Dr. Stephanie Topp has a background in global public health, political and social sciences.  She is currently an Associate Professor of Global Health and Development in Discipline of Public Health and Tropical Medicine at James Cook University, and Honorary Principal Research Fellow at the Nossal Institute for Global Health at the University of Melbourne. Dr.Topp’s academic training reflects transdisciplinary interests spanning global health (PhD, University of Melbourne, 2014), development studies (MPhil, Oxford University, 2006) public health (MIPH, University of Sydney, 2004) and modern history (BA(Hons), University of Sydney, 2002).  Prior to joining JCU, she spent eight years living and working in Zambia, initially in public health policy and planning role with an international non-government organisation and subsequently as a research fellow.  Dr. Topp joined JCU in 2015 as Senior Lecturer and was promoted to Associate Professor on 1 January 2019.  

Dr. Topp’s research addresses political and power struggles that underpin inequitable access to health care and health outcomes. As a global public health, policy and systems researcher and current NHMRC fellow, she draws on theories and methodologies from the social sciences to identify the system-strengthening potential of adjustments to public health policy, governance and health workforce management (particularly in low-resource, remote and correctional settings) as well as the links between cultural health and wellbeing. Dr. Topp’s research has been widely cited in national and international policy, technical guidance and evidence synthesis reports from the World Health Organization, European Union, USAID, and governments in Australia and Finland.  Over the past five years Dr. Topp been chief investigator for competitive grants totalling $3.8 million including NHMRC, MRFF, CRC-NA and Canada's CIHR.  Also in the past five years, she has published 70 (career total 117) scholarly articles in field-leading journals including Lancet Global Health, BMJ Global Health and Social Science and Medicine, and presented at national and international conferences. Her success in communicating her research was recognised with a QLD Young Tall Poppy Award in 2019.

Dr. Topp has an exemplary teaching record having received Dean’s Awards for Teaching (2020) and Subject Excellence (2020) and a prestigious national Teaching Excellence Award from the Council of Academic Public Health Institutions of Australasia in 2022.  This award was one of only three annual awards commending high quality teaching and learning initiatives and inspirational influence in the field of public health.  At JCU Dr. Topp serves as co-course coordinator for the recently established Masters of Public Health – Masters of Development Studies, as well as Post Graduate Academic Advisor for a suite of 10 public health course offerings.  Instrumental to her success in leading course and subject design is a national and international reputation for scholarship in teaching. She has written chapters in a range of influential texts including the WHO-published Health Policy and Systems Research Reader on Human Resources for Health; Maxcy-Rosenau-Last Public Health and Preventive Medicine; and The Routledge Handbook of Global Development.  She has successfully guided and mentored four PhDs to timely completion, with a further five under supervision. Her leadership in mentoring and building research capacity was recognized as a featured guest on the WHO TDR's popular Global Health Matters Podcast in November 2022 discussing "Global Health Career Paths: Learn, Mentor, Practice, Repeat", an episode downloaded more than 2700 times on podcast platforms and YouTube.

Dr. Topp’s international reputation is demonstrated in senior leadership roles including as a member of the Board of Directors for Health Systems Global (2020-2024); and appointed Chair of the Programme Working Group for the 8th Global Symposium for Health Systems Research to be held in Nagasaki in 2024.  She is on the Editorial Board of academic journals BMJ Global Health and Social Science & Medicine: Health Systems, and regularly serves as expert reviewer for national and international grant agencies including NHMRC, South Africa’s Medical Research Council (MRC), Wellcome Trust, and UK National Institutes for Health Research (NIHR). 

ENGAGEMENT (Media, Blogs, Webinars)

