Dr Abbey Diaz began her research career with the Brisbane-based cancer research team, and is currently a Postdoctoral Early Career Research Fellow, having graduated with a Menzies PhD from Charles Darwin University in 2018.

Her research is focused on better understanding cancer outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, with a particular focus on survivorship.

Abbey’s academic career started with a Bachelor of Health Science (Public Health) from the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) in 2006 followed by a Master of Applied Science at QUT in 2011.

She says that working within a team to create positive health outcomes is a major inspiration for her research career.

“Nine years after starting with the team, I am still here because I really believe in the work that we do…the one value I prioritise above all others is integrity and the cancer research team has this in spades.”

Abbey who was born in Farleigh, just outside Mackay in Queensland says reading the book “Curing Cancer: the story of the men and women unlocking the secrets of our deadliest illness”, by Michael Waldholz in her early 20s inspired her to pursue a career in health research.

“It was fascinating and even though it was the first time I had ever heard of epidemiology, I immediately fell in love with it – and cancer epidemiology in particular. Epidemiology gives me the opportunity to contribute, in a small but important way, to my community and society more broadly."

Abbey believes social media plays an important role in health promotion and awareness and she regularly uses the #epitwitter hashtag. Her social media platform of choice is Twitter and she encourages all researchers to give it a go. Follow her on @AbbeyDiaz_says.