Change of guard in the ALSWH Data Team
The ALSWH data team has seen a change of guard over the past year. We want to take this opportunity to introduce you to the new faces behind the generic email addresses.
Please welcome Paul McElwee to the ALSWH Data Manager role. Paul assumed the role in 2023 after his predecessor, David Fitzgerald, left ALSWH to pursue his passion for teaching. He was formally appointed to the position at the beginning of 2024.
Congratulations to Dr. Hsiu-Wen Chan on her 10th anniversary with ALSWH and her new role as ALSWH Data Linkage Manager. Following Colleen Loo’s retirement, Hsiu-Wen now oversees the data linkage for ALSWH.
Finally, Leonie Gemmell, our Data Access and Liaison Officer, is retiring after 17 years with ALSWH. We wish Leonie well and ask you to extend a warm welcome to Sandra Comer.
Meet the team
Paul McElwee
ALSWH Data Manager
Paul has an IT degree and many years of experience managing data of various formats and complexity, all in diverse research institutions and universities. His role with ALSWH involves receiving, cleaning, and validating the datasets and producing documentation about them. Paul also provides you with datasets after access is approved and answers your queries.
Dr Hsiu-Wen Chan
ALSWH Data Linkage Manager
Hsiu-Wen has a PhD in Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, but she developed an interest in the people behind the cells. Over ten years at ALSWH, she has gained extensive epidemiology and public health knowledge, contributing to survey development, government reports, and coordinating the Menarche to Pre-Menopause (M-PreM) substudy. Hsiu-Wen now oversees the data linkage for ALSWH. As part of this role, she is responsible for obtaining approval from all state and national ethics committees and data custodians to link ALSWH survey data with administrative records. She also applies to these committees on your behalf to obtain approval for researchers to access linked data and for projects to use linked data. Lastly, she reviews linked data projects and the data access protocols to ensure we comply with the requirements set out by the ethics committees and to make the process as easy as possible for you.
Sandra Comer
Data Access and Liaison Officer
Sandra is passionate about preventative healthcare and supporting academics, researchers, and other professional colleagues to achieve positive public health outcomes. After completing a Bachelor of Nutrition Science, Sandra has been employed with the University of Queensland (UQ) in the Faculty of Medicine
Sandra has over 20 years of experience providing essential support and contributing to teams’ overall success by ensuring smooth operations and efficient communication. As the ALSWH Data Access and Liaison Officer, she will support administrative and data access operations at ALSWH, maintain the data access and research outcomes database, provide information and advice to internal and external data users, and support ALSWH research activities.