Simone Darling
Simone Darling
Details
Role
Team Leader / Principal Research Fellow
Research area
The Centre for Community Child Health
Group
Policy and Equity
Contact
Available for student supervision
Dr Simone Darling is a Principal Research Fellow, Team Leader and Senior Program Manager at Murdoch Children’s Research Institute. She has more than a decade of experience leading translational research initiatives across health and education in both clinical and community settings.
Dr Darling’s research and policy focus has been on building the capacity of primary schools to better support student mental health, changing the language of child mental health, typical and atypical childhood development, and digital health innovation and translation in paediatric care. Her research outputs consistent of high quality and influential publications, presentations, policy and community and clinically based programs and services, spanning education, psychology, assessment methodology, cancer, brain development, paediatrics development and mental health. Dr Darling has extensive experience in applied research, particularly in community facing products and programs to support child health, development, mental health and wellbeing.
Dr Darling also has expertise in evidence-based digital health innovation and has been involved in more than 20 digital health initiatives designed for clinical or community settings. These include: a smartphone application for the early detection and management of paediatric concussion, a tablet-based assessment of social cognition and a digital platform to help increase the mental health literacy of parents. Combined, these products have impacted more than 200,000 Australian lives.
Dr Darling has attracted over $70 million in government, private, philanthropic and competitive funding. Most recently, Dr Darling co-developed the Mental Health in Primary Schools projects. An initiative that has attracted more than $200 million in government funding, and will expand to every Victorian school by 2026, positively impacting more than 558,000 students.
In 2018 Dr Darling was nominated for the Inaugural Schmidt Science Fellowship Program, a prestigious program offered in partnership with the Rhodes Trust to enhance the ability of the world’s most promising new scientists. In 2019, Dr Darling was awarded a prestigious Quebec Health Research Fund Postdoctoral Fellowship.
Dr Darling’s research and policy focus has been on building the capacity of primary schools to better support student mental health, changing the language of child mental health, typical and atypical childhood development, and digital health innovation and translation in paediatric care. Her research outputs consistent of high quality and influential publications, presentations, policy and community and clinically based programs and services, spanning education, psychology, assessment methodology, cancer, brain development, paediatrics development and mental health. Dr Darling has extensive experience in applied research, particularly in community facing products and programs to support child health, development, mental health and wellbeing.
Dr Darling also has expertise in evidence-based digital health innovation and has been involved in more than 20 digital health initiatives designed for clinical or community settings. These include: a smartphone application for the early detection and management of paediatric concussion, a tablet-based assessment of social cognition and a digital platform to help increase the mental health literacy of parents. Combined, these products have impacted more than 200,000 Australian lives.
Dr Darling has attracted over $70 million in government, private, philanthropic and competitive funding. Most recently, Dr Darling co-developed the Mental Health in Primary Schools projects. An initiative that has attracted more than $200 million in government funding, and will expand to every Victorian school by 2026, positively impacting more than 558,000 students.
In 2018 Dr Darling was nominated for the Inaugural Schmidt Science Fellowship Program, a prestigious program offered in partnership with the Rhodes Trust to enhance the ability of the world’s most promising new scientists. In 2019, Dr Darling was awarded a prestigious Quebec Health Research Fund Postdoctoral Fellowship.
Dr Simone Darling is a Principal Research Fellow, Team Leader and Senior Program Manager at Murdoch Children’s Research Institute. She has more than a decade of experience leading translational research initiatives across health and education in...
Dr Simone Darling is a Principal Research Fellow, Team Leader and Senior Program Manager at Murdoch Children’s Research Institute. She has more than a decade of experience leading translational research initiatives across health and education in both clinical and community settings.
