People

Dr. Kyra Hamilton is a Professor of health psychology and behavioural medicine in the School of Applied Psychology, Griffith University, Australia. She is also Affiliate Member, Health Sciences Research Institute (HSRI), University of California, Merced, USA and Docent, Behaviour Change, University of Jyvaskyla, Finland. Dr Hamilton has both psychology and nursing qualifications and over 30 years’ experience in health. She has research interests in health behaviour motivation, self-regulation, and change. Dr Hamilton focuses on behaviours of national and international importance to examine and understand the beliefs, motivations, and behaviours of individuals, health professionals, and policy makers. She is particularly interested in understanding the multiple effects of motivational, volitional, and automatic processes on health behaviour and the translation of research findings into policy and practice. Dr Hamilton is Co-Editor-in-Chief of the journal Psychology & Health and Fellow of the Australian Psychological Society, European Health Psychology Society, and Society of Behavioral Medicine. See more – Contact

Tenelle Maroney has a Bachelor of Social Science (Psychology)(Honours) and is a current PhD Candidate within the School of Applied Psychology at Griffith University. Tenelle has research interests in stress and coping, health psychology, and integrated behaviour change theories. See below for more details about Tenelle’s research.

Dr. Mandy Cassimatis is Lecturer in the School of Applied Psychology at Griffith University. Dr Cassimatis is a Clinical Psychologist with a background in health psychology research. Her research is focused on chronic disease prevention, self-management and co-morbid psychological issues. She has worked on the development and evaluation of digital health programs in this area. Contact

Dr. Heather Green is Deputy Head of School (Learning & Teaching) in the School of Applied Psychology at Griffith University. Dr Green is a Clinical Psychologist and Health Psychologist. Her research focuses on quality of life and self-management for people who are living with or at risk of chronic illnesses, such as cancer. Specific emphases include assessing, understanding and managing cognitive impairments associated with cancer; and lifestyle management, such as optimising physical activity and nutrition. Contact

Dr. Jacob Keech is a Lecturer in Psychology in the School of Applied Psychology at Griffith University. His expertise is in the development and evaluation of intervention programs for reducing the effect of stress on physical and psychological health, and performance. Dr Keech’s research also applies psychological theory to understanding and changing health behaviours and risky behaviours to improve health and safety. Dr Keech has received several international awards for this research, including European Health Psychology Society Herman Schaalma PhD Award in 2019, and the Stan Maes Early Career Award in 2024. Contact

Dr. Victoria Ross is a senior research fellow at the Australian Institute for Suicide Research and Prevention (AISRAP). Her key research areas are workplace mental health and suicide prevention, suicide bereavement support, and suicide prevention program evaluation. Her research has an applied focus and she has worked collaboratively on a range of projects with government and industry/sector groups, including the Lifeline Foundation, Gold Coast University Hospital, Mates in Construction, Richmond Fellowship Queensland, TrackSAFE Foundation, and Energy Queensland. Contact

Dr. Charlene Wright is a researcher with expertise in qualitative research, mixed-methods, and systematic reviews. Her PhD focused on integrating digital health and behaviour change after bariatric surgery. She is contributing as a Research Fellow to the Equitable Cancer Outcomes for Rural and Remote Australia (ECORRA) project, a 5-year MRFF-funded initiative led by Deakin University. This project aims to improve cancer outcomes in rural and remote regions of Australia by embedding best-practice cancer care into health services. Dr. Wright combines a strong academic foundation with practical experience, making her a strategic thinker and effective implementer in health and digital interventions.

Dr. Daniel Phipps is post-doctoral research fellow at the University of Jyvaskyla, Finland, and Adjunct Lecturer in the School of Applied Psychology at Griffith University, Australia. Dr Phipps completed his PhD in 2021 with a focus on implicit models of health psychology and has since worked in the fields of health psychology and behavioural medicine including the in-project management, hands-on research, and student supervision (External supervisor to 2 on-going PhD candidates, co-supervisor of 2 completed honours students, co-supervisor of numerous work-integrated-learning programs).

