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Dr Lizzie Beadle is a clinical psychologist, neuropsychologist, and researcher. Her research is focused on neuropsychological rehabilitation, changes to self-awareness and identity after brain injury, and use of technology in rehabilitation. She has practiced as a psychologist from acute through to community services. She is experienced in translation of research in to clinical practice. She is passionate about supporting a lifelong love of learning in students and clinicians. She is also passionate about supporting greater medical and lifestyle choice and control for individuals with disabilities.

Katie is a health and disability researcher. She did an undergraduate degree in health sciences. Though this, she gained the language and understanding of the social determinants of health, providing the framework to contextualise the health disparities she had witnessed growing up. Her passion for research was fostered when she did a research project in intellectual disability during her last semester. After learning about the significant health gap experienced by people with intellectual disability, she was motivated to make a change. Seeing that researchers were the people making the most difference, she went on to do her PhD. Her postdoctoral research focuses on working with people with intellectual disability and autistic people to improve the way healthcare is delivered to them.

Katie is woking on the EASY-Health project which aims to improve access to mainstream hospital services for people with intellectual and developmental disability. This position is with the Mater Intellectual Disability and Autism Service (MIDAS) at Mater Research.

Katie also holds a UQ Research Stimulus Fellowship and is continuing herprimary care research to improve healthcare experiences for Autistic adults. This position is with the Queensland Centre for Intellectual and Developmental Disability (QCIDD) at Mater Research Institute-UQ.

Dr Cathy Franklin is passionate about improving the health of people with intellectual disability and those on the autism spectrum. Cathy is a psychiatrist who has specialised in the psychiatry of intellectual disability and autism in adolescents and adults since 2004. Her career focussed on clinical work and education until 2015, when she commenced a part-time research appointment, in addition to her clinical work. Cathy is the inaugural Director of the Mater Intellectual Disability and Autism Service (MIDAS), a state-wide clinical service established in 2018 that works to improve the health and mental health of adults with intellectual disability and those on the autism spectrum. Cathy is also Director of QCIDD, the Queensland Centre for Intellectual and Developmental Disability, a centre established in 1997 by Professor Nick Lennox, and best known for its many contributions to health of people with intellectual disability, including the CHAP health assessment tool and the AbleX massive open-online course that Cathy contributed mental health content to.

Cathy's research interests include health services research and the biological underpinnings and health sequelae of conditions occurring in this population. She is Chief Investigator on several projects, including the EASY-Health (Enhancing Access to Services for Your Health) Project, funded by the Australian Government NDIS ($2.3 million 2020-2024) and the NHMRC funded grant ($1.5M), Bridge to Better Health, investigating whether specialised support to primary care nurses can improve the health of people with intellectual disability attending their practice. Cathy also led MIDAS' successful application as a lead consortium member for the National Centre of Excellence in Intellectual Disability Health ($22.6M over 4 years; consortium led by UNSW). Cathy is a regular presenter at national and internaitonal conferences, often as an invited speaker. She has served on the committee of the RANZCP Section of Psychiatry of Intellectual Disability for over 10 years, is chair of the Qld Branch of the Section and also serves as Vice-President of the Australian Association of Developmental Disability Medicine (AADDM). In 2020 she was awarded the Mater Research Sister Regis Dunne award for Outstanding Contribution to research relative to opportunity.

CURRENT POSITIONS

· Senior Staff Specialist (Public Health Medicine), Queensland Health

· Principal Research Fellow, Centre for Clinical Research - University of Queensland

· Adjunct Professor, Griffith University Medical School

RECENT POSITIONS

· General Practitioner, Indooroopilly General Practice

· Senior Staff Specialist (Public Health Medicine), Metro South, Metro North, Central Queensland, and West Moreton Public Health Units (January 2021 to July 2022)

· Director, Queensland Centre for Intellectual and Developmental Disability (to January 2021)

· Senior Medical Officer, Mater Intellectual Disability and Autism Service (to November 2020)

· General Practitioner, Cornwall Street Medical Centre (to November 2020)

Introduction

I am a public health physician, zoologist, epidemiologist, and general practitioner. I commenced my clinical career in Far North Queensland in the early 1990s. I gained experience in Indigenous health, remote health, obstetrics and other areas of medicine. I also completed my specialist training in Public Health Medicine in Cairns in the early 2000s. From 2002 to 2008 I combined clinical work in adult developmental disability medicine at Queensland Centre for Intellectual and Developmental Disability Medicine (QCIDD) with general practice and travel medicine. While working as Senior Fellow at The National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health (NCEPH), Australian National University (ANU) I managed patients at Interchange General Practice, a clinic specialising in the health of people who use drugs, refugee health, and blood-borne viruses, among other areas. Until the end of 2020 I consulted clinically at the Mater Intellectual Disability and Autism Service and in general practice. I practiced at Indooroopilly General Practice until October 2022.

