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Associate Professor Suzanne Fraser

Suzanne Fraser Tel: +61 3 990 20322
Fax: +61 3 990 52410
Email: Suzanne.Fraser@monash.edu
Room W10.18 10th Floor
Building 11 (Menzies), Clayton Campus

Research
Publications
Grants
Professional Profile
Teaching
Postgraduate Supervision

Research

Suzanne's research focuses on the body, health, addiction and the self. Her background is in gender and cultural studies, and her PhD thesis analysed cosmetic surgery as a technology of gender. In 2003 this work was published as a book entitled Cosmetic Surgery, Gender and Culture. Suzanne is also author (with kylie valentine) of the book Substance and substitution: Methadone subjects in liberal societies, and (with Kate Seear) Making disease, making citizens: The politics of hepatitis C.

Suzanne's main research focus at present is an ARC-funded study on obesity prevention health messages and their impact on mothers and their children: 'Improving Australia's response to childhood obesity: Prevention education and its impact on mothers and families.' Working with Professor Jan Wright of Wollongong University, Associate Professor JaneMaree Maher, Professor Alan Petersen and Dr Claire Tanner, the project has interviewed mothers and childcare workers to better understand how prevention education aimed at overweight and obesity in children is made sense of, and how it impacts on mothers and families as a whole.

Also underway in Suzanne's research program is a pilot study funded by the Monash University Faculties of Medicine and Arts entitled 'Analysing addiction concepts for improved public health outcomes in Australia' (other CIs: Professor Paul Dietze, John Fitzgerald [VicHealth] and Professor David Moore). The project analyses concepts of addiction operating in alcohol and other drug (AOD) policy and service provision in Victoria. A preliminary indicative typology of addiction concepts found in the data has been developed, and this will be used to support a larger study seeking the same information across three important Australian public health areas: AOD, compulsive gambling and obesity. This larger study will identify connections and differences between the three and explore opportunities for and obstacles to cross-sector collaboration.

In addition to these activities, Suzanne is commencing work in 2012 on an NHMRC-funded project entitled ‘Understanding and preventing hepatitis C transmission within sexual partnerships’. The project team comprises Professor Carla Treloar (UNSW – lead investigator), Dr Joanne Bryant (UNSW) and Professor Tim Rhodes (London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine). This interview-based study will explore understandings and practices of hepatitis C transmission prevention among people who inject drugs together within sexual partnerships. How do couples negotiate transmission risk, especially where access to safe injecting equipment is limited? How do standard equipment prevention measures impact on risk within sexual partnerships? How do issues of gender shape risk and risk practice? Based across NSW and Victoria, the project will run until 2014.

 

Publications

A list of Suzanne's publications can be found here.

Grants

A list of some recently received grants can be found here.

Professional Profile

Suzanne is a member of the following professional organisations:

Teaching

In 2012 Suzanne will teach:

ATS1311: Sex, Gender and Knowledge

Higher Degree Research Supervision

Postgraduate research students currently being supervised include:

Student Thesis Title / Topic Supervisor(s)
Emily Lenton "Hepatitis C and sexuality" (MA) Suzanne Fraser / Jo Lindsay
Kiran Pienaar "AIDS denialism in South Africa" (PhD) Suzanne Fraser / Steven Angelides
Nicola Thomson "Chaotic", "erratic" and "aggressive" clients? Exploring the limitations and possibilities of service provision for methamphetamine users (PhD) David Moore (Curtin University of Technology) / Suzanne Fraser

Recent Completions

Student Thesis Title / Topic Supervisor(s)
Neeti Aryal Khanal "The cradle and the gun: Nepali women in armed conflict" (MA) Maryanne Dever / Suzanne Fraser
Karolyne Quinn "The body in talk therapy" (PhD) JaneMaree Maher / Suzanne Fraser