MHons), (BNHons)
- Nil
Contact details
Phone: +61 2 4620 3372
Email: r.elmir@westernsydney.edu.au
Dr Jann Foster
Dr Jann Foster
Dr Jann Foster main research expertise includes:
- Neonatal
- Infant and paediatric nursing and reflective practice: Including pain management of neonates, infants and children
- Nutrition and feeding of neonates and infants including gastrointestinal disorders
- Respiratory management of neonates and infants
- The use of technology in the neonatal intensive care setting
Jann's main methodological expertise includes:
- Historical research
- Descriptive qualitative research
- Randomised controlled trials
- Surveys
- Quantitative comparative studies
- Systematic reviews
Students to completion (PhD), (MHons), (BNHons)
- 1 BNHons
Contact details
Phone: +61 2 4620 3667
Professor Donna Hartz
(Midwifery Supervisor)
Professor Donna Hartz
Professor Donna Hartz has a unique breadth of midwifery clinical, teaching, practice development, management, clinical governance, and research experience during her career. Donna has been a member of the leadership teams redesigning and evaluating the Royal Hospital for Women (Randwick) Caseload Midwifery Model, the Ryde Free Standing Midwifery Birth Service, the NSW Aboriginal Maternity Care Workers Demonstration Project (First Nation workforce development) and the Australian College of Midwives National Midwifery Guidelines for Consultation and Referral.
Donna's main research interests and expertise includes:
- Midwifery models of care
- Birthing on Country
- Aboriginal maternal and baby health​ and wellbeing
- Midwifery
- Midwifery Workforce Pathways
- Clinical Governance
- Child Protection
Donna's main methodological expertise includes:
- Randomised Controlled Trails
- Mixed Methods
- Cohort studies
- Community Participatory Action Research
- Survey design
- Indigenous​ methodologies
Currently supervising (PhD), (MHons), (BNHons)
- 1 BMid Hons
- 2 MPhil
- 1 PhD
Students to completion (PhD), (MHons), (BNHons)
- 1 BMed Hons
- 2 PhD
- PhD 2022, CDU Co-supervisor​ – An analysis of Inpatient patient suicide in Australia using The Human Factors Analysis and Classification System.
- PhD 2020, USyd (Primary Supervisor & Aux Supervisor - Rightfully giving effect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people’s knowledge and cultures of ways of being, knowing and doing in public health policies.
- BMed Honours 2006, USyd (Primary Supervisor) – The association between Postnatal Depression and Perineal trauma.
Contact details
Mobile: +61 414 469 335
Email: d.hartz@westernsydney.edu.au
Twitter: @DonnaLHartz
Dr Diana Jefferies
Dr Diana Jefferies
Dr Diana Jefferies is a lecturer in the school of Nursing and Midwifery at Western Sydney University. She has twenty-five years' experience in acute clinical nursing specialising in mental health and HIV Nursing. She has academic qualifications in Arts Based research methods such as historical analysis and literary criticism. Her current research program integrates her nursing and arts-based background to examine descriptions of mental health issues in historical and literary contexts.
Diana's main research interests and expertise includes:
- The Lived Experience of Illness
- Mental Health
- Patient Centred Care
- Medical and Health Humanities
- Womens Health
Diana's main methodological expertise includes:
- Qualitative Research - Narrative Arts based research methods especially historical and literary analysis
Currently supervising (PhD), (MHons), (BNHons)
- 1 BN (Hons)
- 1 MRes
Students to completion (PhD), (MHons), (BNHons)
- 1 PhD
- 1 BNHons
Contact details
Phone: +61 2 9685 930
Mobile: +61 409 125 256
Email: d.jefferies@westernsydney.edu.au
Twitter: @DianaJefferies7
Dr Hazel Keedle
(Midwifery Supervisor)
Dr Hazel Keedle
Dr Hazel Keedle is a Senior lecturer of midwifery at Western Sydney University, Australia. Hazel has worked in midwifery group practices, an aboriginal medical service, a variety of hospital settings and as a privately practising midwife in both city and regional locations. Hazel’s passion for vaginal birth after caesarean (VBAC) followed her own experience of having a VBAC with her daughter in 2008 and since then has published research on women's experience of having a VBAC at home and on her PhD work exploring women’s experiences of planning a VBAC in Australia. Hazel has a developing publication track record as an early career researcher, with 12 peer reviewed publications and was awarded the ACM NSW Pat Brodie research scholarship to develop a smartphone application in her PhD research. Hazel is currently the lead researcher on Australia's largest survey on women's experiences of maternity care, the Birth Experience Study. Hazel is passionate about improving support for women during pregnancy, birth, and the early transition to mothering.
Hazel's main research interests and expertise includes:
- Vaginal birth after caesarean (VBAC)
- Birth experience
- Birth trauma
- Interprofessional education
- Child and family health nursing
- Implementation science (scale-up of effective community-based interventions)
- Social and service innovation (particularly integrated community service systems)
Hazel's main methodological expertise includes:
- Mixed method studies and analysis
- Thematic and content analysis
Currently supervising (PhD), (MHons), (BNHons)
- 1 MRES (Co-supervisor)
- 2 PhD (Co-supervisor)
Students to completion (PhD), (MHons), (BNHons)
- Nil
Contact details
Phone: +61 2 8738 9387
Mobile: +61 418 436 600
Email: h.keedle@westernsydney.edu.au
Twitter: @hazelkeedl
Distinguished Professor Lynn Kemp
Distinguished Professor Lynn Kemp
Distinguished Professor Lynn Kemp is Director of the Translational Research and Social Innovation group in the School of Nursing and Midwifery Western Sydney University. Lynn has developed a significant program of community-based child health research that includes world and Australian-first intervention studies such as the Maternal Early Childhood Sustained Home-visiting (MECSH) study, the first randomised trial of sustained nurse home visiting that is embedded in universal health services, and the subsequent right@home randomised trial of sustained nurse home visiting. She is now leading an international program of translational research, studying the implementation of these effective interventions at population scale world-wide in Australia, England, South Korea and the USA.
Lynn's main research interests and expertise includes:
- Child and family health nursing Implementation science (scale-up of effective community-based interventions) Social and service innovation (particularly integrated community service systems)
Lynn's main methodological expertise includes:
- Design and conduct of pragmatic randomized trials
- Quantitative studies and analysis
- Qualitative studies and analysis
- Mixed method studies and analysis
Currently supervising (PhD), (MHons), (BNHons)
- 5 PhD
Students to completion (PhD), (MHons), (BNHons)
- 15 PhD
Contact details
Phone: +61 2 8738 9387
Mobile: +61 418 436 600
Email: lynn.kemp@westernsydney.edu.au
Twitter: @LynnKempWSU
Associate Professor Olayide Ogunsiji
Associate Professor Olayide Ogunsiji
Associate Professor Olayide Ogunsiji is a Registered Nurse and Senior Lecturer at the School of Nursing and Midwifery, Western Sydney University. Her research focuses on women’s health with specific focus on violence against women, migrant and refugee women’s health and health of people of African descent. Her research topics are female genital mutilation, intimate partner violence, breast and cervical cancer screening and parenting practices. Dr Ogunsiji conducts her research in partnership with industry partners, community organisations and local, national and international collaborators. She supervises Bachelor of Nursing (Honours) and Higher Degree Research students. Dr Ogunsiji has featured in ABC Radio interviews, published in high impact journals and presented in conferences. Dr Ogunsiji is a multi-award winner. She was a finalist at the 2020 Western Sydney University Research Impact Competition, was the 2020 Blacktown Woman of the Year at the New South Wales Women of the Year Award and won the Dorothy Garrigus Adams 2021 Award for Excellence in Service at the Sigma Theta Tau International Honour Society International Awards..
Olayides's main research interests and expertise includes:
- Women's and Family Health
- Migrant and Refugee Women's Health
- African Women's Health
- Intimate Partner Violence
- Breast and Cervical Cancer Screening Practices
Olayides's main methodological expertise includes:
- Qualitative Research
- Naturalistic Inquiry
- Hermeneutic Phenomenology
Currently supervising (PhD), (MHons), (BNHons)
- 1 PhD
- 3 MRes
- 2 BNHons
Students to completion (PhD), (MHons), (BNHons)
- 1 PhD
- 2 BNHons
- 2021-Suha Hussein (PhD) (Co-supervisor): Experiences of episiotomy for Jordanian women
- 2018-Jacqueline Pangas (BN Honours 1st Class) ( Co-supervisor): Experiences of refugee women and families accessing health services in pregnancy and afterbirth: A meta-synthesis.
- 2012- Patricia Ayerakwa (BN Honours) (Co-supervisor): The role of media in West African mothers' food choices for young children.
Contact details
Phone: +61 2 4570 1897
Email: o.ogunsiji@westernsydney.edu.au
Twitter: @OlayideOgunsiji
Dr Kazem Razaghi
Dr Kazem Razaghi
Dr. Kazem Razaghi is a Registered Nurse and Lecturer, with an extensive academic and research background. In 2010, he successfully completed his PhD in Social and Behavioral Sciences in Health at The University of Sydney. Additionally, he possesses a master's degree in Health Promotion. Dr. Razaghi's research is focused on exploring the mental health, well-being, and overall quality of life among young individuals including those placed in out-of-home care, as well as their families. He also holds postgraduate certification in Drug and Alcohol studies, reflecting his keen interest in research within this field. He has actively contributed to various research grants, encompassing a wide range of topics, including Substance Abuse. Kazem's research endeavors are characterized by their multidisciplinary and collaborative nature. One of his most recent projects involved collaboration with an international university and resulted in a publication in the year 2022. He has presented his research findings at conferences and seminars and has successfully published his work in peer-reviewed journals. He has been supervising Higher Degree Research students.
Kazem's main research interests and expertise includes:
- Substance Abuse
- Young people's health and well-being, including those in out-of-home care
- Mental health and well-being
- Behavioural change
- Social determinants of health
- Clinical Leadership
- Clinical supervision
- Men's Health
- Education and workforce
- Curriculum design for undergraduate and postgraduate programs
- Experiences of students in nursing program
Kazem's main methodological expertise includes:
- Qualitative Research Methods
- Quantitative Research Methods
- Mixed Methods Designs
- Co-design Methodologies
- Translational Research
Currently supervising (PhD), (MHons), (BNHons)
- 3 BNHons
- 1 PhD
Students to completion (PhD), (MHons), (BNHons)
- 1 BNHons (Medical Sciences)
- 2013 Victoria Buckley, (BN Honours 1st Class) (The University of Sydney) - secondary supervisor
Contact details
Phone: +61 2 9685 9447
Mobile: +61 404 912 115
Professor Virginia Schmied
(Midwifery Supervisor)
Professor Virginia Schmied 
Professor Virginia Schmied is Professor of Midwifery in the Nursing and Midwifery, Western Sydney University and is the Health and Well-being Theme Champion at the university. Virginia holds a Visiting Professorship at University of Central Lancashire (UK). In her role she collaborates with other senior academics at WSU to build capacity in maternal and child health research.
Professor Schmied has a strong national and international reputation in the discipline of midwifery, and in the field of maternal and child health. She researches and supervises higher degree students in topics addressing the social and emotional health and well-being of women and men in the transition to parenthood, breastfeeding and young child feeding; perinatal mental health, particularly in vulnerable communities and researching improvements in service delivery and professional practice. She is particularly interested in how relationship-based care leads to improved health outcomes for women, children and families.
Professor Schmied has held national competitive grants from ARC and NHMRC and she has conducted consultancy work including leading the development of the national framework for universal health and development services to children and families the Australian Government. She has published over 200 refereed journal articles, book chapters and published reports and regularly presents (including as a key note speaker) at national and international conferences. Her research has been translated to policy and practice, for example through the development of health policy, models of care, teaching resources for consumers and health professionals.
In 2016 she was awarded the Vice Chancellor’s award for Excellence in High Degree Research Supervision and Training and in 2018 she led a team that was awarded the Vice Chancellor’s excellence in Learning and Teaching award for innovations in perinatal multidisciplinary learning and teaching.
Virginia's main research interests and expertise includes:
- Midwifery
- Maternal and child health; transition to parenthood
- Breastfeeding and young child feeding
- Perinatal mental health
- Vulnerable communities improvements in service delivery and professional practice
Virginia's main methodological expertise includes:
- Qualitative research ethnography
- Action research
- Participatory research
- Discourse analysis
- Mixed methods
Currently supervising (PhD), (MHons), (BNHons)
- 1 BNHons
- 1 MHons
- 7 PhD
Students to completion (PhD), (MHons), (BNHons)
- 5 BN(Hons)
- 8 M(Hons)
- 48 PhD
- 2021 - Jen Hocking (PhD) - How Do Lactation Consultants Support Women To Breastfeed?
