Dr Jane Desborough

Jane is a mixed methods researcher, who works closely with patients, clinicians and policy makers to conduct research that is not only responsive to their needs and preferences, but aims to target quality and outcomes improvement.

She leads the Health Experience Team for the ANU inaugural grand challenge project Our Health In Our Hands (OHIOH). This team is comprised of more than 20 researchers, more than half of whom are living with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) or Type 1 Diabetes (T1D). Its aim is to embed the experiences and perspectives of people living with MS and T1D into the project from inception to implementation.

Jane is leading an Australian Department of Health funded project examining people with rare diseases’ experiences from symptom onset to diagnosis, with the aim of developing resources for healthcare providers to increase awareness of rare diseases and improve diagnosis. Most recently, Jane was awarded an ARC Discovery Early Career Researcher Award (DECRA) 2022 for which she will examine people’s experiences of managing the out-of-pocket costs of healthcare and medicines in Australia.