Jessica Dawson
Jess joined the ARG as an Honours student in 2015 and commenced her PhD in 2017. Whilst her interests broadly encompass all things anthrozoology, Jess’ current research area concerns companion dog breeding practices. In particular, she is interested in the role that early experiences have on adult dog behaviour and the subsequent dog-owner relationship outcomes.
Deanna Tepper
Deanna joined ARG in 2017, with her earlier work exploring the benefits of therapy dog programs in schools. Her PhD explores methods of improving children’s executive functions, including working memory, inhibition, and cognitive flexibility. Deanna is interested in whether such skills can be improved in the household environment, and whether interacting with pets provides an opportunity to do so.
Sonya McDowall
Sonya McDowall is a PhD candidate exploring the relationship between Social Determinants of Health (SDH) and companion animal welfare. She proposes an integrated framework that considers the interconnections between the SDH and domains of animal welfare to improve outcomes for companion animals, their guardians, and the community.
Angela Chapman
Angela joined the ARG in 2023 when she began her PhD. Her research builds on her background in veterinary nursing and management and aims to understand the workplace contributors to burnout in veterinary nurses. Angela hopes to develop management strategies to reduce the risk of burnout in veterinary nurses, and improve their mental health, and the welfare of their patients.
Roxanne Zybenko-Keane
Roxanne joined the ARG in 2023. After two bouts of sepsis and leaving her role as a Landcare project officer, she joined Friends of the Koala in 2022 as a volunteer carer to recover from these experiences. Her mental health profoundly improved and inspired her to shift her career from environmental science and zoology to exploring how nature and animals can enhance well-being, which forms the basis of her Master’s research.
Katherine Northrope
Katherine joined ARG as a PhD student in 2023 after completing a Master’s thesis exploring how people’s attitudes towards animals relates to their meat consumption. Her PhD thesis focuses on the pet-owner relationship and how this relates to mental health, and how this may be influenced by other factors, such as the owners’ relationship with other people.
Pary Bahmanyari
Pary is a part-time Master by Research student, having commenced in 2022. Her research has explored how therapy dogs can be meaningfully integrated into mental health care. In her thesis, “Empowering Clients in Mental Health Care: The Role of Co-Design in Animal-Assisted Treatment for Veterans,” she used a co-design approach to work collaboratively with clients and clinicians. Through this process, she developed a framework for ethical, effective, and client-informed animal-assisted therapy (AATx) programs. Her work highlights the potential of human–animal interactions to enhance mental health support and promote more compassionate models of care.