Professor Caroline Miller is the Director of the Health Policy Centre at SAHMRI. She is also an NHMRC Emerging Leadership Fellow, Heart Foundation Future Leader Fellow and Beat Cancer Principal Research Fellow at the University of Adelaide. Caroline is qualified in Psychology. Economics and Public Health.

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

Caroline is most known for her work in tobacco control, in which she has specialised for over 20 years. She was one of a select group of research 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.

The Health Policy Centre has specialist expertise in developmental research and evaluation for social marketing campaigns, with comprehensive support strategies in community settings. The Centre brings decades of experience in tobacco control campaigns and recent experience in alcohol and maternal health.

Caroline is currently leading a program of research applying a public health framework to the issue of obesity prevention, with a specialist focus on over-consumption of ultra-processed foods and beverages, including sweetened and artificially-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.

Currently the Centre is leading a COVID-19 Analytics Unit providing rapid evidence syntheses and strategic advice to support South Australian and 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, and Council Member Australian New Zealand Obesity Society.

Highlights of her career include:

• Over 100 peer-reviewed publications, 130 conference presentations and 130 reports for government.
• CIA on $11.5m of competitive funding, with $19m awarded overall research projects
• NHMRC Emerging Leadership Fellow (EL2) and past CDF1
• Heart Foundation Future Leader Fellow
• Cancer Council SA Principal Research Fellow
• Doctoral Research Medal for PhD in Medicine (Public Health)
• Executive Dean's Award for Research Excellence (mid-career)
• Council Member, Aus NZ Obesity Society
• Vice President (Policy), Public Health Assn of Australia
• Member National Expert Reference Group on Tobacco
• Past member Research Advisory Committee, National Breast Cancer Foundation
• Past member Australian Expert Committee on Tobacco Plain Packaging
• Past chair of Cancer Council Australia and National Heart Foundation Tobacco Issues Committee
• Past member, Premier's Taskforce Healthy Kid's Menus