James Ward

Professor James Ward is a Pitjantjatjara and Narungga man, and a national leader in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander research. He is currently the Director of the Poche Centre for Indigenous Health at the University of Queensland. As such he leads a research program focused on urban Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health and an infectious diseases research program and associated issues. Having held various roles in Aboriginal public health policy for both government and non-government organisations, in 2007 he was appointed as the Inaugural Program Head of the Aboriginal Program at the Kirby Institute, University of New South Wales. In 2012 he moved to Alice Springs to become Deputy Director of the Baker Institutes' Aboriginal Health Program, after which he joined the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute. James has been awarded funding applications totalling $23M since 2013; including $7.14M as CIA on NHMRC funded grants and has authored 160 publications. He has led national research projects on health services research http://cre-ash.org.au/participating-sites/clinical-hubs/; in health promotion www.youngdeadlyfree.org.au; and methamphetamines https://wecandothis.com.au/ to name a few. His work has influenced policy and practice significantly contributing to national guidelines, policy and practice. During 2020 he has contributed to the national COVID—19 response nationally through membership of the Communicable Diseases Network of Australia and the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander COVID-19 Taskforce. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health and wellbeing, Biomedical and Clinical Sciences, Health Sciences, Health promotion, Health services and systems

[2026] Beyond testing and contraception: social strategies for sexual wellbeing among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people in Central Queensland [2026] Erratum to ‘We know what our communities need’: What the Indigenous health sector reveals about pandemic preparedness in urban Indigenous communities in Australia [First Nations Health and Wellbeing – The Lowitja Journal, Volume 2, 2024, 100019] [2026] A multidesign study of 4CMenB vaccine effectiveness and impact on meningococcal carriage and gonorrhea in Northern Territory adolescents and young people [2026] First Nations Australian Early Career Academics’ Experiences of Working in a University and Their Perceptions of a Program to Support Their Recruitment and Retention [2026] Interventions to improve Cultural Safety in hea