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Meet our 2025 Fellows
Lily Michael - NSW
Lily is a passionate public health researcher, educator, and advocate dedicated to advancing health equity through policy development and strategic advocacy.
Lily is a Bachelor of Public Health (with Honours) graduate, specialising in qualitative research. Lily’s work critically examines gender, fatherhood, and social policy, particularly in relation to Australia’s paid parental leave system. She is currently completing her PhD at Griffith University, where she explores how policy frameworks shape health outcomes and social equity.
Lily has extensive experience in public health education and research, having worked as a sessional academic and research assistant across multiple projects. She has contributed to the development of public health curricula, policy analysis, and stakeholder engagement initiatives aimed at improving social and health outcomes. She is an active member of the Australian Fatherhood Research Consortium and a steering committee member for the 2025 Australian Fatherhood and Research Symposium, where she collaborates with researchers and professionals to influence health and family policy.
As a Global Health Fellow with Results Australia, Lily is eager to apply her expertise in qualitative analysis and policy advocacy to critical global health issues, particularly infectious diseases and gender equality. Her personal experience as an immuno-compromised individual has reinforced her commitment to advocating for stronger health systems and equitable access to care. Through this fellowship, she aims to deepen her understanding of parliamentary advocacy, engage with policymakers, and contribute to sustained efforts to improve health equity in the Indo-Pacific region and beyond.
Lily is excited to collaborate with fellow advocates and policymakers, leveraging evidence-based research to drive meaningful change in global health policy.
Lily is a Bachelor of Public Health (with Honours) graduate, specialising in qualitative research. Lily’s work critically examines gender, fatherhood, and social policy, particularly in relation to Australia’s paid parental leave system. She is currently completing her PhD at Griffith University, where she explores how policy frameworks shape health outcomes and social equity.
Lily has extensive experience in public health education and research, having worked as a sessional academic and research assistant across multiple projects. She has contributed to the development of public health curricula, policy analysis, and stakeholder engagement initiatives aimed at improving social and health outcomes. She is an active member of the Australian Fatherhood Research Consortium and a steering committee member for the 2025 Australian Fatherhood and Research Symposium, where she collaborates with researchers and professionals to influence health and family policy.
As a Global Health Fellow with Results Australia, Lily is eager to apply her expertise in qualitative analysis and policy advocacy to critical global health issues, particularly infectious diseases and gender equality. Her personal experience as an immuno-compromised individual has reinforced her commitment to advocating for stronger health systems and equitable access to care. Through this fellowship, she aims to deepen her understanding of parliamentary advocacy, engage with policymakers, and contribute to sustained efforts to improve health equity in the Indo-Pacific region and beyond.
Lily is excited to collaborate with fellow advocates and policymakers, leveraging evidence-based research to drive meaningful change in global health policy.
Trent Wrightson - NSW
Based in sunny Newcastle NSW, Trent is a health project manager currently delivering healthcare services to rural, remote and Aboriginal communities, in an effort to address healthcare access equity issues. Trent is excited to be joining the 2025 Global Health Fellowship cohort, drawing from his current experience and linking back to his first degree in international development and past experience working in HIV and sexual health promotion projects. You can find Trent often down at the beach as an active member of his local Surf Life Saving Club and other community initiatives.
Larissa Melanie - QLD
Larissa ‘Riss’ Melanie is a multi-passionate creative artist, musician, project manager, HIV Advocate, and member of the National Association of People with HIV Australia’s (NAPWHA’s) National Network of Women Living with HIV. Riss draws upon her 30+ years lived and professional experiences, advocating for all PLHIV. Riss works across the HIV sector contributing to multiple projects and is currently working with UNSW as a casual research assistant co-facilitating community focus groups around HIV stigma.
Reece Hinchcliff - QLD
Professor Reece Hinchcliff is a health systems researcher and academic leader at Griffith University. His work is founded upon multi-stakeholder collaboration, focused on strengthening health system performance, with an emphasis on improving healthcare quality and safety across the Indo-Pacific region. His research has been published in leading journals and informed health policy and practice, globally.
A passionate educator, Professor Hinchcliff leads postgraduate degrees and courses in the domain of health services management. He supervises doctoral candidates investigating, for example, health system redesign processes, and national policy reforms to enhance quality and safety. His teaching and mentoring is driven by a commitment to fostering the next generation of health system leaders.
Throughout his career, Professor Hinchcliff has secured competitive research funding and engaged in impactful collaborations with academic, government and industry partners that have resulted in 65 peer-reviewed publications. As Deputy Editor for the International Journal for Quality in Health Care, he actively shapes global discourse on healthcare quality and safety.
Professor Hinchcliff’s career is defined by his dedication to bridging the gap between research and practice to ensure that health systems are efficient, equitable and responsive to the diverse needs of populations. He is committed to advancing knowledge and building capacity to achieve sustainable health system improvements in the Indo-Pacific region and beyond.
