(She / Her / Any pronouns; no AI was used in any component of this profile.)
 
How many people know that time travel is theoretically possible? How many people know that grasshoppers' ears are technically on their stomach? How many people know the right amount of sunscreen to use? That antibiotic resistance is real? That periodontitis increases the risk of CVDs by 3 times? That speeding doesn't save time? That infants shouldn't drink water? 
 
Abbey was raised in a culturally diverse household, where the complex dynamics of communication (and frequent miscommunication!) inspired an early curiosity of scientific enquiry. She observed that while the scientific community produced extraordinary research with the potential to help people, its profundity is significantly limited when it is inaccessible to the people who could benefit most from it.
She has since become an advocate for equitable access to knowledge; believing deeply in the right to learn, the right to know, and the right to self-empowerment through different ways of knowing. She maintains that people who understand more about the world, will understand more about oneself, and thus will be better equipped to contribute to meaningful positive change.
 
Abbey is currently pursuing a Master of Research with a focus on health research literacy. Her project investigates Australian healthcare students’ research literature reading strategies and methods to make meaning from text, and whether these are influenced by study discipline. She is interested in communication science, metascience (evidence-based practice), research / academic literacy, pedagogy / education / curriculum, antimicrobial resistance, neuromodular algesiology, and regenerative medicine.