- 2021 - Hazel Keedle (PhD) - What Are The Experiences Of Women Planning A VBAC From 36 Weeks Gestation To Birth In Two Australian Hospitals With Different VBAC Rates.
- Madeleine Simpson (PhD) - Understanding The Development Of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Following Childbirth And It's Impact On Women Who Access Residential And Day Parenting Services In NSW.
- Suha Hussein (PhD) - Jordanian Women's Perceptions Of Episiotomy And Other Birth Interventions: An Intergenerational Qualitative Study.
- Philippa Mann (Conroy) - (PhD) - Co-Bedding Of Twins In The Neonatal Period? A Mixed Methods Study Exploring Variations In Practice And Perceptions In The Hospital And Home Setting.
- Bridgit Philip (PhD) - Understanding Perinatal Mental Health In Indian-Born Immigrant Women And Men: A Mixed Methods Study.
- Louise Everitt - (PhD) - Perinatal Interprofessional Psychosocial Education for Maternity Clinicians.
- Hannah Skelton - (PhD) - Positioning of extremely premature infants.
Contact details
Phone: +61 2 9685 9505
Mobile: +61 430 242 140
Email: v.schmied@westernsydney.edu.au
Twitter: @vschmie1
Associate Professor Athena Sheehan
(Midwifery Supervisor)
Associate Professor Athena Sheehan
Athena Sheehan is a Associate Professor in the School of Nursing and Midwifery at Western Sydney University.
Qualifications: RN, BN, RM, MN, PhD
Athena is an Associate Professor in the School of Nursing and Midwifery at Western Sydney University. Athena has over 40 years of experience first as a nurse and then as a midwife working in the roles of clinician, researcher, and educator. Athena teaches into the Bachelor of Midwifery and Graduate Diploma of Midwifery programs, and supervises HDR students. Athena has held positions in governance including previously being the Director of Academic Programs for Midwifery at WSU. She has been a member of the Australian College of Midwives for over 20 years. Her research has primarily focused on midwifery, but also includes transdisciplinary research with colleagues in the fields of nursing and socio-functional linguistics. Athena has made major original and innovative contributions to the field of infant feeding and maternal health and has been recognised both nationally and internationally for her research in this area. Her research interests also include midwifery education and workforce and most recently she has been the lead researcher on the SWIMMS project, a funded project that introduced a midwifery mentoring program for B Mid students into the clinical area. She is also currently the lead researcher on the funded Bachelor of Midwifery Multiple Mini Interviews study. Athena’s research has been presented at International and National conferences where she has been an invited and keynote speaker. She publishes regularly in highly ranked nursing, midwifery, and multidisciplinary journals, and her work is regularly cited. With colleagues she has been successful in receiving 2 ARC linkage grants, she has also been successful in receiving research funding through university grants. As an educator, clinician, and researcher, she is passionate about quality outcomes that result in the provision of excellent care for childbearing women and their families.Athena's main research interests and expertise includes:
- Midwifery
- Breastfeeding
- Midwifery education
- Women's experiences of midwifery care
- Midwifery workforce
- Homebirth
- Breech birth
- Mentoring
- Models of care
- Antenatal education
Athena's main methodological expertise includes:
Athena has experience with a wide variety of qualitative and quantitative methodologies. This includes:
- Grounded theory
- Discourse analysis
- Qualitative descriptive analysis
- Metasynthesis
- Quasi-experimental design
- Mixed methods
- Experimental design
Currently supervising (PhD), (MHons), (BNHons)
- 1 BN(Hons)
- 1 M(Hons)
- 5 PhD
Students to completion (PhD), (MHons), (BNHons)
- 1 BM(Hons) (First Class)
- 1 M(Hons)
- 5 PhD
Contact details
Phone: +61 2 9685 9068
Women's Health
Dr Antoinette Cotton
Dr Antoinette Cotton
Dr Antoinette Cotton is Senior Lecturer and the Academic Course Advisor for the Bachelor of Nursing (Honours), and Bachelor of Nursing (Advanced) programs in the School of Nursing and Midwifery, Western Sydney University. She has extensive experience in participating and leading curriculum development at program and unit level, and at undergraduate, honours and postgraduate level. She is a registered nurse and registered midwife and has had a wide variety of clinical experience. She is a nurse academic experienced in qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods. She has supervised and co-supervised BN (Honours) students to completion and is currently co-supervising Master of Nursing (Honours), Master of Research and PhD candidates, and undertaking the role of principal supervisor for a doctoral candidate. She has a background in research, scholarship and publishing in the areas that include critical reflective practices, clinical supervision, health research in cyberspace, palliative care, workforce issues, women’s health, aged care and health issues related to vulnerable populations.
Antoinette's main research interests and expertise includes:
- Ethical Leadership
- Clinical Leadership
- Mentorship
- Clinical supervision
- Aged Care
- Women’s Health
- Cancer screening
- Disability Community
- Palliative Care
- Ethical and methodological issues in Online Research
- Education and workforce
- Curriculum design for undergraduate, honours and postgraduate programs
- Educational preparation for professional practice
- Critical reflective practices for the professions
- Experiences of students in nursing programs
Antoinette's main methodological expertise includes:
- Qualitative Research Methods
- Mixed Methods Designs
- Co-design Methodologies
- Translational Research
Currently supervising (PhD), (MHons), (BNHons)
- 2 PhD
- 1 MHons
- 1MRES
Students to completion (PhD), (MHons), (BNHons)
- 1 PhD
- 4 MRES
- 2 BNHons
- 4 BAppsSc(Hons)
Contact details
Phone: +61 2 6985 9501
Dr Rakime Elmir
(Midwifery Supervisor)
Dr Rakime Elmir
Dr Rakime Elmir is a lecturer in both the nursing and midwifery directorates. Her passion is midwifery and believes in providing women the 'choice' to make informed decisions. Rakime completed her PhD in 2012 focusing on women's experiences of severe postpartum haemorrhage and emergency hysterectomy. Since completing her doctoral work, she has extended her research interests around father's experiences of traumatic birth and midwives experiences of obstetric emergencies.
Rakime's main research interests and expertise includes:
- Qualitative research
- Birth trauma
- High risk / complications in pregnancy and birth
- Father's birth
- Postnatal experiences
- Women's health
Students to completion (PhD), (MHons), (BNHons)
- Nil
Contact details
Phone: +61 2 4620 3372
Email: r.elmir@westernsydney.edu.au
Associate Professor Lauretta Luck
Associate Professor Lauretta Luck
Associate Professor Lauretta Luck is the Director of the Centre for Nursing and Midwifery Research, a conjoint position of the SoNM, WSU and Nepean Blue Mountains Local Health District. Lauretta supports and mentors Nurse Clinicians undertaking research focused on improving patient care and outcomes and nursing evidence based practice. Lauretta has many years teaching in the tertiary sector both at Undergraduate and Postgraduate levels and has experience in numerous governance and leadership roles. Lauretta was the recipient of a Women’s fellowship grant (WSU) (2018) exploring violence towards nurses from the Nurse Managers’ perspective. In 2019, in collaboration with the NBMLHD Safety Culture Coordinators (Nurse Educators), she attracted NaMO and Louisa Hope funding to implement resilience and mindfulness workshops for nurses to provide strategies to respond to the problem of violence. Lauretta supervises undergraduate and postgraduate research students including Bachelor of Nursing (Hons), Master of Research and PhD students and mentors Bachelor of Nursing (Advanced) students. Lauretta’s research skills include case study design, mixed methods research and qualitative designs. Her areas of research include violence towards nurses, nursing workforce issues and nursing education. She has published in, and reviews, national and international journals and has presented a national and international conferences.
Lauretta's main research interests and expertise includes:
- Violence towards nurses
- Nursing education
- Nursing workforce
Lauretta's main methodological expertise includes:
- Qualitative research
- Case study
- Mixed methods
Currently supervising (PhD), (MHons), (BNHons)
- 5 PhD
- 1 MRes
Students to completion (PhD), (MHons), (BNHons)
- 2 PhD
- 3 BNHons
Contact details
Phone: +61 2 4734 3181
Dr Fiona McDermid
Dr Fiona McDermid
Dr Fiona McDermid is a lecturer in the School of Nursing and Midwifery. Dr Fiona McDermid completed her PhD in 2017 on the transition of clinical nurses to academia under a framework of liminality. Following on from her doctoral work, Fiona is further exploring the concepts of resilience and transition within workforce and communities. She is currently involved in a project centered on emergency departments highlighting the concept of resilience and retention and was successful in obtaining an Early Career Research grant for this study. She is also involved in the Women's Health stream of research and is currently undertaking work on women's experiences of menopause. She has published and presented research both nationally and internationally.
Fiona's main research interests and expertise includes:
- Women's Health
- Emergency Workforce Resilience
Fiona's main methodological expertise includes:
- Qualitative studies and analysis
Currently supervising (PhD), (MHons), (BNHons)
- 2 BNHons
- 1 PhD
Students to completion (PhD), (MHons), (BNHons)
- Nil
Contact details
Mobile: +61 408 675 169
Email: f.mcdermid@wsternsydney.edu.au
Twitter: @fiona_McDermid
Associate Professor Olayide Ogunsiji
Associate Professor Olayide Ogunsiji
Associate Professor Olayide Ogunsiji is a Registered Nurse and Senior Lecturer at the School of Nursing and Midwifery, Western Sydney University. Her research focuses on women’s health with specific focus on violence against women, migrant and refugee women’s health and health of people of African descent. Her research topics are female genital mutilation, intimate partner violence, breast and cervical cancer screening and parenting practices. Dr Ogunsiji conducts her research in partnership with industry partners, community organisations and local, national and international collaborators. She supervises Bachelor of Nursing (Honours) and Higher Degree Research students. Dr Ogunsiji has featured in ABC Radio interviews, published in high impact journals and presented in conferences. Dr Ogunsiji is a multi-award winner. She was a finalist at the 2020 Western Sydney University Research Impact Competition, was the 2020 Blacktown Woman of the Year at the New South Wales Women of the Year Award and won the Dorothy Garrigus Adams 2021 Award for Excellence in Service at the Sigma Theta Tau International Honour Society International Awards..
Olayides's main research interests and expertise includes:
- Women's and Family Health
- Migrant and Refugee Women's Health
- African Women's Health
- Intimate Partner Violence
- Breast and Cervical Cancer Screening Practices
Olayides's main methodological expertise includes:
- Qualitative Research
- Naturalistic Inquiry
- Hermeneutic Phenomenology
Currently supervising (PhD), (MHons), (BNHons)
- 1 PhD
- 3 MRes
- 2 BNHons
Students to completion (PhD), (MHons), (BNHons)
- 1 PhD
- 2 BNHons
- 2021-Suha Hussein (PhD) (Co-supervisor): Experiences of episiotomy for Jordanian women
- 2018-Jacqueline Pangas (BN Honours 1st Class) ( Co-supervisor): Experiences of refugee women and families accessing health services in pregnancy and afterbirth: A meta-synthesis.
- 2012- Patricia Ayerakwa (BN Honours) (Co-supervisor): The role of media in West African mothers' food choices for young children.
Contact details
Phone: +61 2 4570 1897
Email: o.ogunsiji@westernsydney.edu.au
Twitter: @OlayideOgunsiji
Dr Kate O'Reilly
Dr Kate O'Reilly
Kate O’Reilly is a Lecturer with the School of Nursing and Midwifery at Western Sydney University and teaches into both the undergraduate and post graduate programs. Kate is the Director of International (Programs and Engagement), in this role she collaborates closely with Hong Kong Baptist University through the offering of the Master of Nursing (Clinical Leadership). Kate has recently completed her PhD and is awaiting conferral. She has contributed to over 20 peer reviewed publications and is a contributing author to book chapters and research reports. Kate has presented at over 20 conference both nationally and internationally. She has received best presenter awards within the School of Nursing and Midwifery and has represented the school on two occasions at the Western Sydney University 3 Minute Thesis competition finals.
Kate's main research interests and expertise includes:
- Rehabilitation following traumatic brain injury
- Working with vulnerable populations
- Women's Health
Kates's main methodological expertise includes:
- Qualitative
Currently supervising (PhD), (MHons), (BNHons)
- Nil
Students to completion (PhD), (MHons), (BNHons)
- 1 BNHons
Contact details
Phone: +61 2 4620 3362
Email: kate.oreilly@westernsydney.edu.au
Twitter: @kateoreilly20
Professor Kath Peters
Professor Kath Peters
Professor Kath Peters RN BN (Hons) PhD is an academic in the School of Nursing and Midwifery at Western Sydney University. Kath has extensive clinical nursing and research experience with a strong background in health research and qualitative methodologies. Kath is actively engaged in research and regularly disseminates research outcomes in peer reviewed journals and at national and international conferences.
