Kirsty Nichols
2024 Fellow
Kirsty is a proud Muran and Kungarakun woman from the Northern Territory, is mother of two daughters and an avid trail runner. She is passionate and committed to improving Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health and wellbeing - be it through research, advocacy and amplifying the voices of our communities. Kirsty’s has an undergraduate degree in Health Science from Charles Darwin University and in 2023 was awarded the Master of Applied Philosophy (applied epidemiology) from Australian National University.
Kirsty strongly believes in using data for good, including developing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander-led research and evidence that highlights the positive aspects of our cultures and connection to country and communities, rather than the narrow and deficit discourse that plague government reporting, western-led research, and see play out in media.
Much of her prior work has focused on identifying and challenging systemic and structural barriers that prevents Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples from accessing appropriate health services and human rights, and its impact on health equity and quality of life.
More recently, Kirsty has taken up the role of Study Manager for the Yukaaywa Purrary Study (Tracking our children in Ngiyampaa language), where they are designing a national longitudinal study on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and adolescent wellbeing at the National Centre for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Wellbeing Research, Australian National University.