23 July 2026
Optimal nutrition care for people undergoing head and neck cancer treatment is Teresa Brown’s mission as an Advanced Accredited Practising Dietitian. To accelerate her clinician-researcher career path, Teresa joined the HTQ Mentorship and Training Program and is building the skills and connections needed for the next stage of her career.
“I’m passionate about providing evidence-based care to improve outcomes and quality of life for people undergoing head and neck cancer treatment,” Teresa says. “I hope my legacy is that people with these cancers receive optimal nutrition care.
“Through the HTQ program, I want to strengthen my knowledge and skills in implementation science methodology so I can effectively and sustainably translate my findings into practice. I’m also keen to develop my leadership skills and confidence in strategic planning, service innovation, and business case development, which are crucial for my role in operational management and transforming our services.”
Teresa is the Assistant Director of Dietetics with Queensland Health, based at the Royal Brisbane Women’s Hospital (RBWH). She is completing a Metro North Research Fellowship investigating nutrition care pathways for patients undergoing surgery for head and neck cancer.
Teresa also has a leadership role in the Metro North Nutrition Research Collaborative, which brings together clinician researchers working on high-quality and high-impact nutrition research across three major themes – malnutrition, precision nutrition, and metabolic health. Through the HTQ Mentorship and Training program, she wants to expand her network of research peers and colleagues to support future collaborations, project funding, and capacity building.
“Broadening my research network beyond Metro North will strengthen research design and support multidisciplinary and multi-site studies, enhancing the generalisability of research findings across diverse settings,” Teresa says.
“As a non-academic, I want to build skills in identifying suitable funding schemes for the next stages of my research and in grant writing to increase the likelihood of success in future applications.
“We have a strong research culture in the RBWH Dietetics department. I support and mentor a Research by Higher Degree student and supervise a post-doctoral research fellow who is building on my clinical research fellowship. I also have a great professional role model in Professor Judy Bauer, an international leader in nutrition and cancer research. She supervised my PhD and post-doctoral research, and we have co-supervised students, co-authored publications, and contributed to national and international evidence-based guidelines.
“Developing my own research translation skills through the HTQ program will strengthen my ability to help drive our department’s research agenda and my capacity to contribute towards shaping broader research in nutrition and cancer care.”
Receive our eNewsletter
Connect with us
Quicklinks
Health Translation Queensland acknowledges the Traditional Owners and their custodianship of the lands on which we live, work, and play. We pay our respects to their Ancestors and their Descendants, who continue cultural and spiritual connections to Country. We recognise their valuable contributions to Australian and global society.