Kath's main research interests and expertise includes:
- Nursing Workforce
- Women's and Family Health
- Vulnerable Populations
Kath's main methodological expertise includes:
- Qualitative Research
- Feminist Research
Students to completion (PhD), (MHons), (BNHons)
- 8 PhD
- 8 BN (Hons)
Contact details
Phone: +61 2 4620 3567
Professor Lucie Ramjan
Professor Lucie Ramjan
Lucie Ramjan is an Professor and Director of Academic Workforce (Parramatta) in the School of Nursing and Midwifery at Western Sydney University. She is also a core member of the Translational Health Research Institute (THRI), Young & Resilient Research Centre and an affiliate member of the Centre for Oral Health Outcomes & Research Translation (COHORT) and the Ingham Institute of Applied Medical Research.
Lucie graduated with a Bachelor of Nursing (Honours – 1st Class) in 2003 and was awarded a PhD in 2007. Lucie is a qualitative and mixed methods researcher who is committed to education and workforce research, research with adolescents and young people and mental health research, particularly in the area of eating disorders. Her research scholarship is characterised by interdisciplinary and international collaborations culminating in research outputs and funding success. Most notably Lucie is proud to have secured research funding as first CI on a competitive grant from The Ian Potter Foundation Ltd to develop and pilot test a mentorship program for people with anorexia nervosa. This followed further Research Development Strategic Initiative Funding through Western Sydney University to extend and pilot to people with any type of eating disorder.
Lucie was also invited to contribute to a White Paper on eating disorders and obesity which also secured funding. Lucie is currently supervising 8 research higher degree students and has supervised 12 students to completion [5 PhD; 1 MN(Hons); 1 MPhil; 5 BN(Hons)]. Lucie’s teaching excellence is evidenced by the receipt of two prestigious teaching awards. In 2011, Lucie received the College of Health & Science Learning and Teaching Award and in 2012 Lucie received an Office for Learning & Teaching (OLT) National Citation for Outstanding Contribution to Student Learning. Lucie continues to teach in both the undergraduate and postgraduate programs within the School of Nursing and Midwifery at Western Sydney University.
Other professional activities: Lucie is the Vice-President (WSU) of the Xi Omicron at-Large Chapter of Sigma and the Chair of the Adolescent & Young People Faculty of the Australian College of Nursing. She was previously the Associate Editor for Contemporary Nurse and is now a current Associate Editor for Nursing Open.
Prior to employment at Western Sydney University, Lucie was a clinician working with adolescents at The Children’s Hospital at Westmead (Royal Alexandra Hospital for Children) in roles as a Registered Nurse and Clinical Nurse Specialist.
Lucie's main research interests and expertise includes:
- Adolescent and Young People's Health
- Eating Disorders
- Education and Workforce
Lucie's main methodological expertise includes:
- Qualitative Research Methods
Currently supervising (PhD), (MHons), (BNHons)
- 8 PhD
- 1 MPhil
Students to completion (PhD), (MHons), (BNHons)
- 5 PhD
- 1 MPhil
- 1 MHons
- 5 BNHons
- 2014 - Chandra Poudel (Master of Nursing (Honours) (Co-supervisor) - Career Intention of Nursing Students in Nepal: The CARINA Study
- 2016 - Rasmieh Al-Amer (PhD) (Co-supervisor) - Depression and Self-care In Jordanian Adults with Diabetes: The POISE study
- 2016 - Christine Walker (BN (Hons) 1st Class) (Co-supervisor) - Unleashing the iPad’s potential: The lived experience of undergraduate nursing students when using the iPad for tertiary education
- 2016 - Graham Sean Gough (BN (Hons) 1st Class) (Primary Supervisor) - Men in Nursing: Predictors and antecedents of retention in the first year undergraduate nursing program: The RETAIN Study
- 2016 - Ghada El-Ayoubi (BN (Hons) 2nd Class, Div. 1) (Co-supervisor) - Beyond Hand Hygiene: Investigating Multi-resistant Organism Colonisation in the Intensive Care Unit: The BIOTIC Study
- 2016 - Liz Flannery (BN (Hons) 1st Class) (Primary Supervisor) - End-of-Life Decisions in the Intensive Care Unit – Exploring the experiences of doctors and nurses
- 2019 - Ibrahim Alananzeh (PhD) (Co-supervisor) - The unmet supportive care needs of Arab people affected by cancer (The SNAP study)
- 2019 - Scott Brunero (PhD) (Co-supervisor) - A constructivist grounded theory of generalist health professionals and their mental health work
- 2020 - Jacqueline Rojo (BN (Hons) 1st Class) (Co-supervisor) - CONerns During Clinical PlacemenT: The CONDUCT Project
- 2021 - Gursharan Singh (PhD) (Co-supervisor) - Access and referral to palliative care for individuals with chronic heart failure
- 2022 - Maricris Algoso (PhD) (Co-supervisor) - The value of undergraduate Assistant in Nursing (AIN) employment in the aged care setting: Developing transferable skills and increasing workforce readiness
- 2022 - Rebekah Carter (MPhil) (Co-supervisor) - Feed-forward: Using annotated exemplars to promote student engagement and satisfaction
Contact details
Phone: +61 2 9685 9032
Email: l.ramjan@westernsyney.edu.au
Twitter: @LucieRamjan
Translational Research and Social Innovation (TReSI)
Dr Hazel Keedle
(Midwifery Supervisor)
Dr Hazel Keedle
Dr Hazel Keedle is a lecturer of midwifery at Western Sydney University, Australia. Hazel has worked in midwifery group practices, an aboriginal medical service, a variety of hospital settings and as a privately practising midwife in both city and regional locations. Hazel’s passion for vaginal birth after caesarean (VBAC) followed her own experience of having a VBAC with her daughter in 2008 and since then has published research on women's experience of having a VBAC at home and on her PhD work exploring women’s experiences of planning a VBAC in Australia. Hazel has a developing publication track record as an early career researcher, with 12 peer reviewed publications and was awarded the ACM NSW Pat Brodie research scholarship to develop a smartphone application in her PhD research. Hazel is currently the lead researcher on Australia's largest survey on women's experiences of maternity care, the Birth Experience Study. Hazel is passionate about improving support for women during pregnancy, birth, and the early transition to mothering.
Hazel's main research interests and expertise includes:
- Vaginal birth after caesarean (VBAC)
- Birth experience
- Birth trauma
- Interprofessional education
- Child and family health nursing
- Implementation science (scale-up of effective community-based interventions)
- Social and service innovation (particularly integrated community service systems)
Hazel's main methodological expertise includes:
- Mixed method studies and analysis
- Thematic and content analysis
Currently supervising (PhD), (MHons), (BNHons)
- 1 MRES (Co-supervisor)
- 2 PhD (Co-supervisor)
Students to completion (PhD), (MHons), (BNHons)
- Nil
Contact details
Phone: +61 2 8738 9387
Mobile: +61 418 436 600
Email: h.keedle@westernsydney.edu.au
Twitter: @hazelkeedl
Distinguished Professor Lynn Kemp
Distinguished Professor Lynn Kemp
Distinguished Professor Lynn Kemp is Director of the Translational Research and Social Innovation group in the School of Nursing and Midwifery Western Sydney University. Lynn has developed a significant program of community-based child health research that includes world and Australian-first intervention studies such as the Maternal Early Childhood Sustained Home-visiting (MECSH) study, the first randomised trial of sustained nurse home visiting that is embedded in universal health services, and the subsequent right@home randomised trial of sustained nurse home visiting. She is now leading an international program of translational research, studying the implementation of these effective interventions at population scale world-wide in Australia, England, South Korea and the USA.
Lynn's main research interests and expertise includes:
- Child and family health nursing Implementation science (scale-up of effective community-based interventions) Social and service innovation (particularly integrated community service systems)
Lynn's main methodological expertise includes:
- Design and conduct of pragmatic randomized trials
- Quantitative studies and analysis
- Qualitative studies and analysis
- Mixed method studies and analysis
Currently supervising (PhD), (MHons), (BNHons)
- 5 PhD
Students to completion (PhD), (MHons), (BNHons)
- 15 PhD
Contact details
Phone: +61 2 8738 9387
Mobile: +61 418 436 600
Email: lynn.kemp@westernsydney.edu.au
Twitter: @LynnKempWSU
Dr Kazem Razaghi
Dr Kazem Razaghi
Dr. Kazem Razaghi is a Registered Nurse and Lecturer, with an extensive academic and research background. In 2010, he successfully completed his PhD in Social and Behavioral Sciences in Health at The University of Sydney. Additionally, he possesses a master's degree in Health Promotion. Dr. Razaghi's research is focused on exploring the mental health, well-being, and overall quality of life among young individuals including those placed in out-of-home care, as well as their families. He also holds postgraduate certification in Drug and Alcohol studies, reflecting his keen interest in research within this field. He has actively contributed to various research grants, encompassing a wide range of topics, including Substance Abuse. Kazem's research endeavors are characterized by their multidisciplinary and collaborative nature. One of his most recent projects involved collaboration with an international university and resulted in a publication in the year 2022. He has presented his research findings at conferences and seminars and has successfully published his work in peer-reviewed journals. He has been supervising Higher Degree Research students.
Kazem's main research interests and expertise includes:
- Substance Abuse
- Young people's health and well-being, including those in out-of-home care
- Mental health and well-being
- Behavioural change
- Social determinants of health
- Clinical Leadership
- Clinical supervision
- Men's Health
- Education and workforce
- Curriculum design for undergraduate and postgraduate programs
- Experiences of students in nursing program
Kazem's main methodological expertise includes:
- Qualitative Research Methods
- Quantitative Research Methods
- Mixed Methods Designs
- Co-design Methodologies
- Translational Research
Currently supervising (PhD), (MHons), (BNHons)
- 3 BNHons
- 1 PhD
Students to completion (PhD), (MHons), (BNHons)
- 1 BNHons (Medical Sciences)
- 2013 Victoria Buckley, (BN Honours 1st Class) (The University of Sydney) - secondary supervisor
Contact details
Phone: +61 2 9685 9447
Mobile: +61 404 912 115
 | CROSS ARCHING RESEARCH STRENGTHS |
|---|
Mental Health
Dr Gihane Endrawes
Dr Gihane Endrawes 
Dr Gihane Endrawes is a Lecturer with more than 20 years of experience in mental health nursing practice and education. She worked as a Transcultural Mental Health Clinical Nurse Consultant, during which time she coordinated a number of projects addressing consumers’ care and satisfaction and was involved in reviewing and developing policies and practice guidelines. Due to her contribution to mental health nursing, she won 2 nurse achievement awards.
Her PhD was on the ‘lived experience of caring for a relative with mental illness’.
Gihane has extensive experience coordinating undergraduate and postgraduate subjects and is involved in developing and reviewing curricula. She is recognized as a leader in mental health and has been invited as a Keynote Speaker for reputable international conferences. She has also presented at various national and international conferences.
She has been a reviewer and on the editorial board of various national and international scientific committees and journals and chaired various conferences.
She is also a member of the Translational Health Research Institute (THRI) and has experience supervising higher-degree research students, leading research teams, and obtaining research grants.
Gihane is also the recipient of the School of Nursing and Midwifery 2023 Excellence in Engagement Award—Mental Health Research Theme.
Her research interests include mental health, transcultural nursing, evidence-based practice, carers and consumers' issues, quality of life, spirituality, simulation, and nursing education.
Gihanes's main research interests and expertise includes:
- Mental Health
- Culture
- Education
- Evidence-Based Practice
- Quality of lie
- Spirituality
- Carers issues
- Simulation
- qualitative Research
- Quantitative Research
- Mixed Methodolgoies
Gihane's main research interests and expertise includes:
- Qualitative research
- Interpretative Phenomenological Methodology
How many students are you currently supervising (PhD), (MHons), (BNHons)?
- 1 PhD
Students to completion (PhD), (MHons), (BNHons)
- 1 PhD
- 2 BHons
Contact details
Phone: +61 2 9685 9116
Dr Diana Jefferies
Dr Diana Jefferies
Dr Diana Jefferies is a lecturer in the school of Nursing and Midwifery at Western Sydney University. She has twenty-five years' experience in acute clinical nursing specialising in mental health and HIV Nursing. She has academic qualifications in Arts Based research methods such as historical analysis and literary criticism. Her current research program integrates her nursing and arts-based background to examine descriptions of mental health issues in historical and literary contexts.
