Michelle Redman-MacLaren

Michelle is an Anglo-Celt born on Gubbi Gubbi country who grew up on a farm on Gamilaroi Country (near what is now known as Narrabri). With a professional background as a social worker, Michelle continues to enact inclusive, developmental and decolonising processes developed during her Undergraduate and Master of Social Work studies at the University of Queensland.

Since 2006, Michelle has contributed to higher education as an Associate Dean, Research Education (2020-2022), supervisor of higher degree by research candidates (2017-current), researcher (2009-current), lecturer (2005-current) and field educator (2005-2009).

In her role as a public health researcher, Michelle facilitates qualitative and mixed methods research in partnership with groups and communities to promote health. Michelle works with Pacific Islander, Australian South Sea Islander and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to: improve health and wellbeing, including sexual and reproductive health; reduce transmission of infectious disease; and strengthen health systems.

Michelle's NHMRC-funded PhD research, undertaken in the College of Medicine and Dentistry at James Cook University, was a transformational grounded theory study focused on HIV prevention with women in Papua New Guinea.

Current applied research co-led with Pacific, Australian South Sea Islander and Indigenous Australian partners includes:

• Strengthening the role of women leaders in Papua New Guinea for improved sexual health and wellbeing
• Culturally situating women and girls' experience of menstrual health and menopause in Solomon Islands
• Developing culturally relevant strategies for tuberculosis prevention, detection and treatment in Solomon Islands, and
• Documenting traditional knowledge about climate and food Security in Kwaio, Solomon Islands Project, especially with women, 
• Exploring the lived experiences of Australian South Sea Islanders in Queensland, including levels of disadvantage, and
• Exploring Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander place-based responses for a stable and effective primary healthcare workforce. 

Michelle has a strong practical and theoretical track record in facilitating research capacity strengthening with grassroots communities, community-based organisations and tertiary institutions, in Australia and a number of Pacific nations. This was evidenced during her service as Associate Dean, Research Education in the College of Medicine and Dentistry (2020-2022). Michelle centralises an 'All Teach, All Learn' approach to research capacity strengthening in her research and higher degree by research supervision.

Michelle's work using arts-based research methods, specifically poetic inquiry, explores the potential of arts-based approaches for improved health. Poetic inquiry work has been recognised internationally, including in a recent TEDx talk, international collaborations with poets/poet- researchers, international conference presentations and peer-reviewed publications. In 2021, Michelle co-founded the Deadly Poets Society within the collaborative Primary Health Care researcher network (CRE-STRIDE).

Michelle has contributed to the development of both social science and public health disciplines, having previously served as an Associate Editor of the SAGE journal, Action Research (edited by Professor Hilary Bradbury) and has peer-reviewed for almost 20 journals, including the American Journal of Tropical Health and Medicine, CSIRO Sexual Health, Culture, Health and Sexuality Journal, International Journal of Qualitative Methods, and a number of BMC and international social work journals.

For more details about scholarly work, please visit the JCU Publications page, Google Scholar page or OrcidID.