People

Distinguished Professor Helen Lingard

SHINe Executive Director

Helen started her post-doctoral career working on-site in large scale civil engineering infrastructure projects (including the Hong Kong International Airport). Since moving to Australia, Helen has worked with clients in the mining, telecommunications and construction sectors to develop, implement and evaluate initiatives to improve workers’ safety, health and wellbeing. Helen’s research has been funded by a wide variety of private and public sector organisations, industry associations and trade unions. In 2009 Helen was an inaugural recipient of a prestigious Australian Research Council Future Fellowship and her recent book, titled ‘Work Health and Wellbeing in the Construction Industry,’ was published by Routledge in 2023. Since 2018, Helen has been academic lead and member of the Culture in Construction Taskforce, comprising the Australian Constructors Association and the Governments of New South Wales and Victoria. The Taskforce was established to address three key issues affecting the productivity of the Australian construction industry: gender diversity; health and wellbeing; and time for life.

Daniel McLinden

Director - Strategy & Operations

Daniel leads SHINe's strategic direction, driving key partnerships to advance its mission: to deliver industry-relevant research that leads to tangible improvements in preventing death, life-changing injuries, and chronic ill-health in the construction sector.

With an MBA focused on social impact (2022), Daniel brings a proven track record in diverse industries including construction, specialising in developing and implementing strategic initiatives, fostering high-impact partnerships, and aligning business objectives with long-term organisational goals.

Beyond his role at SHINe, Daniel oversees the Employer of Choice Program at the School of Property, Construction, and Project Management, ensuring that both educational and research activities remain aligned with the evolving needs of the industry.

Dr. Rita Peihua Zhang

Associate Professor in Construction Management 

Rita holds a PhD in Construction Management from the University of Hong Kong, where her thesis won the Grand Prize in Outstanding Dissertation/Thesis Awards for Postgraduate Students by The Hong Kong Institution of Surveyors (HKIS). Prior to pursuing her academic career, Rita worked as an Assistant Engineer for China Overseas Holding Limited in Hong Kong (SAR). Since joining RMIT, Rita has actively engaged with industry in undertaking research that has practical implications. Her work has explored various aspects of work health and safety in construction, including the effect of organisational culture and leadership on work health and safety, the development of an integrated supply chain approach to WHS and consideration of ways to improve health and safety for young workers. Rita is currently leading a project, funded by SafeWork NSW, into the management of work health and safety in subcontracting arrangements. Rita is also an Editorial Board Member for the Scimago Q1 Journal of Management in Engineering by American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE).

Dr. Payam Pirzadeh

Lecturer

Dr. Payam Pirzadeh is a civil engineer and a researcher. Prior to his academic role, Payam worked on major infrastructure projects involving the design and construction of large processioning facilities in the energy and mining sectors. He is a member of the Institute of Engineers Australia and has also completed a Master of Applied Science in Project Management. Payam received two prestigious awards for his doctoral research on construction safety: (i) the RMIT Prize for Research Excellence (HDR-Design); and (ii) the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB) Research Award. Payam has undertaken extensive applied research, in collaboration with private and public sector construction organisations, on the topics of safety in design, measuring and managing health and safety performance, job quality and mental health, and improving the construction industry culture to support workers’ health and wellbeing. Payam is a chief investigator in the ARC Research Hub for Human-Robot Teaming for Sustainable and Resilient Construction (administered by UTS).

Dr. Michelle Turner

Professor 

Michelle’s doctoral studies explored the work-life interaction of construction workers in different family and life stages. Together with her Ph.D., Michelle has qualifications in psychology and project management.  Prior to her academic role, Michelle worked in industry across multiple sectors in senior project management, business planning, and strategic planning roles.

Michelle’s research focuses on occupational health and wellbeing in the construction industry with a particular emphasis on job design and the work environment. Michelle’s research has been funded by professional bodies, government, and construction organisations both nationally and internationally. Her recent book, ‘Work Health and Wellbeing in the Construction Industry,’ was published by Routledge in 2023 and draws on over a decade of her research. Outcomes of Michelle’s research have informed industry and organisational policies and standards both nationally and internationally. Michelle is an affiliated faculty member of the Myers-Lawson School of Construction at Virginia Tech, USA.

Associate Professor David Oswald

Associate Dean, Learning and Teaching

Associate Professor David Oswald has over 50 peer-reviewed publications on health, safety and well-being within construction and the built environment, including award-winning safety research in leading construction journals and conferences. 

His work has focused on topics such as safety leadership, safety communication, safety reporting, safety indicators, and safety at the frontline.

