School of Psychology and Public Health Executive

Professor Monica Thielking

Professor Monica Thielking is Dean of the School of Psychology and Public Health. She a world-renowned academic, psychologist and leader, whose research focus is on improving educational outcomes for disadvantaged young people and improving wellbeing for teachers and school/educational communities. Her research findings have influenced major policy and service-level changes both in Australia and globally, including informing submissions to Commonwealth Royal Commissions and State or Territory Inquiries – especially on issues related to youth and adult homelessness, mental health, student equity and other social policy issues. In her academic leadership roles, Professor Thielking has worked on strategic projects aimed to support growth opportunities, both domestically and with international partners, and has a strong interest in strengthening pathways for Indigenous students in higher education. She is a non-exec Director on the Board of the Australian Psychological Society and member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD), giving her valuable governance and strategic insight in the health and wellbeing sectors.

Professor Melissa Graham

Professor Melissa Graham is the Head of Department of Public Health in the School of Psychology and Public Health. She is an epidemiologist and mixed methods researcher. Her research focuses on women’s health across the life course and explores the lives of women who do not have children, the role of policy on reproductive choices, reproductive decision-making, social support for reproductive decision-making and employment experiences. This interconnected body of research is underpinned by gender and health (in)equity, human rights and social in/exclusions, and draws attention to the implications for health and wellbeing outcomes. She has over 15 years’ experience teaching across a range of public health subjects at both the undergraduate and postgraduate levels and is an experienced graduate research supervisor.

Associate Professor Karli Treyvaud

Associate Professor Treyvaud is the Head of the Department of Psychology, Counselling and Therapy. She works to support an inspiring Department of academic staff committed to providing outstanding student experiences and graduate outcomes, and meaningful high-impact research. She is a registered clinical psychologist who teaches and supervises students in undergraduate, honours, and postgraduate psychology and research programs, in areas including child and adult development and mental health, psychological intervention and practice, and parent relationships.  Associate Professor Treyvaud is an internationally-recognised scholar who works with multidisciplinary research teams to understand and support parenting, parent-child relationships, and early intervention for children and families.

Professor Arthur Stukas

Professor Arthur Stukas is the Associate Dean, Learning and Teaching in the School of Psychology and Public Health. Since commencing at La Trobe in November 2000, he has held a variety of roles including Undergraduate Programs Coordinator, Honours Coordinator, and Director of Learning and Teaching in the Department of Psychology, Counselling and Therapy. Professor Stukas’s training is in social psychology with a specific emphasis on motivations for volunteerism and community service, interpersonal expectations in social interactions and social relationships, self and identity, and stigma and prejudice.  He is a Fellow of the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues and served as Executive Editor of the Journal of Social Psychology for ten years.

Professor George Liu

Professor George Liu is the Associate Dean, Partnerships in the School of Psychology and Public Health, and Director of the La Trobe China Health Program. He is an expert in public health, specialising in primary care system development, safety and quality of health care, public health emergency responses, and equality in health services, social support and health outcomes. Professor Liu has been a Chief Investigator on many collaborative projects funded by international agencies. He served as a member of the advisory committee for Patient Safety in Primary Care and a principal reviewer for the Public Health and Emergency Workforce (PHEWF) Competency and Outcomes Framework for the World Health Organization. He has published two books and over 270 research publications.

Professor Bircan Erbas

Professor Bircan Erbas is the Associate Dean, Research and Industry Engagement in the School of Psychology and Public Health, and serves as Deputy Chair of Academic Board and a member of the Senio Leadership Group Steering Committee Executive Group. She is considered as one of the best biostatisticians in Australia with substantial expertise in the design and analysis of clinical trials and cohort studies.  Her research has received wide support, evidenced by the more than $3 million funding received. Professor Erbas has more than 200 peer-reviewed journal articles and her work has been published in some of the highest impact and prestigious C1 journals. She is a statistical Editor for Respirology and Associate Editor for the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. Professor Erbas was also a member of the 2023 Australasian Epidemiological Association organising committee.

