
Associate Professor Eleanor Parker
Associate Professor
Adelaide Dental School
Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences
Associate Professor Eleanor Parker has worked at the University of Adelaide Dental School for over 20 years. She is current Deputy Head of the School, the Chair of the Learning and Teaching Committee and a Deputy Director (Education) of the Indigenous Oral Health Unit, a part of the Australian Research Centre for Population Oral Health (ARCPOH).
Eleanor established the first dental service at the Port Augusta Aboriginal community-controlled Pika Wiya health service in 2001, where she worked for five years. Eleanor is actively involved with the student body in encouraging appropriate participation in Indigenous oral health-related research and placements, has published widely in this field and been an invited presenter at international oral health conferences regarding her expertise in Indigenous Australian oral health and curriculum development. .
Eleanor maintains a passion for and commitment to improving the oral health of oppressed and disadvantaged groups, in particular rural, First Nations and other groups who have been persecuted. Eleanor sees her involvement with undergraduate education as an opportunity to contribute to the future profession’s understanding of the needs of these communities, to ensure they are skilled and competent in working with patients and communities who are traditionally underserved.
Eleanor is heavily involved with undergraduate teaching as First Year Bachelor of Dental Surgery Coordinator, and coordinator of the Indigenous Health and Cultural Safety Curriculum for the Adelaide Dental School.
In 2024 Eleanor's contributions to the Adelaide Dental School, Faculty and University was recognised through being awarded the University of Adelaide Award for Outstanding Achievement for Leadership.
My research interests remain focused on improving the oral health of oppressed and disadvantaged people in our community, in particular First Nations communities. I am fortunate to be part of the Australian Research Centre for Population Oral Health (ARCPOH) Indigenous Oral Health Research Unit, which enables me to integrate my teaching and research interests. My research career has developed with successful competitive grants, presentation at international conferences and publication in peer-reviewed journals.
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Appointments
Date Position Institution name 2024 - ongoing Associate Professor University of Adelaide 2012 - 2023 Senior Lecturer University of Adelaide 2003 - 2011 Lecturer University of Adelaide, Adelaide Dental School -
Education
Date Institution name Country Title 2022 University of Adelaide Australia Doctor of Philosophy 2002 University of Adelaide, Adelaide Australia Graduate Diploma in Clinical Dentistry 2000 University of Adelaide, Adelaide Australia Bachelor of Dental Surgery -
Research Interests
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Journals
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Conference Items
Year Citation 2022 Lekkas, D., Parker, E., Anastassiadis, P., Stow, L., & Murray, A. (2022). Rethinking summative assessment using the PDSA Cycle. Poster session presented at the meeting of International Association of Dental Research (IADR) Australia and New Zealand Conference. Melbournce. 2020 Parker, E., Gray, J., & Lekkas, D. (2020). Creativity in online teaching in health professional programs. Poster session presented at the meeting of Festival of Learning and Teaching, University of Adelaide. Adelaide. 2017 Ju, X., Brennan, D. S., Parker, E., Chrisopoulos, S., & Jamieson, L. M. (2017). Validation of an oral health literacy instrument among Australian adults. Poster session presented at the meeting of 95th General Session and Exhibition of the International Association for Dental Research. San Francisco, Northern California, USA. 2014 Parker, E., & Coleman, D. (2014). Developing and implementing an integrated curriculum to support dental students to work in partnership with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples to facilitate culturally safe dental care. Poster session presented at the meeting of Australian & New Zealand Association for Health Professional Educators Conference 2024.
ADAF Community Service Grants-Principles in Action: Community Outreach Dental Program - next
steps; 2019; Eleanor Parker, Margie Steffens $8,582;
ADAF Community Service Grants-Principles in Action: Community Dental Outreach Program;
Years: 2018; $8,013 Eleanor Parker, Margie Steffen
International Collaboration for Indigenous Health Research Partnerships (ICIHRP) 2010: $1,390,040
Lisa Jamieson, Rus Nasir, Alwin Chong, Eleanor Parker, Kaye Roberts-Thomson, Gary Misan, John Spencer (Australian team)
‘Reducing disease burden and health inequalities arising from chronic dental disease among Indigenous children: an early childhood caries intervention’
Teaching Development Grant 2019 $5000.
Lekkas D, Skinner V, Parker E, Stow L, Zaccardo B (2019) Learning and Innovation Grant. The University of Adelaide. The value of lectures.
NHMRC 2009: $548,250
Lisa Jamieson, Rus Nasir, Alwin Chong, Eleanor Parker
‘An oral health literacy intervention among rural Indigenous adults’
Australian dental Research Foundation 2008: $8000
Margie Steffens, Eleanor Parker, Lisa Jamieson, Peter Cathro, Richard Logan
‘A Home for Oral Health: Quantifying, Addressing and Evaluating the Oral Health Needs of Homeless People in Adelaide, South Australia’
Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies 2007: $18,000
Lisa Jamieson, Eleanor Parker, Cephas Stanley;
‘An Oral Health Promotion Initiative; Phase II’.
Since my appointment with the Spencer Gulf Rural Health School in 2022 and the Adelaide Dental School in 2006, I have held a number of roles primarily associated with clinical learning activities in the early years of the BDS Program. I have, for a significant portion of my time, had responsibility for coordinating the first year of the BDS clinical curriculum, and took a leadership role in the development and implementation of the revised BDS curriculum. I have also taught across topics within the BDS, across BDS year levels and some components of BOH 1-3, involving a significant amount of face-to-face contact with undergraduate students. In partnership with colleagues in Yaitya Purruna, Indigenous Health Unit, I have played a lead role in developing the undergraduate curriculum related to Indigenous Oral Health and Cultural Safety for BDS and BOH students. I am currently Chair of the Adelaide Dental School Programs Board and the BDS 1 Year Coordinator.
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External Profiles