Dr Bena Brown is an adjunct Senior Research Fellow in First Nations Cancer and Wellbeing Research Program, School of Public Health, as well as the Research and Education Manager at the Southern Queensland Centre of Excellence in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Primary Healthcare. Bena’s research interests are focused on optimising health service delivery to best serve the needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, families, and Communities. Bena is engaged in person-centred research design, co-design, and novel Indigenist methods to best support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander research leaders. Bena is passionate about research that delivers visible outcomes to the patients she treats, and their families, optimizing equity and access to care. She was awarded her PhD in 2012 from the School of Health and Behavioural Sciences, The University of Queensland. Bena has over 65 peer-reviewed publications, has presented at multiple national and international conferences, and has been awarded over $3.5 million in research grants. Bena is also mum to two boys and a passionate member of the Vulcana Circus community.

Researcher biography

Dr Bena Brown is a clinician/researcher who brings her passion for caring for people with cancer and their families to her current role in the FNCWR team, where her focus is on delivering projects that optimise survivorship and cancer health services for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. These projects include implementing novel models of care such as navigation and health behaviour intervention, optimising communication and access to services through the development and evaluation of culturally responsive resources.

Bena has more than 60 peer-reviewed publications, has presented at multiple national and international conferences, and has been awarded over $3.6 million in research grants.

She is also an Advanced Speech Pathologist (Cancer Care) at Brisbane's Princess Alexandra Hospital and provides RHD supervision for higher-degree students in the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences in UQ's Health and Behavioural Sciences Faculty. Bena is a member of the Human Research and Ethics Committees at Metro South Health and serves on State-wide committees for the Queensland Collaborative for Cancer Survivorship and the Clinical Oncological Society of Australia (COSA) Patient-Reported Outcome Working Group.

Outside her research and clinical career, Bena is mum to two boisterous boys, a keen yogi, and passionate student and board member at Vulcana Circus.