Dr. Heather Mccormack

Biography

Heather McCormack is a Scientia Research Fellow at the Kirby Institute with a 16-year career in communications and health promotion, specializing in program management within the sexual health and blood-borne virus sector. Her professional background features roles in non-profit organizations and frontline sexual health services, including a five-year leadership position with the New South Wales Ministry of Health. Heather earned her Bachelor of Media Communications from Charles Sturt University and her Master of Public Health (Social Research) at UNSW. She is currently completing her PhD at the Kirby Institute, which focuses on optimizing annual routine health assessments to increase testing for sexually transmissible infections and HIV among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people. Her research interests encompass the social aspects of sexual health, the application of digital tools for health promotion, and the use of technology to enhance public health interventions targeting sexually transmissible infections and blood-borne viruses. Heather is particularly interested in strengths-based approaches, health equity, and peer-led research models, and she serves as an Associate Editor for the Lowitja Journal.

Research Interests