Associate Professor Amy McLennan, SFHEA

I'm a social researcher, education innovator and systems thinker who’s all about improving human wellbeing.

My undergraduate training was in the medical sciences (neuroscience, nutrition, anatomy and physiology) and French, and I completed doctoral and postdoctoral training in medical anthropology at the University of Oxford, in the world’s leading anthropology department. My work on topics including chronic disease, gender, food and technology has reached audiences via a wide range of academic journals, government policy, and the global media, including The Guardian, ABC and BBC radio. I'm an Advisor to SXSW Sydney, a GSL Global Goals Hero, and a John Monash Scholar.

I'm skilled at ethnographic research and synthesising diverse perspectives. I have experience delivering cross-agency policy reform and professional education programs in the Australian Government’s Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, and I've designed and facilitated high-profile cross-disciplinary workshops in Paris, Bremen, Canberra, Sydney, New York, London and Oxford.

I also have first-hand experience with endometriosis and cancer, having navigated seven surgeries, at least nine specialists, and countless scans, tests, emergency room admissions, pharmaceuticals and allied health interventions. I'm an active member of a number of patient groups and studies.

I'm an Associate Professor at the ANU School of Cybernetics, which focuses on navigating complex societal transformations. In this context, I'm currently establishing a chronic health research cluster focused on forging new, cross-disciplinary futures for chronic illness and disease.

You can find my story, publications and works at https://amykmcl.com/

• DPhil Anthropology (University of Oxford)
• MPhil Medical Anthropology (University of Oxford)
• BSc (Honours Anatomical Sciences) (University of Adelaide)
• BMedSc (Nutrition, Neuroscience, Physiology) (Flinders University)
• DipLang (Advanced French) (Flinders University)

Research interests

• Medical anthropology
• Chronic illness
• Health and human wellbeing
• Social and culture change
• Food, nutrition and obesity 
• Global health governance
• Diabetes
• Chronic pain
• Human anatomy
• Global food systems
• Social and cultural anthropology

National policy work

• Gender violence
• Cybercrime and cyber security
• Innovation
• Migration
• Cities
• Health technology implementation
• Sustainable development goals (SDGs)

Places of research and/or professional experience

• Pacific islands (especially Nauru)
• UK
• France  
• Germany
• EU
• Australia