Dr Nancy Sadka is a Research Fellow at La Trobe University's Olga Tennison Autism Research Centre (OTARC), primarily in the Identification and Diagnosis research program of Autism and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). She is also the Senior Research Associate, the invited academic on the OTARC Data Management Team. Dr Sadka' research originally focused on cognitive and curriculum development until she developed a passion for, and an interest in, autism across the lifespan.

Dr Sadka current research focuses on the development of ADHDiscovery, a tool to identify early markers of ADHD in toddlers. She works in the space of machine learning and AI to conceptualise a framework to understand early behaviours in AuDHD toddlers which can later be utilised to create individualised support strategies.

Dr Sadka has a passion for research on autism spectrum disorder, where this research can be translated into the community to help support parents and carers of autistic people including CALD communities. She also has an interest in co-occurring conditions in the early years including, but not limited to Sleep Challenges, Anxiety, and Intellectual Disability.

In addition to her work in academia, Dr Sadka serves on several boards in the community for strategic planning and implementation of support for people with disabilities. She is also committed to working with faith-based communities for disability inclusion. She is fluent in French and Arabic.

Dr Sadka is the recipient of the following grants:

2022 - ($19,988) SPHH Internal Grant Scheme, Understanding behavior and sleep in young autistic children identified via ASDetect - a mobile application for the early detection of autism (Lead Applicant)
2023 - ($20,000) SPHH Internal Grant Scheme, Early predictors of “high likelihood” of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in autistic children aged between 24- to 48- months (Lead Applicant)
2024 - ($24,153) ABC Scheme, Identifying early predictors of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in autistic toddlers and preschoolers (Lead Applicant)
2024 - ($25,000) ABC Scheme, “Taageero Hore” Early supports for Autistic children and their families from refugee and immigrant backgrounds (Co-Applicant)