Professor Caroline Miller

Professor Caroline Miller is the Director of the Health Policy Centre at SAHMRI. She is also an NHMRC Emerging Leadership Fellow 2 at the University of Adelaide. Caroline is qualified in Psychology, Economics and Public Health.

The Health Policy Centre undertakes research in public health prevention - specialising in tobacco control, obesity prevention, COVID-19 policy and alcohol. The Centre delivers timely and relevant evidence to inform public health policy decision-making, social marketing campaigns, and other public health interventions to change health behaviours and reduce the preventable burdens of disease.

Caroline has specialised in tobacco control for over 25 years. She was one of a select group of scientists advising the Australian Government on world-leading tobacco plain packaging laws. She led elements and contributed to the larger research program which underpinned the law, and its defence against international legal challenges. She established and leads the Tobacco Control Research + Evaluation program which undertakes population monitoring, research and evaluation in all aspects of tobacco control, including vaping.

Caroline leads an NHMRC-funded program of public health research in obesity prevention, with a specialist focus on ultra-processed foods and beverages, including sugar sweetened and non-sugar sweetened beverages. She has specialist expertise in labelling and is currently investigating added sugar labels and consumer warning labels for beverages. The Centre also has research interests in weight-related stigma.

The Centre has specialist expertise in health communication and social marketing campaigns. Caroline's doctoral studies were in social marketing. The Centre brings decades of experience in tobacco control campaigns, and recent experience in alcohol and maternal health.

Currently the Centre includes a COVID-19 Analytics Unit providing rapid evidence syntheses, mathematical modelling and strategic advice to support Australian responses to COVID-19.

Previously the Centre has undertaken research investigating the unmet psychological needs and help-seeking in adolescents; psychosocial needs of people who have been diagnosed with cancer; and Patient Reported Outcome Measures (PROMs) in cancer.

Caroline leads SAHMRI’s Community and Consumer Engagement strategy.

She is Vice President (Policy) Public Health Association of Australia, board member of Obesity Australia, and Council Member Australian New Zealand Obesity Society (ANZOS).

Career highlights include:

• Over 120 peer-reviewed publications and 180 reports for government.
• CIA on $14m of competitive funding, with $26m awarded overall
• NHMRC Emerging Leadership Fellow (EL2) and past NHMRC CDF1
• Heart Foundation Future Leader Fellow (past)
• Cancer Council Principal Research Fellow (past)
• Doctoral Research Medal for PhD in Medicine (Public Health)
• Executive Dean's Award for Research Excellence (mid-career)
• Australian Government National Expert Reference Group on Tobacco (past)
• Australian Government Expert Committee on Tobacco Plain Packaging (past)
• Chair, Cancer Council Australia and National Heart Foundation Tobacco Issues Committee (past)
• Research Advisory Committee, National Breast Cancer Foundation (past)
• SA Premier's Taskforce Healthy Kid's Menus (past)