WHERS » 2008 Speakers

John Wark

admin — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 02:42:42 +0000

Professor John Wark is an endocrinologist with major clinical and research interests in bone disorders spanning 30 years. He is Head of the RMH Bone and Mineral Service. Particular research interests include genetic and environmental determinants of bone health, the roles of vitamin D and calcium and the aetiology and prevention of falls. He is principal investigator in an ongoing, 15-year longitudinal study of bone health and other indices in over 2,000 female twins. Current projects include the impact of cigarette smoking on bone and its potential reversibility, and the adverse effects of antiepileptic drug therapy on falls and fracture risk.

He has extensive experience in conducting randomized controlled trials in the bone and mineral field. Professor Wark has approximately 200 publications, mostly in the bone and mineral area. He has consulted extensively for the W.H.O., government and non-government bodies and industry. He also directs a publicly-funded, community-based osteoporosis centre.

Claudio Soares

admin — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 02:41:28 +0000

Claudio Soares is an Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences at McMaster University, Ontario, Canada, where he is also the Director of the Women’s Health Concerns Clinic. He earned his medical degree, and later, his PhD in psychoneuroendocrinology from the University of Sao Paulo Medical School in Brazil.

Dr. Soares completed a postdoctoral fellowship in perinatal and reproductive psychiatry in 2001 at Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School. Until 2004, he served as Director for Research at the MGH Perinatal Psychiatry Program, and still holds an active academic appointment at Harvard Medical School.

Dr. Soares’ research career has been focused on projects related to women’s health, particularly mood and anxiety disturbances. His research interests have been primarily devoted to the evaluation of new treatments for premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD), and the use of different hormonal and non-hormonal strategies to improve mood, sleep and quality of life in menopausal women. His most recent interests include the assessment and treatment of reproductive-related trauma and psychiatric morbidity in female immigrants.

Among the many honors and awards received by Dr. Soares are the North American Society for Psychosocial Obstetrics and Gynecology Award and two National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression (NARSAD) awards.

Dr. Soares is a sought-after lecturer for academic symposia at annual meetings of the American Psychiatric Association and several other national and international organizations. He has written extensively on the area of women’s mental health, with more than 110 publications including peer-reviewed manuscripts, editorials, books, and book chapters. His articles have been published in Archives of General Psychiatry, Journal of Affective Disorders, Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, American Journal of Psychiatry and Menopause, among others.

Dr. Soares has also been a reviewer for major scientific publications, such as Journal of American Medical Association (JAMA), Archives of General Psychiatry, American Journal of Psychiatry, Fertility & Sterility, Psychosomatic Medicine, Psychoneuroendocrinology and Menopause. He has been recently nominated Associate Editor for the Journal Watch Women’s Health, from the publishers of the New England Journal of Medicine.

Jane Peake

admin — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 02:40:23 +0000

Jane Peake graduated from the University of Queensland. She commenced general paediatric training at the Royal Children’s Hospital and obtained her FRACP in 1994. She went overseas to obtain training and get experience in Immunology and allergy and had Senior Registrar Posts at the Royal Victorian Infirmary in Newcastle Upon Tyne and St George’s Hospital, London. Whilst in London she completed a Diploma of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene at the University of London and then went to France for 3 years to do research in primary immunodeficiency at Hopital Necker Enfants Malades in Paris, France.

To complete her postgraduate training and to get back into clinical practice she took a fellow position in immunology and allergy at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, Canada. After returning to Australia she commenced private practice in paediatric immunology and allergy at the Wesley Hospital and Royal Children’s Hospital. She is also a senior lecturer at the University of Queensland. She is a visiting consultant to Royal Children’s and Mater Children’s Hospitals.

Special interests include food allergy, anaphylaxis, primary immune deficiency, allergic rhinitis and paediatric autoimmune disease. She has numerous publications in these areas. She be on a variety of state and national committees for anaphylaxis, immunoglobulin usage, primary immunodeficiency, and paediatric immunology and allergy and is the Queensland representative for the Australasian Society of Clinical Immunology and Allergy.

Vanita Parekh

admin — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 02:39:27 +0000

Dr Vanita Parekh is a senior staff specialist in sexual health and forensic medicine based at the Canberra Hospital. She is deputy director of the Canberra Sexual Health Centre, the medical coordinator of FAMSAC and the lead clinician of the Clinical Forensic Medicine Service.