Nicholas Browning (Research PhD)
Thesis title: The moderating role of action control on the relationship between automatic and reflective processes
Nicholas has a Bachelor of Psychology (Honours) and is currently a PhD Candidate in the School of Applied Psychology at Griffith University. Nicholas has research interests in health psychology, behaviour change, emotion, and dual process theories. His research aims to investigate moderating factors of dual-process systems to provide a stronger theoretical foundation for health and behavioural interventions.

Alena Gadoury (Research PhD)
Thesis title: Suicide Prevention in Australian Veterinarians: Prevalence, Factors and Intervention
Alena has a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BScN), a Bachelor of Veterinary Science (BVSc)(First Class Honours) and is currently a PhD Candidate at the School of Applied Psychology at Griffith University. She is also the co-founder and director of VetHerd, a suicide prevention program for the veterinary community. Alens’s research aims to explore the prevalence of suicidality in Australian veterinarians, the associated factors, and evaluate applied suicide intervention skills training (ASIST) within the profession.

Tenelle Maroney (Research PhD)
Thesis title: Understanding the psychological processes underpinning coping strategy switching
Tenelle has a Bachelor of Social Science (Psychology)(Honours) and is currently a PhD Candidate in the School of Applied Psychology at Griffith University. Tenelle has research interests in stress and coping, health behaviour change, and digitial health interventions. Her research aims to explore the psychological processes underpinning coping strategy switching in response to stress, guided by integrated behaviour change theories.

Sabryna Sas (Research PhD)
Thesis title: Investigating the effects of incarceration on prisoner self-control
Sabryna has a Bachelor of Psychological Science (Honours) and a Bachelor of Criminology and Criminal Justice, and is currently a PhD candidate in the School of Applied Psychology at Griffith University. Sabryna has recently started her role as a post-doctoral research fellow for the Griffith Criminology Institute. She has research interests in self-control, health behaviour, behaviour change, and forensic populations, with her recent work exploring how prison can impact the capacity for self-control in incarcerated individuals.

Danielle Simpson-Rojas (Research PhD)
Thesis title: Meta-analysis of the theory of planned behavior in physical activity 
Danielle is a PhD candidate in the SHARPP Lab at University of California, Merced. Danielle has research interests in the theory of planned behavior and integrating behavior change theories to understand and predict health behaviors such as physical activity, snacking and alcohol consumption.

Chunyu Guo
Thesis title: The role of planfulness and strategic mindset in predicting physical activity among university students
Chunyu is a current Honours student in the School of Applied Psychology at Griffith University. She has research interests in health psychology, mental wellbeing, and the motivations behind physical activity. Her research aims to integrate planfulness (a facet of conscientiousness) and strategic mindset into the Theory of Planned Behavior to better understand and predict exercise behaviors in adolescents and young adults, with the goal of bridging the intention-behavior gap and promoting healthier lifestyles.

Asha Hartfiel
Thesis title: The role of self-identity in sober curiosity: A dual process model
Asha is a current Honours student in the School of Applied Psychology at Griffith University.

Wamia Rahman
Thesis title: The role of disposition factors on sober curiosity: Examining direct, indirect, and moderation effects
Wamia is a current Honours student in the School of Applied Psychology at Griffith University.

Marika Saunders
Thesis title: Stress, reappraisal and suppression: Examining the predictors of emotional eating
Marika is a current Honours student in the School of Applied Psychology at Griffith University. Her research project investigates the effects of stress on emotional eating and how emotion regulation strategies may mediate and moderate the relationship. The Process Model of Emotion Regulation will be applied and the direct, indirect, and moderation effects of cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression will be explored.

Prof. Martin Hagger is Professor of Health Psychology in the Psychological Sciences and Health Sciences Research Institute at the University of California, Merced, USA. He is also Professor in the Faculty of Sport and Health Sciences at University of Jyväskylä, Finland and Adjunct Professor in the School of Applied Psychology at Griffith University, Australia. Dr. Hagger’s research applies social psychological theory to predict, understand, and change health behaviours.

Dr. Ryan E. Rhodes is Professor of Health Psychology in the School of Exercise Science Physical and Health Education, at the University of Victoria, Canada and Adjunct Professor in the School of Applied Psychology at Griffith University, Australia. Dr. Rhodes is Director of the UVic Behavioural Medicine Lab. His primary area of research is on the psychology of physical activity with an applied focus of physical activity promotion during critical life transitions such as early family development and the transition to retirement.