Diana's main research interests and expertise includes:
- The Lived Experience of Illness
- Mental Health
- Patient Centred Care
- Medical and Health Humanities
- Womens Health
Diana's main methodological expertise includes:
- Qualitative Research - Narrative Arts based research methods especially historical and literary analysis
Currently supervising (PhD), (MHons), (BNHons)
- 1 BN (Hons)
- 1 MRes
Students to completion (PhD), (MHons), (BNHons)
- 1 PhD
- 1 BNHons
Contact details
Phone: +61 2 9685 930
Mobile: +61 409 125 256
Email: d.jefferies@westernsydney.edu.au
Twitter: @DianaJefferies7
Dr Gillian Murphy
Dr Gillian Murphy
Gill is Lecturer at Western Sydney University, School of Nursing and Midwifery. Gill is actively involved in both under-graduate and post-graduate teaching and is a supervisor for higher degree research students. She is a mental health nurse with experiences in forensic, in-patient, community and emergency mental health services. She has worked in both UK and Australian clinical mental health services. Gill is actively engaged with mental health research. Her PhD study generated parenting narratives of adults who had experienced childhood parental mental illness. Her past research studies include an international study which considered health outcomes for people diagnosed with schizophrenia; supporting people with personality disorder using a clinical network and familial experiences of death as a result of suicide. Gill’s current research programme focuses on mental illness; loss and recovery. She is the founder of the Childhood Parental Death Ambassador programme. Gill has published in the area of mental illness in international journals and is a peer reviewer for mental health and nursing related publications.
Gill's main research interests and expertise includes:
- Mental Health
- Familial mental illness
- Suicide bereavement
- Childhood parental death
- Loss and recovery
Gill's main methodological expertise includes:
- Qualitative
- Narrative Inquiry
Currently supervising (PhD), (MHons), (BNHons)
- 1 BN (Hons)
- 2 MRes
- 5 PhD
Students to completion (PhD), (MHons), (BNHons)
- 1 MRES
- Experiences of burnout: Nurses working in accident and emergency departments
Contact details
Phone: +61 2 4570 1280
Dr Sheeja Perumbil Pathrose
Dr Sheeja Perumbil Pathrose
Dr Sheeja Perumbil Pathrose is the Senior Lecturer in the School of Nursing and Midwifery, Western Sydney University, and Director of NSW Centre for Evidence Based Health Care - JBI Affiliated Group Australia. She has many years of experience in both Undergraduate and Postgraduate Nursing programs. Sheeja is a quantitative and mixed-method researcher and her research has largely concentrated on studies that investigates practical aspects affecting vulnerable and sick infants and children.
Sheeja's main research interests and expertise includes:
- Mindfulness
- Adolescent Wellbeing
- Cancer
- Neonatal Nursing
- Young people
- Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) population
Sheeja's main methodological expertise includes:
- Systematic review
- Mixed method research
- Quantitive research
Currently supervising (PhD), (MHons), (BNHons)
- 2 PhD
- 1 BNHons
Students to completion (PhD), (MHons), (BNHons)
- 1 BNHons
- 2023 - Mosunmola Shuaibu (BNHons 1st Class): ‘Women’s experiences of Intimate Partner Violence and Impact on Health and Wellbeing: A Qualitative Systematic Review’
Contact details
Phone: +61 2 9165 8659
Mobile: +61 424 998 479
Email: S.Pathrose@westernsydney.edu.au
Twitter: @PathroseSheeja
Professor Kath Peters
Professor Kath Peters
Professor Kath Peters RN BN (Hons) PhD is an academic in the School of Nursing and Midwifery at Western Sydney University. Kath has extensive clinical nursing and research experience with a strong background in health research and qualitative methodologies. Kath is actively engaged in research and regularly disseminates research outcomes in peer reviewed journals and at national and international conferences.
Kath's main research interests and expertise includes:
- Nursing Workforce
- Women's and Family Health
- Vulnerable Populations
Kath's main methodological expertise includes:
- Qualitative Research
- Feminist Research
Students to completion (PhD), (MHons), (BNHons)
- 8 PhD
- 8 BN (Hons)
Contact details
Phone: +61 2 4620 3567
Professor Lucie Ramjan
Professor Lucie Ramjan
Lucie Ramjan is an Professor and Director of Academic Workforce (Parramatta) in the School of Nursing and Midwifery at Western Sydney University. She is also a core member of the Translational Health Research Institute (THRI), Young & Resilient Research Centre and an affiliate member of the Centre for Oral Health Outcomes & Research Translation (COHORT) and the Ingham Institute of Applied Medical Research.
Lucie graduated with a Bachelor of Nursing (Honours – 1st Class) in 2003 and was awarded a PhD in 2007. Lucie is a qualitative and mixed methods researcher who is committed to education and workforce research, research with adolescents and young people and mental health research, particularly in the area of eating disorders. Her research scholarship is characterised by interdisciplinary and international collaborations culminating in research outputs and funding success. Most notably Lucie is proud to have secured research funding as first CI on a competitive grant from The Ian Potter Foundation Ltd to develop and pilot test a mentorship program for people with anorexia nervosa. This followed further Research Development Strategic Initiative Funding through Western Sydney University to extend and pilot to people with any type of eating disorder.
Lucie was also invited to contribute to a White Paper on eating disorders and obesity which also secured funding. Lucie is currently supervising 8 research higher degree students and has supervised 12 students to completion [5 PhD; 1 MN(Hons); 1 MPhil; 5 BN(Hons)]. Lucie’s teaching excellence is evidenced by the receipt of two prestigious teaching awards. In 2011, Lucie received the College of Health & Science Learning and Teaching Award and in 2012 Lucie received an Office for Learning & Teaching (OLT) National Citation for Outstanding Contribution to Student Learning. Lucie continues to teach in both the undergraduate and postgraduate programs within the School of Nursing and Midwifery at Western Sydney University.
Other professional activities: Lucie is the Vice-President (WSU) of the Xi Omicron at-Large Chapter of Sigma and the Chair of the Adolescent & Young People Faculty of the Australian College of Nursing. She was previously the Associate Editor for Contemporary Nurse and is now a current Associate Editor for Nursing Open.
Prior to employment at Western Sydney University, Lucie was a clinician working with adolescents at The Children’s Hospital at Westmead (Royal Alexandra Hospital for Children) in roles as a Registered Nurse and Clinical Nurse Specialist.
Lucie's main research interests and expertise includes:
- Adolescent and Young People's Health
- Eating Disorders
- Education and Workforce
Lucie's main methodological expertise includes:
- Qualitative Research Methods
Currently supervising (PhD), (MHons), (BNHons)
- 8 PhD
- 1 MPhil
Students to completion (PhD), (MHons), (BNHons)
- 5 PhD
- 1 MPhil
- 1 MHons
- 5 BNHons
- 2014 - Chandra Poudel (Master of Nursing (Honours) (Co-supervisor) - Career Intention of Nursing Students in Nepal: The CARINA Study
- 2016 - Rasmieh Al-Amer (PhD) (Co-supervisor) - Depression and Self-care In Jordanian Adults with Diabetes: The POISE study
- 2016 - Christine Walker (BN (Hons) 1st Class) (Co-supervisor) - Unleashing the iPad’s potential: The lived experience of undergraduate nursing students when using the iPad for tertiary education
- 2016 - Graham Sean Gough (BN (Hons) 1st Class) (Primary Supervisor) - Men in Nursing: Predictors and antecedents of retention in the first year undergraduate nursing program: The RETAIN Study
- 2016 - Ghada El-Ayoubi (BN (Hons) 2nd Class, Div. 1) (Co-supervisor) - Beyond Hand Hygiene: Investigating Multi-resistant Organism Colonisation in the Intensive Care Unit: The BIOTIC Study
- 2016 - Liz Flannery (BN (Hons) 1st Class) (Primary Supervisor) - End-of-Life Decisions in the Intensive Care Unit – Exploring the experiences of doctors and nurses
- 2019 - Ibrahim Alananzeh (PhD) (Co-supervisor) - The unmet supportive care needs of Arab people affected by cancer (The SNAP study)
- 2019 - Scott Brunero (PhD) (Co-supervisor) - A constructivist grounded theory of generalist health professionals and their mental health work
- 2020 - Jacqueline Rojo (BN (Hons) 1st Class) (Co-supervisor) - CONerns During Clinical PlacemenT: The CONDUCT Project
- 2021 - Gursharan Singh (PhD) (Co-supervisor) - Access and referral to palliative care for individuals with chronic heart failure
- 2022 - Maricris Algoso (PhD) (Co-supervisor) - The value of undergraduate Assistant in Nursing (AIN) employment in the aged care setting: Developing transferable skills and increasing workforce readiness
- 2022 - Rebekah Carter (MPhil) (Co-supervisor) - Feed-forward: Using annotated exemplars to promote student engagement and satisfaction
Contact details
Phone: +61 2 9685 9032
Email: l.ramjan@westernsyney.edu.au
Twitter: @LucieRamjan
Dr Kazem Razaghi
Dr Kazem Razaghi
Dr. Kazem Razaghi is a Registered Nurse and Lecturer, with an extensive academic and research background. In 2010, he successfully completed his PhD in Social and Behavioral Sciences in Health at The University of Sydney. Additionally, he possesses a master's degree in Health Promotion. Dr. Razaghi's research is focused on exploring the mental health, well-being, and overall quality of life among young individuals including those placed in out-of-home care, as well as their families. He also holds postgraduate certification in Drug and Alcohol studies, reflecting his keen interest in research within this field. He has actively contributed to various research grants, encompassing a wide range of topics, including Substance Abuse. Kazem's research endeavors are characterized by their multidisciplinary and collaborative nature. One of his most recent projects involved collaboration with an international university and resulted in a publication in the year 2022. He has presented his research findings at conferences and seminars and has successfully published his work in peer-reviewed journals. He has been supervising Higher Degree Research students.
Kazem's main research interests and expertise includes:
- Substance Abuse
- Young people's health and well-being, including those in out-of-home care
- Mental health and well-being
- Behavioural change
- Social determinants of health
- Clinical Leadership
- Clinical supervision
- Men's Health
- Education and workforce
- Curriculum design for undergraduate and postgraduate programs
- Experiences of students in nursing program
Kazem's main methodological expertise includes:
- Qualitative Research Methods
- Quantitative Research Methods
- Mixed Methods Designs
- Co-design Methodologies
- Translational Research
Currently supervising (PhD), (MHons), (BNHons)
- 3 BNHons
- 1 PhD
Students to completion (PhD), (MHons), (BNHons)
- 1 BNHons (Medical Sciences)
- 2013 Victoria Buckley, (BN Honours 1st Class) (The University of Sydney) - secondary supervisor
Contact details
Phone: +61 2 9685 9447
Mobile: +61 404 912 115
Professor Virginia Schmied
(Midwifery Supervisor)
Professor Virginia Schmied
Professor Virginia Schmied is Professor of Midwifery in the Nursing and Midwifery, Western Sydney University and is the Health and Well-being Theme Champion at the university. Virginia holds a Visiting Professorship at University of Central Lancashire (UK). In her role she collaborates with other senior academics at WSU to build capacity in maternal and child health research.
Professor Schmied has a strong national and international reputation in the discipline of midwifery, and in the field of maternal and child health. She researches and supervises higher degree students in topics addressing the social and emotional health and well-being of women and men in the transition to parenthood, breastfeeding and young child feeding; perinatal mental health, particularly in vulnerable communities and researching improvements in service delivery and professional practice. She is particularly interested in how relationship-based care leads to improved health outcomes for women, children and families.
Professor Schmied has held national competitive grants from ARC and NHMRC and she has conducted consultancy work including leading the development of the national framework for universal health and development services to children and families the Australian Government. She has published over 200 refereed journal articles, book chapters and published reports and regularly presents (including as a key note speaker) at national and international conferences. Her research has been translated to policy and practice, for example through the development of health policy, models of care, teaching resources for consumers and health professionals.
In 2016 she was awarded the Vice Chancellor’s award for Excellence in High Degree Research Supervision and Training and in 2018 she led a team that was awarded the Vice Chancellor’s excellence in Learning and Teaching award for innovations in perinatal multidisciplinary learning and teaching.
Virginia's main research interests and expertise includes:
- Midwifery
- Maternal and child health; transition to parenthood
- Breastfeeding and young child feeding
- Perinatal mental health
- Vulnerable communities improvements in service delivery and professional practice
Virginia's main methodological expertise includes:
- Qualitative research ethnography
- Action research
- Participatory research
- Discourse analysis
- Mixed methods
Currently supervising (PhD), (MHons), (BNHons)
- 1 BNHons
- 1 MHons
- 7 PhD
Students to completion (PhD), (MHons), (BNHons)
- 5 BN(Hons)
- 8 M(Hons)
- 48 PhD
- 2021 - Jen Hocking (PhD) - How Do Lactation Consultants Support Women To Breastfeed?
