I am a quantitative social scientist and Director of the Centre of Methods and Policy Application in the Social Sciences (COMPASS). My research focusses on using life-course data to identify predictors for health and wellbeing outcomes, particularly in the areas on mental health. My areas of expertise include micro-simulation, administrative data, longitudinal studies, socio-economic and ethnic inequalities and child development.

Profile

My research interests are diverse, with the overarching theme of using administrative and survey data to promote equitable and sustainable outcomes in society. I have a particular focus on wellbeing outcomes over the lifespan. Key topics of interest include:
1. Supporting maternal mental health
2. ADHD support and outcomes
3. Treatment and outcomes associated with psychiatric conditions over the lifespan
4. Understanding the health needs of Asian New Zealanders
5. Exploring long-term health outcomes of contact sport athletes

Profile

Health service researcher with a background in Psychology and a special interest in neurodevelopmental disorders.

Qualifications: PhD Health Service Research (King’s College London, 2012)

Areas of Expertise: Psychology; Health services research; Cognitive development; Autism spectrum disorder; Intellectual disability; Rare disorders

Profile

My doctoral degree in health science was awarded by the University of Auckland in 2011. For this award, I investigated the risk factors for obesity among Pacific high school students aged 13 – 18 years, and the role of the church in obesity prevention. I am recognised for working with collaborative, trans-disciplinary, and multi-disciplinary research teams, and applying both qualitative and quantitative research skills and Pacific health models in the different projects I have led. I continue to pursue other research opportunities in the humanities and medical and health sciences targeting better health and wellbeing outcomes for Pacific Peoples, across the life span. Because of the esteem that stakeholders have for my research, I have been invited to provide strategic advice to key agencies both nationally and internationally. This work and my strong connections with Pacific Peoples have also culminated in collaborative partnerships to reinforce and grow my research platform, and services to community.

Profile

Natalia is a post-doctoral research fellow at COMPASS Research Centre. Her main research area is quantitative social science, with a focus on using linked data to understand inequities.

Natalia recently completed her PhD, which examined different approaches to measuring family socioeconomic position, and was supervised by Dr Nichola Shackleton, Associate Professor Barry Milne and Professor Thomas Lumley. She previously completed a BA with a double major in statistics and psychology, a BA(Hons) in statistics, and a Master’s in Public Policy.

Profile

Working at COMPASS Research Centre, University of Auckland, I have worked extensively with census data and projects involving Statistics New Zealand’s Integrated Data Infrastructure (IDI). I have organised short courses for COMPASS as the New Zealand Social Statistics Network (NZSSN) since 2009, and administered mail surveys for the New Zealand Election Study (NZES, http://www.nzes.net) and the International Social Survey Programme (ISSP, http://www.issp.org), starting in 2011.

Profile

My work has a strong social impact in terms of equity and research impact through partner engagement and knowledge mobilisation. I prefer to work directly with communities to improve their wellbeing. My work also produces recommendations for improved policies and procedures in a range of areas, including social justice, infrastructure, health and technology. I also work with a number of research collaborators on environmental, health and technology policy and implementation, including projects about Kaumātua (Māori elders) and intergenerational homes, Māori and Pacific pathways in STEM, digital twins, health reform, and preventing family violence.

I work directly with ministries, organisations, and other agencies on issues of health, gender, environmental, Indigenous and technology policy and practice. I advise colleagues and communities on knowledge dissemination, mobilisation and exchange, as well as practical implementation pathways through hui, wānanga and academic and media outputs.

I am most passionate about broad-scope public-interest research that positively contributes to people and the planet. From August 2020 to June 2024, as a research fellow with COMPASS, I designed and implemented quantitative measures to explore socio-environmental aspects of COVID-19 in representative surveys in New Zealand (International Social Survey Programme, ISSP) and Australia (YouGov). These included vaccine hesitancy, vaccine mandates, vaccine procurement and distribution policies, and the pandemic’s impact on time use and wellbeing (including unpaid care work). Additionally, I led cross-time and cross-country attitudinal research based on the ISSP Role of Government and ISSP Social Inequality modules offering insights of relevance to inter-country relationships in an era of increasing globalisation.

Profile

Areas of Expertise: Epidemiology, Population Health, Longitudinal studies, Refugees’ resettlement, Family Violence, Childhood Obesity,

Since 2019 July, I have worked as a Research Fellow with Department of Pediatrics, Social and Community Health (Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences), and School of Counselling, Human Services and Social work in the university of Auckland.

In the last two years, my research focus was on refugees and their settlement outcomes in New Zealand at the School of Counselling and Human Resources, Faculty of Education, University of Auckland which involves working with large data stored in the IDI (Integrated Data Infrastructure).

Profile

I am a statistics enthusiast and passionate about statistics education. My stats education interests include: teaching and assessing ethical professional practice and writing for statisticians, computation and programming, online learning, supporting student mental health, building undergraduate student community, large classroom teaching and innovative assessments.

My research background is in understanding how people’s social and economic experiences relate to risk of death in Aotearoa New Zealand, using longitudinally linked census data. I also used to run a small consulting company, the Data Embassy, working with a range of business, education and not-for-profit clients.

Profile

Eileen recently completed her PhD in Statistics, in which she investigated linkage errors in the Integrated Data Infrastructure (IDI) using Census and Education data and documented the low-level of bias caused by linkage errors when using these two data sources. She previously completed her master in Statistics investigating educational achievement as a function of mode of birth delivery.

Eileen’s area of expertise include IDI, microsimulation and data visualisation.