ANZOS Plenary Speakers
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Prof Sir Collin Tukuitonga
University of Auckland
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Professor Sir Collin Tukuitonga is a Niuean Public Health Medicine Specialist currently Associate Dean Pacific at the University of Auckland Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, Co-director for the University of Auckland Research Centre for Pacific and Global Health (Te Poutoko Ora a Kiwa) and Professor of Public Health. Collin is a career public servant with extensive experience in NZ, the Pacific and internationally.
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A/Prof Mona Sharifi
Yale University
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Mona Sharifi, MD, MPH is an Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Biomedical Informatics at Yale School of Medicine and an Associate Professor of Biostatistics at Yale School of Public Health. She serves as Chief of General Pediatrics, Director of Pediatric Health Services and Implementation Research, and Co-director of the National Clinician Scholars Program at Yale. Dr. Sharifi is board-certified in both pediatrics and clinical informatics and practices pediatric primary care at Fair Haven Community Health Center. As a health services and implementation researcher, she studies the implementation of interventions in pediatric primary care and community-based settings to prevent chronic diseases, promote health equity, and improve outcomes, with a focus on childhood obesity prevention and treatment. Her work has been continuously supported by US federal funding since 2010 from AHRQ, NIH, and CDC. She is also a co-author of the American Academy of Pediatrics’ 2023 clinical practice guidelines on childhood obesity.
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Prof Matthew Watt
University of Melbourne
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Matthew Watt obtained his PhD from the Deakin University in 2002, completed postdoctoral fellowships at the University of Guelph (Canada), RMIT University and St. Vincent’s Institute, then established a research team in the Department of Physiology at Monash University where he was supported by continuous National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) fellowships for over a decade. Matt moved to the University of Melbourne in 2018 where he was appointed Professor and Head of the Department of Anatomy and Physiology. He is currently the Associate Dean Research in the Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences.
Matt’s research vision is to deconvolute complex metabolic and endocrine regulation to facilitate the development of new therapies for obesity-related diseases, including type 2 diabetes, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and cancer. His team works closely with clinical and industry partners, such as CSL and Eli Lilly, to advance the discoveries made in pre-clinical models towards solutions for patients.
ANZOS Invited Speakers
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Dr Milan Piya
Western Sydney University
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Milan Piya is Vice President of ANZOS. He is a clinical academic endocrinologist at the School of Medicine, Western Sydney University, and Head of Department for the Macarthur Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolism Service (MDEMS) at Campbelltown and Camden Hospitals. Milan is the academic lead for the Macarthur Clinical Obesity Research Program (MCORP), working across the intersect of physical and mental health in severe obesity. He has a clinical and research interest in severe obesity and related physical and mental health co-morbidities as well as Type 2 diabetes, obesity, and associated health conditions.
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Prof Louise Baur
University of Sydney
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Louise Baur is Professor of Child & Adolescent Health and an NHMRC Leadership Fellow (L3) at the University of Sydney. She is a consultant paediatrician in Weight Management Services at the Sydney Children’s Hospitals Network. She has made research contributions in many aspects of the treatment and the prevention of child and adolescent obesity and in paediatric nutrition. Louise is Director of the NHMRC Centre of Research Excellence in Translating the Early Prevention of Obesity in Childhood (EPOCH CRE – www.earlychildhoodobesity.com). Louise is President of the Australian Academy of Health & Medical Sciences (2023-2026) and Immediate Past-President of the World Obesity Federation (2024-2026). She was a member of the Lancet Commission on Diagnostic Criteria for Clinical Obesity.
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Prof Hayley Christian
The Kids Research Institute Australia
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Professor Hayley Christian AM is a distinguished researcher in child health at The Kids Research Institute Australia and The University of Western Australia. Hayley is Head of Child Physical Activity, Health & Development leading a large multidisciplinary team to improve children’s movement behaviours, health and development through impactful, multi-level interventions spanning the child, family, social, built and natural environment. This includes evidence-informed Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) specific physical activity policy and strategies to increase active play opportunities to support young children’s healthy behaviours and health outcomes.