Professor Adam Bourne

Professor Adam Bourne is Director of the Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society at La Trobe University. He is one of Australia’s leading scholars in the health and wellbeing of lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, intersex and queer (LGBTIQ+) communities. Professor Bourne is internationally recognised for his expertise in alcohol and other drug use among LGBTIQ+ communities and for his work in intimate partner violence and mental health. He has published more than 140 peer reviewed journal articles and more than 50 research reports, book chapters and briefing papers. He has been a Chief Investigator on $26 million of grant income spanning research councils, government departments and NGOs. Professor Bourne has held several senior government appointments, including Co-Chair of the Victorian Whole of Government LGBTIQ Taskforce and the Commonwealth Department of Health LGBTIQ Health and Wellbeing 10-Year Action Plan Expert Advisory Group.

Professor Jennifer McIntosh

Professor Jennifer McIntosh AM is Director of The Bouverie Centre and Professor of Systemic Practice and Family Therapy. She is a clinical psychologist, family therapist and researcher, with a particular interest in making developmental theories ‘user-friendly’ and research translation that enables parents, carers and practitioners to consider the experience of children more sensitively in the context of family trauma. Professor McIntosh has had substantial impact on policy and practice in Australian and international Family Law, through intervention programs she has developed and tested. She has delivered extensive training programs to multiple sectors, including mental health, child protection and out-of-home care, family law and family practice workforces. Key recent partners include the Australian Attorney General’s Department, the Family Court of Australia, Relationships Australia and Beyond Blue. In 2019 she received a Member of the Order of Australia, for her significant contribution to child developmental psychology.

Professor Emmanuel Kuntsche

Professor Emmanuel Kuntsche is Director of the Centre for Alcohol Policy Research and has been trained in Psychology (Universities of Jena and Bamberg, Germany), Sociology (University of Jena, Germany), Public Health (University of Maastricht, the Netherlands) and Statistics (University of Essex, United Kingdom). He is an expert in the intergenerational transmission of alcohol-related cognition from early childhood into adolescence. Professor Kuntsche is currently investigating alcohol exposure in digital media with machine learning algorithms. He has received career awards and personal funding from major agencies in Australia, Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland and the international Kettil Bruun Society. He has held editorial appointments at nine international journals (currently Addiction, Drug and Alcohol Review, European Addiction Research, the International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction, and the Journal of Behavioural Addictions).

Professor Alison Lane

Professor Alison Lane is the Director of the Olga Tennison Autism Research Centre. Professor Lane is an occupational therapist and internationally recognised for her scholarship regarding sensory processing challenges in autistic children. She leads projects relating to sensory differences in young children and the effectiveness of therapies addressing self-regulation and eating challenges. Professor Lane’s work is grounded in extensive experience in clinical practice and health service management. She has held clinical and academic leadership positions in Australia and the United States.

Associate Professor Dana Wong

Associate Professor Dana Wong is the Director of Graduate Research in the School of Psychology and Public Health. She is a clinical neuropsychologist and leads the eNACT (Neurorehabilitation And Clinical Translation) Research Group, which focuses on innovative neuropsychological rehabilitation techniques to improve the lives of brain injury survivors, and enhancing clinical implementation of and clinician competence in these evidence-based interventions. She was awarded La Trobe's 2020 Research Engagement and Impact Award and the 2021 Australian Psychological Society College of Clinical Neuropsychologists Award of Distinction. She is President of the Australasian Society for the Study of Brain Impairment and is an Editorial Board member for the Journal Brain Impairment. She is Co-chair of the Neuropsychological Intervention Special Interest Group of the International Neuropsychological Society and is a committee member for the Organisation for Psychological Research into Stroke.

Ms Danielle Hearn

Ms Danielle Hearn is the Senior Manager in the School of Psychology and Public Health. Ms Hearn has extensive management experience across a range of industries sectors including finance, retail and the petroleum industry. In her role as Senior Manager, she leads the School professional administrative team, the clinical staff teams and a number of the School Research Centre Managers. She is the primary advisor to the Dean and the School Executive in relation to University policies, operations and business processes.