PhD Smoking and Vaping Cessation for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People

This Indigenous-led national research project evaluates a mailed-out smoking and vaping cessation intervention for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adolescents and adults.

Exciting PhD Opportunities for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Students

Are you an Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander student passionate about health equity, tobacco control, and making a real-world impact in your community?

Join Professor Michelle Kennedy and her research team at the University of Newcastle to undertake a fully funded PhD as part of the Which Way? Quit Pack project, the largest national smoking and vaping cessation trial ever conducted with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

Scholarship Package – Valued at $77,352 per annum:

• $52,352 Stipend – Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Research Scholarship (2025 rate, indexed annually), including tuition fees
• $20,000 Top-Up
• $5,000 Research Support

Applicants may also be eligible for a relocation reimbursement of up to $1,500.

Research Focus:

This Indigenous-led national research project evaluates a mailed-out smoking and vaping cessation intervention for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adolescents and adults. The PhD project will contribute to the implementation science and evaluation components of this program, which is grounded in principles of Indigenous data sovereignty, self-determination, and health equity.

Students will have the opportunity to develop a PhD study in partnership with community partners and may include;

• Evaluating the cultural and clinical effectiveness of combination nicotine replacement therapy (cNRT) delivered via mail
• Investigating barriers and enablers to quitting smoking and/or vaping through Indigenous-led qualitative and/or quantitative methods
• Embedding and advancing Indigenous methods and methodologies, including Yarning and Indigenous Quantitative Methodologies
• Contributing to advocacy for a national cessation support program through policy-relevant research outputs

Why Join Us?

• Work with Prof Michelle Kennedy, a nationally recognised Aboriginal researcher and leading voice in Indigenous tobacco control
• Be part of a collaborative, Aboriginal-led research team committed to community impact
• Build your capacity as an Indigenous research leader with access to expert supervision, professional development, and national policy engagement
• Contribute to transforming Australia’s approach to smoking and vaping cessation for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples

• Access exceptional mentorship, research support, and professional development opportunities both internally and externally through strong collaborations with leading Universities and the Aboriginal community-controlled health sector
• Contribute to real-world change in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health

We strongly encourage Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students with a commitment to community wellbeing and Indigenous research leadership to apply.

Start Date: Flexible
Location: University of Newcastle, NSW

Funding: Scholarship Package – Valued at $77,352 per annum: $52,352 Stipend – Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Research Scholarship (2025 rate, indexed annually), including tuition fees, $20,000 Top-Up $5,000 Research Support Applicants may also be eligible for a relocation reimbursement of up to $1,500.

Supervisor: Michelle Kennedy

Available to: Domestic students

Either PhD or MPhil

The applicant must be Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander and meet the minimum eligibility criteria  for admission.

Interested applicants should send an email expressing their interest along with scanned copies of their academic transcripts, CV, a brief statement of their research interests and a proposal that specifically links them to the research project.

Please send the email expressing interest to Emily.Princehorn@newcastle.edu.au by 5pm on 31 August 2025.