Gwen graduated with a PhD in Human Evolutionary Ecology in 2014 from the University of QLD (UQ), after completing a Bachelor of Science with Honours in Ecological Genetics. From age 16-18yrs, Gwen played in the Australian Womens National Soccer League (W-League) for the Canberra Eclipse (now Canberra United). She also represented Canberra, and later Brisbane, in their open womens futsal teams.
After her studies, Gwen began her first research project on Groote Eylandt – quantifying how much the local ladies walked when on-country collecting traditional food (funded by the Lowitja Institute & UQ). On completing the project, Gwen then worked in the Groote Eylandt Linguistics Centre supporting the language workers to create bilingual resources for education. From 2015-2018, Gwen was brought on board as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow for a UQ-ALC partnership to carry out a sensitive research project on Groote Eylandt – investigating whether possible metals in the dust might be affecting motor control and cognitive abilities in the Anindilyakwa people living close to mining operations.
