Michelle H. Lim

Associate Professor Michelle Lim is CEO and Scientific Chair of Ending Loneliness Together, Australia’s peak organisation focused on addressing loneliness and social isolation in Australia. She 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 include understanding loneliness across the lifespan and in populations including those with chronic disease and mental ill health. She is a practising Clinical Psychologist with over 20 years experience.

Associate Professor Lim was the chief investigator of the Australian Loneliness Report (2018), the Young Australian Loneliness Survey (2019), State of the Nation: Social Connection (2023), and the Why We Feel Lonely report (2024). Her work informs governments, and the not-for-profit and corporate sectors across the world.

Associate Professor Lim is considered the leading Australian expert in loneliness, with more than 250 national and international media appearances to date. Her online articles have a global readership of more than 1 million.

In 2020, Associate Professor Lim 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 on the Technical Advisory Group - Social Connection to the World Health Organization.