Professor Kerin O'Dea

Position

Director, Menzies School of Health Research

Address

PO Box 41096
Casuarina, Northern Territory, 0811

Contact

Unavailable

General areas of interest

Lifestyle and health; community-based interventions to improve health; lifestyle and risk of chronic diseases

Specific aspects

Nutrition-related health and disease; type 2 diabetes; cardiovascular disease; obesity; dietary quality

Biographic details

Between 1971 and 1988 Kerin held full-time research positions in Europe, USA and Australia. She was appointed to the position of Professor of Human Nutrition and Director, Deakin Institute of Human Nutrition at Deakin University in May 1988. Five years later (May 1993) she was appointed Dean of the Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences, and in early 1995 became Pro Vice-Chancellor (Research). In January 1997 she stepped down from this position in order to be able to concentrate on her own research program. In early 1997 she took up the newly created position of Professor of Nutrition and Preventive Medicine (Institute of Public Health Research) at Monash University.

Kerin is on numerous national committees advising government on health and medical research, and is currently Deputy Chair of the NHMRC Research Committee.

Her research focuses on: lifestyle change and health in Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders; diet in the pathogenesis and treatment of obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease; and public health nutrition.

She has published over 180 papers in national and international peer-reviewed journals.