I've maintained a strong interest in the biological world since my first degree in zoology and via study of vector associations of Ross River virus during my PhD. The biological factors involved in the transmission of arboviruses has remained a particular interest, especially for Ross River virus and dengue. In the case of the former I have published a highly cited review detailing vector associations and reservoir hosts (Harley, Sleigh and Ritchie, Clinical Microbiology Reviews, 2001) and original research on vector associations in Far North Queensland (Harley et al., American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, 2001). More recently I have published on rainfall cut-points for outbreak prediction in the Northern Territory (Jacups et al., Journal of Medical Entomology, 2011), and modelling incorporating vegetation and macropod populations (Ng et al., Vector-borne and zoonotic diseases, 2014). I have published modelled projections for populations of Aedes aegypti, the vector of dengue, with climate change (Williams et al., Parasites and Vectors, 2014).

My research scope is broad. My four most highly cited publications (one with over 400 and one over 300 citations, Google Scholar) span arbovirology (Harley, Sleigh and Ritchie, Clinical Microbiology Reviews, 2001), psychiatry (Tyrer et al, Lancet, 2008), disability (Palmer and Harley, Health Policy and Planning, 2011) and climate change and health (Butler and Harley, Postgraduate Medical Journal, 2010).

Qualifications

I hold general and specialist registration as a medical practitioner. I am a Fellow of the Australasian Faculty of Public Health Medicine (Royal Australasian College of Physicians) and the Australian College of Tropical Medicine.

I have a PhD in Tropical Health from the University of Queensland and a Master of Medical Science in Clinical Epidemiology from The University of Newcastle. I have a first class honours degree in zoology from the University of Queensland.

Advocacy, lobbying and consultancies

I've contributed actively to my college, The Royal Australasian College of Physicians (RACP), and faculty, The Australasian Faculty of Public Health Medicine. I have joined working parties on Indigenous health, the health of disabled people (deputy chair), and most recently climate change and health. The work on the second and third working parties resulted in production of RACP position papers. In 2016 I represented the college in meetings with parliamentarians in Canberra on climate change and health. I'm currently a member of college reference groups on the NDIS and on global heating and health.

I represented the Royal Australasian College of Physicians at roundtable meetings on the health of people with intellectual disability, the first on 2 August 2019 (see Microsoft Word - D19-1158817 Roundtable on the Health of People with Intellectual Disability - Summary and Recommendations(2)). The roundtable was convened by the former Commonwealth Minister for Health, Mr Greg Hunt. Subsequent to the roundtable Minister Hunt released a National Roadmap for Improving Health Services for People with Intellectual Disability (see https://www.health.gov.au/initiatives-and-programs/national-roadmap-for-improving-the-health-of-people-with-intellectual-disability).

The Roadmap includes a wide range of measures including short-term measures focused on:

· Programs in Primary Health Networks (PHNs) to improve the capacity and skills of GPs and other primary health services to meet the needs of people with intellectual disability. This will initially be in four PHN lead sites with a view to national rollout after four years.

· Better use of existing Medicare items, including those for annual health assessments of people with intellectual disability.

· Better coordination between the health sector and other sectors such as disability and education.

· Support for people with intellectual disability and their families so that they can make informed decisions about health care and navigate the health care system.

The former LNP Government also committed $19.3 million in initial funding for the first actions in the Roadmap, including:

· $6.6 million to develop a Primary Care Enhancement Program for People with Intellectual Disability

· $6.7 million to improve implementation of annual health assessments for people with intellectual disability

· $4.7 million for curriculum development in intellectual disability health

· $1.4 million to scope and co-design a National Centre of Excellence in Intellectual Disability Health

A report from the Roundtable and the outline of the proposed national Roadmap at https://www1.health.gov.au/internet/main/publishing.nsf/Content/national-roadmap-for-improving-the-health-of-Australians-with-intellectual-disability and the Roadmap itself is abvailable at National Roadmap for Improving the Health of people with Intellectual Disability. The RACGP overview of the budget also lists a commitment for intellectual disability (RACGP | Overview of the Federal Budget 2021-22 (Health) | May 2021). I’ve been invited by the Commonwealth Department of Health to support the scoping and co‑design of models for a national centre of excellence in intellectual disability health (‘national centre’) and have been nominated by my college, the Royal Australasian College of Physicians (RACP), to represent the college through the process.