He is an expert in undertaking ethnographic construction research, recently leading a co-edited book titled: Embracing Ethnography: Doing Contextualised Construction Research. Within the construction industry, he has experience on various projects, including within the H&S department of a A$2B infrastructure project. 

Dr. Chenjunyan Sun

Research Fellow

Dr. Chenjunyan (Yan) Sun completed her PhD in 2023 at Queensland University of Technology, focusing on mental health in the construction industry. Her PhD research identified key psychosocial hazards critical to improving mental health in the construction industry through Bayesian network modelling. Yan has expertise in solving research problems through qualitative and quantitative methods. Previous research has examined psychosocial hazards, job characteristics, mental health, need for recovery, work design, and safety hazards in the construction industry. Since joining RMIT, Yan’s research has focused on understanding the impact of working time arrangements on waged and salaried construction workers’ health and wellbeing.  

Dr. Jack Clarke 

Research Fellow

Dr. Jack Clarke completed his PhD in 2020 at Monash University, focusing on the evolution of video-based communication and social media. With a background in media and journalism, Jack has extensive experience as a published writer in arts journalism, investigative news, and academic publications.

At RMIT, Jack plays a pivotal role in the Construction Work Health and Safety Research group. He leads the design, creation, and evaluation of interactive training videos that simulate various workplace scenarios, offering a novel approach to work health, safety, and wellbeing training.

In addition to his primary responsibilities, Jack conducts and transcribes interviews, facilitates focus groups and industry trials, and handles graphic design for industry reports and infographics. His skills also extend to video editing and social media management, contributing to a comprehensive approach in advancing work health and safety research.

Dr. Huey Wen Lim

Research Fellow

My interdisciplinary background in Psychology and Engineering drives my commitment to research that prioritises human factors and behaviour, particularly in the area of occupational safety, health, and wellbeing. At the Tsinghua-Gammon Safety Research Centre, I worked closely with industry stakeholders, contributing research insights in the areas of safety leadership, safety climate and safety behaviour across diverse international settings, including Malaysia and China. 

Prior to joining RMIT, I served as a McKenzie Research Fellow at the University of Melbourne, leading research project on mental health in the construction industry and collaborating with industry partners to develop actionable strategies for improving worker mental wellbeing.

Dr. Janet Mayowa Nwaogu

Research Fellow

Janet holds a PhD in Construction Management from The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Her PhD research focused on improving mental health within the construction industry. Having worked on building construction projects, including a 23-hectare housing estate in Abuja, Janet is passionate about project delivery and the wellbeing of construction workers. Janet has contributed to grant-winning proposals and led groundbreaking research projects. Her academic contributions include developing industry guidelines for safe drone operations and publishing journal articles on mental health, job redesign and sleep management in construction. Janet is a corporate member of the Nigerian Institute of Building, an applicant member of the Chartered Institute of Building and an affiliate member of the American Society of Civil Engineers. 

Tracy Purcell

Philanthropic Contract Specialist

Tracy is responsible for administering the philanthropic contracts for SHINe.  This involves preparing the Deed of Gifts, ensuring all monies are allocated correctly and receipts are issued in a timely manner.

Tracy is part of the RMIT Philanthropy team and also specialises in Gifts in Wills.  Helping to facilitate other people’s desire to help is something she is passionate about. She is also passionate about ensuring students can reach their educational goals by receiving a scholarship.

Tracy’s relationship skills enable her to engage with all levels of an organisation, which is vital to ensuring that things all stakeholders goals are met. Her passion for making a difference in the world is clearly seen within all aspects of philanthropy and aligns with SHINe’s values.  

Elisa Interligi

Sponsorship Contract Specialist 

Elisa is responsible for administering the project sponsorship contracts for SHINe. As a Research Partnership Manager in the Research & Innovation portfolio at RMIT, Elisa’s objective is to develop and deploy research impact by growing, managing and coordinating research partnerships. With a legal and commercial background and project management experience, she is committed to providing flexible, responsive and practical partnership and translation support to RMIT’s research community and its partners.

Elisa believes collaboration is the key to innovation and achieving real impact to benefit society. She also believes that it is a privilege to be part of SHINe and its mission to develop and apply research that meets industry needs to improve construction work health and safety.

Viet Hoang

Design Lead

Viet draws upon his background in Architecture to design and create marketing collateral for SHINe, and is responsible for the look and feel of the program.

Viet also provides design services for other areas in the School of Property, Construction and Project Management, as well as providing support for project management and industry-partnered programs delivered by the School.