Rate My Professor Michelle Kennedy

Professor Michelle Kennedy, a proud Wiradjuri woman who grew up on Worimi country, is Professor and NHMRC Fellow in the School of Medicine and Public Health at the University of Newcastle's College of Health, Medicine and Wellbeing. She holds a Bachelor of Arts (Honours), Master of Arts in Social Science (Social Work), Graduate Certificate in Social Science, Master of Social Science, and PhD in Aboriginal Health, all from the University of Newcastle. Her PhD thesis titled ‘Culturally responsive approaches for the empowerment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women in smoking cessation care’ reflects her commitment to improving health outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Prior to her current role, she worked as an artist, community development practitioner, and social worker across the Hunter New England area. From March 2022 to February 2024, she served as Executive Manager of Research & Knowledge Translation at The Lowitja Institute.

Kennedy's research specializations encompass Aboriginal health, tobacco control, and Indigenous research methodologies and ethics. Her work informs national policy in alignment with Closing the Gap reforms aimed at reducing low birth weight babies among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander populations. She has forged partnerships with Aboriginal community-controlled health services, peak bodies, and government agencies, delivering workshops with Tackling Indigenous Smoking funded organizations and leading high-impact projects such as national group-based smoking cessation care and mail-out support in Aboriginal community-controlled health services. Key projects include ‘Which Way?’, the first Indigenous-led primary evidence for smoking cessation care among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women, with findings published in the Medical Journal of Australia, and the Murra Minya project governed by the National Health Leadership Forum in partnership with the Lowitja Institute. Notable publications include the chapter ‘Commercial Tobacco and Cancer’ (2024, co-authored with Maddox R, Waa A, Henderson PN, Calma T); ‘What ngidhi yinaaru nhal yayi (this woman told me) about smoking during pregnancy’ (Medical Journal of Australia, 2020); ‘Barriers to Quitting Smoking During Pregnancy: A Cross-Sectional Survey’ (International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 2021); and ‘Wula (Voices) of Aboriginal women on barriers to accepting smoking cessation support during pregnancy’ (Women and Birth, 2018). Her contributions also feature extensively in conference proceedings on smoking cessation interventions for pregnant Aboriginal women. Awards include the NHMRC Early Career Fellowship (awarded prior to PhD submission), NHMRC Investigator Grants (2023 and 2025), and the 2022 HMRI Early Career Researcher of the Year.