Psychosocial support

Velissa Aplin

Velissa Aplin is a Chief Investigator with the Interconnect Health Research Project, contributing to Work Packages 1 and 3 and the Project Management Committee.

She brings almost 30 years’ experience in the mental health and trauma informed care fields, during which time they have worked in leadership, training, policy, consulting, research and senior clinical roles.  Velissa is currently the Profession Lead for Social Work for Canberra Health Services and the Coordinator of the Variations in Sex Characteristics Psychosocial Service in the ACT.  Velissa has contributed to journal publications in the trauma informed care space. 

Velissa holds degrees of Bachelor of Arts (Psychology) and Bachelor of Social Work.

Phil Batterham

Professor Phil Batterham is a Chief Investigator with the Interconnect Health Research Project, contributing to Work Package 1 and the Project Management Committee.

He is a Professor and Co-Head at the Centre for Mental Health Research, The Australian National University in Canberra, Australia. He brings to the project extensive experience in implementation science, research design, measurement and mental health. Phil is a research leader in trialing and implementing programs to prevent suicide and mental health problems, detecting mental ill health in the community, and reducing barriers to care.

Phil has won prestigious awards including Rising Star Awards from the International Society for Research on Internet Interventions and Society for Mental Health Research, the Commonwealth Health Minister’s Award for Excellence in Health and Medical Research, NHMRC Research Excellence Award, and the Paul Bourke Award from the Academy of Social Sciences in Australia. He has published >300 peer-reviewed journal articles related to mental health and received >$48M in competitive research funding as a chief investigator. He completed a PhD at ANU in 2011, a Master’s degree in Public Health (biostatistics, 2003, UCLA) and a Bachelor’s degree with honours in Psychology (UNSW, 1997).

Connect with Phil on LinkedIn, ORCID, and Bluesky.

Annette Brömdal

Associate Professor Annette Brömdal is a Chief Investigator contributing to Interconnect’s Work Package 1.

Annette is an Associate Professor in Sport, Health and Physical Education at UniSQ. Prior to this, Annette worked at the United Nations Development Fund for Women (now UN WOMEN) and coordinated projects and initiatives preventing trafficking in women in Thailand by addressing normative dimensions of demand.

Annette’s health promotion and rights research focuses on bodies, gender, and sexuality through co-designing and working in partnerships with LGBTQIA+ Sistergirl and Brotherboy community stakeholders. As an internationally recognised expert, their research contributes to an important evidence-base utilised by multi-stakeholders to alleviate injustices for diverse LGBTQIA+ communities across societal settings.

They have been invited to deliver transgender affirming PDs to international staff caring for transgender persons in prison, provided policy directives to the VIC and the NT Departments of Corrections on transgender incarcerated persons, are currently an Editor for the International Journal of Transgender Health, and have had their work cited by the UN report “Mapping of Good Practices for the Management of Transgender Prisoners” (2020) and the recent Word Professional Association for Transgender Health’s Standards of Care (2022).

Annette’s publications include articles in scholarly journals such as the International Journal of Transgender Health and Intersex – A Challenge for Human Rights and Citizenship Rights (2008 VDM Verlag).

Annette has a Master of Social Sciences from Södertörn University, and a PhD from Monash University.

Connect with Annette on LinkedIn and ORCID.

Alison Calear

Professor Alison Calear is a Chief Investigator with the Interconnect Health Research Project, contributing to Work Package 1 as Deputy Chair.

She brings more than 20 years’ experience in youth mental health, eHealth and the prevention and early intervention of anxiety, depression, suicide and self-harm. Alison  is currently the Co-Head of the Centre for Mental Health Research at the Australian National University (https://researchportalplus.anu.edu.au/en/persons/alison-calear), and oversees the Child, Youth and Family Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Unit. Alison is also a Visiting Professorial Fellow at the Black Dog Institute (University of New South Wales) and currently holds an NHMRC Emerging Leadership II Fellowship. 

Alison is author of 228 peer-reviewed publications and 10 book chapters. She regularly contributes to policy briefs as a member of Australia’s Mental Health Think Tank and the Wellbeing and Prevention Coalition in Mental Health.

Alison holds a PhD in Psychology from the Australian National University.

Connect with Alison on LinkedIn, ORCID, and Bluesky.

Morgan Carpenter

Associate Professor Morgan Carpenter is the Chief Investigator – A for the Interconnect Health Research Project, providing lived experience expertise across the Work Packages, and acting as Chair of Work Package 3.

Morgan is an Associate Professor at Sydney Health Ethics, in the University of Sydney School of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health. He is an internationally recognised expert on human rights and ethics in relation to the treatment of people with innate variations of sex characteristics (also known as intersex variations or differences of sex development). His work focuses on medicine, health policy and social policy.

