Assoc. Prof. Michelle Lim

Associate Professor Michelle Lim is CEO of Ending Loneliness Together, a not-for-profit organisation focused on addressing loneliness and social isolation in Australia. Associate Professor Lim is also a Principal Research Fellow and co-director of the Social Health and Wellbeing Group at the Prevention Research Collaboration, Sydney School of Public Health, University of Sydney. Her research interests including understanding loneliness across the lifespan and in populations including those with chronic disease and mental ill health. She is also a practising Clinical Psychologist with over 19 years experience.

Associate Professor Lim was the chief investigator of the Australian Loneliness Report (2018), the Young Australian Loneliness Survey (2019) and the State of the Nation Social Connection (2023) in Australia. Her work informs the Australian government, not-for-profit, and corporate sector.

Associate Professor Lim is considered the leading Australian scientific expert in loneliness, with more than 200 national and international media appearances to date. Her online articles has generated high readership of more than 1 million readers globally.

In 2020, Associate Professor Lim also cofounded and was the inaugural co-director of the Global Initiative on Loneliness and Connection, an international coalition of organisations across 23 countries committed to ending the pressing global issue of loneliness and social isolation. In 2024, Associate Professor Lim was appointed as one of 20 global experts to serve on the World Health Organization Commission to Social ConnectionTechnical Advisory Group.