Heather Douglas joined Melbourne Law School in 2021 and teaches and researches in the area of criminal law and procedure. Her expertise on legal responses to domestic and family violence is internationally recognised and she co-ordinates the National Domestic and Family Violence Bench Book. Heather is currently working on an Australian Research Council funded research project exploring the application of non-fatal strangulation offences. She was an Australian Research Council Future Fellow from 2015-2019 and her project explored women’s engagements with the legal system as part of their response to domestic and family violence. Her book, Women, Intimate Partner Violence and the Law, published by Oxford University Press in 2021, was awarded the 2021 Law and Society Association of Australia and New Zealand (LSAANZ) book prize. She is a member of the Melbourne Alliance to End Violence Against Women and Their Children (MAEVe). She is also interested in the operation and application of law in the context of Australian indigenous–settler relations. Her book, Indigenous Crime and Settler Law: White Sovereignty After Empire, co-authored with Professor Mark Finnane was published by Palgrave in 2012. With Dr Nicole Watson, she assisted in the coordination of the Indigenous Judgments Project and a co-edited collection, Indigenous Legal Judgments: Bringing Indigenous Voices into Judicial Decision Making, that was published by Routledge in 2021. In 2022 Heather was awarded an Order of Australia in the General Division (AM) for her service to tertiary law education, and the community. Heather is an elected Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences in Australia and the Australian Academy of Law. Previously she was a Professor at the University of Queensland, School of Law. Heather has held visiting fellowships at Humboldt University, Faculty of Law (2018); Durham University, Institute of Advanced Studies (2016) and Oxford University, Centre for Socio-Legal Studies (2004).

Dr Paul Tescher is a distinguished medical professional and innovator in health technology. He currently serves as the co-founder and CTO of mAIscribe as well as co-owner and Clinical Director of 2 GP clinics. Dr. Tescher holds an MBBS and BMedSci from Melbourne University, and is a Fellow of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (FRACGP). As a practicing GP, he has focused on integrating technology into healthcare to enhance patient outcomes. His work centers on improving patient care through technological innovations and efficient clinical practices, making him a leading voice in the evolving landscape of modern healthcare delivery.

A/Prof Samantha Hocking is an Endocrinologist at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital and a Clinical Academic at the University of Sydney. A/Prof Hocking’s main research interest is precision medicine exploring how personalised medicine can both predict, prevent and improve the management of metabolic disease, particularly diabetes. In addition, she is working with fellow researchers at The Boden Institute and the CPC-RPA Clinic on projects in obesity, bariatric surgery, metabolic syndrome and diabetes and liver disease.
An experienced clinician, John is known globally for his breadth of clinical research into obesity and its complications as well as weight loss treatments and their effects on health. He rates in the top researchers worldwide in the fields of obesity; weight loss; morbid obesity; and bariatric surgery (expertscape.com). He has over 300 original research, review and guideline publications.
Focused on seeing findings translated into clinical practice and on patient advocacy for the obese, John is involved in a wide range of organizations both in Australia and internationally.
Clinical Associate Professor Ralph Audehm is a GP of 35 years experience. He is an Honorary Clinical Associate Professor in the Department of General Practice at the University of Melbourne. He has a broad interest in chronic disease management, diabetes, heart disease and transitional research.

A/Prof Ron Dick is the Chairman of Cardiovascular Institute at Epworth Healthcare, an Honorary Cardiologist at the Alfred Hospital and Bendigo Healthcare Group. In 2017, he received an OAM for service to medicine as a cardiologist.

Dr Richard Elsworthy is primarily interested in the mechanisms underlying neurological disease. Richard works with stem cells, modelling the brain to detect early pathological features of both neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative diseases. Richard also has an interest in how exercise can be used to improve brain health and prevent disease.

I’m a PhD student studying clinical trials methodology, specifically how exercise interventions can be optimised for people at risk of dementia, at the University of Birmingham. Previously I studied Psychology and Neuroscience, leading to my interest in user experience research. My previous research projects have been varied, and focused on: better understanding how environment affects alcohol use; understanding how dopamine receptors in the brain respond to electrical stimulation; and optimising exercise interventions for people at risk of dementia.

Debbie Rigby is a consultant clinical pharmacist from Brisbane. Since graduation with a Bachelor of Pharmacy from the University of Queensland she has obtained a Graduate Diploma in Clinical Pharmacy, Certification in Geriatric Pharmacy, Advanced Diploma in Nutritional Pharmacy and certification as an Asthma Educator; and credentialed as an Advanced Practice Pharmacist. Debbie has special interests in geriatric pharmacotherapy, deprescribing, health behaviour change and asthma/COPD management, regularly conducts medication review services (Home Medicine Reviews) in collaboration with GPs in a medical centre, as well as providing education to pharmacists, general practitioners, nurses, nurse practitioners and consumers. Over the last 20 years Debbie has served on numerous committees for pharmacy organisations including as Chair and Director of the Australian Association of Consultant Pharmacy (AACP), national vice-president of the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia (PSA) and a PSA Qld Branch committee member. Debbie is currently the Chair of the PSA Interdisciplinary Team-Based Care Communities of Specialty Interest (CSI) and is on the Leadership Group of the Respiratory Care CSI. Debbie is a Fellow of PSA, Australian College of Pharmacy (ACP), Society of Hospital Pharmacists of Australia (SHPA) and the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD) and a Life Fellow of American Society of Consultant Pharmacists (ASCP). Academic appointments include Adjunct Associate Professor at University of Queensland and Griffith University, and a Clinical Associate Professor at Queensland University of Technology (QUT). Debbie is a member of the QUT Bachelor of Pharmacy Course Advisory Group. Debbie also sits on numerous advisory boards and committees including: DVA Veteran’s MATES Practitioner Reference Group, International Pharmacists for Anticoagulation Care Taskforce (iPACT), Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care (ACSQHC) Medication Safety Oversight Committee, Active Ingredient Prescribing Advisory Group and National Quality Use of Medicines Project Advisory Group, Lung Foundation Australia COPD Clinical Advisory Committee and Primary Care COPD Advisory Committee, MIMS Australia Advisory Board, Glaucoma Australia Pharmacy Committee, Australian Pharmaceutical Formulary (APF) Editorial Board, Australian Deprescribing Network (ADeN), Deprescribing Taskforce, American Society of Consultant Pharmacists (ASCP) In 2001 Debbie was awarded the PSA Australian Pharmacist of the Year, in 2002 the PSA Qld Bowl of Hygeia, the inaugural 2008 recipient of the AACP Consultant Pharmacist Award and in 2016 awarded the Australian Clinical Pharmacy Award by SHPA. In 2020, Debbie was the first female awarded the PSA Lifetime Achievement Award.

