WHO WE ARE
Meet the small but dynamic research team that is DEEP.
Our team is composed of early to senior career researchers and academics with a range of skills and backgrounds.
We are supported on projects by colleagues in the broader CERIPH research group. Meet the team below!
Justine Leavy
PhD | MPH | BSc (Health Promotion)
Justine is an Associate Professor at Curtin University with expertise in public health and health promotion, particularly drowning prevention, oral health promotion, physical activity promotion and knowledge translation. Outside of Justine's busy academic career, she volunteers for parkrun and is on the Board of Directors for Royal Life Saving Society WA. See Justine's Curtin staff profile here.
Malena Della Bona
MPH | PGDip PublHlth | BSc (Psych)
Malena is a Senior Research Officer, responsible for the external evaluation of RLSSWA projects. She is currently enrolled as a PhD student working on an implementation framework for drowning prevention projects. She has previous experience in the Primary Health setting, particularly General Practice, mental health and chronic disease management. See Malena's Curtin staff profile here.
Dan Graham
MDR&SusDev | LLB (Hons)
Dan is a PhD research student working on local government policies and how they impact drowning prevention. They have global experience working in drowning prevention, technical rescue, disaster and emergency management across Europe, Sudan, Uganda, Tanzania and Bangladesh. They previously volunteered with the Royal Lifesaving Society Commonwealth and served as the UK representative to the International Lifesaving Federation Rescue Commission. They are a Fellow of the Institute of Search and Technical Rescue, and a Member of the Institute of Civil Protection and Emergency Management. See Dan's Curtin staff profile here.
Gemma Crawford
PhD | MHlthProm | PGDip PublHlth | BA
Gemma is an Associate Professor at Curtin University. She is a proud pracademic with more than 20 years of experience across research, practice, policy, teaching, advocacy and leadership in public health and health promotion. Her research interests include drowning prevention, STIs and BBVs, workforce and capacity building and migration. She is the national President of the Australian Health Promotion Association. See Gemma's Curtin staff profile here.
Renee Carey
PhD | BA (Psych) (Hons)
Renee is a Senior Research Fellow in the School of Population Health at Curtin University. After completing a PhD in Psychology in 2011, she has worked across a number of projects examining various aspects of occupational and cancer epidemiology and public health, including occupational exposures, the future burden of cancer, and psychosocial factors at work. Renee has presented her work at a number of conferences and meetings, and her work has been cited as supporting evidence in key strategy and policy documents both in Australia and internationally. See Renee's Curtin staff profile here.
Nicola D'Orazio
Student - BSc Hlth Prom | BSc Nutr
Nicola is a Health Promotion Research Assistant who has been with the DEEP team for over four years. He is currently studying a double degree, BSc (Health Promotion) & BSc (Nutrition) at Curtin, and is passionate about creating healthy environments in which we work and play. Beginning as a volunteer for 12 months with the DEEP team, he has now contributed to various publications, and is also responsible for the external evaluation of RLSSWA projects with Malena. He was also awarded the 2023-24 & 2024-25 Curtin University Health Science Summer Scholarships. See Nicola's LinkedIn profile here.