I've held various consultancies and panel memberships, including with AusAid and WHO.

Supervision

In my time working at The Australian National University (2008-2016) five honours students completed projects under my supervision. All obtained first class degrees. My first student, Melanie Bannister-Tyrrell was awarded a university medal, published her honours research (Bannister-Tyrrell et al., American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, 2013), and is now a Senior Epidemiology Consultant to AusVet. Other students completed projects on tuberculosis management in the Torres Strait (Ellen Hart), tuberculosis diagnosis in Thailand (Eileen Baker), hypertension among Thai caregivers (Laura Saville), and mapping of renal disease risk in South Australia (Scott Pearce). I also supervised Ritwika Vinayagam's honours project at the University of Queensland, on diabetes and autism, in 2020.

Current PhD Supervision

· Semira Hailu - The burden of extra-pulmonary tuberculosis in Africa (UQ, associate advisor)

· Wei Qian - Ross River virus in Queensland (UQ, associate advisor)

· Tam Tranh - Road trauma in Vietnam (ANU, associate advisor)

· Cynthia Parayiwa - “Birth outcomes following maternal exposure to severe tropical cyclones in Queensland, Australia” (ANU, associate advisor)

Current Masters Supervision

· Suhasini Sumithra - Modelling Ross River virus in NSW (MPhil, ANU)

Completed PhDs

· Menghuan Song - Psychotropic prescribing to adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (UQ, principal advisor)

· Sifat Sharmin - Dengue and climate in Bangladesh (ANU, Chair of Panel)

· Ray Lovett - Screening for drug and alcohol use in Indigenous community controlled health organisations (ANU, Chair of Panel)

· Philipa Dossetor - Children's health in Fitzroy Crossing, WA, with a focus on fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (ANU, Chair of Panel initially, then panel member)

· Kerri Viney - Tuberculosis in the South Pacific (ANU, Panel member)

· Lachlan McIver - Climate change and health in the South Pacific (ANU, Panel member, Chair of Panel for completion of PhD)

· Kazi Rahman - Visceral Leishmaniasis in Bangladesh (ANU, Panel member)

· Yani Sun - Tuberculosis in Henan Province, China (ANU, Panel member, awarded ANU "Top Supervisor" award)

· Vicky Ng - Modelling of Ross River virus in NSW (ANU, Panel member)

· Michael Palmer - Disability in rural Vietnam (ANU, Panel member)

Completed Masters

· Tran Tuan Anh Le - Health of Australian adolescents with intellectual disability (MPhil, UQ)

· Alexandra Marmor - MPhil (App Epi; ANU)

· Anna Gibbs - Gram negative sepsis in Queensland children (MPH, UNSW)

Research

I was chief investigator on two NHMRC project grants worth over $2 million while with the ANU. I was CIA for one of these grants, to research weather and dengue virus epidemiology in Far North Queensland. The second grant funded the Thai Health-Risk transition project, a longitudinal study of the health of Thai people living throughout the country. Both projects have produced important publications in my areas of interest including dengue and climate (e.g. Williams et al., Epidemiology and Infection, 2016; Viennet et al., Parasites and Vectors, 2014), disability and health (Yiengprugsawan et al., Asia Pacific Journal of Public Health, 2010), and the health of carers (Yiengprugsawan et al., BMC Public Health, 2012). Fruitful collaborations have arisen from both grants including co-supervision of my PhD student Sifat Sharmin with my NHMRC-funded post-doctoral researcher Elvina Viennet and honours student projects related to the Thai study (Eileen Baker and Laura Saville). Before commencing at ANU I gained research funding from The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners, Rotary, The University of Queensland, and James Cook University.

Major themes in my research are infectious diseases epidemiology, environment and health, and the health of disabled people.

