Briony Hill (Glidden) completed her PhD in Health Psychology in 2015 at Deakin University, Australia, exploring a psychosocial and behaviour change approach to preventing excessive gestational weight gain. For her thesis, she was awarded an Alfred Deakin Medal for Doctoral Thesis and an Australian Psychological Society (APS) Health College Award for Excellent Higher Degree Thesis in Health Psychology. Briony received an Alfred Deakin Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in 2016 and is currently an NHMRC Early Career Fellow (2016-2021) in the area of preconception wellbeing based in the Health and Social Care Unit, School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine.

Briony's research interests include maternal wellbeing - in particular, encouraging healthy weight, obesity prevention, and healthy lifestyle behaviours before (preconception), during (antenatal) and after pregnancy (postpartum). Briony also has a strong interest in health behaviour change and psychosocial wellbeing (including depressive, anxiety and stress symptoms, body image, and coping skills) and understanding the mechanisms that lead to the attainment of healthy lifestyles and weight for women during their reproductive years. She also applies an Ecological Systems Theory lens to her research to recognise the broader impacts on weight management and lifestyle health that extend through the community, society and government. As part of this work, Briony is one of only a small handful of researchers globally, pursuing research to understand how we can minimise weight stigma at all levels to reduce the burden and blame on women across the reproductive life phase; she is the first researcher globally to begin exploring this topic in preconception women. She is an advocate for co-design methods in her research, to ensure relevant stakeholders have their say in the development and implementation of interventions to meet their needs.

Briony's PhD students are central to this work: Ms Pragya Kandel is exploring the motivations for lifestyle behaviour change among preconception women. Ms Seonad Madden (Universty of Tasmania in collaboration with Monash University) is co-designing the first ever workplace digital health promotion intervention to asisst working women across the preconception, pregnancy and postpartum periods with their health and wellbeing.

Briony is currently supervising students across the field of health in preconception and pregnancy (HIPP), with a focus on weight stigma, lifestyle, behaviour change, and psychosocial wellbeing. Enquiries for PhD supervision are welcome.