Samia’s research aims at identifying the best policy practice to improve outcomes, in particular health outcomes of populations experiencing disadvantage or systemic barriers in Australia and low-income countries. She uses quantitative data to estimate causal effects often drawing on very large and complex linked data. Her focus is on addressing the needs and policy implications that relate to people with disability in Australia.

She has worked on projects ranging from small-scale studies to large, multi-institutional, cross-disciplinary collaborations with government and international organisations, including the World Health Organization. These partnerships have often provided privileged access to key stakeholders, enabling effective dissemination of research and the meaningful involvement of people with disability early in the research process. Samia also shares her work through publications in high-quality,  high-impact academic journals, more accessible outlets such as The Conversation, presentations at conferences — particular those with a policy focus— and webinars targeted at policy practitioners, disability advocates, and researchers.

As a Chief Investigator, she has secured over $2 million in research funding across several projects in disability and informal caring. These include the creation of a (preference-based) measure to better understand the wellbeing of people with disability (the Disability Wellbeing Index or DWI) funded by the NDIA, the improvement of care-related payment assessment process (Department of Social Services), and the design of an algorithm to identify people with disability in linked administrative datasets (National Disability Data Asset, Pilot Case 5).  

Health Economics, Disability, Labour Economics, Development Economics