In the first of these I have focussed on arboviruses, particularly Ross River and dengue viruses, but have also published on Chikungunya, Zika, Adenovirus, tuberculosis, and invasive meningococcal disease. Since the publication of my highly cited and wide ranging review on the first of these (Harley, Sleigh and Ritchie, Clinical Microbiology Reviews, 2001; 346 citations, Google Scholar, 16/1/2019) I have remained an authority on this virus. I am first author on the chapter on Ross River virus in the authoritative textbook Hunter's Tropical Medicine and Emerging Infectious Diseases (Harley and Suhrbier, Hunter's Tropical Medicine, 2019). I have also published on vector associations (Harley et al., American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, 2001), clinical manifestations (Harley et al., Medical Journal of Australia, 2002), and behavioural risks (Harley et al., International Journal of Epidemiology, 2005). More recently I have published on environmental determinants of risk (Jacups et al., Journal of Medical Entomology, 2011; Ng et al., Vector-borne and zoonotic diseases, 2014). I also have a major interest in dengue and have published on the epidemiology of this important virus in Australia (e.g. Viennet et al., PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, 2016; Williams et al., Epidemiology and Infection, 2016) and Bangladesh (Sharmin et al., Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, 2015; PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, 2015; Statistical Methods in Medical Research, 2016). I have also published on the epidemiology of tuberculosis in China (e.g. Sun et al., PLoS One, 2017) and the Pacific (e.g. Viney et al., Tropical Medicine and International Health, 2015).

I have a particular focus on environment and infectious diseases (see dengue research in paragraph above; Harley et al., Asia Pacific Journal of Public Health, 2011; Harley et al., Infectious diseases: a geographic guide, 2010). I was an invited speaker on climate change and infectious diseases at the International Congress on Infectious Diseases in Hyderabad, India, during March 2016. I also co-authored, with Colin Butler, a conceptual paper on levels of impact from climate change on health (Butler and Harley, Postgraduate Medical Journal, 2010), and have written on the education of medical students on climate change and health (Green et al., Australian Family Physician, 2009) and impacts of climate change on immune function (Swaminathan et al., Children, 2014). I was invited to, and chaired the Infectious disease ecology and epidemiology stream, for the 2014 Theo Murphy High Flyers think tank, convened by the Australian Academy of Science, on Climate Change Challenges to Health.

When working at QCIDD ealier I led the Australian arm for an international multi-centre RCT on antipsychotic medication for aggressive behaviour in adults with developmental disabilities (Tyrer et al., Lancet, 2008; cited 365 times, Google Scholar, 19/8/2021). I have also researched the economic impact of disability in Vietnam (Palmer et al., International Journal of Health Planning and Management, 2011) and the asssociations of hearing impairment in Thailand (Yiengprugsawan et al., Asia Pacific Journal of Public Health, 2010) and co-authored an international review on models and measurement of disability (Palmer and Harley, Health Policy and Planning, 2011).

Editing and reviewing

I am a section editor for PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases. I guest edited, with Shamshad Karatela, a special edition of The International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health entitled "Environmental and Social Influences on Cognitive Development and Function" (https://www.mdpi.com/journal/ijerph/special_issues/cognitive_development). Journals I have reviewed for include Lancet Infectious Diseases, BMC Infectious Diseases, Science, The Medical Journal of Australia, PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, and Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities.

Teaching

I taught epidemiology and evidence based medicine to medical students at The University of Queensland and ANU from 2002 to 2016. I was invited annually from 2012 to 2015 to teach epidemiology and outbreak control at Institut Pasteur and The Oxford University Clinical Research in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. I was a foundation member of the teaching team for the ANU Master of Public Health (MPH) core subject, Fundamentals of Epidemiology, and have also instructed students on global health and climate change and health in the ANU MPH. In addition I've provided clinical teaching for ANU medical students in general practice and do so currently for third year UQ medicine students rotating to Cornwall Street Medical Centre in their general practice rotation.

I have contributed to building capacity internationally through strong engagement in supervision and teaching. I have supervised students from China, Vietnam, and Bangladesh. I have also taught epidemiology and outbreak control to many students from low income countries in South East Asia as an invited instructor with Institut Pasteur and Oxford University in Ho Chi Minh City annually from 2012 to 2015.

Research Interests

· Infectious disease epidemiology

· Adult developmental disability medicine

· Indigenous health

· Public Health Medicine

Qualifications

· Bachelor of Science, The University of Queensland

· BSc (Hons I Zoology), The University of Queensland

· Bachelor of Medicine and Bachlor of Surgery, The University of Queensland

· FAFPHM, RACP

· PhD, The University of Queensland

Michelle is a sociologist and lawyer: her research focuses on decision-making and the operation of law and regulation in practice for people with disabilities and other impairments to communication and legal capacity. She has research interests in the sociology of law, decision-making (supported and substituted), legal personhood, the UNCPRD, disability law, legal and administrative transition to adulthood, communication impairments, and profound intellectual disability. Her work examines decision-making in practice in a range of areas, including health and aged care, banking and finance, income support, and the NDIS. Michelle is trained in both qualitative and quantitative methods, and has extensive experience in research development, design, and practice, as well as health consumer research and co-design.

