I am the Director of Poche SA+NT and an epidemiologist. We have a primary remit to improve outcomes of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health through supporting cultural continuity, building capabilities and research.<\/p>\n
We focus on supporting Elders on campus, driving innovative and adaptable pathways for youth as well as research across cancer, genomics and Indigenous data governance.<\/p>\n
Where did you work before joining CMPH?\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n Prior to CMPH I worked with Professor Louisa Jorm at the Centre for Big Data Research in Health (CBDRH) as a Scientia Fellow. I still have a visiting fellowship with CBDRH as well as honorary fellowships at the University of Melbourne and Menzies School of Health research.<\/p>\n I have also been the Research and Education Lead of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health at the Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Centre Alliance for almost 2years. I will continue this role alongside the Poche SA+NT Directorship.<\/p>\n What journey brought you to this point in your career?\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n From a pathways perspective, I undertook a Laboratory Traineeship in microbiology, a Biomedical Science Degree, and a Masters of Public Health through Charles Darwin University, a year of specialist training in cancer epidemiology, and a PhD in cancer epidemiology (equity) through the University of Sydney.<\/p>\n From a motivation perspective, my community and family \u2013 particularly my children as well as my support network and mentors provided me with reasons to be doing what I do and to provide opportunities or guidance along the way. My community and family are the reasons why I do the work that I do. As an Aboriginal woman, I want to ensure health and wellbeing outcomes for my children and their children\u2019s children are to the standard that will ensure equity as we move forward into the future.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong>What is something you love most about your work?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n One of my favourite things is working with youth and students to support their learning journeys. It is such a privilege to watch youth and students grow into their knowledge and watch their confidence grow with it.<\/p>\n I also happen to really like working with data and writing. As a deeply introverted person, my dream is to be with my computer on a beach somewhere spectacular. I love that I get the opportunity to escape on writing retreats and that I have the privilege to engage in the things that interest me.<\/p>\n What three words would your colleagues use to describe you?<\/strong><\/p>\n I actually don\u2019t know and wouldn\u2019t want to assume. So, I texted a few of them to find out and it ended up being really lovely\u2026 I have included the words sent through twice or more from six different people.<\/p>\n Determined, inspiring, brilliant.<\/p>\n Now I want to do this as an exercise to identify and support strengths among peers and staff!<\/p>\n How do you like to relax or spend your spare time?<\/strong><\/p>\n At the moment I am spending most of my spare time playing the computer game Hogwarts Legacy \u2013 it is excellent. Everyone in our house play it so it has become a bit of a family event. I have received the most support to finish the game, which I did last weekend, although I still a range of tasks to complete and some exploring to do. I also try to spend some of my spare time with my guitar, a cherry SG Standard \u2013 the white SG Standard was made famous by Sister Rosetta Tharp, the grandmother of blues.<\/p>\n What are you most excited about in 2023? <\/strong><\/p>\n I think the most important event of 2023 is the proposed Referendum for an Aboriginal Voice to Parliament. I am excited by the movement in this country to drive and support the self determination of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Regardless of outcome, there is a clear need to recognise that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people know what is best for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, and that there is a need to develop and support mechanisms of voice for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the processes, policies and events that impact our lives.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" What is your role and what does your work focus on?\u00a0 I am the Director of Poche SA+NT and an epidemiologist. We have a primary […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5156,"featured_media":1421,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4201,4123],"tags":[1331],"class_list":["post-1418","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cmph-staff","category-get-to-know-cmph","tag-poche-sant"],"post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.flinders.edu.au\/mph-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1418","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.flinders.edu.au\/mph-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.flinders.edu.au\/mph-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.flinders.edu.au\/mph-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5156"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.flinders.edu.au\/mph-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1418"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.flinders.edu.au\/mph-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1418\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.flinders.edu.au\/mph-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1421"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.flinders.edu.au\/mph-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1418"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.flinders.edu.au\/mph-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1418"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.flinders.edu.au\/mph-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1418"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"http:\/\/blogs.flinders.edu.au\/mph-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/79\/2023\/04\/kalinda-pic-2-1024x576.jpg\")
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