PROFILE
Dr Katie Attwell
Started at UWA: 2017
Addressing the pointy end of mandatory vaccination policy
I love the content area that I research and teach, and I love sharing it with students. If I’m excited, then hopefully they are too.Dr Katie Attwell
Dr Katie Attwell is an ARC Discovery Early Career Researcher Award Fellow, senior lecturer and academic researcher at the UWA School of Social Sciences. She specialises in mandatory vaccination policy across Australia, Europe and The United States of America, researching the tactics their governments use to motivate people to vaccinate, how policies make it to the agenda, how they are designed, how they differ, and how they work.
Katie grew up in the City of Rockingham, Western Australia, as the child of two teachers. Growing up, Katie felt a strong desire to be a professional musician. During her undergraduate degree, she decided that a career as a lecturer of political science would be a good ‘Plan B’. Katie juggled her passion for music with travel and raising a family, while completing her higher degree studies. Some of her major achievements include her recent DECRA Award; conceptualising, researching, designing, delivering and evaluating the I Immunise public health campaign; and her partnership with WA Health and national/international collaborators to research and develop strategies to engage midwives as vaccine promoters.
In 2018, Katie received funding to research mandatory vaccination full-time for three years. Katie believes under-vaccination is a large threat to public health and mandates can be a useful solution for people who choose not to be vaccinated, but they are also potentially problematic. Katie seeks to understand the circumstances by which mandates can be justified and where they cannot. Her work allows her to travel to amazing places and develop her expertise through interviewing those who are central to introducing and implementing vaccination policies.
Qualifications:
- Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Murdoch University, 2013
- Bachelor of Arts (BA) (Hons), Murdoch University, 2005
- Bachelor of Arts (BA), Murdoch University, 2001
External positions
- Honorary Fellow of the Wesfarmers Centre of Vaccines and Infectious Diseases, Telethon Kids Institute
2018 Australian Research Council Discovery Early Career Research Award (DECRA) to research mandatory vaccination internationally
2016 Teaching excellence award for high student satisfaction results – Murdoch University
2014 Vice Chancellor’s Citation for Enhancing Student Learning – Murdoch University
2013 Vice Chancellor’s Award for Teaching Excellence – Murdoch University
News
How other countries get parents to vaccinate their kids (and what Australia can learn)
Countries around the world, including Australia, are using different ways to get parents to vaccinate their children.
Read moreHitting the spot
When you research vaccination policy for a living, it’s no surprise when the topic pops up outside work hours. And so it does when I catch up with friends in Sydney who have recently become parents.
Read moreAnti-vaxxer parents? They're just trying to fit in, UWA study says
Parents touting anti-vaccination beliefs may not be so resolute in their conviction – rather, they are likely just trying to fit in with their social group as they enter a new phase of life.
Read moreUWA study shows attacking alternative medicines is not the answer to get parents to vaccinate kids
Attacking the alternative medicine industry might not be an effective way of encouraging sceptical parents to get their children vaccinated, according to a University of WA study.
Read moreProjects
Teaching and PhD opportunities
Katie teaches in the disciplines of political science, public policy and studies in human society and has previously taught the UWA undergraduate Political Science and International Relations unit, POLS2204 The Politics of Gender. She currently teaches one postgraduate unit, POLS5505 Regulation and Governance. Katie feels inspired when she witnesses her students critically analysing a concept or issue and forming connections with interconnected research parts.
Dr Katie Attwell has been supervising UWA Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) students since 2017 on topics such as vaccination policy and post-abortion experiences. Katie will be seeking project applications directly or closely related to vaccination, vaccine hesitancy or vaccine mandates until 2022.
Funding
Dr Katie Attwell has received financial support from:
- 2019-2022 Australian Research Council Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - $405,751
- 2019-2022 The University of Western Australia, Faculty of Arts, Business, Law and Education - $70,000
- 2018 Department of Health - $31,686.36