Morgan is also the Executive Director of InterAction for Health and Human Rights, a charity that promotes the health and human rights of people with innate variations of sex characteristics through advocacy and psychosocial support services. He is also an inaugural member of the Australian Capital Territory’s new Restricted Medical Treatment Assessment Board, and the New South Wales government’s LGBTIQ+ Advisory Council.

Morgan has been contracted to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Australian Capital Territory government and the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. He is or has been a reference or advisory group member for the Australian Department of Health and Aged Care, Australian Bureau of Statistics and New South Wales Health.

Connect with Morgan on LinkedIn, ORCID, and BlueSky.

Tarra Excell

Tarra (she/her) is a PhD candidate with the Interconnect Health Research Project, contributing to Work Package 1. She is based at the University of Southern Queensland under the supervision of Associate Professor Annette Brömdal, Bonnie Hart, Professor Amy Mullens, and Dr James Fowler.

Tarra brings more than six years of experience in allyship and advocacy research, grounded in affirming and inclusive models of care. This includes her Master’s thesis which explored caring professionals LGBTQIA+ knowledge, attitudes, and practices in an Australian regional setting. As a research assistant, Tarra has contributed to multiple projects exploring the health and wellbeing of people with IVSC, as well as gender and sexually diverse people, using mixed-method designs.   

Beyond academia, Tarra volunteers as an ally in her local community at various LGBTQIA+ youth-led events and programs to raise awareness of harms experienced by the community and promote positive health and wellbeing through the provision of affirming services.

Tarra holds a Bachelor of Science (psychology) and Master of Research (psychology) from the University of Southern Queensland and is a founding member of UniSQ’s LGBTQIA+ Allyship.

Connect with Tarra on LinkedIn and ORCID

James Fowler

Dr James Fowler (he/they) is a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow within the Interconnect Health Research Project and based at The University of Southern Queensland. James contributes to Work Package 1 including the evaluation of the InterLink Program.

James’ background is in the design and evaluation of mental health support programs and building affirming and inclusive models of care. This includes their PhD, which explored the acceptability and efficacy of digital, self-guided mental health programs for LGBTQ+ people in Australia. James holds a simultaneous appointment at The University of Queensland, Poche Centre for Indigenous Health, where they coordinate the ‘Blak and Proud’ study. Beyond this, James is involved in a range of projects focused on healthcare access and utilisation, primarily within LGBTQ+ communities and using mixed-method designs.

James currently serves on the Queensland Government’s LGBTQIA+ roundtable and previously was a Youth Advisor for Lady Gaga’s Born This Way Foundation. In acknowledgement of James’ contributions to diversity and inclusion, James was nominated for two ‘Queens Ball’ awards in 2023 and won The University of Queensland’s ‘Ally Award’ in 2022.

James holds a Bachelor of Psychological Science (Honours I) from The University of Queensland and will complete his PhD in 2025. James is also an Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.

Bonnie Hart

Bonnie Hart is a member of Interconnect Health Research’s Project Management Committee, contributes across the project’s Work Packages and governance committees, and is the Lived Experience Lead and Chair of Work Package 1.  

Bonnie is a Research Fellow (Intersex Psychosocial Models of Care) with the University of Southern Queensland, where she is also a PhD candidate. She has published 6 articles and 1 book, primarily on the lived experiences and healthcare and mental health needs of people with innate variations of sex characteristics.

Bonnie is the founding Service Manager of InterLink, the intersex psychosocial support service and is the Deputy Executive Director of InterAction for Health & Human Rights. She is a nationally recognised intersex content expert with 17 years working with the intersex community members as an intersex peer worker, systemic advocate, consultant and mental health worker. Bonnie was an organising signatory of the 2017 Darlington Statement of intersex community consensus and founder of the YellowTick intersex education and inclusion initiative.

Connect with Bonnie on LinkedIn and ORCID.

Elissa Jacobs

Elissa Jacobs is a Chief Investigator with the Interconnect Health Research Project, contributing to Work Package 1. 

Elissa has practiced as a clinical psychologist for the last 24 years, working primarily in public health settings specialising in working with children who have chronic conditions and their families.  She is currently acting as the Director of Allied Health for Women, Youth and Children within Canberra Health Services (CHS) .  A key achievement in this role was establishing the Variation in Sex Characteristics Psychosocial Service in 2024.  Elissa continues to oversee this service and support the implementation of this significant ACT Government health reform designed to improve care for young people with variations in sex characteristics.  Prior to this position, Elissa was Manager of the Psychology Department at The Canberra Hospital, CHS.   A feature of her leadership during this period was embedding the integration of psychological, social and physical care within services such as Paediatrics.  She continues to provide psychological services to children and adolescents at the Centenary Hospital for Women and Children.

Elissa holds a Master in Clinical Psychology from the Australian National University.

