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MBChB FRCA FANZCA FFICM PhD

Professor Geoff Hill MBChB MD BHB FRCPA FRACP geoffH@qimr.edu.au

NHMRC Australia and QLD Health Senior Clinical Research Fellow

Coordinator, Cancer Programme, QIMR Berghofer

Head, Bone Marrow Transplantation Laboratory, QIMR Berghofer

Director of Research, Cancer Care Services, Royal Brisbane & Womens’ Hospital

Bone Marrow Transplant Physician and Haematologist, Royal Brisbane & Womens’ Hospital

Geoff Hill is a medical graduate of the University of Auckland and Haematologist, training in New Zealand, The Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Boston. He is a NHMRC Australia Fellow and his immunology laboratory focuses on the interactions between cytokines, antigen presenting cells and regulatory T cells during transplantation.

Professor Hill was the 2005 Queenslander of the Year and recipient of the Transplantation Society of Australia and New Zealand 2009 Ian McKenzie Award and the 2014 Translational Research Institute National Prize for excellence within basic and clinical research in the transplant field. He was also awarded a Queensland Health Senior Clinical Research Fellowship in 2010 to translate new cytokine and cell based therapies into clinic practice.

Paul W. Hodges DSc MedDr PhD BPhty(Hons) FAA FACP APAM(Hon) is an National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Leadership Fellow (Level 3), Professor and Director of the Centre for Innovation in Pain and Health Research (CIPHeR) at The University of Queensland (UQ). He is lead chief investigator on an NHMRC Synergy Grant that includes colleagues from the Universities of Queensland, Adelaide and South Australia, and the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute. Paul is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science, which is a Fellowship of the nation’s most distinguished scientists, elected by their peers for outstanding research that has pushed back the frontiers of knowledge. He is also a Fellow of the Australian College of Physiotherapists, the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Science, and was made an Honoured member of the Australian Physiotherapy Association, their highest honour.

Paul is a recognised world leader in movement control, pain and rehabilitation. His unique comprehensive research approach from molecular biology to brain physiology and human function has led to discoveries that have transformed understanding of why people move differently in pain. His innovative research has also led to discoveries of changes in neuromuscular function across a diverse range of conditions from incontinence to breathing disorders. These observations have been translated into effective treatments that have been tested and implemented internationally.

Paul has received numerous national and international research awards that span basic and clinical science. These include the premier international award for spine research (ISSLS Prize) on five occasions; three times in Basic Science (2006, 2011, 2019) and twice in Clinical Science (2018, 2021). International awards in basic science include the SusanneKlein-Vogelbach Award (2010) and the Delsys Prize for Innovation in Electromyography (2009). National medical research awards include the NHMRC Achievement Award (2011). He has also received national community-based leadership awards including the Young Australian of the Year Award in Science and Technology (1997), Future Summit Australian Leadership Award (2010), and Emerging Leader Award (Next 100 Awards, 2009).

Paul is the Chair of the Terminology Task Force for the International Association for the Study of Pain, Chair of the Consensus for Experimental Design in Electromypgraphy for the International Society for Electrophysiology and Kinesiology and has been the Chair/Co-Chair for several major international conferences. He has led major international consortia to bring together leaders from multiple disciplines to understand pain.

Melanie Hoyle is a Lecturer in Occupational Therapy at The University of Queensland. She completed her PhD is 2022 and Masters in Occupational Therapy Studies in 2004. These degrees were on the back of previously completed studies in science, psychology, health management and health promotion. Melanie has practiced in a broad range of clinical areas, with diverse population groups. She is passionate about partnering with people to support participation in occupations and improve life satisfaction regardless of health condition. Presently her research interests are concentrated on factors that impact on people’s participation in the community and her PhD focused on exploring these influences with people who have experience stroke. She also has research interests in the impact of the NDIS on consumer and clincians experiences in service provision, assistive technology and home-modifications and their influence on participation outcomes, and facilitating leisure opportunities for people with disabilities.

