Research Training

THRI provides a dynamic and supportive research environment for individuals wanting to undertake postgraduate research training to address the complex health issues facing our local communities and beyond.

THRI welcomes research candidates from a wide range of disciplines working across the health and wellbeing spectrum. THRI has a strong focus on community-engaged and partnership-driven research and particular expertise in research training in:

• chronic disease prevention (Stream lead: Assoc Prof Kate McBride),
• suicide epidemiology (Stream lead: Prof Andrew Page),
• eating disorders and body image (Stream lead: Prof Phillipa Hay) and
• inclusion health (Stream lead: Dr Elizabeth Conroy).

As an interdisciplinary research institute, academic supervisors can be drawn from across the University and have expertise in a range of methods including biostatistics and epidemiology, health economics, mixed methods approaches, program evaluations, arts-based qualitative approaches, and survey design.

For further information on postgraduate research opportunities with THRI, please see the ‘How to Apply’ (opens in a new window) and ‘Scholarships’ (opens in a new window) sections.

Contact the THRI HDR team: HDR-THRI@westernsydney.edu.au

THRI extends a warm welcome to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and others with an interest in Indigenous Health to consider postgraduate research with us.

We are proud to be learning and researching together on Dharawal Country (and also pay our respects to the Darug, Eora, and Wiradjuri peoples whose unceded lands the University campuses are also situated on) and are committed to supporting research that centres First Nations voices, knowledges, and protocols to highlight the many Indigenous strengths that can address the health inequities experienced by Indigenous Australian peoples.

THRI provides support for HDR candidates to engage with communities throughout the research process, and encourages shared learning of First Nations standpoints and Knowledges in monthly HDR meetings. Additional scholarly support is provided by Western’s Indigenous Engagement and Education (opens in a new window) including the Indigenous Research Network and Indigenous Writing Retreats, Conference and Seminars and the nation leading Yarramundi Post Graduate Scholarship. (opens in a new window)

THRI HDR Calendar of Events 2026

Below is a list of training and events for HDR students enrolled at THRI and their supervisors. Please check your calendar invites for further details and in case of any last minute amendments.

Please note: In addition to the events listed, progress reviews are typically scheduled on or around each candidate’s anniversary of commencement.