Michelle works on the MRFF funded project: Unspoken, Unheard, Unmet: Improving Access to Preventative Health Care through Better Conversations about Care. She leads the experience gathering stage of the project, the co-design elements of the work, and the development of guidelines about communication, decision-making, and aged care.

Michelle is also a consumer and disability advocate, with experience in strategic policy development, implementation, and evaluation, including the co-design of state level strategy for transition to adulthood health care, and on Australia’s National Living Evidence Taskforce. She is also the consumer board Chair of Child Unlimited, a consortium of researchers, clinicians, and consumers working towards best evidence-based practice in health care for children and young adults with chronic ill health and disabilities, and co-chair of the consumer advisory committee for the ARC Centre of Excellence Life Course Centre.

Jacki Liddle is a research fellow and occupational therapist researching quality of life, participation and life transitions. She uses innovative technology, along with qualitative and quantitative research methods to investigate the needs and experiences of people living with neurological conditions (dementia, Parkinson's disease, stroke), older people and their caregivers. She has worked with a multi-disciplinary team co-designing technology with people living with dementia and their care partners to support communication. Currently, she is in a conjoint position with Princess Alexandra Hospital, supporting the development, conduct and application of research that improves outcomes for patients.

She has also been involved in developing technology to measure outcomes including lifespace, time use, and activity and role participation to help monitor and improve community outcomes. Dr Liddle's PhD focused on researching the experiences related to retirement from driving for older people, which led to the development of the CarFreeMe program to improve outcomes related to driving cessation. Versions of the program for older drivers, people living with dementia and people with traumatic brain injury have been developed and trialled.

Dr Stina Oftedal is an accredited practicing dietitian and postdoctoral research fellow at the Queensland Cerebral Palsy Rehabilitation Research Centre (QCPRRC). Stina completed her undergraduate degree at Queensland University of Technology in 2010, and completed her PhD at the University of Queensland in 2016. Stina's PhD explored the association of modifiable health behaviours (diet and physical activity) on growth and body composition in preschool-aged children with cerebral palsy, and this continues to be the focus of her postdoctoral work. She also has an interest in infant feeding and diet quality.

Overview

Freyr is an experienced occupational therapist who has conducted clinical research primarily in the field of brain injury rehabilitation. She has extensive clinical experience across the continuum of care with clients with complex neurological conditions, particularly following brain injury. Her PhD, conferred in 2019, explored occupational therapy groups in traumatic brain injury rehabilitation. Her current research has extended on her PhD topic to explore the use of occupational therapy and multi-disciplinary groups in occupational therapy practice, and both inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation settings. She is also focusing on the educational needs of clinicians and students relating to the facilitation of group interventions, and the role of participation and measures of participation in group interventions. She is passionate about opportunities for collaborative research with clinicians, service providers and clients that leads to meaningful translation of research findings into clinical practice. She currently works in a teaching and research position in the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences.

Research Interests

Group therapy interventions: Freyr is engaged in clinical research, extending from her PhD studies, exploring the use of group therapy interventions across the continuum of care and with a variety of population groups and clinical contexts.

Brain Injury: Freyr has substantial clinical experience working across the continuum of care with client’s following brain injury. She is interested in the patient journey and exploring occupation-based therapy with this population group.

Student education: Freyr has been involved in the development, implementation and evaluation of a new model of practice placement in an inpatient brain injury rehabilitation setting. This has progressed to current research investigating the health and economic impacts of rehabilitation groups that are resourced and led by students, with a focus on the student experience of learning in this model of practice placement.

Gillian Ray-Barruel, RN PhD, is a Senior Research Fellow with UQ School of Nursing, Midwifery and Social Work and the Herston Infectious Diseases Institute (HeIDI), and she is Director of Education with the Alliance for Vascular Access Teaching and Research (AVATAR).

Following a successful and rewarding 15 year career as a critical care nurse in Brisbane and New York, Gillian engaged her passion for English literature and completed a doctorate in the field of literary disability studies. Her internationally respected research focuses on improving assessment and decision-making by bedside clinicians to prevent indwelling device-related patient complications and improve healthcare outcomes. Gillian has expertise in qualitative research, critical care nursing, patient assessment, professional editing, and project management. After identifying a gap between evidence-based guidelines and clinical practice, she created the I-DECIDED® device assessment and decision tool, which is now used in many hospitals worldwide. When she’s not writing and presenting, Gillian enjoys reading literary and classic literature, creative writing, and spending time at the beach with her family and Golden Retriever.