Sharna Motlap is a proud Indigenous woman of the Mbabaram tribe of Queensland and of Hammond Island of the Torres Strait. Sharna is a nutritionist and CDU Healthy Environments And Lives Research Fellow – Indigenous Engagement at Northern Institute at Charles Darwin University.
Her research interest includes nutrition, public health, and Indigenous health, specifically the prevention of non-communicable diseases and the improvement of the socio-economic factors.
While studying a Bachelor of Nutrition at Torrens University Australia, Sharna gained numerous awards and was one of the first at her university to be awarded the New Colombo Plan scholarship, which resulted in completing an 8-month scholarship program in Bangkok, Thailand. She is currently completing a double degree studying a Master of Public Health and Master of Health Research with Menzies School of Health Research, where she was awarded the prestigious ‘Menzies Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Postgraduate Coursework Scholarship’ in 2023.
She has worked across rural and remote Northern Territory and has interned at a variety of research centres and health organizations across Australia. Sharna is keen to contribute to the Healthy Environments And Lives (HEAL) National Research Network, focusing on Aborginal and Torres Strait Islander nutrition.