• Sept 2022: UNSW Social Policy Research Centre Webinar: Aboriginal Cultural Governance in Health Research
• Aug 2022: Global Health Matters Podcast (WHO TDR): Global Health Career Paths: Learn, Mentor, Practice, Repeat.
• Jun 2022: Public Health Association of Australia - CDC Corner:  Questions of scope and governance: A northern Queensland perspective on the proposed Centre for Disease Control.  Blog. 
• Jun 2022: WHO-SYSTAC Initiative & University of Geneva:  Webinar - Health Systems Resilience: Framing Debates and Latest Evidence
• Jul 2022: Health Policy and Planning Blog:  Health Policy and Planning’s Top 10 Articles Contributing to the 2021 Impact Factor [Edelman [...] Topp SM (2021) Modified scoping review of the enablers and barriers to implementing primary health care in the COVID-19 context]
• Dec 2021: Bloomberg Press: Omicron, Delta pave the wave for a new super variant  Panel Discussion with Anja Trivedi, Bloomberg Opinion Columnist.
• Aug 2021: Health Policy and Planning Blog: Health Policy and Planning’s Top 10 Articles Contributing to the 2020 Impact Factor. [Sriram, Topp et al (2018) 10 Best Resources on Power in Health Policy and Systems in Low- and Middle-Income Countries]
• Apr 2021:  Bloomberg Press:  COVID isn't over, and the next wave may be worse.  Interview with David Fickling, 31 Mar 2021.
• Jul 2020: Health Systems Governance Collaborative Webinar - Towards Equity, Full Agency and Greater Cultural Awareness. Part of the Building the Reset initiative.
• Jul 2020: CRC NA Press Release:  The Northern Australia health service delivery situational analysis report is the first pan-northern assessment of issues and priorities for health service delivery.
• Feb 2020: International Health Politices: Power and politics: the case for linking resilience to health system governance.
• Jan 2019: Health Policy and Planning Blog: Top 10 Altmetric & Downloaded papers 2018 [Sriram, Topp et al (2018) 10 Best Resources on Power in Health Policy and Systems in Low- and Middle-Income Countries]
• Dec 2018: nam AIDSMap: Ten reasons people stop attending HIV care in Zambia
• Dec 2018: International Health Policies: Social Science Researchers' Musings on Power and Health Systems.
• Aug 2018: JCU Brighter: Buying power: What's trendy for international health donors.

Teaching

• TM5502: Tropical Public Health (Level 5; TSV)
• TM5552: Global Health and Development (Level 5; TSV)
• TM5578: Emerging Public Health Threats: Navigating Systems and Responses (Level 5; TSV)
• TM5600: Introduction to One Health (Level 5; TSV)

Interests

Professional

• Programme Chair: Global Health Systems Research Symposium 2024 (HSR2024)
• Board of Directors: Health Systems Global (2020 - 2024)
• Editorial Board: Social Science & Medicine Health Systems (2023-ongoing)
• Associate Editor, Health Systems: BMJ Global Health (2016-ongoing)
• Member: WHO Strategic and Technical Advisory Group of Experts (STAGE) for maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health and nutrition (MNCAHN)
• Expert Reviewer: UK National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Evaluation, Trials and Studies Coordinating Centre (2014-ongoing)
• External Advisory Group: Optimizing Momentum Toward Sustainable Epidemic Control program, ICAP at Columbia (2017-2020)
• Co-Chair: Social Sciences Thematic Working Group, Health Systems Global (2017-2021)
• Expert Panel: STOP TB Key & Vulnerable Population Guides / and Guides to Effective Case Finding (2015-2018)
• Publication Mentor (2018): WHO Alliance for Health Systems and Policy Research - Women in Publication mentorship scheme

Teaching

• Course Coordinator: Masters Public Health - Masters Global Development, MPH-MGD (2022-ongoing)
• Post Graduate Academic Advisor: Public Health and Tropical Medicine (2019-ongoing)

Experience

• 2020 to 2022 - Consultant, World Health Organization (Townsville / Geneva)
• 2019 - Associate Professor, James Cook University (Townsville)
• 2017 to 2019 - Consultant, University of North Carolina (UNC) (Townsville / Malawi)
• 2015 to 2018 - Senior Lecturer, James Cook University (Townsville)
• 2017 - Consultant, World Health Organisation (Townsville / Myanmar)
• 2012 to 2015 - Visiting Assistant Professor, University of Alabama (Birmingham) (Zambia)
• 2008 to 2010 - Program Manager, Centre for Infectious Disease Research in Zambia (Zambia)

Research Disciplines

• Health services and systems (4203)
• Public health (4206)
• Policy and administration (4407)

Socio-Economic Objectives

• Evaluation of health and support services (2002)

