At four years old Dr Fiona Barlow told her mother she would make improving race-relations in Australia a priority.

Twenty-six years later nothing has changed.

In 2001 Dr Barlow went into psychology looking to become a clinical psychologist, but quickly got excited by social psychology; a field that looks at all matters of interest in social interactions.

She was so excited by this subject area that she went on to complete her honours then PhD in social psychology – looking at reconciliation between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people in Australia.

At the time she graduated the UQ's School of Psychology had a statistics lecturer position open up, which she took on whilst continuing with her own line of research that focused on prejudice and discrimination – her core aspects of interest.

Today Dr Barlow is a postdoctoral research fellow and lecturer and remains excited and passionate about her research as she gets to “take a scientific lens and apply it to what makes the world interesting.”

Among other things, she has looked at how Asian-Australians engage in a society that is defined by a ‘white face'.

Along with her PhD student, Michael Thai, she has shown that when Asian-Australians are denied their identity they actually have a perceptual change – they see their skin as becoming darker.

“I have also been involved with looking at how negative contact between members of different races can be so traumatic and so poisoning that it can sever inter-group relations far more than positive contact can improve them,” she said.

More recently Dr Barlow has explored topical issues such as same sex marriage.

She has found that gay Australians who are exposed to people actively opposing gay marriage feel worse about themselves and feel that a long-term committed relationship is not possible for them.

“Some even feel more at risk of harming themselves,” she said.

Dr Barlow recently presented this work to the Senate Inquiry in Canberra.

Having an applied focus is incredibly important to Dr Barlow, who said she loves the balance of scientific endeavour, publishing and practical applications that social psychology can bring.

“I currently supervise six PhD students and I'm an active part of the UQ Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences.

"The collaborative and collegial relationships within the faculty ensure that open discussion, new ideas and scientific exploration are always encouraged.”

Media: Dr Fiona Barlow (School of Psychology), email f.barlow@psy.uq.edu.au, phone 3365 6421 or Helen Burdon (Marketing and Communications, Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences), email h.burdon@uq.edu.au, phone 3346 9279.

September 17 to 21 is Research Week 2012 at UQ, one of Australia's premier learning and research institutions. For more information visit: www.uq.edu.au/research-week