Areas of Interest: Social & political philosophy; Feminist philosophy; Normative Ethics; Applied ethics

I am a Senior Lecturer at Sydney Health Ethics, University of Sydney, Australia, where I teach introduction to moral philosophy and bioethical methodologies. My research focusses on issues of human flourishing, at the intersection of feminist theory, ethics, and political philosophy. I am particularly interested in questions related to power, health & well-being, identity & group relations, and personal & group agency. I am currently developing an account of public heath virtue ethics, and am part of a team exploring theories of reproductive autonomy in the context of genetic carrier screening.

Dr Samantha Sundercombe graduated with First Class Honours in Medicine from the University of Sydney, as well as a Bachelor of Advanced Science (Genetics). After clinical training including experience in Obstetrics and Gynaecology she trained as a Genetic Pathologist at NSW Health Pathology (Prince of Wales and Royal Prince Alfred Hospitals) and Douglass Hanly Moir Pathology (DHM) and joined DHM as a Pathologist in 2022.
Dr Sundercombe is interested in all aspects of genetics and is more than happy to assist doctors with any enquiries relating to genetic testing.

Dr Lauren Akesson is a dual trained genetic pathologist and clinical geneticist with a PhD in cystic fibrosis. Her training in paediatrics and genetics was completed in Perth, Darwin, Melbourne, Adelaide, and the Netherlands. She has experience in the clinical management of couples seeking fertility and pregnancy management including high risk reproductive carrier screening and non-invasive prenatal screening (NIPS) results. Lauren is Melbourne Pathology’s first genetic pathologist, and she has honorary positions at the University of Melbourne and Royal Melbourne Hospital. She has a special interest in implementing new approaches to genetic testing, and understands the importance of patient-centred care.

C. Michael White, Pharm.D., FCP, FCCP is a Board of Trustees Distinguished Professor and Chair of the Department of Pharmacy Practice at the University of Connecticut School of Pharmacy.

His ~490 publications resulted in 16288 citations, an H-index of 66, and i10 Index of 242; placing him within an elite group of researchers. Dr. White’s research interests are in the areas of comparative effectiveness and preventing adverse events from drugs, devices, dietary supplements, and illicit substances. His work has been published in JAMA, Lancet, Annals of Internal Medicine and Circulation (among others) with research coverage by NBC Nightly News, Good Morning America, BBC, CNN, NY Times, Washington Post, LA Times, Boston Globe, PBSNewsHour, WNPR Morning Edition, Prevention Magazine, and hundreds of other (inter)national media outlets. Five of his publications were among the top 5 read articles in that journal in the years they were published. His work has been primarily funded by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality with additional grants from the Donaghue Foundation, Pfeiffer Foundation, and American College of Clinical Pharmacy, among others.

He had a recurring segment on a local Connecticut TV station (NBC30 and then FOX61) where he shared medical news with the public (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZrPgfEMHpv4_MfEm1W_tRQ) from 2001 to 2020, has articles with over 1.5 million readers for The Conversation, and appeared on the Dr Oz show. He is a Fellow of the American College of Clinical Pharmacologists and The American College of Clinical Pharmacy and is on the editorial boards of the Annals of Pharmacotherapy and Pharmacy Practice News. Dr. White is a UConn Teaching Fellow, the highest university teaching designation, and received the Provost’s Award for Public Engagement for his media, migrant farmworker clinic, and COVID-19 work.
He has received the American College of Clinical Pharmacist Young Investigator Award, American Society of Health-System Pharmacists Award for Sustained Contributions to the Literature and the Drug Therapy Research Awards, and the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy Lyman Award and the Weaver Award.

I am a 2025 Doctor of Pharmacy Candidate at the University of Connecticut’s School of Pharmacy. I have a bachelor’s degree in Molecular and Cell Biology and Pharmacy from the University of Connecticut that I obtained in 2021 and 2023, respectively. I am a research student for Dr. C. Michael White at the University of Connecticut School of Pharmacy.

