I have an academic background in public health, communications and education. Over the past 20 years I have worked in a range of health related settings in the areas of public health research and teaching, health promotion, communications and media. I am a Senior Public Health Lecturer/Research Fellow at Torrens University and teach across a range of topics including the social and political determinants of health, community health, qualitative research methods and capstone research topics. I conduct research in the area of public health with a specific focus on children, the social and political determinants of health, health equity, and public policy. In December 2019 I graduated from Flinders University with a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD). My thesis is titled 'A cross disciplinary study on formulating child health policy with a focus on the social determinants of health - an Australian perspective'. Through my PhD project I began exploring an emerging field of cross disciplinary research - political science and public health - and plan to continue to apply these theories to other areas of public policy through several upcoming research projects.