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Keynote Plenary Speakers

 

International Speakers

 
 
James Gosney

Dr James Gosney

Dr. James Gosney serves as the Secretary of the WHO Liaison Sub-Committee on Rehabilitation Disaster Relief (CRDR) of the International Society of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine (ISPRM) which strives to fulfil the society's humanitarian mandate. Current projects include development of an international registry and an online training curriculum for volunteer physiatrist responders to large-scale natural disasters. The committee is further advocating for global professionalization of rehabilitation disaster relief through coordination with relevant UN/WHO agencies and publication of related scientific literature. Dr. Gosney has recently performed medical research consultancies in Haiti and China on physical rehabilitation of earthquake survivors. He also provides pro bono support for a rehabilitation services centre in underserved La Ceiba, Honduras.

Harmen van der Linde

Dr Harmen van der Linde

Dr Harmen van der Linde is currently working in the Department of Rehabilitation at Radboud University Medical Centre, Nijmegen, the Netherlands, he is also an ISPO Executive Board member. His past achievements include; Chairman of the Scientific Committee of ISPO, Chairman of the Dutch board of ISPO and member of the International Committee (2004-2009), member of the Committee for medical aids of the Dutch Society for Rehabilitation Doctors. He has been involved in educational programs for medical and human movement science students, trainees in physical and occupational therapy, medical doctors in P&RM and in multidisciplinary courses and symposia of ISPO. Dr van der Linde has lectured on amputation and prosthetics, diabetes mellitus and hand injuries worldwide and completed his PhD thesis in 2004, titled The development of a guideline for prosthetic prescription in lower limb amputation

Shaun Xiong

Dr Shaun Xiong

Dr Shaun Xiong graduated in 1985, with MB,BS and Qualified as a Rehabilitation Specialist in 2000. He is currently a consultant for Burwood Spinal Unit, and Brain Injury Rehabilitation Service. He has been the immediate past Medical Director of Burwood Spinal Unit.
Currently an International Affairs Committee member of AFRM (RACP). He is the New Zealand Representative, Executive Committee Member of AOSPRM. His major clinical interests are acute management of spine and spinal cord injury, spasticity management and medical legal matters.

 
     


 

National Speakers

 
 
Louise Ada

Professor Louise Ada

Professor Louise Ada is a physiotherapist who is a Professor of Neurological Physiotherapy at The University of Sydney with an interest in stroke rehabilitation.  She is particularly interested in the relative contribution of impairments to disability as well as the efficacy of physiotherapy interventions and the design of environments to promote the active participation of people undergoing rehabilitation. 

Zoe Adey-Wakeling

Dr Zoe Adey-Wakeling

Dr Zoe Adey-Wakeling is a Rehabilitation Physician in South Australia.  She has a particular interest in Stroke Rehabilitation.  She is a current PhD candidate undertaking research focussed on hemiplegic shoulder pain.  Dr Adey-Wakeling is involved in clinics focussed on Musculoskeletal Rehabilitation and Driving Fitness. 

 

Roy Beran

Professor Roy Beran

Professor Roy Beran's qualifications include: MBBS, MD, FRACP, FRACGP, Grad. Dip. Tertiary Ed., Grad. Dip. Further Ed., FAFPHM, FACLM, FRCP, FACBS, B Leg. S, MHL and FFFLM (Hon).   He is trained as a consultant neurologist and is accredited also as a sleep physician, in addition to working within legal medicine and aviation medicine.  He is a Professor in the School of Medicine at Griffith University, Queensland, Conjoint Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of New South Wales. He is the Australian Governor and Secretary General of the Board of Governors of the World Association for Medical Law. He is a member and has been both an Executive Member and a Committee Member, of the Epilepsy Society of Australia and has served on the Commission for the International Bureau for Epilepsy, dealing with epilepsy and the law, and the Commissions for the International League Against Epilepsy dealing with the economic aspects of epilepsy and the burden of epilepsy. 

