Biography

Paula McDonald is Professor of Work and Organisation in the QUT Business School. Paula’s research adopts a multi-disciplinary, systems-level approach, addressing complex problems in a range of workplace and industry settings, including finance, defence, policing, government and education.

Paula has been awarded 6 major competitive research grants from the Australian Research Council, collaborating with organisations such as The Australian Human Rights Commission, Suncorp, the Australian Defence Force, Goodstart Early Learning, Education Queensland, The Brisbane City Council and the Qld Dept of Public Works.

Paula has disseminated her work widely including in three edited books and over 60 academic journal articles. She also communicates her research widely to non-academic audiences through media engagement and industry seminars.

Paula is the Director of the Work/Industry Futures Research Program. She manages several large, ongoing research projects and mentors and supervises early career academics and PhD and Masters by research students.

Prior to an academic career, Paula held clinical and research roles in child and adolescent psychiatry, medical education, primary care and public health. She is a member of the National Work and Family Roundtable, a Senior Fellow of the UK Higher Education Academy, and a registered psychologist with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency.