Director of endocrinology at Flinders Medical Centre with a conjoint position as professor of medicine at Flinders University, Nikolai Petrosky is also vice-president and secretary-general of the international immunomics society. active in diabetes, endocrinology and vaccine research, he is the founder of Vaxine, a company funded by the US national institutes of health to develop novel vaccine technologies. in 2009 Vaxine won the amp innovation award at the Telstra business awards and Australia’s coolest company award from Australian anthill magazine. Nikolai Petrovsky has developed vaccines against influenza, hepatitis b, sting allergy, malaria, Japanese encephalitis, rabies and HIV, has authored over 90 papers and chapters and is a regular invited speaker at international vaccine conferences.

Professor Marc A Gladman PhD MBBS DFFP MRCOG FRCS (Gen Surg) FRACS is a colorectal surgeon practising exclusively in the management of anorectal, functional bowel and pelvic floor disorders.

He set out on his journey to better understand bowel and pelvic floor dysfunction 20 years ago, by training in gynaecology, urology and colorectal surgery in London and Sydney.

Marc is the Director of The Bowel Clinic, Adelaide where he is committed to preventing, treating and curing bowel problems in Australians. He is recognized as an international expert for his pioneering research that he has conducted into these conditions and for the educational resources that he has delivered to colleagues and sufferers but to his patients he is simply know as The Bowel Doctor.

The scientific arm of The Women and Infants Research Foundation is headed by one of the leading authorities in the prevention of preterm birth, Professor John Newnham AM.

Professor Newnham was appointed as WIRF’s Executive Director in 1996 and since then has spearheaded the Foundation’s diverse research portfolio.

He is a Professor of Obstetrics at The University of Western Australia (UWA) and is a sub-specialist in Maternal Fetal Medicine. He is Head of the UWA School of Women’s and Infants’ Health based at King Edward Memorial Hospital; and Head of the newly defined UWA Division of Obstetrics and Gynaecology.

He is also an Adjunct Professor at Peking University, Beijing, and Honorary Director of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the Drum Tower Hospital, Nanjing, China.

Kate is an Addiction Medicine Specialist and Public Health Physician based at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital. Her work combines treating individuals with alcohol, drug and tobacco problems; promoting the health of communities; and research and teaching. She is joint head of the Centre of Research Excellence in Indigenous Health and Alcohol. She is currently the chair of the National Health and Medical Research Council’s Alcohol Working Group, which is charged with reviewing the guidelines to reduce the health risks from drinking alcohol.

Liz Handsley is an experienced academic who has worked at law schools in Sydney, Perth and Adelaide, specialising in constitutional law and media law. She is the President of the Australian Council on Children and the Media and regularly publishes and provides commentary on children’s rights as media users, especially in relation to content classification and advertising regulation.

Dr Raelia Lew was raised in Melbourne and completed her Medical degree at Monash University. She graduated with Honours in 2004, and later trained as a Gynaecologist and Obstetrician at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in Sydney. Dr Lew completed her Masters of Medicine in Reproductive Health Science and Human Genetics at The University of Sydney in 2009 and PHD in Preconception Health Promotion and Reproductive Genetics in 2016. Dr Lew’s PhD research was commenced at the University of Sydney and completed in Cambridge, UK. Preconception Genetic carrier Screening and applying IVF for the purposes of pre-implantation genetic diagnosis remains as her passion, as helping couples affected by or carrying the risk of genetic disease to have healthy babies is one of the greatest miracles of IVF treatment.

Throughout her career, Michelle has held nursing and midwifery education, senior management and consultant positions in both public and private health facilities in Australia. Michelle has completed post graduate studies in Neonatal Nursing, Midwifery, Master of Nursing (Clinical Leadership) and has been an IBCLC for 14 years. Michelle is a BFHI assessor as well as a board director for Lactation Consultants of Australia and New Zealand (LCANZ). Michelle is passionate about supporting staff to care for babies and families and her current position is that of Clinical Midwife Consultant, Postnatal and Infant Feeding, Western Sydney Local Health District

Dr Claire Ellender is a Respiratory and Sleep Physician based at Princess Alexandra Hospital, Brisbane. Her areas of interest are helping people with chronic shortness of breath, pulmonary hypertension and complex sleep disorders.

Dr Ellender did her Respiratory specialist training at the Princess Alexandra Hospital in Brisbane, before moving to Melbourne in 2014 to complete her Respiratory Specialist training at the Alfred Hospital. This move was to undertake a sub-specialist fellowship in Pulmonary Hypertension, with Professor Trevor Williams and the Pulmonary Hypertension Service at the Alfred Hospital. This provided a wealth of experience in treating patients with rare and challenging lung conditions.

Dr Ellender then went on to complete a second sub-specialist fellowship in Sleep Medicine, with the Melbourne Sleep Disorders Centre team. Under the mentorship of Dr David Cunnington and Dr John Swieca, she developed skills in the evaluation, diagnosis and management of a wide range of sleep disorders.

James is a Lecturer (Early Career Development Fellow) in the in Work and Organisational Studies discipline, where he teaches management and leadership.

James’ research interests centre on mindfulness and positive psychology in the workplace, including among leaders and emerging leaders. He is also interested in the influence of contextual factors such as technology, on well-being and performance in the workplace. James’ research has been published in leading international psychology outlets, including the Journal of Personality and the Journal of Research in Personality. James received his PhD from the School of Positive Psychology and Education at the Australian Catholic University, where he explored the effects of mindfulness skills on resilience in a range of settings.

James in passionate about bridging the gap between research and practice, and engages regularly with organisations seeking to develop the resilience and self-awareness of their leaders and emerging leaders, using mindfulness-based approaches. Prior to his academic career, James worked for seven years in public policy with the Commonwealth Departments of Treasury and Foreign Affairs and Trade.

Dr Herrero is a scientifically and medically trained NHMRC Research Fellow, studying the pathobiology of emerging viruses of clinical importance.

Dr Robinson has worked as a specialist at the Department of Allergy and Immunology at the Royal Children’s Hospital since 2008. She has had an active role in training and mentoring nursing staff, paediatric trainees and general paediatricians. She is also a lecturer and examiner for the University of Melbourne. She holds an honorary research fellow position at the Murdoch Research Institute and has been involved in a number of major allergy studies including the HealthNuts Study and the Probiotics Peanut Oral Immunotherapy Trial (PPOIT). She is also a co-author of the Allergy section of the Australian Asthma Handbook, which forms Australia’s national guidelines for asthma management.
Marnie takes a holistic approach to the management of allergic diseases and is passionate about ensuring her patients receive excellent care.
Marnie’s areas of interests include: food allergy, asthma, allergic rhinitis (hay fever), eczema, insect and drug allergy, immunotherapy and primary immune deficiency