Her research specialises in inequalities in health across different types of social determinants including gender, disability, the built environment, socioeconomic situations, as well as other factors such as housing and employment.
[1] Kavanagh graduated from Flinders University with an MBBS, and then subsequently obtained a PhD from ANU in 1995.
Kavanagh's passion for her career and medical research is led by her personal journey, with a child with autism, as well as intellectual disability.
[5]Kavanagh also regularly works in science communications, and publishes her research in The Conversation, including work around the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS)[6] and impacts of funding cuts to the NDIS on families, particularly those from low socioeconomic backgrounds.
[7] She has also published work on impacts of Covid lockdowns and vaccinations on the general population.