The YES team is based at the University of Melbourne, in the School of Global and Population Health. The team is lead by Professor Anne Kavanagh.
To get in touch with one of our team members, please send an email to yes-study@unimelb.edu.au or call (03) 9035 4554.
Research Team
Anne is Professor of Disability and Health, Head of the Disability and Health Unit at the Melbourne School of Population and Global Health at the University of Melbourne, and Lead Investigator on the Centre of Research Excellence in Disability and Health. Anne is an epidemiologist with a medical degree from Flinders University and PhD from Australian National University. She has an international reputation for her research on health inequities particularly as it relates to people with disability. Her work in the field of health inequities spans a range of social determinants including disability, gender, the built environment, socioeconomic position, employment and housing.
Stefanie has an Honours degree in Psychology and is currently working at the University of Melbourne as a project manager. She has lots of experience working on longitudinal studies with babies, teens, young people and adults. Stefanie is interested in what aspects of employment for young people lead to better health and wellbeing as they grow up.
Marissa has a Masters of Public Health and currently works as a research assistant at the University of Melbourne. Her research has focused on disability, mental health, and social determinants of health, such as employment. Marissa is interested in how unemployment impacts the health of young people as they transition from school to work.
Alex has a background in qualitative research. A lot of her research looks at employment for people with disability and the NDIS. Recently, Alex has been working on the YES project overseeing the interviews we are doing with young people with disability looking for work.
Kristy has a Masters in Public Health Nutrition and experience working in health promotion at the community level. She has a Certificate IV in disability and eight years experience providing direct support to people with disability. She feels honoured to be working as a research assistant on the qualitative component of the YES study, which champions inclusive research practice.
Youth Advisory Group
Bella has been working on the YES project as part of the Youth Advisory Group for a number years. Bella’s work on YES has involved so many important components such as reviewing survey questions and conducting interviews. Bella has recently moved to Rockhampton, QLD and her other work involves pursing paid employment in administration.
Rhi has been working on the YES project as part of the Youth Advisory Group for a number years. Rhi’s work on YES includes participating in group meetings and workshops and reviewing interview and survey questions. Rhi’s other work is in hospitality.
Sophie has been working on the YES project as part of the Youth Advisory Group for a number years. Sophie’s work on YES includes providing advice and guidance and reviewing our study materials.
Brodie has been working on the YES project as part of the Youth Advisory Group for a number years. Brodie’s work on YES includes participating in group meetings and workshops and coding interviews. Brodie has recently got a job in a gym after completing his fitness course.
Minty has been working on the YES project as part of the Youth Advisory Group for a number years. Minty’s work on YES includes helping us with our social media and writing, as well as advice around our surveys. Her other work is in communications.
Chief Investigators
In Memory
Allison was the Deputy Director of the Disability and Health Unit, Melbourne School Population and Global Health, the University of Melbourne. Her areas of research interests included the influence of gender, employment characteristics, quality of work, and occupation as determinants of mental health. Allison focused on specific groups that may be particularly likely to face disadvantage in terms of obtaining and staying in work, such as people with disabilities. Allison’s work ranged across a number of externally-funded etiologic and intervention projects. She worked with key policy stakeholders to promote research on the link between employment and psychosocial disability.
The YES study acknowledges the significant contribution of Allison in founding this important study and motivating us to strive for better health and employment outcomes for young Australians.