• Health security workforce strengthening
• Cross-cultural mixed-methods research to inform policy and culturally relevant best practice in health care delivery
• Operational research promoting evidence-based practice in response to humanitarian crises
• Research promoting evidence-based practice in health systems strengthening

Assoc. Prof. Housen is affiliated with the Australian National University and the University of Newcastle where she supervises several Higher Degree by Research (HDR) candidates conducting research with a focus on cross-cultural, mixed-methods operational research, that informs policy and culturally relevant evidence-based practice. She has worked in the areas of complex humanitarian emergencies, primary health care service delivery, mixed-methods operational research, and health security workforce strengthening.

Highly collaborative, she has been named primary or co-investigator on AUD $13.6 millions of funding toward research and global health security workforce strengthening. An infectious disease epidemiologist and registered nurse with over 20 years’ experience working with population health practitioners from diverse backgrounds, including frontline community health care workers, local non-government organizations, international non-government organizations including Médecins Sans Frontières, international organizations, including the World Health Organization and the Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network, and several universities. She has lived and worked in various countries in Africa, Asia, Central Asia, Eastern Europe, and the Indo-Pacific region.

Assoc. Prof. Housen is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, the Western Pacific Regional representative on the World Health Organization (WHO) Academy Quality Committee, a member of the Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network (GOARN) capacity building and training network and a GOARN focal point, and a member of the FETP (Field Epidemiology Training Programs) Learning Advisory Council. She is actively involved in strengthening field epidemiology capability in the Indo-Pacific region through several collaborative projects funded by the Australian Commonwealth Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

Her leadership style is founded on the practice of values-based leadership. The clear articulation of organizational or program values, and the creation of a positive culture grounded in these values allows for diversity in a team while striving for a common overarching vision which enables success and high levels of job satisfaction in the team.

Field Epidemiology in Action (FEiA): Strengthening outbreak detection and response in Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu through innovation and workforce development. 

Accelerating the development of evidence-based policy and practice (ADEPPt) in Papua New Guinea

Pacific Evidence Informed Policies and Programs (Pac-EVIPP) program.

Measuring mental distress and access to services in the Kashmir Valley - India

The PFAS Health Study

1. Impact evaluation of Field Epidemiology Training Programs. We are seeking a student with an interest in developing skills in mixed-methods research to assist in piloting an impact evaluation framework in Papua New Guinea.

Supervision philosophy: As a supervisor of HDR candidates, I strive to equip scholars with the necessary skills to be confident independent learners with the ability to thrive in a multidisciplinary workplace. In my research/teaching role I am a strong advocate of inquiry based and peer-to-peer learning. An important component of professional development for any future career (research or industry) is developing the necessary skills to transfer your knowledge and skills to others. 

Masters of Philosophy - Applied Epidemiology Scholars

Ye Jin Joo - Field Placement: National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance.

PhD Candidates

Amish Talwar - Factors that informed state responses to the COVID-19 pandemic and likely state responses during future global health emergencies (Amish Talwar)

Rachel Mather - Developing a gender framework to enhance women’s experiences within the planning and delivery of Field Epidemiology Training Programs.

Kristen Graham - Strengthening the birth preparedness and complication readiness capacity of primary care midwives working in rural, remote and resource limited settings; providing evidence for policy and practice.

Matthew Griffith - Toward Sustainable Development of the Field Epidemiology Workforce: Creating an education curriculum that empowers coordinators, trainers, supervisors and mentors 

James Flint (UoN)- The impact of a field epidemiology and operational research training program on health systems in Papua New Guinea

Masters of Philosophy - Applied Epidemiology Scholars

Srean Chimm - Applied Epidemiology in Cambodia. Field Placement: Institut Pasteur du Cambodge, Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Stephanie Wheeler - Field Epidemiology in the Pacific. Field Placement: Hunter New England Population Health Unit, Newcastle, New South Wales

Kirsten Williamson - Applied Epidemiology of Communicable Diseases in Australia. Placement: Hunter New England Population Health Unit, Newcastle, New South Wales

Stephen Harfield - The health and wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adolescents and young people: opportunities for applied epidemiology. Field Placement: South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute, Adelaide, South Australia

Charlee Law - Communicable Disease Epidemiology. Field Placement: Health Protection New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales

Aurysia Hii - Applied epidemiology of infectious diseases for epidemic response in Australia and the Asia-Pacific region. Field Placement: Integrated Systems for Epidemic Response (ISER), University of New South Wales (UNSW)

Bernadette Kenny - Surveillance, prevention and control of infectious disease and trauma in South Australia. Field Placement: South Australian Health Communicable Disease Control Branch, Adelaide, South Australia

Jana Sisnowski - Prevention and control of sexually transmissible infections and other infectious disease across multiple settings. Field Placement: The Kirby Institute for infection and immunity in society, UNSW

Ximena Tolosa - Applied epidemiology of influenza and other respiratory infections in Australia, Bangladesh and Cambodia. Field Placement: World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Reference and Research on Influenza (VIDRL), Melbourne, Victoria

PhD Candidates

Amy Parry - Strengthening local and international epidemiology workforce during emergencies in low resource settings.

Sally Carter - Developing and evaluating a parent-level intervention to address child mental health needs in humanitarian contexts.

Chaturangi Yapa - Primary health care service delivery by international actors in humanitarian emergencies.