James McCaw is a mathematical biologist and epidemiologist and past Australian Research Council Future Fellow (2011 15) at the University of Melbourne. After obtaining a PhD in theoretical physics in 2005, he turned his interests to a recognised needs area in Australia mathematical modelling of infectious diseases to inform public health policy. He now holds a teaching and research position split between the School of Mathematics & Statistics and the Melbourne School of Population and Global Health. He also holds an honorary appointment at the Peter Doherty Institute. Since January 2020 he has served as an expert member of the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee, advising government on the epidemiology of COVID-19.

Dr Shearer is an NHMRC Research Fellow based at The University of Melbourne. Her expertise is in the use of data analytics, modelling, and decision science to support infectious disease management. Her work focuses on two broad pathogen types: those with constrained geographic distributions due to their complex transmission cycles involving multiple animal reservoir and vector species (e.g., zoonotic malaria); and those of pandemic potential due to their novelty and direct/efficient human-to-human transmission (e.g., SARS-CoV-2).

Since January 2020, Dr Shearer has been engaged in supporting the Australian Government response to COVID-19. She has a leadership role in weekly reporting to key national decision-making committees on state-level and national epidemic situational assessment.

Dr James Wood is an applied mathematician with interests across a broad range from evolutionary and immunological processes to cost-effectiveness evaluations for disease interventions. He completed his honours degree and PhD at the University of Queensland (both in mathematical physics). His primary application area is respiratory viruses and vaccine preventable diseases but he also has interests in tuberculosis and sexually transmitted infections.

He has published over 90 papers in international journals, focusing on the impact and cost-effectiveness of vaccines on epidemiology, along with research related to disease elimination and characteristing infectious disease epidemiology. Since 2020 he has been heavily involved in Australian state and national responses to COVID-19 as well some WHO work in support of responses in the Philippines and Malaysia. His current primary interests are in integrating genetic and immunologic elements into epidemiological models to account for trends in pathogen resistance and population immunity and developing improved respiratory virus surveillance and forecasts.

Eric L Hsu is a Lecturer in Sociology at the University of South Australia, where he also presently serves as a co-leader of a work package on ‘risk, emergency management and global pandemics’ at the UniSA Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence. He is the co-creator and host of the Sociology of Everything Podcast (sociologypodcast.com). His research specializes in the sociology of sleep, the social analysis of advanced automation, and the social theory of disasters. Most recently with Catherine Coveney, Michael Greaney, Rob Meadows and Simon Williams, he is co-author of Technosleep: Fronters, Fictions, Futures (2023) published by Palgrave Macmillan. More information about his work can be found on his website, www.ericlhsu.com.

I am sociologist of health and illness, interested in health and medical technologies (including pharmaceuticals, self-tracking technologies and fertility treatments) and the roles they play in how we think about, act on and react to health and illness. My research has focussed on the sociological, cultural and ethical aspects of biomedicine across several areas of everyday life, taking disability, sleep, suicide, chronic illness, elite sport and human reproduction as specific examples. My current research projects are ‘Technosleep: Frontiers, Fictions, Futures’ which takes a critical sociological lens to explore the entanglements of sleep and technology; and Living with Noonan Syndrome which explores the everyday lives of parents caring for children with rare genetic disease.

Dr Prerna Varma is a Research Fellow and an NHMRC Cogsleep Research Fellow in the Sleep and Circadian Medicine at the Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health, Monash University. Her current research focuses on two primary themes:
i) design, development, and delivery of personalised digital interventions to address sleep, fatigue, and circadian disruption in shift workers; and
ii) examining sleep and mental health from a public health perspective.

An early career researcher, Dr Varma is deeply interested in involving communities into the design and implementation of their care. She has worked with healthcare and defence sectors, and communities living with dementia to identify optimal areas of support. Her work has received funding from the Medical Research Futures Fund, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, NHMRC funded Cogsleep Program, Defence, Science and Technology group, Dementia Australia and Monash University’s Sleep and Circadian Medicine internal grants.

Dr Varma completed her PhD in psychology from the RMIT University. Her thesis focused on examining family dynamics in sleep. A family intervention designed during her PhD is now being translated to support families living with dementia. Prerna has a background in digital marketing industry and supporting development of smartphone applications, which she brings into her research roles.