Hayley collaborates with multi-sector partner organisations across government, not-for-profit and the private sector nationally and internationally to promote children’s physical activity and health. Her contributions extend globally, with her ECEC policy being adopted by the World Health Organization. Hayley has over 180 publications and received $45 million in research funding.
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Dr Jacqueline Curran
Perth Children’s Hospital
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Dr Jacqui Curran is a Paediatric Endocrinologist with a clinical and research focus on childhood obesity and type 2 diabetes. She studied medicine in the UK at St Andrews and Manchester Universities, completing her specialist training in Australia and Canada. Since 2008, she has worked at Perth Children’s Hospital, where she currently leads the Healthy Weight Service and Type 2 Diabetes Service.
Jacqui’s work bridges clinical care and research, with interests in emerging obesity treatments, the use of technology in diabetes management, and strategies for improving access to care. Jacqui collaborates nationally across Australia and co-chairs the ANZSPED youth-onset type 2 diabetes working group. She also represents ANZSPED internationally on the European Paediatric Endocrine Society’s endocrine aspects of obesity guideline panel. In WA, she works closely with Country Health Services to support children in regional and rural areas.
Beyond clinical care, Jacqui supports health promotion and education initiatives, including projects focused on provider training and community engagement. She advocates for personalised, evidence-based care that offers children and families informed choices in their treatment journey.
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Eryn Kemp
Child and Adolescent Community Health, Child and Adolescent Health Services
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I am a Senior Accredited Exercise Physiologist with several years’ experience working with not-for-profit therapy providers to prescribe and deliver clinical exercise interventions to children and adults living with neurological and psychosocial disabilities. A year ago, I shifted into a new clinical environment and entered the public health sector where I am now a Senior Exercise Physiologist on the CAHS Healthy Lifestyle Program in Perth, WA. We are a multidisciplinary team who support WA families with making sustainable health behaviour change which is delivered in community-based group education and activity sessions. In this role, I develop and implement all exercise physiology services as part of the program and co-facilitate the group sessions for our families. I am passionate about empowering families to develop the knowledge, skills, and confidence to lead healthy, active lifestyles. I look forward to being involved in the ANZOS Annual Scientific Meeting and learning more from some of Australia’s leaders in healthcare.
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Stevie Raymond
Child and Adolescent Community Health, Child and Adolescent Health Services
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I’m an Accredited Practising Dietitian with over 11 years of experience working across diverse clinical and community settings throughout Australia. I’m also a qualified Diabetes Educator and a proud Torres Strait Islander and Aboriginal woman. My work has focused on paediatrics, bariatrics, and chronic disease management across hospital, private practice, public health, and telehealth settings. Currently, I coordinate the CAHS Healthy Lifestyle Program in Perth, leading clinical service delivery, strategic planning, and multidisciplinary collaboration. I’m deeply passionate about culturally safe care and improving health outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. With a strong foundation in evidence-based practice, I also enjoy mentoring students and early-career professionals. I look forward to contributing to the ANZOS Annual Scientific Meeting and sharing insights on integrated care and health equity in vulnerable communities.
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A/Prof Adam Rose
Monash University
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A/Prof. Adam Rose leads the Nutrient Metabolism and Signalling Laboratory in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and Biomedicine Discovery Institute, Monash University. Following Honours & PhD at Deakin University, Adam conducted his post-doctoral training at Copenhagen University and the German Cancer Research Center studying metabolic and hormonal signalling and systemic metabolic control in health and disease. His lab adopts an integrated systems approach to further the understanding of adaptive/maladaptive metabolism and the molecular mechanisms involved therein, with the eventual aim to discover new therapies for diseases with a metabolic basis such as obesity, diabetes, and other related diseases. A particular interest lies in the complex interaction between nutrients, hormones, and signalling pathways which connect these to ultimately coordinate systemic metabolic control.
