Rate My Professor Yvette Roe

Professor Yvette Roe is Director of the Molly Wardaguga Institute for First Nations Birth Rights in the Faculty of Health at Charles Darwin University. A proud Njikena Jawuru woman from the West Kimberley region of Western Australia, she brings more than 25 years of experience in Indigenous health to her role as Professor of Indigenous Health and co-director of the associated research centre. She holds a PhD awarded in 2015 by the University of South Australia, with a focus on public health and cardiovascular disease.

Professor Roe’s research centres on improving health outcomes for First Nations Australians through co-designed, culturally safe maternal and infant health services, including the Birthing on Country program. Her work spans public health, sociology and realist evaluation, with leadership on multiple NHMRC and Lowitja Institute grants aimed at building First Nations research capacity across Australia. She previously served on the NHMRC Research Committee (2018–2021) and the Principal Committee Indigenous Caucus (2016–2021). Her contributions emphasise Indigenous leadership in service redesign that prioritises family, community and cultural values to enhance wellbeing in rural and remote settings.