Poche Centre for Indigenous Health

12/10/2026

🌟 Staff Spotlight: Meet Dr Shingisai Chando
This week, we're shining a spotlight on Dr Shingisai Chando, a proud Zimbabwean woman and Research Fellow at the Poche Centre for Indigenous Health. She is a qualitative and mixed-methods researcher passionate about working with children, families, and communities to improve health service delivery. Her research focuses on ensuring their voices and experiences are reflected in the design, delivery, and evaluation of health services, with a particular interest in chronic disease prevention and management among children and adolescents. She works alongside Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community Controlled Organisations to strengthen child health services and support parental leadership in health decision-making.
Her recent highlights include:
✅ Presenting a global review of Indigenous healthcare staff experiences of racism in healthcare settings at the 2026 Public Health Association of Australia Conference.
✅ Leading cross-sector engagement to ensure refugee and migrant communities are represented in a national type 1 diabetes screening.
✅ Working alongside Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities to explore how health services can better support children and families through culturally responsive, community-informed approaches.
✅ Contributing to research examining how structural, institutional, and interpersonal racism impacts healthcare staff and organisations.

Why Shingisai does this work: "What inspires me most is the opportunity to work alongside communities and learn from their experiences. I genuinely enjoy the research process, particularly the relationships and conversations that emerge through it. Community-led research is especially important to me because communities continually challenge and broaden my perspectives, reminding me that evidence is most valuable when it leads to outcomes that are meaningful and relevant to the people it is intended to serve."

What motivates Shingisai most: "I am passionate about contributing to equitable health outcomes and stronger health services for children and families. Supporting emerging researchers is also one of the most rewarding parts of my work. Seeing others grow in confidence, develop their own research journeys, and begin contributing their voices to important areas of research is something I find incredibly meaningful."

The impact Shingisai hopes to have: "I hope my research contributes to improving health outcomes and strengthening health services for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and communities. I also hope my work helps create opportunities for children and families to have a voice throughout program development and encourages more First Nations researchers to lead research that addresses important evidence gaps."

📚 Research Profile: https://profiles.sydney.edu.au/shingisai.chando

06/10/2026

🌟 Staff Spotlight: Meet Simone Sherriff
This week, we're shining a spotlight on Simone Sherriff, a proud Wotjobaluk woman and Senior Research Fellow at the Poche Centre for Indigenous Health.
With more than 15 years of experience working in and alongside the Aboriginal Community Controlled Health sector, Simone is passionate about supporting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander-led research that reflects community priorities, upholds Indigenous ways of knowing, being and doing, and creates meaningful change for communities.
Some of Simone’s recent highlights include:
✅ Publishing a call to action advocating for greater investment in Indigenous lactation care and culturally safe breastfeeding support.
✅ Founding the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Breastfeeding Collective, a network of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women working across child and maternal health to strengthen support for women, babies, families, and communities.
✅ Championing community-led approaches to maternal and child health that centre culture, self-determination, and Indigenous knowledges.
✅ Supporting research that is developed with and for community to ensure it translates into tangible improvements in programs, services, and health outcomes.
Why Simone does this work:
"I am passionate about supporting our mob to undertake research that reflects community priorities, upholds our ways of knowing, being and doing, and creates meaningful change on the ground. Seeing research translated into programs and services that have tangible benefits for community is what inspires me most."
What motivates Simone most?
"I believe Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples should have ownership and control over research involving our communities. When research is community-led and grounded in Indigenous knowledges, it becomes a powerful tool for empowerment, self-determination, and positive change."
📖 Featured Publication
Stewart, G., Finlay, S. M., Kennedy, M., Bennett, J., Gall, A., Sherwood, J., Chamberlain, C., Dickson, M., Turner, N., Williams, K., Briggs, M., & Sherriff, S. (2026). Urgent investment needed to reclaim lactation care and training to support Indigenous women, babies, families, and communities. Health Promotion International, 41(3), daag075. https://doi.org/10.1093/heapro/daag075.
🖤 Learn more about the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Breastfeeding Collective: https://www.instagram.com/firstnationsbreastfeeding/.