Ruth E. Hubbard is a Consultant Geriatrician at the Princess Alexandra Hospital and in October 2020 was appointed as the Masonic Chair of Geriatric Medicine at the University of Queensland.

She qualified from St Mary’s Hospital Medical School in London and trained in general internal medicine and geriatric medicine in Cardiff, Wales. As a clinical academic, she has always combined hospital practice with research and teaching. She has completed an MSc in Medical Education, an MD on pathophysiological changes in frail older people and a post-doctoral fellowship in Dalhousie University, Nova Scotia with Professor Ken Rockwood. Here, she was able to test hypotheses regarding the determinants and manifestations of frailty through the interrogation of large datasets. She has published widely on the inflammatory aetiology of frailty, the difficulties of measuring frailty in clinical practice and the relationships between frailty and obesity, smoking, socioeconomic status and exercise. Based on the impact of her publications, she is currently ranked number 4 in a list of frailty experts worldwide (http://expertscape.com/ex/frail+elderly).

In the last 5 years, she has generated $24.5M in grant income including as CIA on the following: MRFF Dementia Ageing and Aged Care Mission ($5M), a Centre for Research Excellence in Frailty ($2.5M), an Ideas Grant ($1.6M) and the NHMRC Targeted Call for Frailty Research ($1.5M). As Founder and Director of the Australia Frailty Network (AFN), she has established a team of consumer partners, multidisciplinary clinical academics, behavioural psychologists and statisticians answering critical questions relating to the measurement and management of frailty.

Clara Jiang is a postdoctoral research fellow at the Institute for Molecular Bioscience, the University of Queensland. Clara’s research focuses on using genomic and transcriptomic analysis to investigate the genetic basis of cardiovascular and psychiatric disorders, with a particular focus on female health, as well as using statistical genomic approaches to explore possible opportunities for drug repurposing. Clara graduated from the University of Queensland with Bachelor of Advanced Science (First Class Honours) in 2017, and was awarded the University Medal. Clara was awarded her PhD at the University of Queensland in 2021, where she utilised bioinformatic approaches and molecular experiments to decipher the genetic aetiology of breast cancer, specifically the regulatory role of transposons or ‘jumping genes’ in modulating the transcriptional landscape in the cancer state. Clara is also a UQ Wellness ambassador and an advocate for promoting equity, diversity and inclusion in academia.

Professor David Johnson PSM

MB BS (Hons, Univ Medal), PhD (Syd), DMed(Res), FASN, FISN, FAHMS, FRACP

Department of Kidney and Transplant Services, Division of Medicine, Building 31, Princess Alexandra Hospital

david.johnson2@health.qld.gov.au

David Johnson is full-time Director of the Metro South Kidney and Transplant Service (MSKATS) and Medical Director of the Queensland Kidney Transplant Service (QKTS) at Princess Alexandra Hospital, Professor of Medicine and Professor of Population Health at University of Queensland, and Director of the Centre for Kidney Disease Research in Brisbane, Australia. He has a number of international leadership responsibilities, including Co-Chair of the International Society of Nephrology Global Kidney Health Atlas (ISN GKHA), Co-Chair of the International Society for Peritoneal Dialysis (ISPD) Guidelines on Peritonitis Prevention and Treatment, Co-Chair of the Global PDOPPS Steering Committee, Chair of SONG-PD, Immediate Past President of the Australian and New Zealand Society of Nephrology (ANZSN), Past President of the ISPD (2018-2020), Past Councillor of the ISN (2013-2019), and member of the ISN-ACT, ISN Research and ISN Monitor groups. He is currently a chair or member of 11 national and 7 international guideline groups and is ranked by Expertscape as the “top-rated expert in dialysis in the world during the years 2013-2023.” He has influenced policy and practice through his leadership as Deputy Chair of the Australian Better Evidence And Translation in Chronic Kidney Disease (BEAT-CKD) program, Deputy Chair of the Australasian Kidney Trials Network (AKTN), Chair of the Primary Healthcare Education Advisory Committee to Kidney Health Australia (PEAK), Co-Chair of the Australasian Creatinine and eGFR Consensus Working Party, Co-Chair of the Australasian Proteinuria Consensus Working Party, Member and Past-Chair of the ANZDATA Registry Peritoneal Dialysis Working Group, and Past-Chair of the Queensland Statewide Renal Clinical Network.