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A/Prof Dongryeol Ryu
Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST)
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Dongryeol Ryu, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor in the Department of Biomedical Science and Engineering at the Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST) in South Korea, where he directs the Molecular and Integrative Biology (MIB) Lab. He received his Ph.D. from SKKU University School of Medicine South Korea, followed by postdoctoral training with Prof. Johan Auwerx at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL), where he studied metabolism, aging, mitochondria, and their associated diseases.
Dr. Ryu’s research focuses on the molecular mechanisms of aging and metabolic disorders, with particular emphasis on skeletal muscle, liver, adipose tissue, and mitochondrial homeostasis. His laboratory develops novel therapeutic strategies aimed at promoting healthy aging, metabolic resilience, and tissue regeneration. These include gut microbiota-derived metabolites, myokine-based biologics, and next-generation NAD⁺ boosters. He has authored over 140 peer-reviewed publications, which have collectively garnered more than 14,000 citations. His work has been featured in leading journals such as Nature Medicine, Cell Metabolism, and Nature Communications. He was recognized as a Highly Cited Researcher by Clarivate and ranked among the world’s top 2% of scientists by Stanford University from 2022 to 2024.
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Dr Andrew Martin
Perth Children’s Hospital
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Dr Andrew Martin is a general paediatrician at Perth Children’s Hospital. Andrew has made major contributions to paediatric familial hypercholesterolaemia (FH) within Australia and led the publication of the first national guidelines for paediatric FH in 2012. In recent years he has focussed his efforts on developing better approaches to detect FH in children, specifically innovative models of population screening in early childhood. He leads the “FH in Kids” study, an enhanced program for improving the care of children with FH in WA and from 2026 will lead the WA Paediatric Centre for High Impact Lipid Disorders.
Andrew believes that all of us caring for children have a responsibility to ensure we are actively protecting their long-term cardiovascular health. We need to create a paradigm shift, from treating established coronary artery disease in adults, to proactively safeguarding the heart health of children, starting in childhood.
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Prof Margaret Morris
UNSW
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Professor Margaret Morris (BSc, PhD Monash), is based within Biomedical Sciences, UNSW Sydney. Her current research addresses critical questions concerning the impact of adverse early life events and lifestyle factors on chronic disease risk. The impact of parental obesity and early childhood events has been a key focus, exploring offspring metabolic and cardiovascular risk, and options for intervention. Current work includes intergenerational transmission of obesity and the psychology of eating, e.g. how does provision of a varied, energy rich diet override the regulatory control mechanisms that should maintain body weight? Her lab is investigating the impact of sugar, and fat, on cognition and the gut microbiota.
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Dr Jae Myoung Suh
KAIST
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Dr. Jae Myoung Suh is an Associate Professor at the Graduate School of Medical Science and Engineering, KAIST (Daejeon, Korea). He received his B.S. and M.S. in Biology from Yonsei University (Seoul, Korea), and his Ph.D. in Genetics and Development from UT Southwestern Medical Center (Dallas, USA) under the mentorship of Dr. Jonathan Graff. He completed postdoctoral training with Dr. Ronald Evans at the Salk Institute (La Jolla, USA) before joining KAIST in 2014. His research focuses on the molecular mechanisms underlying metabolic homeostasis, with particular emphasis on adipose tissue biology, nuclear receptor signaling, mitochondrial function, and inter-organ communication. His work has contributed significantly to the understanding of metabolic regulation and is supported by multiple competitive grants and active international collaborations.
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A/Prof Nicole Nathan
University of Newcastle
Bio tbc
Associate Professor Nicole Nathan is a leading implementation scientist at the University of Newcastle and Deputy Director of the National Centre of Implementation Science. She leads a nationally and internationally recognised program of research focused on sustaining chronic disease prevention programs in clinical and community settings. Nicole has led multiple large-scale implementation and sustainability trials and currently leads a $4.8M MRFF grant testing strategies to support the sustained delivery of health promotion initiatives in Australian secondary schools.