28/09/2026

🌟 Staff Spotlight: Meet Pani Patu
We are shining a spotlight on Pani Patu, a proud Samoan man and Operations Manager, whose work spans research leadership, strategic partnerships, community engagement, and organisational governance at the Poche Centre for Indigenous Health.
Drawing on experience across higher education and research, Pani is passionate about strengthening culturally responsive and ethical approaches to research engagement. His recent highlights include:
✅ Co-presenting at the Australasian Research Management Society (ARMS) Conference, facilitating discussion on "From Tokenism to Trust: Addressing Blackcladding and Building Research Manager Confidence in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Research."
✅ Supporting culturally responsive engagement, meaningful partnership, and strengthening research impact through trust-based collaboration.
✅ Co-leading the Australian Pasifika Educators Network (APEN) to develop an ethical research engagement framework for Pacific Islander communities.
✅ Bringing together community leaders, educators, researchers, and practitioners to co-design guidance that reflects Pacific ways of knowing, being, and doing.

Why Pani does this work: "As a proud Samoan man, my work is grounded in social justice, collective wellbeing, and service. I am inspired by the opportunity to walk respectfully alongside Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities as an ally, while honouring the enduring legacy of my tuaʻā (ancestors) through tautua, a responsibility of service to community. I believe research and higher education have the potential to create meaningful change when they are guided by humility, reciprocity, and genuine relationships."

What motivates Pani most?
"I am motivated by people and relationships. My leadership approach is centred on nurturing the vā, the relational space that connects us and shapes how we work together. I am passionate about creating environments where people feel seen, valued, and empowered to contribute. I am also driven by a desire to challenge structures that perpetuate inequity and to help create pathways where Indigenous, Pasifika, and other underrepresented voices can thrive in research and higher education."

The impact Pani hopes to have: "I hope my work contributes to a research ecosystem where Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are respected as leaders, knowledge holders, decision-makers, and partners. I want to support approaches that strengthen self-determination, elevate Indigenous knowledges, and help create institutions that engage with First Nations peoples in ways that are ethical, culturally safe, and genuinely transformative."

🌏 Community Leadership: Pani also contributes to the research and advocacy agenda of the Australian Pasifika Educators Network (APEN), supporting initiatives that advance educational equity and strengthen outcomes for Pasifika communities.

21/09/2026

🌟 Staff Spotlight: Meet Jack DeLacy
This week, we're shining a spotlight on Jack DeLacy, Senior Lecturer in Indigenous Health (Sydney Medical School) and Senior Research Fellow at the Poche Centre for Indigenous Health. A Public Health Audiologist, Jack’s work focuses on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander child ear health and hearing, early childhood development, health equity, community-led research, and culturally safe health and medical education. Through partnerships with Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations, he works to address the social determinants of ear health and improve access to culturally responsive care.
Some of Jack’s recent highlights include:
✅ Supporting the ACCESS (Aboriginal Community Controlled Ear-health Support System) project, a community-led and holistic model of care designed to improve access to ear and hearing services for Aboriginal children and families.
✅ Contributing to the development of ACCESS+, which uses systems approaches to ensure community voices and priorities guide the future direction of ear health services, research, and implementation.
✅ Championing innovative approaches to care, including health navigation and integrated models of care that support children and families across the health system.
✅ Working alongside Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations to strengthen child health outcomes and promote community-led solutions.

Why Jack does this work:
“Healthy hearing is fundamental to connection. It allows us to communicate, build relationships, learn from one another, participate in education, and pass knowledge from one generation to the next. I often say that the ear is one of the most important organs in the body because it underpins so much of what connects us as people. For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, hearing also supports connection to culture, language, Country, and community. I am passionate about ending avoidable childhood deafness so that every Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander child can thrive.”

What guides Jack’s work?
" I am immensely fortunate to learn from the strength, knowledge, and leadership of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and communities. They continue to demonstrate world-leading approaches to caring for community, teaching, governance, research, and creating safe spaces for both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people. I strive to build genuine relationships and not just partnerships. This philosophy guides how I approach research, teaching, and community engagement. Meaningful change is built on trust, respect, and long-term relationships. It is a privilege to work with the Poche Centre, whose mentorship, support, and commitment to community-led research have enabled me to pursue my aspiration of helping end avoidable childhood deafness and supporting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, families, and communities to thrive."
📚 Research Profile: https://profiles.sydney.edu.au/jack.delacy/about

