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