Life Course and Intergenerational Health (LIGHt)

Research Group Leaders: Associate Professor Michael Davies and Associate Professor Vivienne Moore

The Life Course and Intergenerational Health (LIGHt) group is an interdisciplinary team that focuses on understanding health and wellbeing across the gendered and
reproductive life course.

The overall aim of the group is to identify opportunities for the prevention of serious diseases among women and their children, focusing on the social and biological pathways to health at different points in the life course.

This research considers life course and intergenerational issues from a bio-cultural perspective, using a broad range of theoretical and methodological insights to understand the complexities of health.

Our goal is to produce innovative research, inform and influence policy, and to build capacity for social change. Our expertise encompasses epidemiology, biostatistics, anthropology, sociology, women's health, reproductive health, and ageing.

The research program is underpinned by three established community-based cohort studies - the Assisted Reproductive Technologies birth cohort, the Lucina cohort, and the Generation 1 cohort. Broadly speaking, these studies are examining the risk and sources of birth defects in children and cancer in women following infertility treatment; the social and biological origins of reproductive problems in women, and the role of early life factors for the optimal development and life-long health of children.

A related strand of research is concerned with the implications of gender roles and gender relations for the health of women and their children.

Research Priorities:

• Safety and effectiveness of Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ART)
• How the reproductive health of women can be optimised
• Early life experiences and health outcomes in children
• How gender relations and other socially embedded conditions