Meet our Team

Professor Leanne Dowse (UNSW)
Visiting Professor

Leanne has been a scholar, practitioner, supporter and ally in the area of cognitive disability and complex disadvantage for more than twenty years. She has held an academic appointment in the School of Social Sciences at UNSW since 2007, where her work has been characterised by innovation and inter-disciplinarity, bringing disability studies into dialogue with a range of other scholarly disciplines including criminology, child and youth studies, special education, forensic psychiatry, community medicine, and social work. 

Leanne’s work has been widely recognised as innovative and leading in her field. She has a strong track record in research funding and as chief investigator has been awarded five major Australian Research Council and National Health and Medical Research Council competitive grants since 2007. In addition, she has been the recipient of government and sector funded grants and commissioned research, with total career grant income to date of over AUD$6M.  Leanne’s appointment provides scope to develop a strong international portfolio linking together the inter-disciplinary work of criminology and disability studies. She will assist in developing the already strong research around youth justice and critical disability studies at Manchester Met.