Global Utilities

La Trobe University
Institute for Human Security

and other affiliated members and research projects from across the university.

In 2009 the Institute for Human Security co-hosted a very successful conference on the Millennium Development Goals with ACFID (Australian Council for International Development), supported by AusAID (The Australian Agency for International Development), and we are continuing this cooperation with the Development Network, an interdisciplinary network for academics, practitioners and policy makers interested in international development.


Institute Members

Name Department / School Research Interests
Professor Dennis Altman Institute for Human Security (1) health security - esp. issues around HIV/AIDS (2) political security –- human rights, human security and HIV/AIDS
Dr. Luca Anceschi School of Social Sciences
Dr. Stefan  Auer School of Social Sciences
Dr. Tracey Banivanua Mar School of Historical and European Studies
Dr. Simon  Barraclough School of Public Health and Human Biosciences
Assoc. Prof Lee Ann Basser La Trobe Law School human rights, disability law and policy and children's rights
Professor Peter Beilharz School of Social Sciences sociology of culture
Assoc. Prof Ishaq Bhatti La Trobe Business School economic security
Professor Nick Bisley School of Social Sciences
Professor David Bradley School of Communication, Arts and Critical Enquiry (1) community and (2) personal security, concerning maintenance of minority languages and cultural identity.
Dr. Susan Bradley Smith School of Communication, Arts and Critical Enquiry
Dr. Daniel Bray School of Social Sciences Politics
Professor Andrew Brennan Philosophy, PVC (Grad Research)
Professor Judith Brett Head of School of Social Sciences
Ms. Emily Brink School of Public Health public health, community empowerment, social determinants of health and health policy 
Mr Trevor Budge School of Social Sciences
Assoc. Prof Philip Bull History
Dr. Mary Burston Faculty of Education responses and strategies to political conflict and resolution, legalities of detention, Indigenous issues
Professor Joseph Camilleri Director, Centre for Dialogue
Dr. Sue Chaplin RMIT University
Professor Jianfu Chen La Trobe Law School human rights, global trade (dealing with good governance and access to economic opportunity)
Dr. Michael Connors School of Social Sciences Thailand, democratisation, civil society-state relations, political and community security
Dr. Carol D'Cruz School of Social Sciences human rights issues pertaining to marginalized and minority groups
Dr. Mary Debrett School of Communication, Arts and Critical Enquiry media's social role
Dr. Rik  De Busser Research Centre for Linguistic Typology Post Doctoral Research Fellow
Professor Gary Dowsett Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society  (1) health security - HIV/AIDS (2) community security - sexuality education, training and capacity-building; (3) political security –- including sexual citizenship and human rights, homophobia and anti-gay violence
Ms. Rosemarie Edillon School Economics determinants of armed conflict in the Philippines
Dr. Cameron Earl La Trobe Rural Health School environmental health and food safety
Assoc. Prof Owen Evans Centre for Ergonomics and Human Factors occupational health in developing countries; legislation and their enforcement; community health
Dr. Rebecca Fanany School of Public Health and Human Biosciences
Dr. Helen Forbes-Mewett School of Social Sciences security of international students in Australia
Dr. Alice Garner School of Historical and European Studies
Ms. Jenny Gerrand History
Mr. Mohamed Razaak Ghani Displacement and identity in Sri Lanka
Professor Sandy Gifford Swinburne University
Dr. James Giles School of Communication, Arts and Critical Enquiry Taoism and human security
Dr. Deborah Gleeson School of Public Health and Human Biosciences ation health and inequalities in health, social and economic determinants of good health 
Dr. Zane Goebel School of Social Sciences social interaction and identity
Assoc. Prof Alberto  Gomes School of Social Sciences
Mrs. Sabrina Gupta School of Public Health and Human Biosciences
Dr. Claudia Haake School of Historical and European Studies forced migration, American Indians
Dr. Mark Harris La Trobe Law SchoolIndigenous rights, human rights, environmental justice and climate change, settler colonialism, and globalisation & sustainability
Dr. Nicola Henry School of Social Sciences human rights, gender, environment, reconciliation, post-conflict redress, trauma and memory 
Dr. Peta Heywood Faculty of Education
Dr. Gerhard  Hoffstaedter University of Queensland (1) community and (2) political security, esp. political Islam in Malaysia, state-civil society, identity politics, multiculturalism
Dr. Trevor Hogan School of Social Sciences
Dr. Robert Horvath School of Social Sciences
Dr. Rowan Ireland Honorary Associate, School of Social Sciences urban poverty, citizenship and democratic governance in Brazil
Professor Gavin Jack La Trobe Business School
Ms. Magda Karagiannakis La Trobe Law School Personal, Community and Political Security
Ms. Edmee Kenny
Professor John King School of Economics economic aspects of social security 
Mr. Andrew  Kingsford Politics
Professor Diane Kirkby School of Historical and European Studies
Professor Marilyn Lake School of Historical and European Studies
Professor Randy LaPolla  School of Communication, Arts and Critical Enquiry
Assoc. Prof Helen Lee School of Social Sciences remittances, Tonga, transnationalism, generational shift, youth, South-Pacific, political security
Assoc. Prof David Legge China Health Program political economy of global health, development assistance, macroeconomics, global governance, social movements, comparative health systems, food, human solidarity 
