"Consumers know what it feels like to be a part of the health system," Christine says. "They experience and have knowledge about the extremes of possibilities that the system offers-from being excluded and marginalised, to being a core component of research design and implementation. Consumer involvement brings medical research into the real lives of real people."
A focus on community and equity
Christine has spent her career improving health systems and advocating for equity.
"Good health, and access to services, are the doorways to a good quality of life. But everyone does not experience these. Throughout my career I saw how social determinants of health unfairly and unjustly impacted individuals and communities, and I wanted to change this. I still do."
Christine worked in health administration in Western Australia, Victoria and Tasmania. "I managed community-based, hospital, and aged care residential services, and learned the importance for people of the interface between primary health and the health-care system."
A career highlight was managing community services in the north-west of Western Australia. "I understood first-hand the difficulties, as well as the strengths and determination, of people living in isolated areas."
Christine has also led philanthropic investments and served as a director on the boards of health and medical research organisations.
She is now a community representative on national health and medical research bodies.
Investment that fosters consumer engagement and collaboration
Christine first heard about the MRFF while serving as a director on the board of the Centre for Eye Research Australia (CERA).
"I knew about the MRFF grants that CERA had received. They were so important in unlocking some of the mysteries of eye disease. One grant was to research new gene therapy for people with loss of vision from retinal disease. This has amazing potential to restore sight and to give people better sight and quality lives-to live independently and with dignity.
Christine sees the MRFF as a powerful enabler. "I can see the potential for, and the real way, that MRFF funding changes lives-from rare conditions such as mitochondrial disease to common cancers and other conditions. This is about the lives of real people.
It's only through investments in research that focus on partnerships, collaboration, translation and community engagement that we will find answers."
Looking ahead, Christine wants the MRFF to continue leading innovation. "The MRFF shines the light on where the gaps are in our understanding of, and treatments for, health," she says.
"But it also creates the environment that says, 'we can give this a go.' It enables researchers, and all sectors involved in research, to believe, invest and create new opportunities.
As an enabler, the MRFF provides the resources and commitments to bring a level of certainty to research. I hope it can continue to do all of this and to find new cures, treatments and knowledge that will change people's lives."
Bringing lived experience into national decision-making
Christine is a member of the inaugural joint MRFF and National Health and Medical Research Council Consumer Advisory Group.
"Members of the Group are invited to give different and unique perspectives to the government on its health and medical research agenda.
These perspectives come from consumer and community members' thinking and experiences. They bring a 'real world' lens to medical research that might otherwise be difficult to understand or may not have taken consumer interests into account."
She encourages other consumers to have their voices heard.
"There are many opportunities to get involved, and there are many ways to be involved," she says. "I found two very helpful things when I first started as a community member.
Firstly, I contacted the Consumers Health Forum of Australia, sought their guidance, and read their material about the role of a consumer representative.
Secondly, I talked to people who had been in that role so I could understand what to expect, and to work out how I could best contribute.
It is a complex role, however it offers many opportunities to learn and to work within supportive multidisciplinary teams."
