I am a field epidemiologist with 28 years experience in applied public health research. I have a particular interest in the epidemiology and prevention of skin cancer (particularly pigmented moles and melanoma) and finding "real-world" solutions to public health problems with a view to reducing morbidity and mortality in Queensland's high-risk population. I am the Director and Principal Research Fellow of  JCU's Skin Cancer Research Unit (located Ground floor of the Townsville Hospital), and hold an Adjunct Associate Professor position in the University of Southern Queensland's Faculty of Health, Engineering and Sciences.

My doctoral research focused primarily on the relevance of childhood sun exposure in the aetiology of pigmented moles (the major phenotypic risk-factor for melanoma), and culminated in manuscripts that were pulished in The Lancet and the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. Over the past 17 years, I have directed several RCTs and community-based skin cancer prevention interventions. I have attracted over $5 million in research funding and have 100 peer-reviewed publications depite having worked mainly part-time for family reasons since 2002. I am a member of several influential committees including the Queensland Skin Cancer Prevention Alliance, Queensland Health; School uniform advisory panel, Procurement Branch, Education Queensland; and the Australian Standards Technical Committee TX-021, responsible for revising the Australian and New Zealand Standard for the Evaluation and Classification of sun-protective clothing (AS/NZ 4399:2017).

Interests

Professional

• Epidemiology

Research

• Melanocytic naevi (pigmented moles)
• Health Effects of Ultraviolet Radiation
• Population-based studies of Vitamin D levels
• reproducibility and accuracy of serum vitamin D assays
• sun-protective clothing
• Shade estimation
• Marine envenomation
• Box jellyfish
• Carukia Barnesi
• Chironex fleckeri
• Coastal drowning
• Surf lifesaving resuscitation success
• marine envenomation
• evaluation and classification schemes for personal sun-protection products
• sunscreen
• photoprotection
• non-melanocytic skin cancers
• melanoma
• sun-protection
• melanogenesis
• cancer epidemiology
• translational research
• child health
• midwifery
• population health
• longitudinal studies
• RCT

Research Disciplines

• Epidemiology (4202)
• Public health (4206)

Awards

• 2009 - Regional (NQ) Winner of Queensland Government’s inaugural Healthy Queensland Awards (Healthy Communities)
• 2007 - Cancer Council Queensland International travel fellowship
• 2000 - Cancer Council Queensland Allied Health Professionals Oncology Group International travel fellowship
• 1995 - Queensland Cancer Fund International travel fellowship
• 2007 to 2009 - Cancer Council Queensland John McCaffrey Cancer Prevention & Control Research NQ Fellowship

Fellowships

• 1999 - Fellow of the Australasian College of Tropical Medicine

Memberships

• 2014 - Australian Health Promotion Association
• 2012 - Centre for Research Excellence in Sun and Health Research Affiliate
• 2007 - International Union for Health Promotion and Education

Other

• 2015 - Associate Professor (Adjunct), University of Southern Queensland, Faculty of Health, Engineering and Science.
• 2014 - Associate Editor, Frontiers in Public Health (Radiation & Health Section)
• 2012 to 2015 - Associate Professor QUT (Institute of Health & Biomedical Innovation - Sun and Health Lab)
• 1994 to 2002 - Consultant Epidemiologist/ Biostatistician for Surf Lifesaving Australia

These are the most recent publications associated with this author. To see a detailed profile of all publications stored at JCU, visit ResearchOnline@JCU. Hover over Altmetrics badges to see social impact.

