Professor Marion Eckert

Professor Marion Eckert is the Inaugural Professor of Cancer Nursing in South Australia and the Inaugural Director, Rosemary Bryant AO Research Centre.

The Rosemary Bryant AO Research Centre is a partnership between the University of South Australia and the Rosemary Bryant Foundation, which aims to strengthen the nursing & midwifery workforce across the health system through the support and development of evidence-based healthcare. The RBRC has developed a comprehensive research program focused on advancing the discipline of nursing & midwifery and patient care related to population and public health, workforce reform, safety and quality, clinical practice, patient outcomes, and integration into education. Its objective is to enhance innovative partnerships for healthcare research, to inform strategies for: 1) Extending the capacity and capabilities of nurses and midwives to build a resilient, sustainable and collaborative workforce, 2) health system planning, evaluation and resourcing, 3) clinical care outcomes, and 4) translation of evidence into practice.

Marion brings over 25 years’ experience in health care and has a strong clinical academic background.  Her research is focused on prevention and reducing the burden of cancer on the community through the development of systems to inform survivorship needs, in particular quality of life, supportive care of people with cancer and ensuring effective partnerships to improve clinical care.   As part of this research Professor Eckert continues to work with a team to progress survivorship research with the focus on quality of life of all people diagnosed with cancer and in particular disadvantaged communities and minority groups.  

Professor Eckert has worked in executive and research roles in both the public and private sector, informed health care planning, research and policy through strategic partnership, professional development and effective governance to inform strategy.  She is acknowledged as a prominent nurse leader nationally and internationally in research, consultancy, development of consumer-centred care and evidence-based clinical care practices, policies, academic scholarship and nurse leadership. Professor Eckert has won peer reviewed excellence awards for her clinical leadership and was the recipient of the 2015 Winston Churchill Fellowship and Leslie Fleming Fellowship, awarded for her dedication and passion towards survivorship research at a population level.

Qualifications

• Doctor of Nursing University of Adelaide

• Masters of Public Health University of Adelaide

• Masters of Nursing Science University of Adelaide