Awards

• 2022 - Individual Teaching Excellence Award, Council of Academic Public Health Institutions of Australasia (CAPHIA)
• 2020 - Deans Awards for Teaching Excellence, and Subject Excellence, for Global Health and Development, College of Public Health Medical and Vet Sciences, James Cook University
• 2020 - Overall Discipline Winner, Award for Research Excellence, Public Health and Tropical Medicine
• 2019 - QLD Young Tall Poppy Award
• 2019 - Overall College Winner, Early Career Researcher Excellence, College of Public Health Medical and Vet Sciences, James Cook University
• 2018 - (Primary Investigator) JCU Rising Star Award - $15,000
• 2018 - (Co-Investigator) Learning & Teaching Grant - $9814 - Embedding Career Development in Post Graduate Public Health
• 2017 - (Co-Investigator) Learning & Teaching Grant - $9500 - Mapping the Post Graduate Journey
• 2017 - (Co-Investigator) Learning & Teaching Grant - $9857 - Transforming Assessment Practices In Public Health
• 2017 - (Lead) Research Consultancy - USD50,000 - WHO Myanmar, Development of Health Workforce Strategy 2018-2021
• 2017 - (Co-Investigator) Learning & Teaching Grant - $2650 - External Peer Review of Teaching, TM5502 Tropical Public Health
• 2004 to 2006 - NSW Rhodes Scholar

Fellowships

• 2020 to 2025 - NHMRC Investigator Award (EL) ($561,000)
• 2019 - Hot North Career Development Fellowship ($90,000)
• 2013 - Emerging Voices for Global Health, Institute for Tropical Medicine (ITM), Antwerp.
• 2011 to 2012 - Doctoral Fellowship, Population Council Zambia
• 2007 to 2008 - HIVCorps Fellow, Centre for Infectious Disease Research in Zambia

Memberships

• 2012 to 2020 - Health Systems Global
• 2008 to 2020 - International AIDS Society