Dr. Stephanie Smith is Lecturer in the School of Psychological Sciences at the University of Tasmania and adjunct Lecturer in the School of Applied Psychology at Griffith University, Australia. She is also an affiliate member of the Health and Psychology Innovations (HaPI) research laboratory. Dr Smith has authored numerous peer-reviewed articles, book chapters, industry reports, and presented her work at national and international conferences. Her research focuses on using psychological models to understand and modify diverse health behaviours including oral hygiene, water safety, driving behaviour, COVID-19 prevention, and stroke prevention. In addition to her academic work, Dr Smith gained practical experience in translating research into practice during her time in industry at the Stroke Foundation, where she developed health promotion programs for secondary prevention of stroke.

Dr. Daniel Brown is an affiliate member of the HaPI lab and practising Clinical Psychologist with a research focus in health psychology. Dr. Brown completed his PhD as a member of the HaPI Lab. His research focuses on testing a multi-phase, multi-theory model of health behaviour across a number of populations and health behaviours. Dr. Brown is particularly interested in understanding what components of habit, as an automatic process, significantly predict and explain health behaviour.

Dr. Kailas Jenkins is an affiliate member of the HaPI lab. Dr. Jenkins has a PhD specialising in Health Psychology within the School of Applied Psychology at Griffith University. Her PhD research was centred on the investigation of motivational factors, encompassing both deliberate and inadvertent influences, towards physical activity within the context of organisational environments.

Dr. Thomas Hannan is an affiliate member of the HaPI lab and a registered psychologist, whose research focuses broadly on the cognitive processes that underpin people’s decision-making to engage in health behaviours. He conducts research in the areas of sports psychology, human motivation and performance, driving behaviour, parents of children with chronic health conditions, and population health behaviour change. Contact

Dr. Thi Nhung Mac is an affiliate member of the HaPI lab, and is a researcher with expertise in compliance behaviours, health behaviours, social marketing, and the psychology of behaviour change. Her work adopts a comprehensive approach, exploring these topics from both individual and systems perspectives. Dr. Mac completed her PhD in December 2024, with three publications in highly ranked academic journals. Currently, she holds a position as a marketing manager in the furniture industry, but she is eager to continue her engagement in research, contributing to the academic community and advancing the understanding of behaviour change in diverse contexts.

Emily Nason-Brown is an affiliate member of the HaPI lab. Emily is a First Class Bachelor of Psychological Science (Hons) graduate with diverse experience as a family relationship advisor, literacy intervention tutor, youth mentor and research assistant.

Prof. Sheina Orbell is an affiliate member of the HaPI lab and Professor in the Department of Psychology at University of Essex, UK. Dr. Orbell is interested in looking at intention-behaviour relations, self-regulation, social psychology of volition and volitional strategies in behavioural change, motivation models of health-related behaviour, social psychology of sexual health, and cervical and colorectal cancer screening behaviours.  

Dr. Amy Peden is an affiliate member of the HaPI lab and Lecturer in injury prevention in the School of Public Health and Community Medicine at the University of New South Wales, Australia. Dr. Peden is also a Senior Research Fellow at Royal Life Saving Society – Australia, and an Honorary Fellow, Injury Division at The George Institute for Global Health.

Dr. Roshan Rigby is an affiliate member of the HaPI lab and is Lecturer in Nutrition and Dietetics at Griffith University. She is an Accredited Practising Dietitian and completed her PhD in 2021. Her doctoral research explored the application of behaviour change science within dietetics practice and education programs. Her research interests include dietary behaviours and chronic disease management, as well as university learning and teaching. Contact

Prof. Ralf Schwarzer is an affiliate member of the HaPI lab and Emeritus Professor in the Department of Psychology at Freie Universität Berlin, Germany and a Professor at SWPS University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Poland. Dr. Schwarzer is founder of the Health Action Process Approach. His research focus lies on stress, coping, social support, self-efficacy, well-being, positive psychology, and health behaviours.