Australian Government, Australian Institute of Family Studies

Investigators

The project began in 1983 as an interdisciplinary collaboration between researchers from the fields of Paediatrics and Psychology, namely Frank Oberklaid (Royal Children's Hospital), Margot Prior and Ann Sanson (then based at La Trobe University). Diana Smart joined the research team in 1988 and was the Project Manager until 2007. As the children entered the teenage years, John Toumbourou, an adolescent researcher and psychologist from the Royal Children's Hospital Centre for Adolescent Health, joined the team. As the cohort neared adulthood, the Australian Institute of Family Studies became a major collaborator in the project, and is now housing the project and taking the leading role in it. Suzanne Vassallo joined the Australian Temperament Project research team in 2001 and is now the Project Manager.

Project Manager

Principal Investigators

Other Investigators

Ms Suzanne Vassallo is a Research Fellow at the Australian Institute of Family Studies and the Project Manager of the study. Suzanne has worked at the Institute since 2001, working predominantly on the Australian Temperament Project and research related to parenting, family relationships, and child development. More recently, Suzanne has been involved in the development of the Family Pathways study (a new longitudinal study of separated families in Australia). Prior to working at the Institute, Suzanne was employed as a Research Fellow in the School of Psychology at Deakin University. Suzanne has a Masters degree in Clinical Psychology.

Mrs Diana Smart is a General Manager (Research) at the Australian Institute of Family Studies with responsibility for the Australian Temperament Project and Growing Up in Australia: the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children. She joined the Growing Up In Australia study in 2007 after a long association with the Australian Temperament Project as the Project Manager. Prior to this, Diana conducted research for the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology’s Education Unit and the Victorian Education Department’s Curriculum and Research Branch, and was a Lecturer in Psychology at Rusden State College (now part of Deakin University). Diana has an MA in Psychology and a Diploma of Education.

Professor Ann Sansonis a Professor in Paediatrics at the University of Melbourne and the Network Coordinator for the Australian Research Alliance for Children and Youth (ARACY). She is a developmental psychologist whose main research interests revolve around the interplay of intrinsic child characteristics and family and contextual factors in the development of good and poor psychosocial adjustment. Ann has been an investigator on the Australian Temperament Project since its inception in 1983. She is also the Principal Scientific Advisor for Growing Up in Australia: the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children, a new longitudinal study of 10,000 Australian children. Ann's previous positions include Acting Director at the Australian Institute of Family Studies. Ann has a PhD in Psychology and over 160 publications, and is a Fellow of the Australian Psychological Society.

Professor John Toumbourou is Professor and Chair in Health Psychology at Deakin University and a Senior Research Fellow within the Murdoch Children's Research Institute at the Centre for Adolescent Health, Royal Children's Hospital. As well as being a principal investigator on the Australian Temperament Project, John is a leading investigator on the International Youth Development study (a collaborative longitudinal study with the University of Washington), and has been involved in the development of a number of youth health promotion programs. John has a PhD in Psychology and is a founding member and the current Chair of the College of Health Psychologists within the Australian Psychological Society.

Professor Margot Prioris a member of the Departments of Psychology and Paediatrics at the University of Melbourne. She is a Fellow of the Academy of the Social Sciences of Australia and of the Australian Psychological Society. She began her career in developmental and clinical psychology in the 1970s, and has taught psychology at La Trobe, Monash and Melbourne universities. From 1994 to 2002 she was Director of Psychology at the Royal Children's Hospital. Margot has a PhD in Psychology and has been an investigator on the Australian Temperament Project since its inception.

Professor Frank Oberklaidis a paediatrician and Director of the University of Melbourne's Centre for Community Child Health, located at the Royal Children's Hospital. He is the author of numerous publications on children's development and has received state, national and international awards, lectureships and visiting professorships, including a Medal in the Order of Australia in 1998. He has an MD and has been an investigator on the Australian Temperament Project since its commencement.