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Dr Stuart Salfinger
Western Australian Gynae & Surgery
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Stuart Salfinger is a Certified Gynaecologic Oncologist. He is Past President of the Australasian Gynaecologic Endoscopy and Surgery Society and past executive Board member of the Australian Society of Gynaecologic Oncologists. He is a College examiner for the RANZCOG Gynaecologic Oncology subspecialty exams.
He has over 60 peer review publications and has given over 150 presentations at national and international meetings. He also serves as a committee member on the NHMRC MRFF Grant Assessment Committee.
Stuart’s particular clinical interest is in Gynaecologic Cancer Surgery and complex laparoscopic surgery. He specialises in this area with a particular emphasis in the laparoscopic management of gynaecologic cancers.
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Chelsea Sharp
Child and Adolescent Community Health, Child and Adolescent Health Services
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Chelsea Sharp is a Dietitian with years of clinical experience in the Western Australian regional and very remote settings. The family-centred and community lead model of the Healthy Lifestyle Program brought Chelsea to the Metropolitan Health Service contributing towards planning, developing, and delivering an efficient Program empowering individuals with the skills and knowledge to shape their health journey in the role of a Coordinator of Dietetics and Clinical Dietitian. Interests include remodelling healthcare systems, planning and developing programs, empowerment and self-efficacy within the healthcare system and collaborating with consumers to support culturally safe healthcare services and interactions.
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A/Prof Yanchuan Shi
Garvan Institute
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A/Prof Yanchuan Shi is a medically trained scientist and currently leads the Neuroendocrinology Group at the Garvan Institute. She is Conjoint Associate Professor in the Faculty of Medicine and Health, UNSW Sydney. Dr Shi earned her PhD in 2006 and completed her postdoc training within the Neuroscience Division at the Garvan Institute. In 2012, she successfully requalified for her Australian medical licence, enabling her to practice medicine in Australia. Her research focuses on neuroendocrine regulation of appetite, adipose tissue thermogenesis, pancreatic beta cell function and bone health, with an emphasis on the Neuropeptide Y (NPY) system. Her work also explores how lifestyle and environmental factors, such as salt intake, temperature and intermitting fasting, influence metabolism and the efficacy of anti-obesity and antidiabetic medications.
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Prof Gina Trapp
Edith Cowan University
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Gina Trapp is a Professor of Food and Nutrition Environments within the Nutrition & Health Innovation Research Institute at Edith Cowan University. She is also a Stan Perron People Fellow, an Honorary Research Fellow at the Telethon Kids Institute and a Registered Public Health Nutritionist recognised by the Nutrition Society of Australia. Gina was also a former ARC DECRA Fellow and NHMRC ECR Fellow at the University of Western Australia. She currently leads the Food Environments Team (29 research staff and students) at Edith Cowan University where she drives an innovative, multidisciplinary, award-winning research program investigating environmental-level influences on children’s dietary intake to help redress the nation's obesity epidemic (41 awards/prizes). The findings are being used to help create health-promoting communities that empower children and families to make better nutritional choices.
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Dr Emma Turner
Perth Children’s Hospital
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Dr Emma Turner is a paediatric gastroenterologist and hepatologist at Perth Children’s Hospital in Western Australia. After obtaining her medical degree at UWA she did her early paediatric training in Perth. Emma worked at King’s College Hospital in London where she developed her passion for paediatric hepatology. She then completed training at The Children’s Hospital at Westmead in Sydney. Emma is passionate about paediatric hepatology, particularly paediatric Metabolic dysfunction-Associated Steatotic Liver Disease, working in a collaborative team to approach this challenging condition.
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Dr Kathryn Williams
University of Sydney
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Kathryn is a Conjoint Senior Lecturer at the University of Sydney and the Clinical Lead and Manager for the Nepean Family Metabolic Health Service, a tertiary, public, whole of lifespan obesity service in the Nepean-Blue Mountains Local Health District. She is a staff specialist in endocrinology at Nepean Hospital.