She has a number of research interests within the areas of sexual assault and clinical forensic medicine. She holds a clinical lecturer position at the Australian National University and an honorary senior lecturer position at Monash University. Her qualifications include Fellowships of the Australasian Chapter of Sexual Health Medicine and Australian College of Legal Medicine, Masters in Forensic Medicine, Grad Cert in Higher Education, diplomas in Family planning and Venereology

David Molloy

admin — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 02:38:23 +0000

David Molloy is one of Queensland’s most highly regarded gynaecologists. He has been in specialist practice for more than 20 years. He was the first gynaecologist in Queensland to train on a full time basis specifically in IVF and Infertility treatment. His interest in the use of minimally invasive laparoscopic surgery for the management of complex infertility problems broadened his interest in gynaecological surgery. He performed the first laparoscopic hysterectomies in Queensland in 1990 and has pioneered the introduction of advanced laparoscopic surgery with such conditions as endometriosis, into Queensland.

He is Clinical Director of the Queensland Fertility Group, Director of the Queensland Gynaecological Endosurgery Group, Director of the Endometriosis Clinic of Queensland, Deputy Chairman of the IVF Directors Group of Australia and New Zealand, and a member of the Fertility Society of Australia. He has been President of the AMA of Queensland, The National Assn. of Specialist Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and President of the Australian Gynaecological Endoscopy Society.

Dan Lubman

admin — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 02:38:02 +0000

Dan Lubman is Senior Lecturer in Addiction Psychiatry at the University of Melbourne. He heads the Substance Use Research and Recovery Focused (SURRF) Program at ORYGEN Research Centre, where he leads a clinical research team focused on investigating substance use and comorbidity in youth. This includes a number of pharmacological and psychological treatment trials in psychosis and depression, as well as neuropsychological and neuroimaging studies examining the neurobiology of addiction.

A particular research interest is exploring the impact of substance use on adolescent brain development. Dr Lubman is Chair of the RANZCP Section of Addiction Psychiatry, and an advisory board member of ANNA and the National Cannabis Prevention and Information Centre.

Cathy Lincoln

admin — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 02:36:54 +0000

Cathy Lincoln is a Forensic Medical Officer based on the Gold Coast and is currently Deputy Director, Clinical Forensic Medicine Unit (SER). She has provided clinical forensic medical services in South East Queensland since January 2004 and holds a senior lecturer position at Griffith University.

Prior to 2004, she directed the Sexual Assault Medical Forensic Service in Perth, Western Australia for 10 years. She achieved the Master of Forensic Medicine (Monash University) in 2002 and is a Fellow of the Australian College of Legal Medicine. She is currently completing a PhD on the significance of genital injury in sexual offences.

Martha Hickey

admin — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 02:35:50 +0000

Martha entered medicine from psychology and trained in the UK and Australia. She received a Doctor of medicine from Bristol University in 1996. In 2002 Martha received the Young Investigator of the Year Award: RCOG/RANZCOG

Since then she has maintained her interest in the endometrium and bleeding problems and currently holds several grants for research in this area in addition to research on young women and breast cancer. Martha was the Visiting Professor OBGYN at Yale University in 2006-7 and her current appointment is the Professor of Gynaecology, University of Western Australia.

Kim Forrester

admin — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 02:33:21 +0000

Kim is a registered nurse and barrister-at-law practising at the private Bar in Queensland. She has extensive clinical experience in intensive and coronary care. In 2003, Kim completed her PhD which examined the impact of legislation, professional and process factors on the outcomes of disciplinary proceedings involving health professionals.

Kim has been a lecturer at Griffith University in the Faculty for Nursing and Health since 1994 teaching health law and ethics to students in nursing, physiotherapy, oral health and dentistry, pharmacy and health sciences. Between 2004- 2006, Kim was a foundation academic in the School of Medicine, Griffith University, lecturing in medical law, ethics and professional practice. She has a number of publications in the area of health law, is an editor in the Journal of Law and Medicine and has written a number of chapters in legal and health texts. Kim is a co-author of the text, Essentials of Law for Health Professionals, and is currently involved in writing a similar text specific to medical practitioners.

Martin Elly

admin — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 02:32:05 +0000

Martin is Assistant Professor of Clinical Training in the MBBS degree in the Faculty of Health Sciences and Medicine at Bond University. A counsellor for many years, Martin has worked in primary and secondary schools, private practice, mental health and drug and alcohol settings before commencing an academic career in 2002.

Martin’s areas of expertise include interpersonal communication skills, specialist communication skills, behavioural medicine and the training and use of ‘Standardised Patients’ in the educational environment. Martin is also engaged in PhD research into place of spirituality in the doctor/patient relationship.