Having published over 1200 original manuscripts in peer-reviewed journals and presented over 550 abstracts at national and international scientific meetings, he brings critical expertise in designing and conducting multi-centre, multi-national randomised controlled trials (RCTs), developing national and international registries, using innovative research methodologies (such as registry-based RCTs) and implementing trial findings into practice. He has held lead roles in high-impact, large, multi-centre RCTs that have informed global clinical practice, including CKD-FIX, IDEAL, balANZ, HONEYPOT, TESTING, HERO, and IMPENDIA. He is currently principal investigator of the TEACH-PD and INCH-HD trials, and chair of the PHOSPHATE Trial Global Steering Committee. He helped establish the Australian Peritonitis Registry and led the highly successful National PD Peritonitis Quality Improvement Project, which reduced national peritonitis rates by two-thirds. He also led the universal implementation of automated laboratory reporting of eGFR in ANZ which increased national detection rates by 40%.

He has won numerous awards for both his basic science and clinical research science studies, including the ANZSN TJ Neale Award for “outstanding contributions to nephrologic science” (2005), the US National Kidney Foundation International Distinguished Medal (2014), the Canadian Society of Nephrology Dimitrios Oreopoulos Award (2017) and the Asia-Pacific Society of Nephrology Priscilla Kincaid-Smith Award (2021). He was a Queensland finalist in the Australian of the Year Awards in 2009 and was awarded a Public Service Medal by the Governor-General of Australia in 2011 for outstanding public service, particularly research into the early detection and management of kidney disease.

Dr. Vaibhavi Joshi is a postdoctoral research fellow at The University of Queensland Centre for Clinical Research. She is part of the Molecular Breast Pathology Lab alongside Prof. Sunil Lakhani, A/Prof Amy McCart Reed, and A/Prof Peter Simpson. Currently, she is working with with A/Prof Peter Simpson to investigate the molecular basis of breast cancer in young women, focusing on identifying novel biomarkers and potential targets to improve outcomes for this high-risk group.

Her research explores the hallmarks of metastasis, including tumor invasion,colonisation, and the tumor microenvironment. Dr. Joshi employs advanced molecular biology techniques to study cancer progression and uncover clinically relevant targets.

Dr. Joshi welcomes students and collaborators interested in cancer biology, metastasis, and innovative therapeutic strategies to join her in exploring cutting-edge projects.

The research focuses on the evaluation and management of neck pain from a physical therapy perspective

The research in the Cervical Spine and Whiplash Research Unit in the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences has an applied clinical focus. Two models of neck pain are being investigated, idiopathic neck pain and neck pain following trauma. The research questions and investigates the possible physical and psychological processes underlying the pain and functional disturbances associated with neck disorders to better identify and quantify the impairments or disturbances in the sensory, muscle, sensorimotor and psychological systems.

Whiplash associated disorders

Processes associated with chronic whiplash associated disorders have been researched, identifying problems in the sensory, motor and postural control systems. A prospective study of prognostic indicators for whiplash from within 4 weeks of injury to recovery or chronicity (6 months post injury) identified sensory, motor and psychological processes associated with recovery and non recovery. A multicentre, international collaborative project is underway to test the sensitivity and specificity of these indicators. This research questions the current classification system for whiplash associated disorders. One RCT of management of chronic whiplash associated disorders has been completed. Currently an RCT is underway to test whether a pragmatic multi-professional management program for acute whiplash will lessen the incidence of transition to chronicity.

