Dr Lisa Wood is a research fellow at the Centre for the Built Environment and health, School of Population Health, at the University of Western Australia. She also has 18 years experience in public health campaigns, policy and programs, working with both government and non-government organisations nationally and across a range of health issues.

Lisa has a strong interest and commitment to research that is useful and relevant to the ‘real world’. Her PhD thesis examined the relationships between neighbourhoods and environments, social capital and health.

The role of pets as a facilitator of social capital and sense of community was explored as part of this study and has been subsequently published in two international journals. She as recently invited to present this research at an international scientific meeting on Human Animal Interactions auspiced by the National Institute of Health in the USA.

Other areas of research and public health activity include the built environment and neighbourhood design, mental health promotion, health inequalities, social determinants of health, tobacco, aboriginal health, domestic violence prevention and the translation of research into policy and practice.

Lisa’s lifetime ‘pet CV’ to date includes ‘Patches’, ‘Paddy’, ’Benson’ and ‘Bella’ (dogs); ‘Fluffy’ (a not very fluffy cat); ‘Cocky’ who flew away, the occasional goldfish and crazy crab!

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