13/09/2026

🌟 Staff Spotlight: Meet A/Professor Simon Graham
This week, we're shining a spotlight on Simon Graham, a proud Narungga man, Associate Professor, and S*xual Health Team Lead at the Poche Centre for Indigenous Health. Simon’s research focuses on sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and viral hepatitis among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Through collaborations across disciplines, his work has also contributed to research in smoking and va**ng, mental health, trans health, and COVID-19.
Some of Simon’s recent highlights include:
✅ Leading research that aims to improve sexual health outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and communities.
✅ Returning to Australia in 2024 after six years working internationally with leading organisations and institutions across New York, London, Vancouver, Berlin, and Bangkok.
✅ Receiving the Australasian S*xual Reproductive Health Award in 2024 and the NHMRC Sandra Eades Investigator Grant Award in 2022.
✅ Leading a four-year quality improvement trial with Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services in regional NSW, which tripled STI and blood-borne virus testing rates and doubled the identification of asymptomatic infections among young Aboriginal people.
✅ Supporting and mentoring emerging researchers and students, including supervising postgraduate research projects and publications.

Why Simon does this work: "What inspires me about sexual health research is that while we have effective tests and treatments for infections such as chlamydia, rates continue to rise, particularly among young people. Understanding and addressing the broader drivers of infection is critical. I hope my work helps reposition sexual health testing as a normal part of healthcare for Aboriginal young people and removes the shame and embarrassment often associated with testing."

What motivates Simon most?
"Seeing students and staff publish their first papers or receive their first grants is incredibly rewarding. Supporting the next generation of researchers is one of the most meaningful parts of my role."

📖 Featured Publication
Gibberd AJ, Ford EM, Graham S, McKay CD, Chamberlain C, Williams R, Davis K, Eades SJ. Contraceptive awareness and use among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander youth: a cross-sectional analysis from the 'Next Generation Youth Wellbeing Study'. S*x Health. 2026 Apr 9;23(2):SH25117. doi: 10.1071/SH25117. PMID: 41588924. (Simon supervised the second author throughout this research project, which was undertaken as part of a Master of Public Health degree at the University of Melbourne)

📚 Research Profile
https://profiles.sydney.edu.au/simon.graham1

06/09/2026

🌟 Staff Spotlight: Meet Claudia Alarcon Espinoza
This week, we're shining a spotlight on Claudia, a proud Chilean woman, Senior Research Fellow at the Poche Centre for Indigenous Health, and social psychologist committed to advancing social justice, gender equity, and community wellbeing.
Claudia brings extensive experience across higher education, public policy, equity and inclusion, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health. Her work combines research, education and systems change to create more equitable, inclusive, and culturally responsive environments.
Some of Claudia’s recent highlights include:
✅ Supporting the development of Australia's first Indigenous lactation training program through the Upholding Sovereign Knowledges project.
✅ Contributing to international Indigenous knowledge-sharing initiatives that are informing culturally responsive maternity and infant health programs: Preventing Intrapartum Fetal Hypoxia – The iSEARCH (WOMBAT) Pre-Platform Pilot.
✅ Supporting the community-informed implementation of the What Matters 2 Adults (WM2Adults) wellbeing measure for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health consumers.
✅ Contributing to the evaluation of the Central West Mental Health and Wellbeing Program and other community-led social and emotional wellbeing initiatives.
✅ Helping strengthen culturally responsive breastfeeding support and professional training programs grounded in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander priorities.
Why Claudia does this work:
"I believe research should not only generate knowledge but also contribute to creating a more equitable, inclusive and just society. I am motivated by the opportunity to work alongside communities and support meaningful change that strengthens wellbeing, self-determination and equity. Ultimately, I see research as a tool for empowerment that can amplify voices, challenge injustice, and support healthier and more equitable futures for all."
📚 Research Profile
🔗View Claudia’s academic profile: https://profiles.sydney.edu.au/claudia.alarconespinoza

31/08/2026

🌟 Staff Spotlight: Meet Matilde Breth Petersen (Tilly)
This week, we're shining a spotlight on Tilly, a Research Fellow at the Poche Centre for Indigenous Health.
A proud Danish woman, Tilly’s research focuses on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander mental health and social and emotional wellbeing, with a strong commitment to community-led, strengths-based, and culturally responsive research approaches. Some of Tilly’s recent highlights include:
✅ Supporting the consumer-informed implementation of the WM2Adults wellbeing measure across Sydney Local Health District.
✅ Contributing to the evaluation of the NSW Health Building on Aboriginal Communities' Resilience (BACR) initiative, exploring community-defined enablers of resilience and approaches to su***de prevention.
✅ Supporting the Connecting our Way project, which aims to strengthen culturally meaningful approaches to social and emotional wellbeing for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, families and communities.
✅ Contributing to the evaluation of the Central West Mental Health and Wellbeing Program, exploring culturally responsive, community-led models of care.
Why Tilly does this work:
"What inspires me most is working alongside Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander colleagues, communities and organisations, learning from and being guided by community priorities, knowledges and strengths. I feel privileged to contribute to community-led research that supports meaningful change and helps decolonise public health and psychology spaces."
📚 Research Profile
Interested in learning more about Tilly’s work? 🔗 View Tilly’s research profile: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Matilde-Breth-Petersen

