Our Team

Professor Dawn Bessarab

Director, Centre for Aboriginal Medical and Dental Health  

Professor Dawn Bessarab is an Aboriginal woman of Bard (West Kimberley) and Yjindjarbandi (Pilbara) descent . Professor Bessarab is the Director of The University of Western Australia's Centre for Aboriginal Medical and Dental Health.

Professor Bessarab is engaged in research looking at interventions and collaborative approaches to addressing health issues affecting Aboriginal people.

Professor Bessarab is a highly regarded and experienced researcher who graduated with her PhD in 2007.

Professor Bessarab is particularly interested in the application of Indigenous research methodologies, participatory action research and the translation of research into policy and practice.

Professor Bessarab is a Chief Investigator on a number of National Health and Medical Research Council health grants and Centre for Research Excellence. Professor Bessarab is a member of the National Indigenous Research and Knowledges Network (NIRAKN). She has published and presented both individually and collaboratively on her work Nationally and Internationally.

Associate Professor Kate Smith  

Research Lead, Centre for Aboriginal Medical and Dental Health  

Associate Professor Kate Smith is a well-respected and experienced researcher in the field of Aboriginal ageing well.  Associate Professor Smith lectures at The University of Western Australia's Centre for Aboriginal Medical and Dental Health. Prior to her research career Dr Smith was a Occupational Therapist.   

Since 2003, Associate Professor Smith has led over 15 large scale projects on the topic of Indigenous ageing well.

In partnership with Kimberley communities, Associate Professor Smith's research team developed the first culturally appropriate memory and thinking screening tool for older Aboriginal people.  The Kimberley Indigenous Cognitive Assessment tool or KICA, is currently used around Australia and has been adapted internationally to screen other Indigenous people, including, Canada and Brazil. 

More recently Associate Professor Smith co-developed a quality of life assessment tool and package for older Aboriginal Australians (Good Spirit, Good Life tool).