Sara Coombs

Sara Coombs

Project Coordinator

BPsych(Hons)

sara.coombs@thekids.org.au

Sara is the Project Coordinator for Embrace at The Kids Research Institute Australia and the Healing Kids, Healing Families team. As Project Coordinator, Sara supports the Program Manager with the management and execution of research projects, including monitoring and preparing updates on the progress of research in terms of outputs, budgets, and interim milestones. 

Sara commenced at The Kids in 2024, as a Research Assistant on the ‘Wellbeing-T1D’ Project. Wellbeing-T1D has sought to explore and understand the mental health journey of young people, their families and clinicians involved in their care following a diagnosis of Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) and experiences of medical trauma. This is the first project to create a community-led, co-designed trauma informed psychosocial intervention to bolster resilience and enhance wellbeing in adolescents living with T1D.

Sara also worked as a research assistant on the Telethon Trust-funded Early Start Screen Smart Program. This program was developed in partnership with early childhood professionals and parents of young children to support families in creating healthy screen time habits with their infants and toddlers through evidence-based strategies and information.

She holds a Bachelor of Psychology (Honours) with First Class Honours from Curtin University. Her honours research explored Self-Efficacy, Optimism and Psychological Distress in Youth with Chronic Illness, which saw her as a student at The Kids Research Institute Australia in 2021.