ADM+S Centre biography

Read more about Giselle Newton in the ADM+S Centre.

Researcher biography

Dr Giselle Newton (she/her) is a digital health sociologist at the Centre for Digital Cultures and Societies and has worked at UQ since 2023. Giselle is a Research Fellow on the Australian Ad Observatory in the Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision-Making and Society. Giselle's research program is focused on individuals' experiences with digital, reproductive and genetic technologies, considering how these technologies shape personal and family life. Giselle is interested in methodological and ethical considerations, and participatory, creative and data donation methods in social research. She has experience working in interdisciplinary teams developing and applying digital tools, infrastructure and observatories to better understand individuals (often unobservable and ephemeral) digital social worlds.

Giselle holds an appointment as Adjunct Associate Lecturer at the Centre for Social Research in Health at UNSW, Sydney. Giselle is a co-convenor of the Australian Sociological Association Thematic Group on Families and Relationships. Giselle was awarded the Early Career International Visiting Fellowship, University of Sheffield for 2024-25.

Research

Current projects:

  • Targeted digital advertising in fertility, reproduction and parenting
  • Understanding stakeholders' perspectives on public inquiries in sexual and reproductive health
  • DNA datascapes: how individuals seek information about family via direct-to-consumer DNA testing

Past projects:

  • How alcohol and gambling companies target people most at risk with marketing for addictive products on social media, using the Australian Mobile Ad Toolkit (contract research project commissioned by the Foundation for Alcohol Research and Education Limited, with A/Prof Nic Carah and Lauren Hayden)
  • On target: Understanding advertising in the fertility sector with data from the Australian Ad Observatory, a winter research collaboration (with Romy Wilson Gray and Maria Proctor).
  • Everyday belongings: how Australian donor-conceived adults' use digital technologies to bond, sleuth, educate and strategise. Giselle's PhD study won Dean's Award for Outstanding PhD Theses in 2022.
  • Understanding care endings: Sociological and educational approaches to support pathways out of caring

Research supervision

Current students:

  • Lauren Hayden (PhD candidate, UQ) - Digital advertising and cultures of alcohol consumption on social media platforms (with A/Prof Nicholas Carah, Prof Daniel Angus)
  • Simone Sanders (Master of Genetic Counselling student, UTS) - Representations of breast cancer predisposition testing on TikTok: a qualitative content analysis
  • Lina Choi (Master of Genetic Counselling student, UTS) - Direct-to-consumer DNA testing content online
  • Phoebe Price-Barker (Honours, Criminology, UQ) - Assessing cyber vulnerabilities in direct-to-consumer genetic testing platforms

Past students:

  • Cushla McKinney (Master of Genetic Counselling student, UTS) - The impact of direct-to-consumer DNA testing on genetic counselling practice (with Dr Lisa Dive, A/Prof Aideen McInerny-Leo, Dr Vaishnavi Nathan).
  • Diya Dilip Porwal (Master of Genetic Counselling student, UTS) - Experiences of carrier screening and genetic testing in gamete donors (with Julia Mansour and Dr Lisa Dive).

Areas of supervision: Giselle welcomes research proposals focused on social research in digital identities and cultures; family relationships and practices; DNA and genetic testing/screening; reproductive health and donation.

Teaching

Giselle has coordinated and lectured across undergraduate and postgraduate programs in courses in humanities, social sciences and health. She was course coordinator for COMU2030 Communication Research Methods in 2023, lecturer in HHSS6000 HASS Honours Research Design in 2024 and HHSS6040 Honours Research Design in Arts and Culture in 2025.