- 2021 - Hazel Keedle (PhD) - What Are The Experiences Of Women Planning A VBAC From 36 Weeks Gestation To Birth In Two Australian Hospitals With Different VBAC Rates.
- Madeleine Simpson (PhD) - Understanding The Development Of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Following Childbirth And It's Impact On Women Who Access Residential And Day Parenting Services In NSW.
- Suha Hussein (PhD) - Jordanian Women's Perceptions Of Episiotomy And Other Birth Interventions: An Intergenerational Qualitative Study.
- Philippa Mann (Conroy) - (PhD) - Co-Bedding Of Twins In The Neonatal Period? A Mixed Methods Study Exploring Variations In Practice And Perceptions In The Hospital And Home Setting.
- Bridgit Philip (PhD) - Understanding Perinatal Mental Health In Indian-Born Immigrant Women And Men: A Mixed Methods Study.
- Louise Everitt - (PhD) - Perinatal Interprofessional Psychosocial Education for Maternity Clinicians.
- Hannah Skelton - (PhD) - Positioning of extremely premature infants.
Contact details
Phone: +61 2 9685 9505
Mobile: +61 430 242 140
Email: v.schmied@westernsydney.edu.au
Twitter: @vschmie1
Oral Health (COHORT)
Professor Hannah Dahlen
(Midwifery Supervisor)
Professor Hannah Dahlen
Professor Hannah Dahlen Hannah Dahlen AM is a Professor of Midwifery, Associate Dean Research and Higher Degree Research and Midwifery Discipline Lead in the School of Nursing and Midwifery at Western Sydney University.
Qualifications: RN, RM, BN (Hons 1st class), MCommN, PhD, Grad Cert Midwifery (pharmacology), FACM Hannah Dahlen is the Professor of Midwifery, Associate Dean Research and Higher Degree Research and Midwifery Discipline Lead of Midwifery and in the School of Nursing and Midwifery, Western Sydney University. She has been a midwife for 30 years.
Hannah has over 200 published journal articles and book chapters and has strong national and international research partnerships. She has received more than 20 grants since 2000, including being a CI on three NHMRC grants and an ARC Linkage grant. She has spoken at over 100 national and international conferences in the past 5 years and given invited keynote addresses at most of these.Hannah is regularly interviewed in the media and sought out for expert comment.
In 2019 Hannah was awarded a Member (AM) of the Order of Australia (General Division) in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list for her significant services to midwifery, nursing and medical education and research. In November 2012 Hannah was named in the Sydney Morning Herald’s list of 100 “people who change our city for the better” and named as one of the leading “science and knowledge thinkers” for 2012.
Hannah's main research interests and expertise includes:
- Midwifery
- Normal birth
- Birth interventions
- Media
- Water Birth
- Perineal trauma
- Incontinence
- Epigenetics
- Oral Health
- Health Policy
- Acupuncture
- Homebirth
- Birth Centres
- Fear
- Risk
- Birth trauma
- Human rights in childbirth
- Models of care
- Vaginal examination
- Maternal death
- Maternal complications
- Perinatal outcomes
- Young parents
- Obesity
- CALD women's outcomes
- Birth positions
- Birth experiences
Hannah's main methodological expertise includes:
Hannah has experience with both quantitative and qualitative methodologies. She has undertaken systematic reviews (meta-analysis and meta-synthesis) , randomised controlled trials, prospective cohort studies, retrospective cohort studies, population based studies, surveys, grounded theory, narrative analysis, phenomenology, ethnography, thematic analysis, content analysis (qual and quant), and mixed methods.
Currently supervising (PhD), (MHons), (BNHons)
- 2 BNHons
- 2 MRES
- 9 PhD
Students to completion (PhD), (MHons), (BNHons)
- 6 BN(Hons)
- 5 M(Hons)
- 13 PhD
Hannah has had 6 Honours completions, all First Class Honours. Two of her Honours students received the University Medal in 2011 and 2016. In total Hannah has had 24 Honours/HDR completions since 2009.
- 2009 - Jeni Stevens (BN Honours 1st Class) (Primary Supervisor) - Midwives’ and Doulas’ Perspectives of the Role of the Doula in Australia: A qualitative study
- 2010 - Heather Pearce (BN Honours 1st Class) (Co-supervisor) – Pregnancy related low back and pelvic girdle pain: Listening to Australian women
- 2011 - Holly Priddis (BN Honours 1st class and UWS University Medal) (Primary Supervisor) - Facilitating physiological birth positioning in two different birth settings: An ethnographic exploration into facilitators and inhibitors
- 2016- Hannah Olley (BN Honours 1st Class) (Co-supervisor) . Facilitating closeness between babies with congenital abnormalities
- 2017- Heather Sassine (BN Honours 1st Class) (Primary Supervisor) – The needs and experiences of women who choose homebirth in Australia: a national survey
- 2017- Jo Hunter (BN Hons). (1st Class) (Primary Supervisor) The experiences of privately practising midwives in Australia who have been reported to the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency: A qualitative study
- 2012 - Felicity Copeland(Masters Hons) (Co-supervisor)Midwives interpretation of childbirth through photo elicitation
- 2012 - Susan Harvey (Masters Hons - Award for best thesis 2014) (Co-supervisor) – Judgement, hope and identity: Stories of health care mothering in the perinatal period from women receiving opioid treatment
- 2014 - Suha Hussein (Masters Honours – Award for best thesis 2014) (Co-supervisor) - The barriers and facilitators of introducing evidence-based practices around the use of episiotomy in Jordan.
- 2015 - Hazel Keedle (Masters Honours) (Primary Supervisor) - Women’s reasons for and experiences of having a homebirth following a previous caesarean section.
- 2018 Leonie Hewitt- (Masters Research- High Distinction) (Primary Supervisor). What attributes do Australian midwifery leaders identify as being essential to effectively manage a Midwifery Group Practice (MGP)?
- 2013 - Christine Catling (PhD) (Co-supervisor) - The influences on women who choose a publicly funded homebirth
- 2014 - Debra Betts (PhD) (Co-supervisor) – Acupuncture treatment in threatened miscarriage: A mixed methods study.
- 2015 - Melanie Jackson (PhD) (Primary Supervisor) - Birthing Outside the System.
- 2015 - Holly Priddis (PhD) (Primary Supervisor) – An evaluation of Health Services for women who have experienced severe perineal trauma: A mixed methods study.
- 2015 - Mike Amour (PhD) (Co-supervisor) - The effectiveness of acupuncture in the treatment of primary dysmenorrhea: A mixed methods study
- 2015 – Kate Levett (PhD) (Co-supervisor) - The Complete Birth Study: Effectiveness of a complex antenatal education program incorporating complementary medicine techniques for pain relief in labour and birth for first time mothers: A mixed methods study
- 2018 - Jeni Stevens (PhD) (Primary Supervisor). Facilitators, barriers and implications of immediate skin-to-skin contact after caesarean section: An ethnographic study
- 2018 Alison Teate (PhD) (Primary Supervisor). From Worry to hope: An ethnography of midwife-woman interactions in the antenatal appointment.
- 2019 Lindsay Cole (PhD) (Co-supervisor) – Discourse Analysis on giving birth in South Australia: An ethnomethodological approach
- 2017 Simone Ormsby (PhD) (Co-supervisor) - Evaluation of the effectiveness of acupuncture treatment for antenatal and postnatal depression
- 2021 Suha Hussein (PhD) (Co-supervisor) –Jordanian women’s perceptions od episiotomy and other birth interventions” an intergenerational qualitative study
- 2021 Elizabeth Rigg (PhD) (Primary Supervisor) – The role of unregulated birth workers in Australia from the perspective of birth workers and women
- 2021 Hazel Keedle (PhD) (Primary Supervisor) – The experiences of women planning a VBAC in Australia
Contact details
Phone: +61 2 9685 9118
Email: h.dahlen@westernsydney.edu.au
Twitter: @Hannahdahlen
Dr Tebbin (Fung Kuen) Koo
Dr Tebbin Koo 
Fung Kuen (Tebbin) Koo is a registered nurse who has practised in Australia and Hong Kong. Her areas of clinical experiences cover refugee health services and geriatric nursing care. She received a PHD in 2005 and the topic was related to the barriers and facilitators of physical activity participation for older Chinese Australian.
Prior to joining Western Sydney University, Tebbin had taught undergraduate and postgraduate units of study at The University of Hong Kong, The University of Sydney and Charles Darwin University. She has a broad range of teaching experiences, including aged care, acute and chronic care, social context of health, primary health care and health promotion.
Tebbin's main research interests and expertise includes:
- Tebbin is experienced in qualitative research. Her main research interest focuses on how culture influences health beliefs and behaviour and also extend to health promotion and health education, immigrants’ health, and care of older people. In addition, she is also interested in studying students’ learning experience, especially students from cultural and linguistic diverse (CALD) backgrounds.
Tebbin's main methodological expertise includes:
- Qualitative research: Ethnography, thematic analysis and content analysis
Currently supervising (PhD), (MHons), (BNHons)
- Co supervisor
- 1 PhD
- 1 MPH
Students to completion (PhD), (MHons), (BNHons)
- 1 PhD
- 2 MPhil
- 1 MHons
- 1 BNHons
- 2020 - Lynn LI, (MPhil) (Auxiliary supervisor, USyd) - The effective communication between provider and Chinese speaking cardia patients.
- 2018 – Kai JIN, (PhD) (Auxiliary supervisor, USyd) - Risk factor profiles and the health behaviours and health literacy related to Coronary Heart Disease amongst recent Chinese immigrants to Australia.
- 2018 – Mary HEIDENREICH, (MPhil, USyd) (Principal supervisor) - The experience of Asian women in caring for a relative with a terminal illness at home in New South Wales.
- 2016 – Priscilla LIM, (BN Honours, 2nd Class, USyd) (Co-supervisor) - The perception of healthcare professionals on Kangaroo care in Singapore
- 2011 – Anna WONG, (MN Honours, USyd) (Co-supervisor) - Systematic Review: Effectiveness of self-management education in patients with type 2 diabetes
Contact details
Email: F.Koo@westernsydney.edu.au
Professor Ajesh George
Professor Ajesh George
Dr Ajesh George (BDS, MPH, PhD) is an Professor at the School of Nursing and Midwifery, Western Sydney University (WSU) and Honorary Associate Professor in the Faculty of Dentistry at University of Sydney. He is a Dentist with extensive experience in interdisciplinary oral health care and is a leading expert in Australia in providing oral health training to nurses/midwives and translating oral health guidelines into their practice. Dr George is also the Director and Co-founder of the "Centre for Oral Health Outcomes & Research Translation" (COHORT) which is an innovative partnership between WSU School of Nursing & Midwifery and South Western Sydney Local Health District (SWSLHD) Oral Health Services bringing together Dentists and non-dental professionals for the first time in Australia- www.cohortaustralia.com. He is also the co-founder and executive member of the Australian Network for Integration of Oral Health (www.niohaustralia.com). Since his PhD Dr George has been initiating and leading multidisciplinary teams in developing and implementing innovative models of oral health involving non-dental professionals care across the lifespan and chronic conditions (maternity, paediatrics, aboriginal health, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, stroke, intellectual disability and palliative care). His work has led to the development of Australia’s first midwifery initiated oral health (MIOH) program which has been recognised nationally and internationally. He has also been instrumental in training nurses and midwives to promote oral health by integrating oral health into undergraduate midwifery and nursing courses at Western Sydney University as well as developing nationally recognised oral health professional development training programs. A/Prof George has 42 grants ($5.2M) including NHMRC grants (26 as CIA), 78 publications (32 first authored, 29 last authored), 114 conference presentations (25 international) and a H-index of 19 with 2463 citations. He also currently supervises 8 HDR students (PhD and MRes) most of whom have received scholarships to undertake studies to integrate oral health into general health care. Dr George has also secured 12 research awards including the 2008 South Western Sydney Local Health District (SWSLHD) Research Showcase Best Poster Award, SWSLHD Quality Awards for 2011/2013/2015/2018/2019, NSW Health Awards Finalist for 2011/2013/2018, 2018 Ingham Publication award, 2013 Ingham Institute Early Career Researcher (ECR) Award and the 2014 UWS Vice Chancellor’s Excellence Award as an ECR. A/Prof George also has a significant track record of translating research into policy and practice. The MIOH program has been successfully implemented in various hospitals in NSW/Victoria and included in Victoria’s Oral Health Promotion Strategic Plan and Obstetric Monitoring system. In addition, the MIOH training package is endorsed by Australian College of Midwives as a professional development program nationally, the MIOH oral health promotional resources are being distributed state-wide by NSW Ministry of Health and oral health has been successfully implemented in the nursing and midwifery curriculum at Western Sydney University- another first in Australia. The MIOH program has received attention through media and television including ministerial media releases, newspapers and Channel 10 news.
