PhD Scholarship – Optimising the health of women during pregnancy: scaling accessibility, equity and culturally appropriate healthy lifestyle initiatives in health systems Full-time

PhD Scholarship – Optimising the Health of Women During Pregnancy

We are seeking expressions of interest talented candidates who wish to apply for a PhD to undertake research in digital health technology and implementation science to improve health outcomes for women and their families in public healthcare settings.

Your PhD research will form part of a wider research program focused on implementing lifestyle improvement for pregnant women with a culturally and linguistically diverse background. Your research will be part of a large collaborative project between Monash University and Monash Health. You will be based within the Monash Centre for Health Research and Implementation (MCHRI), a part of the Monash Health translation precinct, working closely with team members from multiple departments across these organisations.

MCHRI is a division of the School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine – the largest School in Australia and is located within the Monash Health Translation Precinct (MHTP) –an innovative environment directly integrated with Monash Health – Victoria's largest healthcare service, providing access to clinical research opportunities.

MCHRI and its program leaders have internationally recognised reputations as research leaders. The education of our PhD students is a core element of our training program. We aim to graduate students who are competitive for an ongoing academic career, usually integrated within a public hospital or other clinical, public health or translation role.

Increasing proportions of women are commencing pregnancy with overweight or obesity. Simple lifestyle interventions can prevent weight gain and related complications, yet translation to real world care to broad public health benefit remains limited.

This PhD program aims to adapt, diversify and implement a lifestyle intervention to optimise healthy weight during pregnancy with a health systems approach. The proposed project will involve engaging stakeholders to identify needs, barriers and facilitators to change, adapting an evidence based weight gain prevention program and conducting implementation research to test effectiveness.

Candidates must have a degree or masters in a relevant discipline, with strong academic results. The project would ideally suit candidates with a background in health sciences, allied health, dietetics, nutrition with an interest in women's health, particularly pregnancy care, health service delivery and models of care and provision of culturally appropriate care.

Interested applicants should refer to the PhD entry requirements.

Your employment is contingent upon the satisfactory completion of all pre-employment and/or background checks required for the role, as determined by the University.

How to apply – Submit an Expression of Interest (EOI)

For general instructions on how to apply for roles at Monash, please refer to “How to apply for Monash Jobs”.

Candidates should include the following when submitting the expression of interest:

• A cover letter not exceeding 500 words that includes a brief statement of suitability and why you are interested in this research project/area.
• A curriculum vitae, including a list of any peer-reviewed publications, conference presentations and relevant work and/or research experience.
• Scanned copies of academic transcripts.
• Contact details of two academic referees.

Enquiries: Associate Professor Cheryce Harrison, cheryce.harrison@monash.edu

Applications Close: Wednesday 10 December 2025, 11:55pm AEDT