Researcher

Dr Lisa Vallely

My Expertise

International public health, STIs in pregnancy, maternal health, and interventions research.

Keywords

Fields of Research (FoR)

Public Health and Health Services

Biography

As a midwife and public health researcher, Lisa has more than 25 years’ experience working in low-resource settings, including Papua New Guinea, Tanzania, Kenya and Zambia.

Her current program of research is focused primarily in Papua New Guinea (PNG), where she established a multidisciplinary maternal and child health research program at the PNG Institute of Medical Research in Goroka (2010-15). Her program of research has included access...view more

As a midwife and public health researcher, Lisa has more than 25 years’ experience working in low-resource settings, including Papua New Guinea, Tanzania, Kenya and Zambia.

Her current program of research is focused primarily in Papua New Guinea (PNG), where she established a multidisciplinary maternal and child health research program at the PNG Institute of Medical Research in Goroka (2010-15). Her program of research has included access to care during pregnancy and childbirth; unsafe abortion; teenage pregnancy; STIs in pregnancy and an intervention to reduce the risk of postpartum haemorrhage among women who give birth in remote, rural communities. She is a chief investigator  and clinical lead  of a world-first cluster randomized crossover trial (the WANTAIM trial) of antenatal point-of-care STI testing and treatment to improve birth outcomes in high-burden, low-resource settings.

Through an ongoing academic position at the PNGIMR (2015-date), she continues to lead field studies and intervention trials to improve maternal and newborn health outcomes in Papua New Guinea.


My Grants

Multi-study analysis of stillbirths and contributing factors in Papua New Guinea (NHMRC Stillbirth CRE (project), CI)

Innovative approaches to improve maternal and neonatal outcomes in low-resource settings (NHMRC ECF, CIA)

Developing youth-centred health promotion strategies to prevent and mitigate the adverse health impacts of adolescent pregnancy in Papua New Guinea (NHMRC Project Grant, CIC)

Point-of-care testing and treatment of STIs to improve pregnancy outcomes in resource-limited, high-burden settings (DFID, MRC, Welcome Trust, CI)

Point-of-care diagnosis of STIs to improve maternal and neonatal health outcomes in high-burden, low resource settings (NHMRC Project Grant, AI)

Scaling up of Prevention of Parent to Child Transmission services in PNG (UNICEF, AI)

 


My Qualifications

PhD, MSc MCH, Dip. Higher Ed Midwifery


My Awards

Emerging Leader Award, Kirby Institute 2021

NHMRC Early Career Fellowship 2018-2021

Teaching Excellence Award (2009) School of Population Health, University of Queensland.

Research Incentive Award (2009) School of Population Health, University of Queensland.

DFID Associate Professional Officer Scheme (1999-2001) professional development and training award (scholarship for MSc and one year in country supervised work experience in Kenya).

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Contact

+61 (2) 9385 0900