Dr. Jim  Leibold School of Social Sciences (1) community and (2) political security; Chinese nationalism, new media in China and identity
Ms. Meredith Louise Levi PhD candidate
Dr. Tania Lewis Sociology
Professor Vivian Lin School of Public Health and Human Biosciences
Dr. Chaojie (George) Liu School of Public Health and Human Biosciences
Dr. Norva Lo School of Communication, Arts and Critical Enquiry
Assoc. Prof Wendy Macdonald School of Public Health and Human Biosciences effects of globalisation on workers' health
Professor Robert Manne School of Social Sciences
Mr. Larry Marshall Centre for Dialogue
Dr. Jennifer Masters Faculty of Education cyber-safety, particularly for children and in the Education field
Professor Freya Mathews School of Communication, Arts and Critical Enquiry
Dr. Colleen McFarlane Victorian Foundation for Survivors of Torture
Dr. Marilyn McMahon Deakin University
Dr. Celia  McMichael
Dr. Stephen McNally Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health & Society
Dr. Wendy Mee School of Social Sciences
Dr. Michális S. Michael Centre for Dialogue
Dr. Aurelien Mondon University of Melbourne fascism, political theory, development Haiti, politics of development
Dr Stephen Morey Research Centre for Linguistic Typology
Mr. Andrew Scott Morrison Sociology and Anthropology Himan Rights and related  issues (e.g. political killings, prevalant crimes such as "hold-ups" and kidnapping for ransom, food security) 
Professor Charles Mott Centre for Dialogue
Associate Prof. Jillian Murray La Trobe Law School
Professor Tim Murray School of Historical and European Studies
Dr. Toula Nicolacopoulos School of Communication, Arts and Critical Enquiry
Mr Nikolaos Nikolopoulos La Trobe Rural Health School
equity and access to services for children with special needs and families
Assoc. Prof Mary Anne Noone La Trobe Law School impact that access to legal services (or lack of access) has on the enjoyment of “human rights, good governance and access to economic opportunity, education and health care”
Dr. Apollo Nsubuga-Kyobe Faculty of Business, Economics and Law African diaspora in Australia
Dr. Paula O'Brien University of Melbourne Health law, safety of the international food supply, global shortage of health care workers, right to health in international law
Mr. Anthony O'Donnell La Trobe Law School
Dr. Lola Akin Ojelabi La Trobe Law School conflict resolution, public international law, corporate social responsibility and access to economic opportunity and education
Assoc. Prof Kaori Okano School of Social Sciences  Community security, Enpowerment of the vulnerable through education (both institutional and community-based schooling), Education of the young and community as a means to prevent inter-group conflict
Dr. Michael O'Keefe School of Social Sciences
Dr. Eric Pardede Science, Technology and Engineering
Assoc. Prof Richard Pech Graduate School of Management understanding terrorist and criminal motives, psychological make-up of terrorists, religious and other types of contagion, structures used to achieve  goals
Dr. Svetlana  Petelina Science, Technology and Engineering modern climate change 
Professor Marian Pitts Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society
Dr. Anastasia Powell  School of Social Sciences violence against women, ‘gender-based violence’ (from violence prevention, policy, and health promotion perspectives), in both international and local contexts 
Ms. Brynna Rafferty-Brown
Ms. Melinda Rankin Politics Mary Kaldor's work; including an analysis of her contemporary work on New Wars, Global Civil Society and Human Security
Assoc. Prof Chris Roche Institute for Human Security development effectiveness
Dr. Larissa Sandy ARCSHS sex work in Southeast Asia, sex work regulations, labour migration and forced migration, contract labour, gender-based violence and gender and sexuality
Dr. Christopher Scanlon School of Communication, Arts and Critical Enquiry
Mr. Yusuf Sheik Omar Integration experiences based on youth perspectives: a comparative study of Somali youth in Melbourne, Australia and Minneapolis, USA
Assoc. Prof Rhonda  Small Mother & Child Health Research Migration and childbirth
Professor Anthony Smith Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society
Dr. Ramon Spaaij  Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
Professor Peta Tait Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences human rights and social justice in drama and theatre. 
Dr. John (Jack) Taylor School of Social Sciences
Dr. Savitri Taylor La Trobe Law School
Dr. Michael Taylor  Australian Institute for Primary Care human rights and health, chronic disease, Australia, public health
Dr. John Tebbutt School of Communication, Arts and Critical Enquiry ‘the war on terror’, media representation
Professor Janna Thompson School of Communication, Arts and Critical Enquiry
Dr. George Vassilacopoulos  School of Communication, Arts and Critical Enquiry
Ms. Jasmine Westendorf Politics peace, non-state actors
Dr. Raelene  Wilding School of Social Sciences migration
Dr. Brooke Wilmsen School of Social Sciences
Dr. David Wishart La Trobe Law School governance, particularly corporate governance, the interface of government and business, relations between indigenous and settler societies 
Dr. Patrick Wolfe School of Historical and European Studies settler colonialism
Dr. Shannon Woodcock School of Historical and European Studies genocide, Romani, Romanian and Albanian history; European social movements and discourses of human rights, feminism and sexuality in Romania and Albania. 
Assoc. Prof Suzanne Young La Trobe Business School
Dr. Edoardo Zamuner School of Communication, Arts and Critical Enquiry philosophy of emotions



Membership Inquiries

To become a member of the Institute for Human Security please email Professor Dennis Altmanwith a list of your research interests relating to human security.