Dr Vanessa Brunelli

Biography

Dr Vanessa Brunelli is a Research Fellow appointed by Queensland University of Technology. Vanessa’s program of research centres on understanding the role and capabilities of the specialist lung cancer nurse. Her postdoctoral research includes a national study investigating the core supportive care components of the specialist lung cancer nurse role that appear most influential to patient experience, to inform Australia’s first discrete specialist lung cancer nurse workforce model. This study is supported by an inaugural Lung Foundation Australia Shine a Light on Lung Cancer Early Career Research Fellowship. To date, Vanessa has attracted over $500,000.00 in competitive grant funding (including an NHMRC PhD scholarship) to undertake research into the role and capabilities of the specialist lung cancer nurse. Vanessa also maintains a strong commitment to professional leadership in the field of lung cancer research and education, and capacity building in the lung cancer nursing workforce. Vanessa is the Chair of the Steering Committee, Australia and New Zealand Lung Cancer Nurses Forum (ANZ-LCNF), Lead of the ANZ-LCNF Research and Education portfolios, and Australian Representative on the Steering Committee, International Thoracic Oncology Nurses Forum. Vanessa is an Invited Member on the Scientific Committee, Thoracic Oncology Group of Australasia, Invited Member on the Expert Advisory Committee, Lung Cancer Blueprint 2.0, Lung Foundation Australia, Invited Member on the Expert Advisory Committee, Lung Cancer Consultative Group, Lung Foundation Australia, and a Visiting Scholar of the International Centre for Community Driven Research, Geneva. Vanessa also holds the position of Nurse Researcher at the Princess Alexandra Hospital, Metro South Health. The brief of this position is to increase the visibility and improve the capability of nurse-led research across Metro South Health. This position also enables Vanessa to maintain high level knowledge currency in the ethical and governance requirements of research, considerations around recruitment and consent of hospital-employed research participants and recruitment and consent of patients, and laws and rules around the collection and use of personal and sensitive data. Vanessa’s many years as an oncology nurse drives her strong research interest in improving the disease experience for people living with lung cancer, particularly through strategic cross-sector initiatives that develop scholarly evidence to inform lung cancer nursing workforce policy and practice.