Sharla Cartner is a Research Officer at La Trobe University’s Global Health and Equity Development (GHED) Hub, where she contributes to research projects aimed at improving health literacy, equity, and access to care. Sharla's work supports the design, implementation, and evaluation of health-literacy informed research using the Ophelia (Optimising Health Literacy and Access) process.

Her role involves conducting systematic reviews, psychometric analyses, and survey development, as well as contributing to ethics applications, grant writing, and scholarly publications. Sharla also assists in data analysis, interpretation, and the dissemination of findings across diverse health and community settings.

Alongside her work at La Trobe, Sharla is completing her PhD in Psychology at Swinburne University of Technology, where she investigates the relationship between activity engagement and repetitive negative thinking in psychosis using both quantitative and qualitative methods.

With her background in psychology and mental health research, Sharla brings a strong commitment to equity-focused, evidence-based methodologies. Her broader interests lie in applied public health research that supports equitable access to services and improved health outcomes for priority populations.