Arwen Nikolof is Narungga and Kaurna descent from South Australia. She joined SAHMRI Women and Kids in 2016 as Senior Project Officer on the Aboriginal Families Study, in a joint position with Murdoch Children's Research Institute. She is currently working as a Post Doctoral Research Fellow for the Aboriginal Communities and Families Health Research Alliance on Wave 3 of the Aboriginal Families Study. 

Arwen submitted her PhD thesis in February 2025 at the University of Melbourne and is currently awaiting the results. Her thesis investigated housing mobility for Aboriginal families and potential impacts on children's wellbeing. In response to gaps in the literature, she developed a new tool to assess Aboriginal children's social and emotional wellbeing.

Prior to working at SAHMRI, Arwen has worked in Aboriginal health for over twenty years, within government, the not-for-profit and community controlled sector. She is worked in various roles within the SA Department of Health, the Red Cross, the former Cooperative Research Centre for Aboriginal Health and the Lowitja Institute. Her roles have included community development, policy, research program management, service development and support.