Biography

Rachel is a Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Health Research, University of Notre Dame Australia. Informed by her equally important role as primary carer of a young person with intellectual disability, Rachel’s applied research and evaluation focus is on the interface between the disability sector and mainstream services in the health, mental health, and education sectors.


Rachel uses a health literacy approach to improve health and wellbeing outcomes of people who may be considered vulnerable and build the capacity in front-line workers and caregivers. As well as engaging with people with lived experience and other key stakeholders to ensure she’s asking the right questions, Rachel’s approach to translation includes taking on various roles in systemic advocacy, and carer and consumer representation on advisory/working groups in the health, mental health, and disability sectors to understand the bigger picture. She contributes to the national health and disability reforms via national stakeholder groups and has held governance roles in the disability sector.