Ajesh's main methodolgical expertise includes:
Dr George's main area of expertise include maternal and infant oral health, chronic illness/disability and oral health, translating oral health into practice and oral health education for non-dental professionals . Dr George's main methodological expertise include: Qualitative/quantitative research, mixed methods design, randomised controlled trials, systematic reviews and meta-analysis.
Students to completion (PhD), (MHons), (BNHons)
- 1 PhD
Contact details
Phone: +61 2 8738 9356
Professor Lucie Ramjan
Professor Lucie Ramjan
Lucie Ramjan is an Professor and Director of Academic Workforce (Parramatta) in the School of Nursing and Midwifery at Western Sydney University. She is also a core member of the Translational Health Research Institute (THRI), Young & Resilient Research Centre and an affiliate member of the Centre for Oral Health Outcomes & Research Translation (COHORT) and the Ingham Institute of Applied Medical Research.
Lucie graduated with a Bachelor of Nursing (Honours – 1st Class) in 2003 and was awarded a PhD in 2007. Lucie is a qualitative and mixed methods researcher who is committed to education and workforce research, research with adolescents and young people and mental health research, particularly in the area of eating disorders. Her research scholarship is characterised by interdisciplinary and international collaborations culminating in research outputs and funding success. Most notably Lucie is proud to have secured research funding as first CI on a competitive grant from The Ian Potter Foundation Ltd to develop and pilot test a mentorship program for people with anorexia nervosa. This followed further Research Development Strategic Initiative Funding through Western Sydney University to extend and pilot to people with any type of eating disorder.
Lucie was also invited to contribute to a White Paper on eating disorders and obesity which also secured funding. Lucie is currently supervising 8 research higher degree students and has supervised 12 students to completion [5 PhD; 1 MN(Hons); 1 MPhil; 5 BN(Hons)]. Lucie’s teaching excellence is evidenced by the receipt of two prestigious teaching awards. In 2011, Lucie received the College of Health & Science Learning and Teaching Award and in 2012 Lucie received an Office for Learning & Teaching (OLT) National Citation for Outstanding Contribution to Student Learning. Lucie continues to teach in both the undergraduate and postgraduate programs within the School of Nursing and Midwifery at Western Sydney University.
Other professional activities: Lucie is the Vice-President (WSU) of the Xi Omicron at-Large Chapter of Sigma and the Chair of the Adolescent & Young People Faculty of the Australian College of Nursing. She was previously the Associate Editor for Contemporary Nurse and is now a current Associate Editor for Nursing Open.
Prior to employment at Western Sydney University, Lucie was a clinician working with adolescents at The Children’s Hospital at Westmead (Royal Alexandra Hospital for Children) in roles as a Registered Nurse and Clinical Nurse Specialist.
Lucie's main research interests and expertise includes:
- Adolescent and Young People's Health
- Eating Disorders
- Education and Workforce
Lucie's main methodological expertise includes:
- Qualitative Research Methods
Currently supervising (PhD), (MHons), (BNHons)
- 8 PhD
- 1 MPhil
Students to completion (PhD), (MHons), (BNHons)
- 5 PhD
- 1 MPhil
- 1 MHons
- 5 BNHons
- 2014 - Chandra Poudel (Master of Nursing (Honours) (Co-supervisor) - Career Intention of Nursing Students in Nepal: The CARINA Study
- 2016 - Rasmieh Al-Amer (PhD) (Co-supervisor) - Depression and Self-care In Jordanian Adults with Diabetes: The POISE study
- 2016 - Christine Walker (BN (Hons) 1st Class) (Co-supervisor) - Unleashing the iPad’s potential: The lived experience of undergraduate nursing students when using the iPad for tertiary education
- 2016 - Graham Sean Gough (BN (Hons) 1st Class) (Primary Supervisor) - Men in Nursing: Predictors and antecedents of retention in the first year undergraduate nursing program: The RETAIN Study
- 2016 - Ghada El-Ayoubi (BN (Hons) 2nd Class, Div. 1) (Co-supervisor) - Beyond Hand Hygiene: Investigating Multi-resistant Organism Colonisation in the Intensive Care Unit: The BIOTIC Study
- 2016 - Liz Flannery (BN (Hons) 1st Class) (Primary Supervisor) - End-of-Life Decisions in the Intensive Care Unit – Exploring the experiences of doctors and nurses
- 2019 - Ibrahim Alananzeh (PhD) (Co-supervisor) - The unmet supportive care needs of Arab people affected by cancer (The SNAP study)
- 2019 - Scott Brunero (PhD) (Co-supervisor) - A constructivist grounded theory of generalist health professionals and their mental health work
- 2020 - Jacqueline Rojo (BN (Hons) 1st Class) (Co-supervisor) - CONerns During Clinical PlacemenT: The CONDUCT Project
- 2021 - Gursharan Singh (PhD) (Co-supervisor) - Access and referral to palliative care for individuals with chronic heart failure
- 2022 - Maricris Algoso (PhD) (Co-supervisor) - The value of undergraduate Assistant in Nursing (AIN) employment in the aged care setting: Developing transferable skills and increasing workforce readiness
- 2022 - Rebekah Carter (MPhil) (Co-supervisor) - Feed-forward: Using annotated exemplars to promote student engagement and satisfaction
Contact details
Phone: +61 2 9685 9032
Email: l.ramjan@westernsyney.edu.au
Professor Nathan Wilson
Professor Nathan Wilson
Professor Wilson's research interests are in applied research that enhances the health, wellbeing and social participation of people with long-term disabilities, in particular people with intellectual and developmental disability. Professor Wilson has expertise on the intersection of intellectual disability, social inclusion, the nursing workforce, men’s health and sexual health. With over 110 peer reviewed scientific papers, 2 books and multiple book chapters, Professor Wilson is an Australian disability nurse leader.
Professor Wilson is the President of the Professional Association of Nurses in Developmental Disabilities, Australia (PANDDA), and has led many campaigns to promote the specialty role of nurses who work with people with intellectual disability: http://www.pandda.net/
Professor Wilson presents regularly at national and international scientific meetings and has sustained and developing research collaborations with groups in Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia, Norway, the UK, the USA and South Africa. His funded research projects cover a number of areas including: 1) reducing the use of pyschotropic medication for people with intellectual disability, 2) mentoring young unemployed adults with intellectual disability at Men's Sheds, 3) cross-modal community mobility of young adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder, 4) place of death and people with intellectual disability, 5) disability nursing standards of practice, 6) toward the self-management of type 1 diabetes for people with intellectual disability, 7) increasing the capacity of mainstream nurses to work with people with intellectual disability and/or autism, and 8) oral health and intellectual and developmental disability.
Nathan's main research interests and expertise includes:
- Disability
- Health and Social Care
- Health and Wellbeing
- Social Inclusion
- Nursing Workforce
Nathan's main methodological expertise includes:
Nathan has experience in health and social interventions and mixed methods.
Currently supervising (PhD), (MHons), (BNHons)
- 7 PhD
Students to completion (PhD), (MHons), (BNHons)
- 6 PhD
- 2 M
- 10 BNHons
Contact details
Phone: +61 2 4570 1926
Mobile: 0406 631 384
Email: nathan.wilson@westernsydney.edu.au
Health Education and Workforce
Associate Professor Hui Chen (Rita) Chang
Dr Rita Chang
Dr. Chang is an accomplished researcher and clinician with more than 20 years of experience in the field of aged care and dementia. She completed her PhD from the University of Sydney in 2009 and has held various leadership positions within nursing schools, where she has excelled in teaching and research. Dr. Chang has received numerous awards for her contributions to teaching, including the Vice-Chancellor's Award for Outstanding Contribution to Teaching and Learning in 2010, 2011, and 2012, as well as the Award for Excellence in Job Management of the Year as Head of School in 2010. She has also been recognized for her research, receiving the Vice-Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Research Supervision in 2022.
Dr. Chang has established and maintained partnerships with national and international institutions, collaborating on interdisciplinary research and supervising higher research degree students. She has secured funding from industry partnerships and government tenders for clinical research on feeding difficulties, dementia and driving, and delirium care, as well as a WHO iSupport project. Additionally, Dr. Chang serves on the Grants Committee of the Australian Association of Gerontology (AAG) Research Trust since 2021, Board of Directors, of Multicultural Communities Council of Illawarra (MCCI), founding President of Taiwanese Scholar Australia Association (TSAA), nursing home accreditation advisor, member of the committee of dementia and age-friendly city promotion, member of the committee of long-term care development panel and accreditation appraiser of residential aged care facility, by government invitation, to the Department of Health and Aging.
Rita's main research interests and expertise includes:
Dr. Chang's research interests include carer support in the aged and dementia care, cross-cultural dementia care, dementia education for health professionals and carers, and other forms of dementia care, as well as workforce development in a variety of aged care settings, including community, residential, and hospital. She is well-versed in the effects of increased cultural, linguistic, and religious diversity in consumers and the workforce on care models, communication, and care quality in aged and dementia care. Her most recent study focused on the knowledge translation of healthcare practitioners who work with the seniors and their families.
Rita's main methodological expertise includes:
- Qualitative studies (phenomenological study, focus group interview, Observational studies)
- Quantitative studies (cross-sectional study, randomised controlled trial, non-randomised or quasi-experimental trials, longitudinal study)
Currently supervising (PhD), (MHons), (BNHons)
- 5 PhD (Co supervisor)
- 1 PhD
Students to completion (PhD), (MHons), (BNHons)
- 3 PhD
- 1 MPhil
2021 Benjamin Mu-Hsing Ho (PhD) (Primary supervisor)-Strategies to Improve the Knowledge and Clinical Skills for Recognition and Management of Delirium of Critical Care Nurses
2023 Zhenyu ZHANG (PhD) (Co-supervisor)-A Machine-Understandable Ontology for Representing the Domain Knowledge Specific to Non-Pharmacological Treatment of Behavioural and Psychological Symptoms of Dementia
2023 Alera Bowden (PhD) (Co-supervisor)-Exploring the impact of ageing simulation education on acute care nurses' older people
2014 Yun Yan Chen (MPhil) (Primary supervisor)-Effectiveness of Reminiscence therapy for people living with dementia in nursing home setting
Contact details
Phone: +61 2 9685 9034
Mobile: +61 450 162 006
Email: r.chang2@westernsydney.edu.au
Twitter: @RitaCha78298491
Dr Antoinette Cotton
Dr Antoinette Cotton
Dr Antoinette Cotton is Senior Lecturer and the Academic Course Advisor for the Bachelor of Nursing (Honours), and Bachelor of Nursing (Advanced) programs in the School of Nursing and Midwifery, Western Sydney University. She has extensive experience in participating and leading curriculum development at program and unit level, and at undergraduate, honours and postgraduate level. She is a registered nurse and registered midwife and has had a wide variety of clinical experience. She is a nurse academic experienced in qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods. She has supervised and co-supervised BN (Honours) students to completion and is currently co-supervising Master of Nursing (Honours), Master of Research and PhD candidates, and undertaking the role of principal supervisor for a doctoral candidate. She has a background in research, scholarship and publishing in the areas that include critical reflective practices, clinical supervision, health research in cyberspace, palliative care, workforce issues, women’s health, aged care and health issues related to vulnerable populations.
Antoinette's main research interests and expertise includes:
- Ethical Leadership
- Clinical Leadership
- Mentorship
- Clinical supervision
- Aged Care
- Women’s Health
- Cancer screening
- Disability Community
- Palliative Care
- Ethical and methodological issues in Online Research
- Education and workforce
- Curriculum design for undergraduate, honours and postgraduate programs
- Educational preparation for professional practice
- Critical reflective practices for the professions
- Experiences of students in nursing programs
Antoinette's main methodological expertise includes:
- Qualitative Research Methods
- Mixed Methods Designs
- Co-design Methodologies
- Translational Research
Currently supervising (PhD), (MHons), (BNHons)
- 2 PhD
- 1 MHons
- 1 MRES
Students to completion (PhD), (MHons), (BNHons)
- 1 PhD
- 4 MRES
- 2 BNHons
- 4 BAppsSc(Hons)
Contact details
Phone: +61 2 6985 9501
Professor Jane Frost
Professor Jane Frost
Professor Jane Frost is a Professor of Nursing. She is a Principal fellow of the Higher Education Academy and certified Lego® Serious Play® facilitator. Jane received an AAUT citation in 2021 for her work in nurse education. She is an experienced educator, clinician, and academic, and a TEDx Speaker. In 2017, Jane was the first person in Australian to be conferred as a Doctor of Nurse Practitioner. Jane has had an extensive clinical career and is passionate about education and work integrated learning. Jane enjoys teaching and employs innovative techniques to prepare students for the realities of clinical practice. To create authentic learning experiences, and enhance epistemic fluency, Jane uses simulation techniques such as Mask-Ed™, HoloLens (mixed reality headsets), 360-degree video, AI and virtual reality. Jane is internationally recognized for her work using technology in nurse and interprofessional education.
