About
I’m a Yuggera Ugarapul man based in Meanjin (Brisbane). My work turns complex, fragmented information into practical systems that community can understand, use and be accountable to — across Aboriginal youth wellbeing, health, education and research.
My pathway began with the UQ Indigenous Science Scholarship and a Bachelor of Biomedical Science, then entry into the University of Queensland’s Doctor of Medicine program — including clinical placements in general practice and in rural and remote medicine, among them a placement at an Aboriginal Medical Service in Charleville, Queensland.
During the MD I made a deliberate choice: to move from the clinical pathway to systems-level Aboriginal health and research, where I could influence the structures, measurement and evidence that shape care for many, rather than one patient at a time. That decision led to a Master of Medical Studies (conferred March 2026) and now a PhD in development at the UQ Poche Centre for Indigenous Health.
Alongside study I’ve chaired a community-controlled organisation, helped build national portfolios in Aboriginal medical education, taught into medical and public-health programs, and worked directly with young people in schools and universities. The through-line is consistent: culturally grounded systems that keep Aboriginal young people connected to wellbeing, identity and community.
Direct, structured, relational and strengths-based; culturally grounded and systems-aware; truth-telling but strategic. I treat community accountability and institutional rigour as mutually reinforcing, not competing.
Thematic strands
These connect frontline practice, measurement and governance — and shape how I approach research, teaching and community leadership.
Education & qualifications
Completed the competitive Pathways to a PhD (Doing Research for Mob) program (2026); developing the proposal with a prospective principal advisor. Emerging focus: how community-controlled data systems record the wellbeing, cultural connection and strengths of Aboriginal young people that mainstream systems miss.
Undertaken within the UQ Doctor of Medicine program, including clinical placements. Elected to move from the clinical pathway to systems-level Aboriginal health and research.
UQ Indigenous Science Scholarship; a pre-medical pathway into the MD program.
General practice, and rural and remote medicine — including a placement at an Aboriginal Medical Service in Charleville, Queensland.
Awards & scholarships