Jane Oliver
BMLSc, PGDipMLSc (Credit), MHealSc (Distinction), PhD
Senior Research Officer
jane.oliver@thekids.org.au
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jane-oliver-0b01ab120/Dr Jane Oliver is a scientist at The Kids Research Institute Australia. She is an Adjunct Research Fellow at the University of Western Australia and has an honorary role at the University of Melbourne. Her research addresses multiple public health issues, including infectious diseases and the impact of socio-environmental factors on health outcomes.
Dr Oliver’s major research interest is the control and prevention of rheumatic heart disease (RHD). As a Senior Research Officer, she holds an integral role within the End Rheumatic Heart Disease program, which aims to eradicate this potentially life-threatening disease. Dr Oliver is currently running several clinical trials evaluating a novel treatment option for RHD prophylaxis in partnership with Aboriginal communities. She is privileged to work closely with Aboriginal collaborators and mentors, including acclaimed Elders and community members with firsthand experience of RHD.
Dr Oliver’s focus on addressing RHD began with her University of Otago master’s degree (2013), when she was funded by the New Zealand Ministry of Health to evaluate the rheumatic fever surveillance sector. Recommendations from her thesis continue to guide national reporting today. Her doctorate (University of Otago, 2018) revealed novel risk factors for RHD and refined major prevention interventions. Her doctoral findings guide global RHD prevention efforts, particularly regarding antibiotic stewardship.
As a Postdoctoral Fellow based jointly at the University of Melbourne and Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, Dr Oliver applied her epidemiological and qualitative skillsets to reveal ongoing morbidity from Strep A diseases. Australian health departments responded by making invasive Strep A disease nationally notifiable, and making ARF and RHD notifiable in Victoria. Other infectious disease research which Dr Oliver oversaw provided insights into Buruli ulcer transmission pathways, informing the Victorian epidemic response. Her COVID-19 diagnostic studies enhanced testing early in the pandemic, and later qualitative research guided national vaccine communications. Findings from her community co-designed evaluation of a COVID-19 health promotion program helped to establish the Community Connectors initiative, which works to enhance social housing residents’ access to services.
Dr Oliver has been based at The Kids Research Institute since early 2024, continuing her focus on reducing suffering from RHD. Her research program has received multiple awards, including the 2014 New Zealand Prime Ministers’ Science Prize, the 2023 Liley Medal and a Finalist placing in the 2024 Australian Museum Eureka Prizes.