Improving global prehospital and emergency medicine, public health, and disaster health care and preparedness

Elizabeth Newnham, PhD

Dr. Elizabeth Newnham (she/her) is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Population Health at Curtin University and a Program Lead at the Curtin enAble Institute. Her central research interests include the mental health consequences of trauma and adversity with a focus on evidence-based interventions for communities affected by disasters, climate change, intergenerational trauma, and colonization. Dr. Newnham completed her Master of Clinical Psychology and PhD at The University of Western Australia and undertook postdoctoral research fellowships at Harvard University and the University of Oxford, supported by an NHMRC Sidney Sax Early Career Fellowship and America Australian Association Fellowship.

She is the Principal Investigator for the multinational Study on Adolescent Resilience after Disasters. She led the development of Crisis to Calm, a co-designed mental health intervention for young people affected by climate disasters. She was awarded the Curtin enAble Institute 2024 Mid-Career Researcher of the Year. Dr. Newnham has consulted for the World Bank and the United Nations and is the Founding Firector of the Asia Pacific Disaster Mental Health Network, supported by the World Health Organization.