Cervicogenic headache

Research into cervicogenic headache has established the physical criteria which characterise cervicogenic headache. A specific pattern of articular and muscle impairment clearly identifies cervicogenic headache from other types of benign intermittent frequent headache with symptomatic overlap (eg tension-type headache and frequent migraine without aura). An RCT has been conducted to investigate the efficacy of physiotherapy treatment methods designed to address these impairments. Current research is investigating cervicogenic headache in the elderly.

Impairment in the neck muscle system and sensorimotor control

The nature of impairments in the cervical muscle system associated with neck pain is being researched. Impairments in the motor control of the deep and superficial neck muscles have been identified in cognitive, functional and automatic tasks. The changes appear to be generic reactions to neck pain syndromes regardless of aetiology. Two randomised controlled trials have been conducted testing the effectiveness of a specific exercise regime developed from this research. The possible physiological mechanisms underlying the effectives of different therapeutic exercise strategies are currently being researched to ensure best evidence-based practice in the field of therapeutic exercise for cervical disorders.

Dr Kassianos is a Senior Scientist at the Conjoint Internal Medical Laboratory, Queensland Health. Dr Kassianos has made significant contributions to understanding the cell-cell communication between discrete kidney cell and immune cell populations and the therapeutic potential of targeting this cross-talk in chronic kidney disease (CKD). Dr Kassianos has been integral in the development of innovative tools for CKD analytics: (i) in situ/ex vivo profiling for integrating CKD molecular profiles with histopathology; and (ii) preclinical models for screening novel CKD therapeutics. His research is internationally recognised in the field of CKD pathobiology.

Dr Kassianos has contributed to the fields of nephrology and immunology with 41 publications, >2000 career citations (~48 citations/paper) and invited international keynote lectures. Dr Kassianos has a continued record of success in attracting competitive research funding (>$2M as CI), including an NHMRC Dora Lush Scholarship (2007-2010), an RBWH Foundation Fellowship (2012-2014) and two NHMRC Project Grants as CIA (2016-2019; 2019-2022). Dr Kassianos has publications in high-ranking specialist (nephrology, immunology) and generalist journals, including five editorial commentaries in publication issues. These include 21 publications (~50% of his papers) as first or senior author/co-author – of which, 19 (90%) are in top field-weighted journals (Q1, top 10%), including Kidney Int, J Am Soc Nephrol, Cell Death Dis and J Extracell Vesicles. During this time, Dr Kassianos has supervised 5 Early Career Researchers, 5 PhD students (3 to completion) and 2 Masters students (both to completion). Dr Kassianos is also an Editor at Frontiers in Physiology and has contributed to 3 NHMRC grant review panels (2019-2021).

Dr Shelley Keating is an Accredited Exercise Physiologist (AEP) and a Senior Lecturer in Clinical Exercise Physiology at the School of Human Movement and Nutrition Sciences, University of Queensland. With a strong grounding in exercise metabolism and body composition, Dr Keating leads a program of research aimed at changing the way we prioritise, access and deliver lifestyle intervention for people with obesity, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD)/ metabolic-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) and type 2 diabetes. Dr Keating holds qualifications in clinical exercise physiology BExSciRehab (Hon-1); MExSpSci (Clinical Exercise Science); PhD (Exercise Physiology) and over 15 years’ experience as an AEP developing, delivering, and disseminating exercise interventions in adults with obesity and related chronic diseases.

I am the Founder and Director of the Hearing Research Unit for Children, leading three research teams investigating (1) middle ear assessments in neonates and infants, (2) hearing screening and diagnostic assessment of school-aged children, and (3) assessment of auditory function of adults and children using electrophysiologic measures including otoacoustic emissions, auditory brainstem response, steady-state evoked potentials, wideband absorbance and wideband tympanometry. My special interest in technological advances and my mission to improve hearing health services through the use of cutting-edge technologies have inspired me to become a world leader in detecting ear diseases in newborns, infants and children. As a world leader in the field of tympanometry and advanced middle ear assessments for children, I have been invited to present on the use of wideband tympanometry with infants and children at international seminars and institutions.