Dr Darling’s research and policy focus has been on building the capacity of primary schools to better support student mental health, changing the language of child mental health, typical and atypical childhood development, and digital health innovation and translation in paediatric care. Her research outputs consistent of high quality and influential publications, presentations, policy and community and clinically based programs and services, spanning education, psychology, assessment methodology, cancer, brain development, paediatrics development and mental health. Dr Darling has extensive experience in applied research, particularly in community facing products and programs to support child health, development, mental health and wellbeing.
Dr Darling also has expertise in evidence-based digital health innovation and has been involved in more than 20 digital health initiatives designed for clinical or community settings. These include: a smartphone application for the early detection and management of paediatric concussion, a tablet-based assessment of social cognition and a digital platform to help increase the mental health literacy of parents. Combined, these products have impacted more than 200,000 Australian lives.
Dr Darling has attracted over $70 million in government, private, philanthropic and competitive funding. Most recently, Dr Darling co-developed the Mental Health in Primary Schools projects. An initiative that has attracted more than $200 million in government funding, and will expand to every Victorian school by 2026, positively impacting more than 558,000 students.
In 2018 Dr Darling was nominated for the Inaugural Schmidt Science Fellowship Program, a prestigious program offered in partnership with the Rhodes Trust to enhance the ability of the world’s most promising new scientists. In 2019, Dr Darling was awarded a prestigious Quebec Health Research Fund Postdoctoral Fellowship.
Dr Darling’s research and policy focus has been on building the capacity of primary schools to better support student mental health, changing the language of child mental health, typical and atypical childhood development, and digital health innovation and translation in paediatric care. Her research outputs consistent of high quality and influential publications, presentations, policy and community and clinically based programs and services, spanning education, psychology, assessment methodology, cancer, brain development, paediatrics development and mental health. Dr Darling has extensive experience in applied research, particularly in community facing products and programs to support child health, development, mental health and wellbeing.
Dr Darling also has expertise in evidence-based digital health innovation and has been involved in more than 20 digital health initiatives designed for clinical or community settings. These include: a smartphone application for the early detection and management of paediatric concussion, a tablet-based assessment of social cognition and a digital platform to help increase the mental health literacy of parents. Combined, these products have impacted more than 200,000 Australian lives.
Dr Darling has attracted over $70 million in government, private, philanthropic and competitive funding. Most recently, Dr Darling co-developed the Mental Health in Primary Schools projects. An initiative that has attracted more than $200 million in government funding, and will expand to every Victorian school by 2026, positively impacting more than 558,000 students.
In 2018 Dr Darling was nominated for the Inaugural Schmidt Science Fellowship Program, a prestigious program offered in partnership with the Rhodes Trust to enhance the ability of the world’s most promising new scientists. In 2019, Dr Darling was awarded a prestigious Quebec Health Research Fund Postdoctoral Fellowship.
Top Publications
- Webster-Detez, T, Keyes, M, Darling, S, Oberklaid, F. The role of schools in boosting student mental health and wellbeing. 2026 view publication
- Langdon, MC, Brown, A, Hearps, SJC, Davies, MJ, Collins, B, McDonald, S, Turkstra, LS, Dooley, J, Darby, D, Darling, SJ, et al. A dimensional analysis of autism: The role of basic socio-cognitive skills for social competence in children.. J Neuropsychol 2026 view publication
- Anderson, V, Hearps, S, Beauchamp, M, Darling, S, Catroppa, A, Payne, J, Haritou, F, Galvin, J, Muscara, F, Anderson, V. The Pediatric Evaluation of Emotions, Relationships, and Socialization Questionnaire (PEERS-Q). Development and validation of a parent-report questionnaire of social skills for children. Australian Journal of Psychology Accepted for Publication: 2026 view publication
- Crowe, L, Darling, S, Chow, J. Assessing social cognition in children. 307 -326 2026 view publication
- Smith, R, Darling, S, Dawson, G, Keyes, M, Francis, M, Habgood, E, Cranney, M, Quach, J, Hearps, S, Oberklaid, F. Mental Health in Primary Schools: Final Evaluation Report 2022. 2026 view publication
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