PhD Students

  Mark Dodd

Mark is an economics graduate whose thesis work has analysed the determinants of lifestyle choices that are important to body weight outcomes. The main focus is on the importance of inter-temporal trade-offs to these choices. The research is inter-disciplinary in nature, building predominantly on the theory and methodologies from economics, but also incorporating other areas such as psychology, epidemiology, medicine and health research. Measures of inter-temporal discounting behaviour were used to test hypotheses regarding the importance of discounting as a risk factor for high body weight outcomes, the potential for smoking status to act as a confounding factor in these relationships, and the lifestyle choice pathways through which discounting operates.

 Graeme (Tommy) Tucker

Graeme is the Head of Health Statistics in the Department of Health and an epidemiologist with experience in analysis of population data sets. His thesis examines important issues of analysis of quality of life instruments. Two recent papers compared the relationship of the eight SF-36 v1 quality of life sub-scale scores to the summary scores of the PCS and MCS derived from two different scoring algorithms: one based on the original scoring method; and the other based on scoring algorithms that use parameters derived from structural equation modelling.  Structural equation modelling to obtain factor coefficients for each of the SF-36 and SF-12 produces PCS and MCS summaries that are more consistently aligned with the underlying subscales of the SF-36. 

 Jennifer Buckley

Jennifer has developed a major thesis interest in the baby boomer population. In this work she brings several disciplinary perspectives to the analysis of work/life problems and preparations for their future into old age.She has combined sociological, anthropological and epidemiological data to provide an explanation of the forces that have impinged on the development of this population and how these forces are likely to influence future outcomes in health and wellbeing.

Claire McNally

Clare is a dental hygienist, who graduated from Curtin University in 2000. She moved to Adelaide and then Melbourne working in private dental and specialist practices before getting work in the higher education and public sector, which eventually took her to Sydney. Clare moved back to Adelaide in 2011, although she continued to travel back to Sydney fortnightly to continue her work at the Westmead Centre for Oral Health in the Oral Medicine and Special Needs Unit. She currently works one day a week at the Adelaide Dental Hospital in the Special Needs Unit and has an amazing opportunity to help many patients, but particularly those who are post head and neck cancer treatment and need to learn new ways to manage their daily oral home care. She is also a clinical tutor for the University of Adelaide Bachelor of Oral Health and Bachelor of Dental Science students.

Clare completed her Master of Philosophy (Dent) at the University of Sydney in 2012 in geriatric oral health research and is continuing this higher degree work at the University of Adelaide with a PhD  under the supervision of Bob Adams and Renuka Visvanathan, The Health Observatory  – looking at oral health, general health and operative risk in patients at TQEH. Clare is keen to see oral health integrated into general health care. She is excited and very grateful to Prof. Adams and A/Prof. Visvanathan for this opportunity.

Clare started following a vegan diet in January 2010 and has since then developed a bit of an unhealthy obsession with all things related to wholefoods and nutrition. She practices yoga regularly but would like to be able to make more room in the week to work on her edible garden and play more golf.