Alyssa Morse

Dr Alyssa Morse is a Chief Investigator with the Interconnect Health Research Project, contributing to Work Package 1, and is Chair of the Interconnect Strategic Communications Subcommittee.

Alyssa is an emerging leader in lived experience mental health research. Currently, she is a Research Fellow at the Centre for Mental Health Research, The Australian National University (https://researchportalplus.anu.edu.au/en/persons/alyssa-morse). Previously, Alyssa held a Suicide Prevention Australia Post-Doctoral Fellowship. She led the South Western Sydney Local Health District (SWSLHD) arm of a co-created evaluation of Safe Haven suicide prevention services, working in partnership with the SWSLHD Towards Zero Suicides Initiative team. Alyssa’s research focuses on three main areas: (1) improving lived experience involvement in health policy, services and research, (2) prevention and promotion in youth mental health, and (3) mental health service evaluation.

Alyssa is a co-author of “This is doin’ My Head in’: The Ethics of Psychological Research” a chapter in the recently published Routledge Handbook of Human Research Ethics and Integrity in Australia (Edited by Bruce M. Smyth, Michael A. Martin, and Mandy Downing, 2024, Routledge International Handbooks).

Alyssa holds a PhD from the John Curtin School of Medical Research, ANU.

Connect with Alyssa via ORCID.

Amy Mullens

Professor Amy Mullens (she/her) is a Chief Investigator with the Interconnect Health Research Project, contributing to Work Package 1, and providing clinical and health psychology perspectives across work packages.  

She brings more than 25+ years’ experience in clinical and health psychology (AHPRA-registered since 2001), during which time she has led/co-led collaborative community/industry-based research in Health Equity, including over $8.6 million in externally funded projects (e.g., Medical Research Futures Fund, Dept of Health, Gilead Sciences, Sexual Health Research Fund, Emergency Medicine Foundation) including in the areas of HIV, Sexual and Reproductive Health, Chronic Conditions, and Gender and Sexuality.  Amy is a Professor within the School of Psychology and Wellbeing at the University of Southern Queensland (UniSQ) and leads the ‘Health Equity’ Research Theme within the UniSQ Centre for Health Research. 

Amy currently serves as President of the Sexual Health Society of Queensland and Co-Chair of the Australasian Sexual and Reproductive Health Alliance. Her published research has attracted 1775+ citations to date (h index =23, i10 index = 39) as of 14.02.25 (Google Scholar) and received a Diversity & Inclusion award from Women in Technology in 2022.  

Connect with Amy on Google Scholar, LinkedIn, and ORCID.

Ingrid Rowlands

Dr Ingrid Rowlands contributes to the Interconnect Health project as a Lived Experience Lead, Chief Investigator, and Chair of Work Package 2.

She is currently a Senior Research Officer at QIMR Berghofer, and an Honorary Fellow at the University of Queensland’s School of Public Health.

Ingrid has over 15 years’ experience in the management and analysis of complex data from large-scale cohort and case-control studies. Her research primarily focuses on women’s reproductive health across the life course, with expertise in the psychosocial aspects of adverse health conditions including miscarriage, infertility, endometriosis, and gynaecological cancer.

Ingrid has a PhD in Psychology from the University of Queensland, with her doctoral work examined women’s adjustment to miscarriage using data from more than 14,000 young women participating in the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women’s Health.

Connect with Ingrid on ORCID.

Rosalyn Stanton

Dr Rosalyn Stanton is a Chief Investigator with the Interconnect Health Research Project, contributing to Work Package 1.

Rosalyn brings 25 years’ experience in public health services as a Physiotherapist, educator and clinician researcher, during which time she led doctoral projects investigating the role of feedback in learning following stroke, with the results included in the National Stroke Guidelines. Other research areas include health services education and service delivery. Her current role is the Director of Research Mentorship, Supervision and Education Programs in the Office of Research & Education, Canberra Health Services, where she leads initiatives to build research capacity and bridge the gap between research and clinical practice. Prior to this Rosalyn held Allied Health leadership roles. She also holds an Adjunct Associate Professor role with the University of Canberra.

Rosalyn holds a PhD in Neurological Physiotherapy, a Master of Health Science, and  Bachelor of Applied Sciences from The University of Sydney.

Derek Tys

Derek is a Chief Investigator with the Interconnect Health Research Project, contributing to Work Package 1.

They bring more than 30 years’ experience in Social Work field, during which time they’ve worked in areas encompassing trauma, LGBTIQA+ health, AOD, ASD, and Private Practice.

Derek works in private practice counselling, and part-time at InterLink as the Mental Health.

He was part of the ‘You Can’t Ask That’ episode on Intersex (Season 4, Episode 1).

Derek holds a Bachelor of Social Work, Adv. Dip in Transpersonal Art Therapy, Dip in Transpersonal Counselling.  He is also an Accredited Mental Health Social Worker.