Wisdom passed on

Every PhD student experiences their own lightbulb moment. For Fiona Mitchell, it occurred during the literature review process.

'There was very minimal information about what resources and support are available for Aboriginal families regarding introduction to solid foods' Fiona explains.

'There's a lot of information about breastfeeding. But minimal information regarding what healthy eating would be for bubs who are six months to two years.'

Fiona, a Mununjali woman of the Bundjalung nation, began her doctorate at Deakin in 2022 to explore how nutritional advice is provided to Aboriginal mothers as they support their babies during their first 1000 days. Her research is conducted in partnership with the Victorian Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (VACCHO), which has a state-wide network of 33 Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations (ACCOs).

Fiona’s project has been supported by a scholarship from the Marquill Foundation, allowing her to travel and engage participants from across ACCOs – Shepparton, Gippsland, Warrnambool and elsewhere.

With a background in psychology and counselling, Fiona originally joined Deakin’s human resources team, leading Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander recruitment. One day, an opportunity came across her desk that changed her own path.

A colleague from the Global Centre for Preventive Health and Nutrition (GLOBE) asked Fiona if she could help engage Indigenous students who were interested in applying for a PhD scholarship as part of a research project based at the Institute for Physical Activity and Nutrition (IPAN). Encouraged by the opportunity, Fiona began to consider her own career goals and enrolled in a Graduate Diploma of Indigenous Research offered through the NIKERI Institute. After earning a high distinction average, she felt ready to transition to a doctorate.

Fiona is passionate about ensuring that Australian Indigenous knowledge is studied and recorded, so that its insights can shape policy and guidelines at home and abroad.

'There's very limited information out there. When I did the literature review, I could only find a couple of papers where they had used traditional ways for birthing – so rolling bub in ash and then the smoking ceremony.

'We've got a lot of different Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander nations across Australia, and each nation do things differently.'

The Marquill Foundation funding has allowed Fiona to deeply engage with the network of Victorian Aboriginal health centres, and realise her research vision.

'A lot of Aboriginal mature-aged students will think twice about doing a PhD in the first place, because well, who's going to pay for the bills?'

The Marquill Foundation created the scholarship to recognise the value of real-world experience to informing applied nutrition research.

'It is often more challenging financially and otherwise to embark on a PhD at a later stage of life when a student is likely to have more commitments than someone who is embarking on a PhD directly after finishing an undergraduate program. These PhD candidates bring their experience from other walks of life and work experience.'

Fiona will continue her community engagement and data gathering throughout the year, with a view to finalise her thesis in 2025. Ideas for future research, driven by a desire to inform government policy and positively impact community care are already forming illuminated by that lightbulb moment at the beginning of her PhD.

'Let’s get the evidence out there so that care can be better.'