Helen Stratton
- Chief Investigator
- Griffith University
Associate Professor Helen Stratton has over 27 years’ experience in water and wastewater research, developing a comprehensive understanding of the technical, social and economic issues that the water industry faces. She has worked extensively as a consultant to the industry and has developed strong collaborative relationships throughout Australia and internationally. Gaining multiple industry grants over her career of more than $24M, Helen’s somewhat unique ability to engage across pure science, applied science, and engineering has seen her successfully draw together and manage multidisciplinary teams encompassing chemists, engineers, microbiologists, modellers, and social scientists.
Helen has built an impressive international profile, publishing over 100 refereed articles in internationally peer-reviewed journals, reports and conference papers. Helen’s work has been cited over 2500 times, she has a current h-index of 28 and has supervised 16 HDR and honours students. She has been a passionate volunteer for the Australian Water Association (AWA) since 1998, being elected to roles such as the QLD Branch president (2004-2006) and an AWA Director for 10 years. This dedication has resulted in her being awarded the AWA Queensland Branch Distinguished Service Award in 2015 and Life Membership in 2016. In 2025, Helen was selected as a Fellow of the International Water Association.
As an active member of the international water community, Helen has also actively established collaborative links with University Bonn, Germany; the Water Environment Research Foundation in the USA; has designed and delivered industry training courses in New Zealand for Water Care, recently formed a MOU with Technologiezentrum Wasser and Griffith to collaborate on water microbiology, and is a collaborator with the International Water Centre, hosted by Griffith University.
Helen has been employed at Griffith University, in various roles, since 1997. She has recently completed a term of Discipline Head, Bioscience in the School of Environment and Science, Griffith University. In this role, Helen managed the 29 staff in her team in addition to being the Program Director for both Medical Science and Biomedical Science, with over 300 students enrolled in the programs. Currently, Helen is enjoying an academic role and continuing to expand and deliver an industry training program through the Professional Learning Hub that auspices Digital Badges/Micro-Credential short courses for the water sector. She is also a current Director on the Water Research Australia Board and sits on multiple committees, including as an Independent Science Panellist for the Fitzroy River Health Partnership and a member of the International Water Association Branch of Australia committee.
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