Dr Phyllis Lau

Position

Senior Research Fellow, School of Medicine

Biography

Phyllis is Senior Research Fellow at the General Practice Unit, Western Sydney University. She has extensive experience in Indigenous health research, communication, interprofessional collaboration, chronic disease management and service delivery research for the purpose of informing primary health care policy reform, particularly related to culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) and disadvantaged population groups.
She has been awarded several research grants over the years including National health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) project grants and fellowship grants and Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) awards. She is or has been a Chief Investigator in 15 funded projects and the primary investigator in 9.

Phyllis’ expertise is in mixed-methods) research. She has experience in various study designs including randomised controlled trials, descriptive quantitative studies, qualitative studies (predominantly phenomenological design), interviews, focus groups, quantitative/qualitative/mixed-methods surveys including Delphi consensus surveys for management pathway development and case studies.

Phyllis has a joint appointment at the University of Melbourne. She is the Director of the Cultural Respect Encompassing Simulation Training (CREST) program, based at University of Melbourne. CREST is an innovative teaching and learning program that provides training in cultural sensitivity in communication. Phyllis is also an honorary research adviser for Peking Union Medical College Hospital's Emergency Department and General Practice Department, Hong Kong Tuen Mun Hospital Family Medicine Department, and a visiting academic at the University of Malaya. She holds active national advocacy and leadership roles. She is the President of the Australasian Association for Academic Primary Care (AAAPC) that advocates for high quality primary care research, education and practice. She is also a founding member of the Pharmacy Oral Health Alliance that advocates on a politically challenging platform for accessible oral health care through non-dental health professionals.

Research Interests

• Indigenous health
• Cultural sensitivity in health communication
• Interprofessional collaboration in care and research
• Chronic disease detection and management
• Health service delivery

Qualifications & Recognition

• PhD Monash University
• Graduate Diploma in Drug Evaluation and Pharmaceutical Sciences University of Melbourne
• Bachelor of Pharmacy Victorian College of Pharmacy

Research & Publications

• For a complete list of my publications please see my publications page (opens in a new window)
• View my researchgate profile (opens in a new window)

Contact Details