As of July 2024, I have a career total of 249 publications - consisting of 1 book, 4 book chapters, 2 chapters in the Encyclopedia of Human Communication Sciences and Disorders, 132 peer-reviewed journal papers and 110 conference abstracts. Internationally, I am ranked as the most productive author in the world in the field of Tympanometry (a test of middle ear function) and advanced middle ear assessments for all years (1994-2024) and for the last 5 years (Web of Science, February 2024). My work has been cited in 25 different subject categories including Medicine, Health Professions, Neuroscience, Physics, Astronomy, Engineering and Computer Science (Scopus, February 2024). Furthermore, my work has been widely cited internationally by authors in 83 countries ranging from the United States to Europe, Asia and the Middle East (Scopus, February 2024).

I am a consultant Accredited Practising Dietitian and Senior Research Fellow in the Centre for Online Health. I have a PhD in technology-supported lifestyle interventions and delivering dietary education to improve people’s dietary self-management. My research program focuses on technology-enabled health systems and interventions for improving patient-centred care in chronic disease and simplifying nutrition communication for clinicians and people living with chronic conditions. I work in private practice, primarily providing professional consultancy services for kidney nutrition. I also provide consultation for cardiovascular disease and diabetes. You can learn more about my private practice here - https://www.mynutritionclinic.com.au/renal-dietitian/

RESEARCH INTERESTS

My research interests are in 1) Nutrition & Dietetics – primarily diet quality and focusing on methods to improve diet quality in people with chronic kidney disease and other complex chronic conditions; 2) Health Service Delivery & 3) Digital Health – specifically focused on preparing to workforce, codesigning and testing technology-assisted interventions to deliver lifestyle interventions. My current work focuses on technology-enabled health systems and interventions for improving patient-centred care in chronic disease and simplifying nutrition communication for clinicians and people living with chronic conditions.

Emeritus Professor Justin Kenardy is a research and health sector leader. He is also an active disseminator of evidence-based practice in clinical and health psychology, mental health care, and health service delivery. His work is outcomes focussed and is engaged with health users, providers and industry. He is known for his interdisciplinary research work on the psychological impacts of trauma and injury. This is situated at the intersection of mental health, and physical health. His work includes the development and application of preventative, integrative and novel intervention approaches. His published work demonstrates the interdisciplinary and trans-disciplinary approach to collaborating with psychology, medical specialties, allied health, nursing, law, and health economics. He has a practical, respectful and strategic leadership style. He is style is goal-driven and consultative which aims to bring others along to achieve the goal. He is also a mentor and consultant. He provides service to the profession of psychology and the broader community through his range of roles in the Australian Psychological Society, the Psychologists Board of Australia, and the Australian Psychology Accreditation Council, to the field of research through his leadership roles within Queensland Health, the NHMRC, and ISTSS, and to the Jamieson Trauma Institute and Gallipoli Medical Research Institute. He is a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences Australia, Fellow of the Australian Psychological Society, Fellow of the Queensland Academy of Arts and Sciences, and a recipient of both the Australian Psychological Society's President's Award for Distinguished Contribution to Psychology and the Ian Campbell Prize for Outstanding Contribution to Clinical Psychology. He is the Editor-in-Chief of the Australian Journal of Psychology.