Janes's main research interests and expertise includes:
- Learning and Teaching
- Simulation
- Technology-enhanced learning and caring
- Aged care
- Dementia
- VR
- Extended reality
- Interprofessional education
Janes's main methodological expertise includes:
- Qualitative
- Mixed Methods
- Phenomenology
Currently supervising (PhD), (MHons), (BNHons)
- 5 PhD
Students to completion (PhD), (MHons), (BNHons)
- 1 PhD
- 2019 Louise Nicholson (Professional Doctorate of Nurse Practitioner(research)) (primary supervisor) Barriers and enablers for the Australian oncology nurse practitioner to engage in research in and on practice: A descriptive phenomenological study.
Contact details
Phone: +61 2 4620 3322
Email: j.frost3@westernsydney.edu.au
Twitter: @JaneFrostWSU
Dr Paul Glew
Dr Paul Glew
Dr Paul Glew has a Bachelor of Nursing, Diploma of Teaching, Bachelor of Education, Graduate Certificate in TESOL, Graduate Certificate in Clinical Science (Intensive Care Nursing), Master of Arts in Applied Linguistics (TESOL), Master of Nursing, and a Doctor of Education degree.
Paul's main research interests and expertise includes:
- Clinical communication in nursing education and healthcare
- Academic literacy and English second language assessment, teaching and learning
- Literacy and language program design in education and nursing
Paul's main methodological expertise includes:
- Qualitative and mixed methods research
Students to completion (PhD), (MHons), (BNHons)
- 3 BNHons
- 1 PhD
Contact details
Phone: +61 2 4570 1163
Email: p.glew@westernsydney.edu.au
Dr Masoud Hassanpour Golakani
Dr Masoud Golakani 
Dr Golakani is an experienced researcher and clinician with a passion for investigating the immune system's role in disease and injury. With a PhD in Medicine from UNSW, he has conducted research on neuroinflammation in spinal cord injury. Prior to his PhD, he obtained a Master of Philosophy in immunology from Macquarie University.
Dr Golakani is also a Registered Nurse with over 15 years of clinical experience, during which he provided comprehensive care to patients and their families in medical/surgical nursing. In addition to his clinical work, Dr Golakani held teaching positions at Western Sydney University, Macquarie University, and the University of Notre Dame Australia, where he trained and supervised students and staff, developed and managed research projects, and interacted with various stakeholders.
Dr Golakani’s research has been published in several peer-reviewed journals and a book chapter. He has presented his findings at various national and international conferences. Dr Golakani has also served as a peer reviewer for different journals and has received funding support from various organizations. Driven by a passion to improve healthcare outcomes, Masoud continues to explore new avenues of research, including the use of simulation in nursing education.
Masoud's main research interests and expertise includes:
- Immunology
- Neuroinflammation
- Spinal Cord Injury (SCI)
- Simulation in Nursing education
Masoud's main methodological expertise includes:
- Statistical Analysis including descriptive and inferential statistics and non-parametric tests
- Experimental Designs including randomization and control group selection
- Data Collection, Management, and Visualization including data entry protocols, data quality control, data cleaning
- Epidemiological Analysis such as calculating incidence rates, relative risks, and odds ratios
- Ethical Considerations
- Publication and Communication
Currently supervising (PhD), (MHons), (BNHons)
- Nil
Students to completion (PhD), (MHons), (BNHons)
- Nil
Contact details
Phone: +61 2 4570 1922
Mobile: +61 425 287 300
Dr Leanne Hunt
Dr Leanne Hunt
Dr Leanne Hunt is a Senior Lecturer in Nursing and Deputy Director, Clinical Education (Nursing), in the School of Nursing and Midwifery at the Western Sydney University. Leanne began nursing in 1992 as an RN progressing to CNC (trauma) and NUM 1. Leanne worked in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in Paediatric cardiothoracic intensive care for 2 years. Leanne has 11 years of education and research experience and is the current chair of the Critical Care Research in Collaboration & Evidence Translation (CCRICET) research group. Leanne is an affiliate member of the Centre for Applied Nursing Research (CANR), Centre for Oral Health Outcomes & Research Translation (COHORT) and the Ingham Institute of Applied Medical Research. Leanne is a qualitative and mixed methods researcher focusing on critical care practice/patient outcomes, workforce development and clinical practice experience. Leanne’s work is collaborative and multidisciplinary and has impacts on critical care patients, families, student nurses, the future nursing workforce and the profession of nursing.
Leanne's main research interests and expertise includes:
- Critical care
- Workforce development
- Undergraduate clinical placement
Leanne's main methodolgical expertise includes:
- Qualitative
- Mixed methods
Currently supervising (PhD), (MHons), (BNHons)
- 2 PhD
Students to completion (PhD), (MHons), (BNHons)
- 1 BNHons
Contact details
Phone: +61 2 4570 1676
Email: l.hunt@westernsydney.edu.au
Associate Professor Leeanne Heaton
Associate Professor Leeanne Heaton
Associate Professor Leeanne Heaton is Deputy Dean in SoNM. Previous to working in the educational sector, Leeanne held various roles in the clinical environment as a paramedic, nurse, midwife and flight nurse. Leeanne is an experienced academic who has been heavily involved in educational and professional governance. She has had extensive experience in curriculum development and has a passion for using simulation as a pedagogy to support learning in nursing education. She is an inaugural Fellow with the Western Sydney University Badugulang Centre for Teaching and Learning Excellence Foundation and is affiliated with the Australian Nurse Teacher’s Society, Australian Academic Integrity Network and Association for Tertiary Education Management.
Leeanne completed her own PhD in the use of simulation as a pedagogy in preregistration nursing programs and was a team member for a major Office of Learning and Teaching grant around the integration of patient safety into curriculum using simulation: Preparing undergraduates for the workforce in the context of patient safety through innovative simulation-TAG Team Patient Safety Simulation (TTPSS). (ID15-4983) . She has a background of cross university and cross discipline research and publications re patient safety, curriculum, simulation and aspects of student engagement.
Leanne's main research interests and expertise includes:
- Curriculum Design
- Curriculum Development
- Curriculum renewal and transformation
- Simulation in Heathcare
- Interprofessional Education
- Digital Health
- Patient Safety and Quality
- Health Policy
- Leadership and Management
- Leadership in Nursing
- Patient Reported Outcomes
Leanne's main methodolgical expertise includes:
- Qualitative
Currently supervising (PhD), (MHons), (BNHons)
- 5 PhD
Students to completion (PhD), (MHons), (BNHons)
- Nil
Contact details
Phone: +61 2 9685 9869
Mobile: +61 400 0626
Email: l.heaton@westernsydney.edu.au
Twitter: @LeeanneHeaton
Dr Diana Jefferies
Dr Diana Jefferies
Dr Diana Jefferies is a lecturer in the school of Nursing and Midwifery at Western Sydney University. She has twenty-five years' experience in acute clinical nursing specialising in mental health and HIV Nursing. She has academic qualifications in Arts Based research methods such as historical analysis and literary criticism. Her current research program integrates her nursing and arts-based background to examine descriptions of mental health issues in historical and literary contexts.
Diana's main research interests and expertise includes:
- The Lived Experience of Illness
- Mental Health
- Patient Centred Care
- Medical and Health Humanities
- Womens Health
Diana's main methodological expertise includes:
- Qualitative Research - Narrative Arts based research methods especially historical and literary analysis
Currently supervising (PhD), (MHons), (BNHons)
- 1 BN (Hons)
- 1 MRes
Students to completion (PhD), (MHons), (BNHons)
- 1 PhD
- 1 BNHons
Contact details
Phone: +61 2 9685 930
Mobile: +61 409 125 256
Email: d.jefferies@westernsydney.edu.au
Twitter: @DianaJefferies7
Associate Professor Lauretta Luck
Associate Professor Lauretta Luck
Associate Professor Lauretta Luck is the Director of the Centre for Nursing and Midwifery Research, a conjoint position of the SoNM, WSU and Nepean Blue Mountains Local Health District. Lauretta supports and mentors Nurse Clinicians undertaking research focused on improving patient care and outcomes and nursing evidence based practice. Lauretta has many years teaching in the tertiary sector both at Undergraduate and Postgraduate levels and has experience in numerous governance and leadership roles. Lauretta was the recipient of a Women’s fellowship grant (WSU) (2018) exploring violence towards nurses from the Nurse Managers’ perspective. In 2019, in collaboration with the NBMLHD Safety Culture Coordinators (Nurse Educators), she attracted NaMO and Louisa Hope funding to implement resilience and mindfulness workshops for nurses to provide strategies to respond to the problem of violence. Lauretta supervises undergraduate and postgraduate research students including Bachelor of Nursing (Hons), Master of Research and PhD students and mentors Bachelor of Nursing (Advanced) students. Lauretta’s research skills include case study design, mixed methods research and qualitative designs. Her areas of research include violence towards nurses, nursing workforce issues and nursing education. She has published in, and reviews, national and international journals and has presented a national and international conferences.
Lauretta's main research interests and expertise includes:
- Violence towards nurses
- Nursing education
- Nursing workforce
Lauretta's main methodological expertise includes:
- Qualitative research
- Case study
- Mixed methods
Currently supervising (PhD), (MHons), (BNHons)
- 5 PhD
- 1 MRes
Students to completion (PhD), (MHons), (BNHons)
- 2 PhD
- 3 BNHons
Contact details
Phone: +61 2 4734 3181
Email: lauretta.luck@westernsydney.edu.au
Dr Fiona McDermid
Dr Fiona McDermid
Dr Fiona McDermid is a lecturer in the School of Nursing and Midwifery. Dr Fiona McDermid completed her PhD in 2017 on the transition of clinical nurses to academia under a framework of liminality. Following on from her doctoral work, Fiona is further exploring the concepts of resilience and transition within workforce and communities. She is currently involved in a project centered on emergency departments highlighting the concept of resilience and retention and was successful in obtaining an Early Career Research grant for this study. She is also involved in the Women's Health stream of research and is currently undertaking work on women's experiences of menopause. She has published and presented research both nationally and internationally.
Fiona's main research interests and expertise includes:
- Women's Health
- Emergency Workforce Resilience
Fiona's main methodological expertise includes:
- Qualitative studies and analysis
Currently supervising (PhD), (MHons), (BNHons)
- 2 BNHons
- 1 PhD
Students to completion (PhD), (MHons), (BNHons)
- Nil
Contact details
Mobile: +61 408 675 169
Email: f.mcdermid@wsternsydney.edu.au
Twitter: @fiona_McDermid
Dr Tiffany Northall
Dr Tiffany Northall
Tiffany Northall completed the Bachelor of Nursing, Master of Nursing with distinction and her PhD at Western Sydney University. She also completed a Graduate Certificate in Nursing Education. Tiffany has been a lecturer at Western Sydney University in undergraduate and post graduate nursing. Throughout her nursing career she worked in a variety of positions including primary health care, palliative care, emergency department and was a clinical nurse specialist in discharge planning. Tiffany’s research focuses on the care of older people in hospital, nursing homes and in the community with a specific interest in transfers of care. She also has an interest in the transition, retention and success of enrolled nurses who enter the Bachelor of Nursing degree. Tiffany has applied a variety of research methodologies including phenomenology and mixed methods.
Tiffany's main research interests and expertise includes:
- Aged Care
- Undergraduate nursing student retention
- Success Health professionals decision making
- Critical reflective practices for the professions
Tiffany's main methodological expertise includes:
- Phenomenology Qualitative Methods
Currently supervising (PhD), (MHons), (BNHons)
- 1 PhD
- 1 MRES
Students to completion (PhD), (MHons), (BNHons)2 BNHons
- 1 BNHons
Contact details
Phone: +61 2 4620 3368
Email: t.northall@westernsydney.edu.au
Twitter: @TiffanyNorthall
Professor Kath Peters
Professor Kath Peters
Professor Kath Peters RN BN (Hons) PhD is an academic in the School of Nursing and Midwifery at Western Sydney University. Kath has extensive clinical nursing and research experience with a strong background in health research and qualitative methodologies. Kath is actively engaged in research and regularly disseminates research outcomes in peer reviewed journals and at national and international conferences.
