Rate My Professor Rosanne Freak-Poli

Dr Rosanne Freak-Poli is a Senior Research Fellow at Monash University in the School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine and the School of Clinical Sciences at Monash Health. She is a life-course epidemiologist whose research examines the population impact of social determinants as risk factors for chronic disease, with particular emphasis on healthy ageing, social isolation, loneliness and cardiovascular disease. After completing her PhD in Epidemiology, Dr Freak-Poli was awarded an NHMRC Early Career Research Fellowship (2013–2018) and a National Heart Foundation of Australia Postdoctoral Fellowship. She currently manages the Love Your Brain Project, a randomised controlled trial funded by an MRFF grant in collaboration with the Stroke Foundation that evaluates a digital platform for the primary prevention of stroke. Her work is driven by a commitment to addressing social inequalities in health through co-design, scaling and implementation of social prescribing and social connection programs.

Dr Freak-Poli has contributed to the academic field through numerous peer-reviewed publications on topics including social isolation, social support, loneliness and their associations with cardiovascular disease incidence and mortality. She received the 2023 Alzheimer Award jointly with Henning Tiemeier for related research contributions.