CBRC staff profiles

Key staff at our Centre for Behavioural Research in Cancer (CBRC) are profiled below. To contact email cbrc@cancervic.org.au.

On this page: Melanie Wakefield | Victoria White | Suzanne Dobbinson | Sarah Durkin | Robyn Mullins |  Jen Makin | Belinda Morley 

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Melanie Wakefield, BA, Dip Appl Psych, MA(Applied Psych), PhD

Director, CBRC
Melanie is a behavioural scientist with qualifications from the University of Adelaide in South Australia. She has conducted research on health behaviour since 1983, working in Australia, England and the United States. Her particular research interests include the implementation and evaluation of tobacco control mass media campaigns and tobacco control policies, and the application and extension of tobacco control research methods into other areas of cancer prevention.

Melanie Wakefield profile.

 

 

Victoria White, BA (Hons), MA (Psych), PhD

Deputy Director, CBRC
Vicki is a behavioural scientist with a Master's degree and PhD in Psychology and has a broad interest in population-based research and behavioural research in cancer control. Areas of research experience include population-based studies monitoring the use of tobacco, alcohol and other substances among adolescents, studies examining the effectiveness on interventions designed to improve the quality of life of people with cancer and studies examining the management of breast cancer. Recently Vicki has started developing a mechanism for assessing the care experiences of cancer patients at a population level. She has led multiple NHMRC grants and other national grants. As Deputy Director of CBRC, she is responsible for a team of researchers working on supportive care research projects in conjunction with Cancer Council's Information & Support Service and our Cancer Epidemiology Centre. Vicki also leads the triennial Australia Secondary Students' Alcohol and Drug Survey (ASSAD), involving the Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing, state-based cancer councils and state-based health departments.

 

Suzanne Dobbinson, PhD

Senior Research Fellow
Suzanne has a Master of Science degree and a PhD in Public Health and has been working in public health research for more than a decade. She completed her PhD with the School of Community Health at the University of New South Wales in 2000. She works closely with the staff of SunSmart, the skin cancer control program of Cancer Council Victoria. Her research informs the development of the program through a mix of qualitative and quantitative methods, formative, impact and outcome research. Her research interests relate to exploring the patterns and causes of sun protective and sun exposing behaviours, and include assessing the impact of strategies to improve environmental supports for sun protection.

 

Sarah Durkin, BA (Psych), PgradDip (Psych), PhD

Senior Research Fellow - Tobacco

Sarah has a PhD in Psychology from The University of Melbourne, and has been working in health psychology and health promotion research for 14 years. Over the past eight years, Sarah's research has focused on examining the impact of tobacco control policy change and on understanding effective ways of broadcasting antismoking campaigns, the types of campaigns likely be most effective and the effectiveness of campaigns among lower socio-economic smokers. She works closely with the staff of Quit Victoria and her research examines and informs their advertising and policy programs.

 

Robyn Mullins, BA, DipEdPsych, Med

Senior Research Fellow - Evaluation

Robyn has a Masters of Education and has been working in public health for 20 years. She began her research career in the Victorian State Health Department, evaluating programs designed to prevent the transmission of HIV/AIDS, particularly among intravenous drug users. On joining CBRC in 1990, she spent seven years evaluating all aspects of the Quit program. In 2003, she became Research and Evaluation Manager for PapScreen Victoria (PSV), evaluating all aspects of their work, including the development and evaluation of media campaigns. She supervises PSV's Research and Evaluation Officer, and in early 2010 was promoted to Senior Research Fellow. While retaining her role with PSV, she now also works with the Research and Evaluation Manager (Internal Programs), to provide research and evaluation support to selected internal programs based within the Information and Support, Prevention and Community Relations and Fundraising areas. 

 

Jen Makin, BA/Bsc (Hons), MSc

Research and Evaluation Manager  - SunSmart

Jen has an honours degree in psychology and a Master of Science in social policy and has been working in health and education program evaluation and research for a decade. As the SunSmart Research and Evaluation Manager, she works closely with the staff of SunSmart and her research informs the development of the program through a mix of qualitative and quantitative methods and formative, impact and outcome research. Her current research interests relate to exploring ways to communicate the benefits and harms of UV exposure, and include investigating the use of new technologies in promoting attitude and behaviour change.

 

Belinda Morley, BA (Hons), MPH, PhD

Research and Evaluation Manager - Obesity Prevention

A registered psychologist, Belinda has a PhD in psychology and Master of Public Health and has been working in public health research and evaluation for 10 years. Belinda began her research career in the Program Evaluation Unit at the University of Melbourne's School of Population Health where she was a Research Fellow, evaluating studies and commonwealth mental health programs as well as physical activity in primary care. As Obesity Prevention Research and Evaluation Manager, she undertakes behavioural research projects and program evaluation studies to support obesity prevention initiatives in collaboration our Cancer Prevention Centre and the Obesity Policy Coalition. Belinda has led the development and implementation of a new ongoing national monitoring study of secondary students' overweight/obesity prevalence, diet and physical activity, funded by Cancer Council Australia and the National Heart Foundation. Other recent studies include evaluation of a mass media obesity prevention campaign and a survey of public opinion on obesity prevention policy proposals to inform policy development in this area.

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