Research and Evaluation Stream

The Research and Development team undertakes business-driven and applied research together with our partners.

	Dr Gregory Zelic Research and Development Manager Dr Gregory Zelic has a PhD in Human Movement Sciences and a Master of Biomechanical Sciences. He has been with the Centre since its inception now leading Research and Development. Greg has experience in research, science translation and outreach, as well as data programming, modelling and visualisation.
	Dr Abílio de Almeida Neto Academic Studies Manager Abilio (Bill) Neto is a registered psychologist in Australia. He holds a Bachelor of Science (Psychology) with Honours from the University of NSW and a PhD in psychology from the University of Sydney in the area of behaviour modification in the workplace for which he was awarded a university medal. He formerly held the positions of Research and Development Manager at the National Prescribing Service, Senior Research Analyst with the NSW Department of Justice, and Research Academic at the University of Sydney. He has been guest speaker at a number of international conferences and has published extensively in scientific journals.
	Dr Sazzad Hussain Senior Research and Data Science Officer Sazzad has a PhD in Human-Computer Interaction and a Computer Science background. He comes here from CSIRO - Australia's national science agency, where he held research scientist positions. He has experience in applied research and data science with interests in e-Health, Human-Computer Interaction, and Machine Learning. Sazzad’s role in the Centre contributes to advanced data analytics and a variety of research projects.
	Dr Lee Huuskes Senior Research Officer Lee has extensive experience in applied research and evaluation across a diverse range of subject matter, including environmental social science, energy and health, disaster recovery, and psychology. Lee has expertise in quantitative and qualitative methods, survey design, longitudinal research, and evaluation. Lee previously held research positions within the NSW Government and at the University of Technology Sydney, and has a PhD in social psychology from the University of Wollongong.
	Dr Ha Nguyen Senior Research Officer Ha comes to the Centre of Work Health and Safety as an experienced researcher with prior academic roles in Australia and Vietnam. Ha has a PhD in Public Health from the University of Sydney in the area of epidemiology and economic costs of injuries. Prior to the role in the Research Stream, Ha held the positions of Senior Biostatistician in the Sydney Local Health District – NSW Health, research fellow in the University of Sydney, the George Institute and the University of South Australia.
	Angelica Vårhammar Senior Research Officer Angelica joins the Centre for Work Health and Safety from the University sector where she has held several senior research support roles. She has a Master of Science in Environmental Biology and has extensive experience in the management of large research projects. This includes coordinating data collection, managing and interpreting data, supervising and managing associated staff and facilities, as well as communicating research outcomes to stakeholders.
	Dr Sancia West Senior Research Officer Sancia has joined the Centre for Work Health and Safety after previous roles in all levels of government, from social services to strategic management, as a Registered Nurse and as a university lecturer and researcher. She completed her PhD through the University of Tasmania, focusing on the provision of regional cancer care, particularly radiation therapy, and the drivers behind funding commitments for these services. Since then, her academic research has focused largely on mental health, burns care, trauma-informed care models and, most recently, the mental health needs of those on the autism spectrum.
	Dr Gavin Dowdell Lead Data Scientist Gavin brings more than 20 years of experience working in Machine Learning and Data Science across a variety of commercial and scientific environments including Insurance, Work Health and Safety, Investment Management, Energy Trading and High Frequency Radar. He also has mentored and developed several junior analysts to become industry ready Data Scientists. He has worked for the State Insurance Regulatory Authority (SIRA) and before that WorkCover NSW where he developed predictive models to support the Work, Health and Safety function. He has a PhD in theoretical Physics and a Degree in Applied Mathematics. In his spare time he develops Machine Learning models around sports analytics and associated Web Applications.
	Dr Xiaotong (Sharon) Dong Data Science Officer Sharon holds a Ph.D. in Operations Research (applied in transport and logistics) from the University of New South Wales (UNSW). She has experience in both academic research and transport & logistic industry. This includes collecting, processing, manipulating and visualising complex operational datasets, as well as designing and implementing algorithms that optimise combinatorial optimisation problems. She is passionate about data and has an Engineering background.