Michael Doyle PhD

Professor, The University of Sydney, Australia

Professor Michael Doyle is a Bardi man and national leader in Australian Aboriginal health research. Based at the University of Sydney, he leads the First Nations Health research team at the Edith Collins Centre for Translational Research in Alcohol, Drugs and Toxicology.

Michael has worked in Aboriginal health since 1998, beginning in frontline service delivery before moving into research in 2008. His PhD, awarded in 2018, was the first to examine prison-based rehabilitation programs for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians. His research program focuses on improving alcohol and other drug (AOD) treatment and health service delivery, with a particular focus on people transitioning between prison and community-based care.

He is Chief Investigator on 12 competitive Category 1 grants, including two as Chief Investigator A, these grant span randomised controlled trials, cohort studies, and service delivery research. Michael works closely with Aboriginal community controlled organisations and is co-chair of the Aboriginal Health and Medical Research Council’s Human Research Ethics Committee in New South Wales. He also contributes nationally as a member of the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare’s Prisoner Health Data Committee.

Tosha Big Eagle

Director of Programs and Research, The Kindred Light Initiative, USA

Tosha Big Eagle is a justice-impacted Indigenous PhD Candidate in Prevention Science at Washington State University Vancouver and Director of Programs & Research for The Kindred Light Initiative. Her work centers health equity, harm reduction, incarceration, aging, death and dying, Indigenous Ways of Knowing, and community-defined pathways to healing. Rooted in five generations of family incarceration, including her own lived experience, Tosha brings a deeply relational approach to research, advocacy, and systems change. She is committed to advancing equitable access to healing, healthcare, education, and leadership development for currently incarcerated people, returning citizens, and families impacted by incarceration. Drawing from both academic training and lived experience, Tosha’s work uplifts justice-impacted leadership, cultural continuity, and community-based solutions that challenge institutional harm and support intergenerational healing.