Research Fellow
Jennifer is a Research Fellow and PhD candidate. She is the Project Manager for Hypo PAST (Hypoglycaemia Prevention, Awareness of Symptoms, and Treatment), a fully online psycho-educational program designed to reduce fear of hypoglycaemia through improved prevention and management of hypoglycaemia. This two-year project will generate robust evidence to inform clinical and commercial implementation of HypoPAST. It is funded by the Australian Government’s Targeted Translation Research Accelerator program. Additionally, she is involved in several research projects related to the psychological well-being of adults with diabetes, and barriers and enablers to screening for emotional problems in routine diabetes care. Her PhD work has involved evidence-based development and evaluation of resources (practical guide and e-learning) designed to better support health professionals with identifying and addressing diabetes-related emotional problems such as diabetes distress. The practical guide, of which Jennifer is a co-author, is now available in Australia, the UK, US, and Denmark.
From 2012 to 2016, Jennifer co-ordinated the National Diabetes Services Scheme (NDSS) Mental Health and Diabetes National Development Programme. From July 2016 to June 2017, Jennifer divided her time between co-ordination of the NDSS Mental Health and Diabetes National Priority Area, and co-ordination of the Centre’s research on the psychological impact of ‘closed loop’ technology. From July 2017 to end-2019, she continued to co-ordinate the latter, which is part of a JDRF/ARC-funded national, multi-centre randomised controlled trial led by A/Prof David O’Neal (University of Melbourne). Jennifer has a strong interest in access and equity for underserved communities. She is a member of the Diabetes Victoria Access and Equity Committee (2014 to-date); ACBRD readability working group (2020 to-date); and Institute for Health Transformation Diversity and Inclusion Committee (2022 to-date). Jennifer joined the Australian Centre for Behavioural Research in Diabetes in 2011 and has a Bachelor of Health Science with first class Honours awarded by Deakin University.
T: +61 (0)3 8648 1846