A passionate educator, Professor Hinchcliff leads postgraduate degrees and courses in the domain of health services management. He supervises doctoral candidates investigating, for example, health system redesign processes, and national policy reforms to enhance quality and safety. His teaching and mentoring is driven by a commitment to fostering the next generation of health system leaders.
Throughout his career, Professor Hinchcliff has secured competitive research funding and engaged in impactful collaborations with academic, government and industry partners that have resulted in 65 peer-reviewed publications. As Deputy Editor for the International Journal for Quality in Health Care, he actively shapes global discourse on healthcare quality and safety.
Professor Hinchcliff’s career is defined by his dedication to bridging the gap between research and practice to ensure that health systems are efficient, equitable and responsive to the diverse needs of populations. He is committed to advancing knowledge and building capacity to achieve sustainable health system improvements in the Indo-Pacific region and beyond.
Ajit Nair - VIC
Ajit is a doctor with fellowships in pulmonology, sleep/ventilation, and internal medicine. Outside of clinical medicine, he holds a Master's degree in Public Health and Tropical Medicine from James Cook University and is pursuing a PhD at Monash University. He hopes to leverage his frontline experience in healthcare to drive meaningful systemic change and improve global health outcomes.
Ella Healy - VIC
Ella is the Senior Policy and Impact Officer for the SPHERE Centre of Research Excellence. Ella holds a Bachelor of Health Science and a Master of International Relations. She works at the intersection of science, research and communications to improve women's access to reproductive healthcare in Australia. Prior to her role at SPHERE, Ella was the Operations Manager at Monash University's Climate Change Communication Research Centre, working improve climate change reporting and designing impact-driven social research to support climate solutions.
Jade Sorenson - VIC
Jade holds a Bachelor of Science Advanced - Global Challenges, majoring in Microbiology with First Class Honours. She produced two theses on developing a climate-based early warning system for malaria risk in Vanuatu, and is interested in research that is community-centric and promotes global health equity.
Madelaine Sweeney-Nash - VIC
Madelaine is a Research Focused Academic and Study Doctor in the Youth Mental Health research team at the University of Sydney. She has worked as a doctor in diverse settings including in remote Western Australia, the Northern Territory and Queensland, and with incarcerated populations in Queensland and New South Wales. Madelaine is passionate about the social and cultural determinants of health and views health inequity as an issue of social justice. Madelaine will complete her Master of Public Health degree in 2025 and will then commence Public Health Medicine training with The Royal Australasian College of Physicians. Madelaine is looking forward to developing her advocacy skills and gaining political engagement experience through the Global Health Fellowship.
Merryn Roe - VIC
Merryn is a Senior Epidemiologist for the Grampians Public Health Unit who throughout her career has worked to support a number of local and international outbreak responses, infectious disease prevention projects and other health initiatives including climate change and heat related health outcomes. Merryn has experience as a Medical and Outbreak Scientist in WHO reference laboratories for Influenza and Polio, she completed her PhD in 2022 on the immuno-epidemiology of malaria in the Greater Mekong Subregion and is on the roster as a WHO Epidemiological Review Consultant for TB.
Merryn has a passion for infectious disease epidemiology and science communication and is looking forward to learning about public health policy as one of the 2025 Global Health Fellows with the goal to help facilitate data informed policy decision making. What use is good public health science if those with the power to create change don't hear it?
Merryn has a passion for infectious disease epidemiology and science communication and is looking forward to learning about public health policy as one of the 2025 Global Health Fellows with the goal to help facilitate data informed policy decision making. What use is good public health science if those with the power to create change don't hear it?
Zoe Kausman - VIC
Zoe holds a Bachelor of Science (majoring in Physiology, minoring in Pharmacology) and a Bachelor of Global Studies (specialising in International Studies) and is currently undertaking a Master of Public Health. With a strong passion for health policy, global equity, and advocacy, Zoe is particularly interested in how power dynamics shape healthcare access in low- and middle-income countries.
Through experiences such as the Social Entrepreneurship in the Indo-Pacific program, where she led a project addressing period poverty and menstrual waste, as well as studies in global bioethics and health policy, Zoe has developed a strong foundation in research, advocacy, and policy development.
As a 2025 Results Australia Global Health Fellow, she sees this opportunity as a chance to step behind the curtain—gaining hands-on experience in evidence-based advocacy while working alongside experts and changemakers. She is eager to apply her skills in policy analysis, global health, and intercultural communication to drive meaningful change and influence policies that prioritise equity and impact.
Through experiences such as the Social Entrepreneurship in the Indo-Pacific program, where she led a project addressing period poverty and menstrual waste, as well as studies in global bioethics and health policy, Zoe has developed a strong foundation in research, advocacy, and policy development.
As a 2025 Results Australia Global Health Fellow, she sees this opportunity as a chance to step behind the curtain—gaining hands-on experience in evidence-based advocacy while working alongside experts and changemakers. She is eager to apply her skills in policy analysis, global health, and intercultural communication to drive meaningful change and influence policies that prioritise equity and impact.
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