Kath's main research interests and expertise includes:
- Nursing Workforce
- Women's and Family Health
- Vulnerable Populations
Kath's main methodological expertise includes:
- Qualitative Research
- Feminist Research
Students to completion (PhD), (MHons), (BNHons)
- 8 PhD
- 8 BN (Hons)
Contact details
Phone: +61 2 4620 3567
Professor Lucie Ramjan
Professor Lucie Ramjan
Lucie Ramjan is an Professor and Director of Academic Workforce (Parramatta) in the School of Nursing and Midwifery at Western Sydney University. She is also a core member of the Translational Health Research Institute (THRI), Young & Resilient Research Centre and an affiliate member of the Centre for Oral Health Outcomes & Research Translation (COHORT) and the Ingham Institute of Applied Medical Research.
Lucie graduated with a Bachelor of Nursing (Honours – 1st Class) in 2003 and was awarded a PhD in 2007. Lucie is a qualitative and mixed methods researcher who is committed to education and workforce research, research with adolescents and young people and mental health research, particularly in the area of eating disorders. Her research scholarship is characterised by interdisciplinary and international collaborations culminating in research outputs and funding success. Most notably Lucie is proud to have secured research funding as first CI on a competitive grant from The Ian Potter Foundation Ltd to develop and pilot test a mentorship program for people with anorexia nervosa. This followed further Research Development Strategic Initiative Funding through Western Sydney University to extend and pilot to people with any type of eating disorder.
Lucie was also invited to contribute to a White Paper on eating disorders and obesity which also secured funding. Lucie is currently supervising 8 research higher degree students and has supervised 12 students to completion [5 PhD; 1 MN(Hons); 1 MPhil; 5 BN(Hons)]. Lucie’s teaching excellence is evidenced by the receipt of two prestigious teaching awards. In 2011, Lucie received the College of Health & Science Learning and Teaching Award and in 2012 Lucie received an Office for Learning & Teaching (OLT) National Citation for Outstanding Contribution to Student Learning. Lucie continues to teach in both the undergraduate and postgraduate programs within the School of Nursing and Midwifery at Western Sydney University.
Other professional activities: Lucie is the Vice-President (WSU) of the Xi Omicron at-Large Chapter of Sigma and the Chair of the Adolescent & Young People Faculty of the Australian College of Nursing. She was previously the Associate Editor for Contemporary Nurse and is now a current Associate Editor for Nursing Open.
Prior to employment at Western Sydney University, Lucie was a clinician working with adolescents at The Children’s Hospital at Westmead (Royal Alexandra Hospital for Children) in roles as a Registered Nurse and Clinical Nurse Specialist.
Lucie's main research interests and expertise includes:
- Adolescent and Young People's Health
- Eating Disorders
- Education and Workforce
Lucie's main methodological expertise includes:
- Qualitative Research Methods
Currently supervising (PhD), (MHons), (BNHons)
- 8 PhD
- 1 MPhil
Students to completion (PhD), (MHons), (BNHons)
- 5 PhD
- 1 MPhil
- 1 MHons
- 5 BNHons
- 2014 - Chandra Poudel (Master of Nursing (Honours) (Co-supervisor) - Career Intention of Nursing Students in Nepal: The CARINA Study
- 2016 - Rasmieh Al-Amer (PhD) (Co-supervisor) - Depression and Self-care In Jordanian Adults with Diabetes: The POISE study
- 2016 - Christine Walker (BN (Hons) 1st Class) (Co-supervisor) - Unleashing the iPad’s potential: The lived experience of undergraduate nursing students when using the iPad for tertiary education
- 2016 - Graham Sean Gough (BN (Hons) 1st Class) (Primary Supervisor) - Men in Nursing: Predictors and antecedents of retention in the first year undergraduate nursing program: The RETAIN Study
- 2016 - Ghada El-Ayoubi (BN (Hons) 2nd Class, Div. 1) (Co-supervisor) - Beyond Hand Hygiene: Investigating Multi-resistant Organism Colonisation in the Intensive Care Unit: The BIOTIC Study
- 2016 - Liz Flannery (BN (Hons) 1st Class) (Primary Supervisor) - End-of-Life Decisions in the Intensive Care Unit – Exploring the experiences of doctors and nurses
- 2019 - Ibrahim Alananzeh (PhD) (Co-supervisor) - The unmet supportive care needs of Arab people affected by cancer (The SNAP study)
- 2019 - Scott Brunero (PhD) (Co-supervisor) - A constructivist grounded theory of generalist health professionals and their mental health work
- 2020 - Jacqueline Rojo (BN (Hons) 1st Class) (Co-supervisor) - CONerns During Clinical PlacemenT: The CONDUCT Project
- 2021 - Gursharan Singh (PhD) (Co-supervisor) - Access and referral to palliative care for individuals with chronic heart failure
- 2022 - Maricris Algoso (PhD) (Co-supervisor) - The value of undergraduate Assistant in Nursing (AIN) employment in the aged care setting: Developing transferable skills and increasing workforce readiness
- 2022 - Rebekah Carter (MPhil) (Co-supervisor) - Feed-forward: Using annotated exemplars to promote student engagement and satisfaction
Contact details
Phone: +61 2 9685 9032
Email: l.ramjan@westernsyney.edu.au
Twitter: @LucieRamjan
Dr Kazem Razaghi
Dr Kazem Razaghi
Dr. Kazem Razaghi is a Registered Nurse and Lecturer, with an extensive academic and research background. In 2010, he successfully completed his PhD in Social and Behavioral Sciences in Health at The University of Sydney. Additionally, he possesses a master's degree in Health Promotion. Dr. Razaghi's research is focused on exploring the mental health, well-being, and overall quality of life among young individuals including those placed in out-of-home care, as well as their families. He also holds postgraduate certification in Drug and Alcohol studies, reflecting his keen interest in research within this field. He has actively contributed to various research grants, encompassing a wide range of topics, including Substance Abuse. Kazem's research endeavors are characterized by their multidisciplinary and collaborative nature. One of his most recent projects involved collaboration with an international university and resulted in a publication in the year 2022. He has presented his research findings at conferences and seminars and has successfully published his work in peer-reviewed journals. He has been supervising Higher Degree Research students.
Kazem's main research interests and expertise includes:
- Substance Abuse
- Young people's health and well-being, including those in out-of-home care
- Mental health and well-being
- Behavioural change
- Social determinants of health
- Clinical Leadership
- Clinical supervision
- Men's Health
- Education and workforce
- Curriculum design for undergraduate and postgraduate programs
- Experiences of students in nursing program
Kazem's main methodological expertise includes:
- Qualitative Research Methods
- Quantitative Research Methods
- Mixed Methods Designs
- Co-design Methodologies
- Translational Research
Currently supervising (PhD), (MHons), (BNHons)
- 3 BNHons
- 1 PhD
Students to completion (PhD), (MHons), (BNHons)
- 1 BNHons (Medical Sciences)
- 2013 Victoria Buckley, (BN Honours 1st Class) (The University of Sydney) - secondary supervisor
Contact details
Phone: +61 2 9685 9447
Mobile: +61 404 912 115
Associate Professor Athena Sheehan
(Midwifery Supervisor)
Associate Professor Athena Sheehan
Athena Sheehan is a Associate Professor in the School of Nursing and Midwifery at Western Sydney University.
Qualifications: RN, BN, RM, MN, PhD
Athena is an Associate Professor in the School of Nursing and Midwifery at Western Sydney University. Athena has over 40 years of experience first as a nurse and then as a midwife working in the roles of clinician, researcher, and educator. Athena teaches into the Bachelor of Midwifery and Graduate Diploma of Midwifery programs, and supervises HDR students. Athena has held positions in governance including previously being the Director of Academic Programs for Midwifery at WSU. She has been a member of the Australian College of Midwives for over 20 years. Her research has primarily focused on midwifery, but also includes transdisciplinary research with colleagues in the fields of nursing and socio-functional linguistics. Athena has made major original and innovative contributions to the field of infant feeding and maternal health and has been recognised both nationally and internationally for her research in this area. Her research interests also include midwifery education and workforce and most recently she has been the lead researcher on the SWIMMS project, a funded project that introduced a midwifery mentoring program for B Mid students into the clinical area. She is also currently the lead researcher on the funded Bachelor of Midwifery Multiple Mini Interviews study. Athena’s research has been presented at International and National conferences where she has been an invited and keynote speaker. She publishes regularly in highly ranked nursing, midwifery, and multidisciplinary journals, and her work is regularly cited. With colleagues she has been successful in receiving 2 ARC linkage grants, she has also been successful in receiving research funding through university grants. As an educator, clinician, and researcher, she is passionate about quality outcomes that result in the provision of excellent care for childbearing women and their families.Athena's main research interests and expertise includes:
- Midwifery
- Breastfeeding
- Midwifery education
- Women's experiences of midwifery care
- Midwifery workforce
- Homebirth
- Breech birth
- Mentoring
- Models of care
- Antenatal education
Athena's main methodological expertise includes:
Athena has experience with a wide variety of qualitative and quantitative methodologies. This includes:
- Grounded theory
- Discourse analysis
- Qualitative descriptive analysis
- Metasynthesis
- Quasi-experimental design
- Mixed methods
- Experimental design
Currently supervising (PhD), (MHons), (BNHons)
- 1 BN(Hons)
- 1 M(Hons)
- 5 PhD
Students to completion (PhD), (MHons), (BNHons)
- 1 BM(Hons) (First Class)
- 1 M(Hons)
- 5 PhD
Contact details
Phone: +61 2 9685 9068
Professor Anna Williams
Professor Anna Williams
Professor Anna Williams holds a PhD in Public Health and Community Medicine. Professor Williams engages in a broad healthy ageing research program situated within primary health care that seeks to make a contribution in four key areas including the:(1) Promotion of the intrinsic capacity of persons to achieve health and well-being; (2) Development of age-friendly environments; (3) Health Service Development and quality; and (4) Development and sustainability of a primary health care workforce. Professor Williams has extensive experience in the implementation and evaluation of complex interventions within primary health care, community health and general practice settings; implementation of person-centred care models in acute and sub-acute care settings, and chronic illness self-management and self-management support. Her research areas have also focused on the assessment and management of lifestyle risk factors by clinicians, the prevention and management of chronic illnesses and health workforce and health services development. She has led or coordinated a number of research programs including randomised controlled trials, systematic reviews and mixed method studies and the evaluation of national, state government and non-government primary health care initiatives.
Anna's main research interests and expertise includes:
- Lifestyle Risk Factor modification, health promotion and well-being
- Chronic Illness Prevention and Management
- Person-centred care in sub-acute care and acute care
- Self-management of chronic illnesses
- Provider self-management support
- Primary Health Care workforce support and development
- Support and care to persons living with Dementia and associated co-morbidities or multimorbidity
- Complex interventions in Primary Health Care
Anna's main methodological expertise includes:
- Mixed Methods
- Qualitative research
- Systematic Reviews
- Grounded Theory
- RCTs
Currently supervising (PhD), (MHons), (BNHons)
- 4 PhD
Students to completion (PhD), (MHons), (BNHons)
- 1 PhD
- 2022 Kaara Calma (PhD) (Co-Supervisor) '‘An exploration of final-year undergraduate nursing students’ preparedness to work in general practice’
- 2022 Mary Shivani Sathiyamoorthy (Applied Project, Doctor of Medicine) (Primary Supervisor) 'The role of the primary health care provider in supporting patients with a co-diagnosis of dementia and Type II Diabetes Mellitus to self-manage their T2DM'
- 2022 Javaria Chaudhry (Applied Project, Doctor of Medicine) (Primary Supervisor) 'Informing Guidelines for provider self-management support for patients who are self-managing type II diabetes and cognitive impairment and Dementia' (Applied Project, Doctor of Medicine)
- 2020 IChing Ho (Independent Learning Project, UNSW Medicine) 'Older People's Experiences of Living with, Responding to and Managing Sensory Loss'
Contact details
Phone: +61 2 9685 9046
Email: Anna.williams@westernsydney.edu.au
Twitter: @AnnaWil73688726
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Western Sydney University has been ranked Australia's highest ranked Nursing School, in this year's CWUR Rankings by Subject.
Western Sydney University has been ranked in the Top 100 Universities for Nursing, in this year's QS World University Rankings by Subject.
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