Dr Serra Ivynian is a Research Fellow based in the Improving Palliative, Aged, and Chronic Care Through Clinical Research and Translation (IMPACCT) research centre within the Faculty of Health.

Serra was awarded a Bachelor of Medical Science with first class honours in 2013 and PhD in health in 2018 from the University of Technology Sydney.

Her PhD thesis investigated care-seeking behaviour in people living with heart failure, with inferences for patient-provider communication, improving health literacy, and coping responses for people with chronic illness.

“I’ve always been interested in how people manage chronic illness, whether they are patients or informal carers – who are too often ignored,” Serra said.

Serra has since been involved in six externally-funded national projects in palliative care, aged care and cardiovascular care to help improve service delivery across Australia, with a focus on supporting informal carers of people with life-limiting illness at home.


Associated Projects:
• National COVID-19 bereavement project funded by the Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) COVID-19 Mental Health and Wellness grant
• End of Life Directions for Aged Care (ELDAC) 2 funded by the Department of Health
• Tele-PC study - Telehealth: examining cardiovascular patient and clinician experiences of receiving and delivering care during the pandemic to inform 21st Century cardiac care. Funded by the Sydney Partnership for Health, Education, Research and Enterprise (SPHERE)
• CarerHelp funded by the Department of Health under the National Palliative Care Projects
• caring@home funded by the Department of Health and Aging
• A Rainbow of Difference (supporting LGBTI inclusive aged care), in partnership with Uniting, funded by the Dementia and Aged Care Service fund