Professor Bradley Kendall is a clinical academic Gastroenterologist and Cancer Epidemiologist. He is currently a Senior Staff Gastroenterologist (Eminent) at the Princess Alexandra Hospital, Brisbane with over 30 years of experience in clinical practice. His clinical training included Fellowships in the United States at the University of Virginia and the University of California – Los Angeles. Mid clinical career he commenced higher degree studies and in 2014 was awarded a PhD in Cancer Epidemiology from The University of Queensland for his work on Barrett’s oesophagus and obesity. He is actively involved in ongoing research into the epidemiology of pre-malignant and malignant gastrointestinal diseases via his clinical appointment and appointment as a Professor in the School of Medicine at The University of Queensland.

Professor Kendall is involved with national and international collaborations, including projects with the US National Cancer Institute supported International Barrett’s and Esophageal Adenocarcinoma Consortium and the NHMRC supported multicentre Australian Progression of Barrett’s Esophagus to Cancer Network. Currently, he is a Chief investigator in a Cancer Australia funded multicentre Australian collaborative study of the impact of the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program on colorectal cancer outcomes for people with severe mental illness.

Cognitive and decision-making problems associated with psychotic disorders like schizophrenia are considered the largest burden for these individuals. They also predict poor functional outcomes, such as maintaining work, social networks, and independent living. I am particularly interested in the relationship between decision-making problems and psychotic symptoms in these disorders; will improving decision-making also reduce psychotic symptoms? To that end, I focus on decision-making tasks that are reliant on brain areas and networks that are implicated in psychosis.

My work aims to understand how corticostriatal circuitry drives decision-making processes, and how this is altered in those with schizophrenia and psychosis. I have taken advantage of my collaborations with basic scientists and clinical researchers with a broad range of expertise to establish a cross-species program of research focussed on decision-making. My research is guided by two fundamental questions:

1. Do decision-making problems in schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders contribute to psychotic symptoms?
2. How can we leverage the mechanistic tools available in rodent neuroscience to identify causative common substrates underlying decision-making problems (and by proxy psychotic symptoms)?

Professor Khosrotehrani is a clinical scientist, dermatologist, interested in skin biology, regenerative medicine and skin cancer. He leads the Experimental Dermatology Group at the University of Queensland Diamantina Institute within the Translational Research Institute in Brisbane, Australia. He is also the deputy director of the Australian Skin and Skin Cancer Research Centre in Brisbane. Dr Khosrotehrani obtained his MD from the Cochin-Port Royal School of Medicine at René Descartes University, Paris, France, where he specialized in Dermatology. He is a former graduate of the Ecole Normale Supérieure and the Institut Pasteur of Paris (Université Paris VI, Pierre et Marie Curie) where he obtained a PhD in Physiology and Physiopathology. He is a fellow of the Australian College of Dermatologists and a practising dermatologist at the Princess Alexandra Hospital, Prince Charles Hospital and the Skin and Cancer Foundation’s Queensland Institute of Dermatology.

During his post-doctoral training at Tufts-New England Medical Center, Boston, USA, Dr. Khosrotehrani helped establish the contribution of fetal stem cells to tissue repair by demonstrating their multipotent capacity with a specific potency towards the endothelial lineage. The originality of this work was acknowledged by the NHMRC through an achievement award (2011) and an NHMRC excellence award (2016). He is currently a fellow of the NHMRC of Australia. The main focus of his laboratory is on regenerative medicine and stem cell biology in particular in injury response in skin wounds and skin cancer and how these responses contribute to cancer initiation and progression. Translating his laboratory findings, Dr Khosrotehrani is leading innovative clinical trials in wound healing, keratinocyte cancers and melanoma.

Professor Kisely is a psychiatrist and public health physician with health services research experience in the UK, Australia & Canada. After graduating from the University of Bristol, he worked in New Zealand in various medical and surgical specialties, before starting psychiatric training in Auckland. He finished his psychiatric training in Western Australia & Manchester, including a Masters degree by research on atypical chest pain. While working as a lecturer in psychiatry he completed a research Doctorate on the effect of physical disorder on psychiatric outcome in primary care. Professor Kisely worked at the Universities of Western Australia and Dalhousie University in Canada before returning to Australia in 2007.