Rate My Professor Katherine Cullerton

Associate Professor Katherine Cullerton is an expert in Health Science at the University of Queensland's School of Public Health, where she has served since 2018. Prior to this, she undertook postdoctoral research at the MRC Epidemiology Unit, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom, examining whether and under what conditions nutrition researchers should engage with the food industry. She obtained her Doctor of Philosophy from Queensland University of Technology in 2017, with a thesis titled "An Exploration of the Factors Influencing Public Health Nutrition Policymaking in Australia." In addition to her academic role, she is the academic lead for external engagement in the School of Public Health.

Cullerton's research specializations encompass nutrition policy, commercial determinants of health, public health advocacy, conflicts of interest, and social network analysis. She investigates why evidence frequently fails to shape public policy, corporate strategies for policy influence, and effective advocacy techniques involving framing and public opinion. Notable publications include "Using political science to progress public health nutrition: a systematic review" (Public Health Nutrition, 2016), "Playing the policy game: a review of the barriers to and enablers of nutrition policy change" (Public Health Nutrition, 2018), "Understanding and managing corporate conflicts of interest" (chapter in The Commercial Determinants of Health, 2023), "Inside a corporate affairs conference: the race for a social license" (Frontiers in Communication, 2024), and "Mapping the lobbying footprint of harmful industries: 23 years of data from OpenSecrets" (The Milbank Quarterly, 2024). She has contributed to major grants such as the ARC Discovery Project "Revolving door lobbyists: harmful industry & public interest policymaking" (2026-2030), NHMRC Targeted Research on improving healthy food affordability in remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities (2020-2025), and a co-designed framework for health equity in remote community stores (2024-2027). Her scholarship advances knowledge on regulating industry impacts in health policymaking.