Kathryn completed her medical training in 2001 at the University of New South Wales and has also completed a PhD in 2016, examining the relationship between type 2 diabetes and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. She has a strong interest in diabetes and metabolic health. She also has an interest in the health of aboriginal and torres strait islander peoples, previously working at the Aboriginal Medical Service in Redfern from 2015-2016. She has been the Unit of Study Coordinator for the Diabetes Management and Advanced Diabetes Management units of study for the Metabolic Health Postgraduate Program from 2014-2016.
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Dr Bu Yeap
University of Western Australia
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Bu Yeap (MBBS, FRACP, PhD) is Professor, Medical School, University of Western Australia and consultant endocrinologist, Department of Endocrinology and Diabetes, Fiona Stanley Hospital, Perth, Western Australia. He has longstanding interests in the area of androgens and health during male ageing, and the prevention and treatment of cardiometabolic diseases. He leads the Androgens In Men Study, an international collaboration of cohort studies examining testosterone and men’s health outcomes, and has conducted investigator-initiated clinical trials to prevent type 2 diabetes and improve fitness and body composition in men. He currently co-leads an investigator-initiated trial of resistance exercise on a background of tirzepatide treatment for obesity. Bu was President of the Endocrine Society of Australia in 2020-22. He was the South Metro Health Service Researcher of the Year in 2021, and was Claude D. Pepper Visiting Professor, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School in 2023. He has >300 publications including >250 original research articles, with 10,000 citations (Scopus).
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Lisa Wynter
Whānau Pakari
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NZ trained and registered dietitian of >25yrs. Currently working 3 days a week as the Healthy lifestyles coordinator for Whānau Pakari healthy lifestyles programme since inception.
The remaining 2 days per week I work in private practice nutrition/dietetics and support ACC clients with their nutrition/lifestyle. I live in Taranaki, beneath the maunga, with my husband, daughter and son. Outside of work I enjoy adventure racing, surfing, mountain biking, snow sports and coffee.
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Niamh McCormack
Whānau Pakari
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Having completed my MSc Dietetics at King’s College London I started my Dietetic practice in Lewisham & Greenwich NHS in London where I worked predominantly in the gastro and respiratory wards before moving to New Zealand. In Taranaki I joined the Whānau Pakari team as the community dietitian and have loved my 8+ years with the service where I have also been involved in research and worked as the Healthy Lifestyle Coordinator for 2 years. I also am very passionate about diabetes care, volunteering with Type 1 Diabetes Taranaki for 6 years. Outside of work I live a wonderful life under our beautiful maunga Mount Taranaki where I enjoy outdoor adventures with my husband, our 5 year old girl and 1 year old boy.
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Lani Edwards
Whānau Pakari
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New Zealand trained and qualified Personal Trainer. I work 3 days a week for Whanau Pakari as their Physical Activity Advisor and have been with the programme for 5 years. Having three kids of my own and with my background in PT, sport coaching and group fitness, I love to motivate and get kids excited about movement. Outside of work I enjoy road cycling, Mountain Biking and adventures with my family.
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Dr Nicholas Larkins
Perth Children’s Hospital
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Dr Larkins is paediatric nephrologist at Perth Children’s Hospital and Senior Research Fellow at the ECU Nutrition & Health Innovation Research Institute. He is an active researcher whose PhD studied hypertension and albuminuria among Australian Children. His current research includes efforts to better define and identify hypertension among children, along with a focus on early-life risk factors among Australian Aboriginal children. Dr Larkins is the Chair of the Clinical Advisory Panel for the BPOzKids Network creating the first Australian Guideline for the Investigation and Management of Hypertension in Children collaborating with diverse interdisciplinary healthcare professionals and consumers to fill an important gap and promote a lifecourse approach to blood pressure and cardiovascular risk.
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Fiona Nave
Health and Wellbeing Queensland
Bio tbc
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Joanna Munro
Health and Wellbeing Queensland
Bio tbc
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A/Prof Bonnie Furzer
University of Western Australia
Bio tbc
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Prof Luke Wolfenden
University of Newcastle
Bio tbc
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Dr Amanda Brandon
University of Sydney
Bio tbc
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Dr Lindsay Kindinger
University of Western Australia
Bio tbc