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

• Allen T, Crouch A, Russell T and Topp S (2023) Factors influencing the community participation approaches used in Aedes mosquito management in the Torres Strait, Australia. BMC Public Health, 23.
• Bennett E, Topp S and Moodie A (2023) National Public Health Surveillance of Corporations in Key Unhealthy Commodity Industries – A Scoping Review and Framework Synthesis. International Journal of Health Policy and Management, 12.
• Beres L, Mwamba C, Bolton-Moore C, Kennedy C, Simbeza S, Topp S, Sikombe K, Mukamba N, Mody A, Schwartz S, Geng E, Holmes C, Sikazwe I and Denison J (2023) Trajectories of re-engagement: factors and mechanisms enabling patient return to HIV care in Zambia. Journal of the International AIDS Society, 26 (2).
• Smith H, Herce M, Mwila C, Chisenga P, Yenga C, Chibwe B, Mai V, Kashela L, Nanyagwe M, Hatwiinda S, Moonga C, Musheke M, Lungu Y, Sikazwe I and Topp S (2023) Experiences of Justice-Involved People Transitioning to HIV Care in the Community After Prison Release in Lusaka, Zambia: A Qualitative Study. Global Health Science and Practice, 11 (2).
• Topp S, Thompson F, Johnston K, Smith D, Edelman A, Whittaker M, Rouen C, Moodley N, McDonald M, Barker R and Larkins S (2023) Democratising data to address health system inequities in Australia. BMJ Global Health, 8.
• Bolton Moore C, Pry J, Mukumbwawenechanya M, Eshun-Wilson I, Topp S, Mwamba C, Roy M, Sohn H, Dowdy D, Padian N, Holmes C, Geng E and Sikazwe I (2022) A controlled study to assess the effects of a Fast Track (FT) service delivery model among stable HIV patients in Lusaka Zambia. PLOS Global Public Health, 2 (8).
• Dawes N and Topp S (2022) Challenges to managing quality of care in northern Queensland residential aged care facilities. Social Sciences and Humanities Open, 6.
• Dawes N and Topp S (2022) A qualitative study of senior management perspectives on the leadership skills required in regional and rural Australian residential aged care facilities. BMC Health Services Research, 22.
• Dawes N and Topp S (2022) Senior manager leadership competencies for quality residential aged care: an Australian industry perspective. BMC Health Services Research, 22.
• Edelman A, Taylor J, Ovseiko P, Larkins S and Topp S (2022) The population health role of academic health centres: a multiple-case exploratory study in Australia and England. Health Policy, 126. pp. 1051-1061
• Haakenstad A, Irvine C, Knight M, Bintz C, Aravkin A, Zheng P, Gupta V, Abrigo M, Abushouk A, Adebayo O, Agarwal G, Alahdab F, Al-Aly Z, Alam K, Alanzi T, Alcalde-Rabanal J, Alipour V, Alvis-Guzman N, Amit A, Andrei C, Andrei T, Antonio C, Arabloo J, Aremu O, Ayanore M, Banach M, Barnighausen T, Barthelemy C, Bayati M, Benzian H, Berman A, Bienhoff K, Bijani A, Bikbov B, Biondi A, Boloor A, Busse R, Butt Z, Camera L, Campos-Nonato I, Cardenas R, Carvalho F, Chansa C, Chattu S, Chattu V, Chu D, Dai X, Dandona L, Dandona R, Dangel W, Daryani A, De Neve J, Dhimal M, Dipeolu I, Djalalinia S, Do H, Doshi C, Doshmangir L, Ehsani-Chimeh E, El Tantawi M, Fernandes E, Fischer F, Foigt N, Fomenkov A, Foroutan M, Fukumoto T, Fullman N, Gad M, Ghadiri K, Ghafourifard M, Ghashghaee A, Glucksman T, Goudarzi H, Das Gupta R, Hamadeh R, Hamidi S, Haro J, Hasanpoor E, Hay S, Hegazy M, Heibati B, Henry N, Hole M, Hossain N, Househ M, Ilesanmi O, Imani-Nasab M, Irvani S, Islam S, Jahani M, Joshi A, Kalhor R, Kayode G, Khalid N, Khatab K, Kisa A, Kochhar S, Krishan K, Defo B, Lal D, Lami F, Larsson A, Leasher J, LeGrand K, Lim L, Mahotra N, Majeed A, Maleki A, Manjunatha N, Massenburg B, Mestrovic T, Mini G, Mirica A, Mirrakhimov E, Mohammad Y, Mohammed S, Mokdad A, Morrison S, Naghavi M, Ndwandwe D, Negoi I, Negoi R, Ngunjiri J, Nguyen C, Nigatu Y, Onwujekwe O, Ortega-Altamirano D, Otstavnov N, Otstavnov S, Owolabi M, Pakhare A, Pepito V, Perico N, Pham H, Pigott D, Pokhrel K, Rabiee M, Rabiee N, Rahimi-Movaghar V, Rawaf D, Rawaf S, Rawal L, Remuzzi G, Renzaho A, Resnikoff S, Rezaei N, Rezapour A, Rickard J, Roever L, Sahu M, Samy A, Sanabria J, Santric-Milicevic M, Saraswathy S, Seedat S, Senthilkumaran S, Servan-Mori E, Shaikh M, Sheikh A, Silva D, Stein C, Stein D, Titova M, Topp S, Tovani-Palone M, Ullah S, Unnikrishnan B, Vacante M, Valdez P, Vasankari T, Venketasubramanian N, Vlassov V, Vos T, Yearwood J, Yonemoto N, Younis M, Yu C, Zadey S, Bin Zaman S, Zerfu T, Zhang Z, Ziapour A, Zodpey S, Lim S, Murray C and Lozano R (2022) Measuring the availability of human resources for health and its relationship to universal health coverage for 204 countries and territories from 1990 to 2019: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019. Lancet, 399 (10341). pp. 2129-2154
• Mirzoev T, Topp S, Afifi R, Fadlallah R, Obi F and Gilson L (2022) Conceptual framework for systemic capacity strengthening for health policy and systems research. BMJ Global Health, 7 (8).

More

ResearchOnline@JCU stores 118+ research outputs authored by A/Prof Stephanie Topp from 2010 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

• The Engagement and Participation of Faith based Organizations in the Health System Reforms in Soloman Islands (PhD , Secondary Advisor)
• Evaluating the impact of hospital pharmacists on a health equity agenda in a regional Australian setting - more than just the medicines. (PhD , Secondary Advisor)
• An Investigation on the Impacts of Social Exclusion on the Health and Well-being of Niger Delta Communities in Nigeria (PhD , Primary Advisor/AM/Adv)
• Variance in Policy Adoption in the Pacific: The case for Context-Specific NCD Prevention and Control Measures and the role of the NCD Best Buys (PhD , Primary Advisor)
• Strengthening community empowerment approaches to Aedes species mosquito management in a high-income country setting: comparative case studies within Queensland, Australia. (PhD , Primary Advisor)

Completed

• Senior manager leadership competencies to promote and protect Australian residential aged care quality of care (2022, PhD , Primary Advisor)
• Medicalised childbirth: variation in care and drivers of maternal health service provision in Queensland, Australia (2021, PhD , Secondary Advisor)
• The role of academic health centres in improving population health: a multiple-case study in Australia and England (2021, PhD , Primary Advisor)
• Disparities in experiences of access to care for Australians with mental health conditions (2020, PhD , Secondary 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.