Journal Articles

• Barsoum R and Harrison S (2020) Clinical characteristics in early childhood associated with a nevus-prone phenotype in adults from tropical Australia: two decades of follow-up of the Townsville preschool cohort study. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17 (22), Article: 8680, DOI:10.3390/ijerph17228680.
• Briceno L, Harrison S, Heal C, Kimlin M and Paul G (2020) Parametric human modelling to determine body surface area covered by sun-protective clothing. Ergonomics, 63 (3), pp. 293-306, DOI:10.1080/00140139.2019.1699952.
• Dexter B, King R, Parisi A, Harrison S, Konovalov D and Downs N (2020) Keratinocyte skin cancer risks for working school teachers: scenarios and implications of the timing of scheduled duty periods in Queensland, Australia. Journal of Photochemistry and Photobiology B: Biology, 213, Article: 112046, DOI:10.1016/j.jphotobiol.2020.112046.
• Dexter B, King R, Harrison S, Parisi A and Downs N (2019) A pilot observational study of environmental summertime health risk behavior in central Brisbane, Queensland: opportunities to raise sun protection awareness in Australia's sunshine state. Photochemistry and Photobiology, 95 (2), pp. 650-655, DOI:10.1111/php.13011.
• Downs N, Baldwin L, Parisi A, Butler H, Vanos J, Beckman M and Harrison S (2019) Comparing the annualised dynamic shade characteristics of twenty-one tree canopies across twenty-six municipalities in a high ambient UV climate, Queensland - Australia. Applied Geography, 108, pp. 74-82, DOI:10.1016/j.apgeog.2019.05.006.
• Downs N, Igoe D, Parisi A, Taylor O, Lazzaroni S, Rawlings A, Garzón-Chavez D and Harrison S (2019) Seasonal minimum and maximum solar ultraviolet exposure measurements of classroom teachers residing in tropical North Queensland, Australia. Photochemistry and Photobiology, 95 (4), pp. 1083-1093, DOI:10.1111/php.13081.
• Parisi A, Amar A, Downs N, Igoe D, Harrison S and Turner J (2019) Development of a model for calculating the solar ultraviolet protection factor of small to medium sized built shade structures. Building and Environment, 147, pp. 415-421, DOI:10.1016/j.buildenv.2018.10.010.
• Serna-Higuita L, Harrison S, Buttner P, Glasby M, Raasch B, Iftner A, Garbe C, Martus P and Iftner T (2019) Modifiable risk-factors for keratinocyte cancers in Australia: a case-control study. Acta Dermato-Venereologica, 99 (4), pp. 404-411, DOI:10.2340/00015555-3107.
• Swaminathan A, Harrison S, Ketheesan N, van den Boogaard C, Dear K, Allen M, Hart P, Cook M and Lucas R (2019) Exposure to solar UVR suppresses cell-mediated immunization responses in humans: the Australian Ultraviolet Radiation and Immunity Study. Journal of Investigative Dermatology, 139 (7), pp. 1545-1553.e6, DOI:10.1016/j.jid.2018.12.025.
• Barrett F, Usher K, Woods C, Harrison S, Nikles J and Conway J (2018) Sun protective behaviors at an outdoor entertainment event in Australia. Nursing and Health Sciences, 20 (1), pp. 132-138, DOI:10.1111/nhs.12396.
• Downs N and Harrison S (2018) A comprehensive approach to evaluating and classifying sun-protective clothing. British Journal of Dermatology, 178 (4), pp. 958-964, DOI:10.1111/bjd.15938.

Conference Papers

• Briceno L, Harrison S and Paul G (2018) Towards parametric modelling of skin cancer risk: estimation of body surface area covered by protective clothing using base mesh modelling. Proceedings of the 20th Congress of the International Ergonomics Association (IEA 2018). 26-30 August 2018, Florence, Italy

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ResearchOnline@JCU stores 82+ research outputs authored by Dr Simone Harrison from 2000 onwards.

Current and recent Research Funding to JCU is shown by funding source and project.

Advisory Accreditation: I can be on your Advisory Panel as a Primary or Secondary Advisor.

These Higher Degree Research projects are either current or by students who have completed their studies within the past 5 years at JCU. Linked titles show theses available within ResearchOnline@JCU.

Current

• Evaluation of an Intervention to Increase the Body Surface Coverage of Summer School Uniforms in Queensland (PhD , Primary Advisor)

Completed

• Living life in the sun: using the Prototype Willingness Model to explain incidental sun exposure in a high-risk environment (2016, PhD , Secondary Advisor)
• A cross-sectional analysis of the sun-protective behaviours and policies at primary schools in north and far north Queensland (2017, PhD , Primary Advisor)

The map shows research collaborations by institution from the past 7 years.
Note: Map points are indicative of the countries or states that institutions are associated with.