From Ma & Morley Scholar to Changemaker
The Ma & Morley Scholarship Program’s aim is to inspire, educate and cultivate the next generation of globally aware and socially conscious Australian leaders. Recent graduate, Dr Tanika Ridgeway, is already changing the way we approach Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health in Australia.
📷 Ma & Morley Ambassador, Dr Tanika Ridgeway, is already making a difference in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health. She recently welcomed the newest cohort of Scholars, sharing how the Program gave her the confidence to lead with purpose.
In the first weeks of working as a Junior Medical Officer, proud Worimi woman, Tanika was on her way home from a night shift when she made an important detour.
Sharing her experience with a brand-new cohort of Ma & Morley Scholars at their welcome event, felt like a full-circle moment for Tanika.
“I can remember my first day like it was yesterday, so it was important to me to welcome the new Scholars and show them what is possible,” says Tanika.
Tanika says her Ma & Morley ‘family’ backed her through the intensity of completing her Bachelor of Medical Science and Doctor of Medicine, strengthening her confidence to lead with intention. Now completing her internship part-time as a Junior Medical Officer, Tanika is balancing training as a doctor, with her work as a researcher in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health through the University of Newcastle, alongside her cultural commitments and responsibilities to her community.
At the heart of her work is connection.
Tanika prioritises taking time to listen, to learn people’s stories and to break down barriers so Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people feel safe in healthcare.
“My passion is in systems change,” Tanika says. “If we do health better, and truly listen to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander voices, we will improve health outcomes. We need to take health back into our own hands.”
Being part of the Ma & Morley Scholarship Program affirmed that leadership in health doesn’t have to look a certain way. It gave me confidence to pursue my path as an Aboriginal doctor and health researcher, committed to empowering communities to take sovereignty over their health.”
Dr Tanika Ridgeway
2021 Ma & Morley Scholar
B Med Sc & Doctor of Medicine, 2025
From Action Project to Published Research
From 2023 to 2025, Tanika and fellow Scholar, Kayden Roberts-Baker (Wiradjuri), completed their Ma & Morley Action Project, alongside their work as Aboriginal Research Assistants. Using yarning circles, they privilege the voices of local Worimi and Awabakal community members in response to the proposed National Lung Cancer Screening Program.
Grounded in Indigenous Methodologies and community leadership, the project generated culturally responsive recommendations for how the program should be communicated and delivered, with equity, cultural safety and self-determination at its core.
These community-led insights culminated in Tanika’s first-author publication in the Medical Journal of Australia (2025), titled Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander voices on the National Lung Cancer Screening Program: a qualitative study from Worimi and Awabakal country.
To find out more about the Ma & Morley Scholarship Program, please visit newcastle.edu.au/ma-morley
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