20/08/2026

Staff Spotlight: Meet Adubi
This week, we're shining a spotlight on Adubi Plange, a Research Project Officer at the Poche Centre for Indigenous Health. Adubi is a proud iTaukei (Indigenous Fijian) and Ghanaian woman, bringing a strong commitment to community-centred research and meaningful engagement with communities.
Her work focuses on supporting research that is grounded in collaboration, co-design, and respectful partnerships with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and communities.
Some of Adubi’s recent highlights include:
✅ Co-authoring and co-presenting an abstract at the Australasian Research Management Society (ARMS) Annual Conference 2026 in Perth (Boorloo), exploring how research managers can better support meaningful co-design and engagement with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and communities.
✅ Contributing to important discussions on blackcladding in research and how research managers can better support authentic co-design and meaningful community engagement.
✅ Advocating for research practices that centre Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander voices, priorities, and lived experiences.
✅ Supporting research and education initiatives that strengthen equity, representation, and community-led approaches.

📄 Conference Co-Presentation
"From Tokenism to Trust: Addressing Blackcladding and Building Research Manager Confidence in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Research." Australasian Research Management Society (ARMS) Annual Conference 2026.

Why Adubi does this work:
"Community-focused work has always been where my passion lies, both personally and professionally. As a Pacific Islander and African woman, I feel an incredible sense of pride in my cultures. Research has historically been used as a tool to disenfranchise Indigenous peoples across the world, but it can also be a tool for liberation. That belief motivates me every day to work in research and education, with the hope of contributing to work that centres the voices and experiences of communities that have too often been overlooked."

14/08/2026

🌟 Staff Spotlight: Meet Seaneen Wallace
This week, we're shining a spotlight on Seaneen, a proud Gunggari and Bundjalung woman and Knowledge Exchange Aboriginal Lead for the Charles Perkins Centre and Poche Centre for Indigenous Health.
Seaneen works to strengthen connections between researchers and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, supporting the development of a Knowledge Exchange that builds community capacity, supports existing research, and helps ensure future research is guided by community priorities.
With a background in clinical management and public health research within the government health sector, Seaneen is particularly passionate about paediatric health and health systems research.
Some of Seaneen’s recent highlights include:
✅ Leading and supporting initiatives that strengthen partnerships between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and researchers.
✅ Helping ensure community priorities are reflected in research planning and knowledge exchange activities.
✅ Supporting capacity building and opportunities for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities to engage with research.
✅ Contributing to a forthcoming publication in Health & Place exploring Aboriginal children's, young people's, and carers' experiences of accessing and receiving care through tertiary paediatric health services.

Why Seaneen does this work:
"I hope that the work I do can contribute to small changes across the health system to better suit our mob. I feel incredibly lucky to do work that I find fulfilling, that allows me to connect with community, and to work alongside so many amazing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people."

📖 Forthcoming publication:
A qualitative study exploring the experiences of Aboriginal children, young people and their carers in accessing and receiving care at tertiary paediatric services.
Health & Place

Learn More About Seaneen’s Research
🔗 View Seaneen’s research profile: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Seaneen-Wallace

10/08/2026

📢 We're pleased to invite you to our next Journal Club on Tuesday, 25 August at 10AM. This session will discuss the publication "The epidemiology of acute rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease in Queensland, 2017–2021: a population-level cohort study using linked administrative data"; read here: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.5694/mja2.70052
Acute rheumatic fever (ARF) and rheumatic heart disease (RHD) prevention remain a national priority for First Nations communities. This important paper presents the first output from the Queensland End RHD Project, providing population-level estimates of the incidence and prevalence of ARF and RHD across Queensland. Lead author Dr Carl Francia will present the findings and discuss their significance for policy, practice, and future research.
Register here: https://events.humanitix.com/copy-of-poche-centre-journal-club-august-2026

We invite you to our August Journal Club. We will be joined by Dr Carl Francia who will presenting his paper published in the Medical Journal of Australia