ENHANCING OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY SERVICE PROVISION WITH MILITARY VETERANS
With
Carol McKinstry,
Professor of Occupational Therapy &
Deputy Dean, Rural Health School,
La Trobe University,
Bendigo, Victoria, Australia
RESEARCHER PROFILE
Filmed Online | April 2025
Carol McKinstry is Professor of Occupational Therapy and Deputy Dean with La Trobe University’s Rural Health School at the Bendigo campus. She is currently Chair of Academic Board and member of University Council.
After completing her Bachelor of Occupational Therapy in Melbourne, she returned to Bendigo to work in local health services, where she developed a strong foundation in rehabilitation, assisting individuals recovering from strokes, accidents, trauma, chronic pain, and spinal cord injuries.
Prof McKinstry was instrumental in the development of the occupational therapy course at the La Trobe University’s Bendigo campus and also the establishment of the Rural Health School.
Prof McKinstry’s research focus is on health workforce, particularly developing a sustainable rural health workforce through recruitment of rural students for health courses, innovative and flexible delivery of health courses, telehealth and emerging areas of practice for occupational therapists.
She is particularly interested in addressing the needs of returning military service members, especially in rural areas where access to services is often limited. Motivated by her upbringing in a regional area, Prof McKinstry is passionate about ensuring equitable health services for those living in rural communities, aiming to tackle workforce shortages and improve health outcomes for these populations.
She is a current board director of Occupational Therapy Australia having been the past president between 2020-2024. She is on the Board of Bendigo Health and was on the Rochester and Elmore District Health Service Board for nine years, also serving as Board Chair and appointed as Life Governor.
Although not excelling in any particular sports, she has had a long involvement with a number of sports at a club and association/organisational board/committee level. She was the first female chair of the Bendigo Football Netball League in its 140 year history and is a life member of several local sporting organisations. Prof McKinstry looks to combine her health background and love of sport, particularly in the areas of participation in sport for all ages to improve health and wellbeing.
Source: Supplied and supplemented
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6383-6313
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Earlier identification and early intervention for children who are deaf or hard of hearing
As Director of NextSense Institute, Professor Leigh is responsible for leading the not-for-profit organisation’s world-class research and education programs and facilities. He has held a variety of positions in the education of children who are deaf or hard of hearing before entering academia. He holds a degree in Special Education from Griffith University, a Master of Science (Speech and Hearing) from Washington University and a PhD in Special Education from Monash University. In 2001, he was made a Fellow of the Australian College of Educators and in 2014, he was invested as an Officer in the Order of Australia (AO) for distinguished services to the deaf and hard of hearing community.
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Neonatal respiratory trials in sick & preterm newborn infants
Prof Brett J. Manley leads and collaborates on large national and international randomised clinical trials in neonatology. He previously collaborated on 4 randomised trials of nasal high-flow as non-invasive respiratory support for preterm and term infants, all of which were published in N Engl J Med. Recently he led the PLUSS trial of intratracheal budesonide for extremely preterm infants, that recruited in 21 NICUs across 4 countries, the results of which were published in JAMA. PLUSS was awarded the Australian Clinical Trials Alliance Trial of the Year in 2025. Another passion of his is mentoring and supervising early career researchers to undertake their own clinical trials.
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Ocular disease and early onset myopia
Dr Mountford has successfully established Western Australia’s first and only ocular genetic screening platform using zebrafish and utilises this model to help elucidate some of the complex gene-environment interactions responsible for the development of myopia.
