Our team of highly skilled research professionals is supported in key areas of research by honorary professorial fellows.
We award honorary and adjunct fellowships in recognition of excellence in research and to strengthen academic collaboration.
Why do GMRF award Honorary Professorial Fellowships?
Honorary fellowships provide opportunities for us to maintain and enhance links with the research community external to our organisation and broaden our scope for research. The research collaborations that are formed through honorary fellowships also increase our opportunities for competitive research grant funding and student engagement.
The fellowships we award align with the GMRF strategic objective to use a multi-disciplinary and collaborative approach to understand and address areas of significant clinical and social need that impact the health and wellbeing of veterans, their families, and the broader Australian population.
What do Honorary Professorial Fellows do?
Research professionals who are awarded honorary professorial fellowships by GMRF have already made a significant contribution to relevant fields of research and can provide leadership and guidance to further enhance the research projects that GMRF undertake.
Our honorary professorial fellows may:
- Co-lead research projects in partnership with a GMRF Researcher
- Co-supervise higher degree students with a GMRF Researcher
- Review relevant protocols and manuscripts
- Contribute to GMRF’s strategy in specific areas of research.
GMRF’s Honorary Professorial Fellows
We currently have four honorary fellows at GMRF who advise and collaborate on research across our Veteran Mental Health Research unit.
Professor Nicola Fear
Professor Nicola Fear is a highly experienced Professor of Epidemiology at King’s College London. Professor Fear is currently the Director of the King’s Centre for Military Health Research and the Academic Department of Military Mental Health, Psychological Medicine, and is an Honorary Professorial Fellow advising the Veteran Mental Health Research Programs at GMRF.
Professor Fear’s areas of research include military and occupational epidemiology, and risk-taking behaviours and suicide. Her work around mental health and wellbeing in service personnel, veterans, and their families has been driven by a fascination with the impact of military life and experiences on the wellbeing of an individual and their family.
On her honorary appointment, Professor Fear said: “I am delighted to accept this honorary position with the Gallipoli Medical Research Foundation. I have been following their work in the field of veterans’ mental health and wellbeing with interest now for a number of years and I am really excited about working more closely with the team.”
Associate Professor Ed Heffernan
Associate Professor Ed Heffernan is a very well-respected clinical psychiatrist and academic leader with relevant personal and professional experience of the Australian Defence Force. Associate Professor Heffernan is currently the Head of the Forensic Mental Health Research Stream at the Queensland Centre for Mental Health Research (QCMHR) and is an Honorary Professorial Fellow at GMRF.
As an Honorary Professorial Fellow at GMRF, Professor Heffernan will co-lead a research project that will draw on qualitative research and utilise data linkage analysis to highlight the interactions between civilian emergency services and veterans in the context of suicidality.
The honorary appointment will enable Professor Heffernan to extend on his research in the veteran mental health field, while his expertise and experience provides opportunities for GMRF to expand our reach in the veteran research arena.
Emeritus Professor Justin Kenardy
Professor Justin Kenardy is a tertiary and research sector leader and disseminator of evidence-based practice in clinical health psychology, behavioural medicine, and health service delivery. He is an Emeritus Professor of the School of Psychology at the University of Queensland and is an Honorary Professorial Fellow at GMRF.
Professor Kenardy’s research interests include prevention and early intervention to promote mental health, and mental health and wellbeing in the context of physical illness and medical care. Professor Kenardy is known for his interdisciplinary research work on the psychological aspects of traumatic injury, including understanding the interactions between physical health and mental health.
With his expertise in the development and application of preventative, integrative and novel intervention approaches, Professor Kenardy is advising the Veteran Mental Health Research Programs at GMRF.
Dr Carla Meurk
Dr Carla Meurk is Associate Head and Principal Researcher for the Forensic Mental Health Stream at the Queensland Centre for Mental Health Research (QCMHR), an honorary senior fellow at The University of Queensland, and is an Honorary Principal Fellow at GMRF.
As a mental health research academic, Dr Meurk’s expertise is in mixed methods mental health policy and services research, evaluation, translational research design, complex research governance, data linkage, lived experience research, and e-learning. Dr Meurk’s expertise will support a research project that will see a suite of lived experience-informed training and educational videos developed to highlight the interactions between civilian emergency services and veterans in the context of suicidality, from the perspectives of those with lived experience, police and paramedics.
Dr Meurk’s extensive, high-level skills contribute significantly to the current national conversation in relation to Veteran Mental Health Research policy and will contribute to our scope of research activities into the future.
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