Dr Jao Carminati is a Research Fellow at the Monash-Epworth Rehabilitation Research Centre, School of Psychological Sciences. She is a clinician-researcher focussed on understanding and supporting the functional, psychological, and cognitive rehabilitation of people with acquired brain injury (ABI). She has expertise in qualitiative, co-design, and translational research. 

Jao's doctoral research developed a psychometrically sound measure of cyberscam vulnerability for people with ABI, within the CYBERABILITY Project and funded by The auDA Foundation. She has led a world-first study quantitatively exploring prevalence rates and risk factors to cyberscams for people with ABI accross demographic, psychological, social, and cognitive domains, including longitudinal follow-up to predict scam risk.  

Other research work involves evaluating the implementation of a Positive Behaviour Support (PBS+PLUS) framework and supporting the training of neurorehabilitation clinicians in this approach. She is also involved in exploring experiences of suicidality and self-harm following ABI to inform the co-design of clinical resources to support people with ABI and clinicians. 

Jao has several peer-reviewed publications and has presented at over 10 conferences. She regularly delivers community workshops within the disability sector regarding online vulnerability for people with ABI. Her work has been recognised through an Emerging Digital Health Researcher Award (2021). She has co-supervised two honours student projects. 

For more information about Jao's work, visit:

CYBERABILITY Project, including access to The CyberAbility Scale

PBS+PLUS Project

Publications