Associate Professor Kym Rae is the Principal Research Fellow in Indigenous Health at Mater Research Institute, collaborating with the Queensland Family Cohort team. Her outstanding track record in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health research allows her to partner with co-design research projects which focus primarily on development programs that understand the origins of and reduce chronic diseases which afflict Aboriginal people more commonly.
Kym works collaboratively with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities to develop research programs using longitudinal cohort approaches. She is internationally recognised for her extensive expertise in successfully developing cohorts with Indigenous community members and she brings this expertise to Mater Research and QLD. She is currently focused on developing strong relationships with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities in QLD to form the foundation for successful research relationships for QLD families.
Her work is multidisciplicinary in nature, with significant strengths in ArtsHealth, as well as the use of m-health and their application in health promotion and health interventions with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Kym has personally received over $5.2 million dollars in grants towards her work researching with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. She is a Mid-Career Researcher, authored over 40 publications, and is currently collaborating with researchers from South Africa, Canada and the United Kingdom. Using her considerable expertise through ArtsHealth approaches, she has curated over 20 exhibitions from throughout New South Wales, toured nationally and had a number international exhibitions in South Africa.
Her contributions have been recognised with invitations to review notably, for the Lancet, Reproduction, and others. She has received 15 awards in her career and she has had 11 invited international presentations in the past three years.
Personal statement
”I had both of my daughters prematurely while in a rural community and had significant health issues related to her prematurity. At the time, I wondered how families who came from rural and more remote communities, or who had other disadvantages, managed the stress and travel that came from caring for a tiny baby far from a city.
“When I was offered the opportunity to try to improve pregnancy outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women, I found my passion very quickly! It is such a privilege to work alongside the Aboriginal communities and learn more about the culture of our First Peoples. Equally, working with communities to develop research that helps communities to self-determine their research focus, will improve the health outcomes for the entire family. I am thrilled to be back in my home state working at Mater Research Institute to support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families of Queensland on this research journey.”