Associate Professor Karen Hazell-Raine is an emerging leader in perinatal, infant and early childhood mental health research with a strong track record relative to opportunity. With near four decades of real-world mental health experience, Karen is equipped with a high level of research and education translation capability. She is a Registered Nurse, has a PhD in Medicine (Psychiatry) and Master’s Degrees in both Counselling (Psychotherapy) and Mental Health (Infant).

Associate Professor Hazell-Raine’s research interests are inspired through extensive clinical experience and interdisciplinary research, learning and teaching. Her work is founded on understanding that parental personality, mental health and the emotional quality of early relational experiences (from conception to age five) shape brain development and establish pathways of health, interpersonal wellbeing, education and career capabilities across the lifespan and future generations. In the spirit of aiming to simultaneously optimise both maternal/parental and child mental health, a particular focus of her work is to strengthen perinatal mental health screening and related service development centred on keeping mothers, their infant and family together through targeted care pathways. Associate Professor Hazell-Raine was awarded the Inaugural Elaine Tolley Medal for Mental Health Research for her Doctoral work.