Kalinda Griffiths

Indigenous health researcher

2011 NT Young Australian of the Year

An Indigenous women born in Darwin of Yawuru, Indonesian and Welsh heritage, Kalinda Griffiths’ interest in Indigenous health stems from witnessing the preventable illness and disease suffered by her immediate and extended family. At the age of 17, she began her career in Indigenous health research with a CRCAH laboratory traineeship. She gained experience as a research technician, predominantly on the Diabetes and Related conditions in the Urban Indigenous Darwin (DRUID) study, the largest and most comprehensive dataset on diabetes-related conditions in urban Indigenous populations. More recently her research has been working to improve the evidence base for Indigenous health and social policy which will ultimately help reduce the health disadvantage faced by Indigenous people. She is analysing large sets of data to determine the difference in rates of cancer survival between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. Until now there have been no statistics on cancer in Indigenous people. Kalinda has also become a strong voice for Indigenous women, particularly in the area of health. In 2009, she was selected to attend the Oxfam Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Women’s Strait Talk Summit where she discussed Indigenous women’s issues with federal parliamentarians. Kalinda is determined to help improve the health of Indigenous Australians through ensuring equality.