Dr Gemma Melvena Malungahu is a Tongan Research Fellow with the Department of Pacific Affairs at Australian National University. She completed her PhD in 2020 at the University of Auckland. Her PhD research explored the experiences and perspectives of Tongan families with rheumatic fever in South Auckland with regard to housing and housing policy. Her research interests include Pacific health, Tongan peoples in the diaspora, migration, public health, equity and access to health care.