K M Shahunja

Dr. K. M. Shahunja is a clinical and public health researcher specializing in quantitative research on child health. He is passionate about conducting clinical research, particularly trials and intervention studies. Dr. Shahunja’s research focuses on the social determinants of health, disease epidemiology, hospital-based healthcare interventions, community-based healthcare interventions, Indigenous health, and the prevention of non-communicable diseases through life-course approaches. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Medicine, a Postgraduate Diploma in Pediatrics and Child Health, and a PhD in Medicine. His doctoral research explored the impact of familial and neighborhood dynamics, as well as psychosocial environmental changes, on the trajectories of asthma symptoms in Australian children, following a life-course approach.

At the UQ Poche Centre, Dr. Shahunja is a member of the Implementing Life Course Interventions research team, led by NHMRC Leadership Fellow A/Professor Abdullah Mamun. He is also affiliated with the Life Course Centre at UQ and is actively involved in a collaborative project with the World Health Organization. This project examines longitudinal studies and linked data sources across Australia to explore health and well-being over different life stages, with a focus on healthy ageing. Since his postdoctoral period, Dr. Shahunja has worked extensively in Indigenous health, developing life-course interventions to improve the health of First Nations peoples in Australia. He is currently engaged in an NHMRC-GACD Non-Communicable Disease Prevention project aimed at preventing non-communicable diseases among Indigenous children and youth in major Australian cities, following a life-course approach.