STAFF
Associate Professor Kane Meissel
Principal Investigator
Educational Psychology, University of Auckland
Kane’s research aims to improve the quality and deepen our understanding of educational experiences across the lifespan, utilising complex, reflective and nuanced critical quantitative methodologies in strengths-based ways to support system improvements that reduce educational disparities. His work also focuses on the implications of researchers’ methodological decisions and how these decisions affect the conclusions being made.
Professor Susan Morton
Foundation Director, Growing Up in New Zealand
Director, INSIGHT, University of Technology Sydney
Susan is an epidemiologist and Public Health Physician with a track record of successfully undertaking impactful, transdisciplinary and translational longitudinal research with capacity to improve wellbeing for individuals within and across population contexts. Susan is passionate about child wellbeing and translating research to make a difference to life course health.
Amelia Willems
Research Delivery Manager
Social and Community Health, University of Auckland
Amelia’s experience includes financial administration, contract management, portfolio management and leadership in public and private sectors. As a former teacher, she is passionate about education, research translation and impact, and making a positive contribution to child and youth development and wellbeing.
Dr Caroline Walker
Senior Research Fellow
Social and Community Health, University of Auckland
Caroline is a molecular biologist with research interests in the molecular mechanisms regulating health and disease, and in the interaction between environmental and genetic factors and their association with health and wellbeing.
Dr Emma Marks
Research Fellow
Social and Community Health, University of Auckland
Emma’s expertise and research interests include behavioural ecology, bioinformatics approaches to ecological data, multivariate statistical analyses & longitudinal data and research methodologies (including the use of biological samples for genetic, epigenetic and microbiome analyses).
Dr Georgia Rudd
Research Fellow
Social and Community Health, University of Auckland
Georgia is passionate about promoting the wellbeing and development of young people, employing strengths-based approaches to address social and educational inequities. A key focus of her work is highlighting the significant role that researchers play in shaping the research process and outcomes and therefore the importance of researcher reflexivity and criticality for conducting ethical and meaningful research.
Ash Smith
Research Technical Lead
Social and Community Health, University of Auckland
Ash is a data professional with experience building pipelines for all aspects of the data lifecycle. He is passionate about the potential of research to inspire meaningful change at the policy table for the benefit of our tamariki in their development.
Professor Chris Cunningham
Ngāti Toa, Ngāti Raukawa
Director, Research Centre for Hauora and Health, Massey University
Chris is a senior Māori health researcher focusing on housing, indoor air quality, cancer, inequities and health services. Chris has published extensively on public health and Māori health and development.
Professor Yun Sing Koh
Co-Director, Centre of Machine Learning for Social Good
Computer Science, University of Auckland
Yun Sing is an expert in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML). Her pioneering work delves into foundational AI research, focusing on continual learning and adaptation, domain generalization, transfer learning, anomaly detection, and data stream mining. Passionate about harnessing machine learning for societal benefit, Her research has catalyzed interdisciplinary applications in environmental and health domains.
Associate Professor Elizabeth Peterson
Director, Enrichment Lab
Psychology, University of Auckland
Elizabeth is an educational psychology researcher. Her work focuses primarily on the factors, processes and pathways that optimise human learning and development. She is particularly interested in how people’s beliefs and interpretations of events and environments affect their learning and responses to setbacks.
Associate Professor Polly Atatoa Carr
Te Ngira Institute for Population Research
Population Health, University of Waikato
Polly’s research and clinical practice focuses on the broader determinants of population health and wellbeing equity, particularly for tamariki and rangatahi/mapū within the context of whānau and community. Polly is passionate about developing robust evidence to support population health and policy translation, and is committed to Te Tiriti o Waitangi, anti-racism intervention, equity, social justice and community empowerment.
Dr Valerie Sotardi
Educational Studies and Leadership
Valerie’s expertise is in applied social psychology in education and schools, and she is committed to research that highlights the role and responsibilities of educational institutions on the mental health of learners. She is particularly interested in anxiety, stress, and coping strategies among young people, including help-seeking intentions and behaviour.
Emma Bolwell
Strategic Partnerships Advisor
EPB Consulting Ltd
Emma is passionate about impactful research and evidence-based programmes to create lasting solutions for tamariki, whānau, and communities. With experience in business development and government her role builds strong partnerships, navigating complex stakeholder landscapes and connecting researchers and policy makers.
Andy Abel
Digital Solutions Architect
Consultant
Andy is a digital solutions expert with experience designing and managing solutions in a research environment. He brings a diverse skill set with a focus on cloud-based, serverless technologies. Andy is passionate about creating robust digital solutions that provide functional longevity.
STUDENTS
Ryan Dawson Bruce
Masters Student
Psychology, University of Auckland
Ryan is interested in the wellbeing of young people, especially as it relates to their educational experiences. His research is looking at what groups students identify as having it easy or tough at school, along with the reasons behind this and what schools can do to help those who are perceived as having a difficult time.
Jie Fan
Masters Student
Education, University of Auckland
Jie is interested in researching teacher education, disparities between rural and urban education, and the mental health and emotional development of young people. Her research explores how young people in New Zealand perceive and experience their friendships.
Talisa Gan-Setu
Honours Student
Education, University of Auckland
Talisa is passionate about promoting the mental health and well-being of Pasifika and Māori, using psychology as a learning pillar to understand how various aspects of cultural psychologies interplay in the lives of Māori and Pacific peoples. Her research focuses on understanding how young Pacific rangatahi were affected during the COVID-19 pandemic through their lived experiences in Aotearoa.
Rosa McGrath
Honours Student
Education, University of Auckland
Rosa is passionate about giving young people a voice and using this to understand the lives of rangatahi. Her research explores youths understanding of culture and what makes youth feel connected to their culture.
Sharon Ogden
Masters Student
Education, University of Auckland
Sharon is a parent who is interested in factors that have an influence on positive youth development in New Zealand, such as social cohesion. Her research explores young people’s perspectives of belonging in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Bo Pang
Masters Student
Computer Science, University of Auckland
Bo is dedicated to advancing the understanding of bias in large language models, particularly within localized contexts. His research focuses on developing innovative methodologies to detect and mitigate local biases, using region-specific corpora to ensure culturally sensitive and fair AI applications.
Carmen Pang
Honours Student
Education, University of Auckland
Carmen is enthusiastic about achieving equitable social outcomes for rangatahi by amplifying rangatahi voices. Her research centres on the lived experiences of young people, focusing on rangatahi perceptions and experiences with leisure in Aotearoa.
Ricky Qiao
PhD Candidate
Computer Science, University of Auckland
Ricky is a PhD candidate from the school of Computer Science. His research focuses on AI for social science and AI generalizability. He is working on applications of multimodal deep learning for the analysis of youth wellbeing with data from Our Voices participants.
Sarah Simpson
Honours Student
Education, University of Auckland
Sarah is enthusiastic about promoting the wellbeing of youth and understanding how we can foster positive learning environments that positively influence their development and help them reach their full potential. Her research delves into the experiences and voices of 14-year-olds in Aotearoa, New Zealand, particularly focusing on the challenges they face in attending school.
Isabel Williamson
Honours Student
Education, University of Auckland
Isabel is completing her BSc (Hons) in Psychology with an interest in the wellbeing of young people. Her current research explores what young people say motivates them to attend school, and how they feel about their school in Aotearoa New Zealand.