Professor Weerasooriya is a UWA graduate of over 30 years who completed cardiology training at Royal Perth Hospital and Hopital Cardiologique Haut-Lévêque in Bordeaux, France. Rukshen has over 20 years experience as a sub-specialist cardiac electrophysiologist with a passion for all things heart rhythm related.

A/Professor Blackham is a Consultant Bariatric & General Surgeon, Academic and Director of Aurora Bariatrics. She is the only Surgeon to have won both the AMA WA Junior Doctor of the Year and the John Corboy Medal (highest award for a Surgical Trainee) from the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons. A/Professor Blackham undertook specialist training in bariatric surgery in Perth and Melbourne and was bestowed the IFSO Asia Pacific Medtronic scholarship in London as well as the ANZGOSA-Upper GI Younger Fellow scholarship. After completing 20 years of medical and surgical training she was awarded a Winston Churchill Memorial Trust Fellowship, granting further access to international surgical immersions in Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Singapore, London and Vienna. A/Professor Blackham is an academic surgeon, having completed two Masters in both Surgery and Legal Medicine, as well as a completed PhD researching quality and excellence within the discipline of bariatric surgery via The University of Western Australia. She was an Academic within the Discipline of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine for six years requiring teaching of trainee doctors and medical students, post-graduate surgical registrars and fellows. She is an Editorial Board Member of the Journal of SOARD (Society for Obesity And Related Disease) and a Journal Reviewer for the Australian/New Zealand Journal of Surgery. She has continued a lifetime of advocacy for junior doctors within the Australian Medical Association and Postgraduate Medical Council of Western Australia. She is a Royal Australasian College of Surgeons Council-appointed member for both the Prevocational Skills & Education Committee as well as the Skills & Oversight Committee. She is dedicated to ensuring surgical safety and quality practice, as well as a kind and caring demeanour. She has a passion for pursuit of a healthy lifestyle and is an advocate for engaging in patient’s wellbeing and future health goals. A/Professor Blackham ensures compassion and pursuit of excellence in caring for all her patients. Qualifications MBBS Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (University of Western Australia) PhD Doctorate in Assessment of Performance of Sleeve Gastrectomy by Surgeons MS Master of Surgery (University of Western Australia) MLegM Master of Legal Medicine (Griffith University, Qld) DCH Diploma of Child Health (Princess Margaret Hospital for Children) DRANZCOG Diploma of Royal Australian/NZ College of Obstetrics & Gynaecology VGDWH Vocational Graduate Diploma in Women’s Health (King Edward Memorial Hospital for Women) FRACS Fellowship of The Royal College of Surgeons FACLM Fellowship of the Australian College of Legal Medicine International Fellow of the American Society of Metabolic and Bariatric Surgeons (IFASMBS) Subspecialty Focus Bariatric surgery Sleeve Gastrectomy Gastric bypass surgery – One anastomosis gastric bypass, Roux-en-Y gastric bypass Removal of Gastric Bands Consulting Locations Murdoch: SJOG Murdoch Sessional Suites, SJOG Murdoch Perth: Mount Medical Centre, Perth 6000 (next to Mount Hospital) Subiaco: within Western General Surgery, 4/200 Rokeby Road, Subiaco Professional Associations AMA – Australian Medical Association RACS – Royal Australasian College of Surgeons GSA – General Surgeons Australia ANZGOSA – Aust & NZ Gastric and Oesophageal Surgery Association ANZMOSS – Aust & NZ Metabolic and Obesity Surgery Society (formerly OSSANZ) IFSO – International Federation for the Surgery of Obesity and Metabolic Disorders ASMBS – American Society of Metabolic and Bariatric Surgeons

Professor Christopher Rowe BMBS, FRACP, MD, FAANMS is a nuclear medicine physician and neurologist, with over 20 years of experience in dementia research and patient care. He is the Director of Molecular Imaging Research at Austin Health, Melbourne, Professorial Fellow University of Melbourne, a NHMRC Practitioner Fellow and is the inaugural Director of the Australian Dementia Network. His research focus is molecular imaging and blood diagnostics of neurodegenerative diseases, particularly Alzheimer’s Disease, for better understanding, earlier more accurate detection, and to facilitate development of early therapeutic interventions. He has over 400 publications and is in the 2021 Highly Cited Researcher list of the top 1% world-wide for neuroscience with over 7,500 citations of his papers per year, and has received the 2011 US Society of Nuclear Medicine Kuhl-Lassen Award for Outstanding Contribution to Brain Imaging and the 2016 Christopher Clark Award for advancing human brain amyloid imaging.