Julie Bernhardt

Associate Professor Julie Bernhardt

A/Professor Julie Bernhardt is an experienced clinician and Principal Research Fellow working at the Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health in Melbourne (Florey). She is Co-Head of the Stroke Division at the Florey, which studies stroke across the spectrum, from basic science to public health. Julie also holds appointments at the School of Physiotherapy, La Trobe University, Melbourne and University of Melbourne as an Associate Professor. Julie heads the AVERT Early Intervention Research Program, the main aim of her research is to develop new, evidence-based rehabilitation interventions that may reduce the significant burden of stroke related disability. Julie is recognised as a world leader in early rehabilitation research.

David Bowen

Mr David Bowen

Mr David Bowen is the inaugural CEO of DisabilityCare Australia, the National Disability Insurance Scheme.  He has worked as a consultant to the insurance industry and health and disability sector. He is one of the architects of the NSW Lifetime Care and Support scheme and as inaugural CEO was responsible for implementation of the initiative. Prior to this he was General Manager of the Motor Accidents Authority for 11 years.

 

Ian Cameron

Professor Ian Cameron

Professor Ian Cameron is a Consultant Physician in Rehabilitation Medicine and has the Chair in Rehabilitation Medicine, Sydney Medical School, at the University of Sydney. Ian has been awarded an Australian National Health and Medical Research Council Practitioner Fellowship and is a clinician researcher. Concurrent with his academic position Ian is Director of Medical Services at Royal Rehabilitation Centre Sydney. He also has part-time clinical positions at Royal Rehabilitation Centre Sydney, Hornsby Ku-ring-gai Hospital and Southern NSW Local Health District. 

Leeanne Carey

Professor Leeanne Carey

Professor Leeanne Carey heads the Neurorehabilitation and Recovery research group at the Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health and is an ARC Future Fellow. Dr Carey’s research program focuses on stroke rehabilitation and recovery: in particular how the brain adapts and how we might harness that potential in rehabilitation. It has involved development of novel rehabilitation approaches based on neuroscience. Dr Carey uses tools such as MRI to investigate changes in the brain and how this knowledge may be used to better understand recovery and target rehabilitation optimally to individual stroke survivors. An important focus is to translate these discoveries into clinical practice and better outcomes for stroke survivors. 

Simon Cohen

Dr Simon Cohen

Dr Simon Cohen Is a Paediatrician and Specialist Pain Medicine Physician employed as a Staff Specialist at Sydney Children's and Prince of Wales Hospitals, Randwick. He is a UK trained paediatrician who qualified in pain in Sydney Australia. He has three kids born in Australia who sadly eat Vegemite, not Marmite. They routinely require goal setting and pacing to get going in the morning but seem curiously resistant to Accepting and Committing to this activity.

Hugh Dickson

Professor Hugh Dickson

Professor Hugh Dickson is a senior staff specialist in Rehabilitation Medicine at Liverpool Hospital in Sydney.  He provides, among other duties, clinical medical support for both the High Risk Foot Service and Wound Clinic at the hospital, both of which are the major referral clinics within the South Western Sydney Local Health District.

 

 

Michael Dillon

Dr Michael Dillon

Dr Michael Dillon is a Senior Lecturer at the National Centre for Prosthetics and Orthotics, La Trobe University and President of the International Society of Prosthetics and Orthotics – Australia.

Much of Dr Dillon's research has focused on understanding the effects of partial foot amputation and the influence of prosthetic intervention on gait. His current research aims to redress the disproportionately high rates of complications and secondary amputation by challenging common perceptions about the functional benefits of partial foot amputation.

Sarah Dunlop

Professor Sarah Dunlop

Professor Sarah Dunlop leads an integrated program of laboratory and clinical research to promote functional recovery after traumatic injury to the nervous system. Laboratory studies use rodent models and focus on preventing the spread of secondary degeneration to intact tissue using technologies such as red light, pulsed magnetic fields and nanotechnology to target drug delivery. Clinical studies comprise three multi-centre randomized controlled trials “Spinal Cord Injury and Physical Activity (SCIPA)”involving all 8 spinal units in Australia and New Zealand and are examining novel ways to exercise the paralysed limbs to promote neurological recovery and improve health. The trials span acute care to the community, reflecting the lifetime need of these patients.

Mary Galea

Professor Mary Galea

Professor Mary Galea is Professorial Fellow in the Department of Medicine (Royal Melbourne Hospital), and previously held the Foundation Chair of Clinical Physiotherapy at the University of Melbourne. She is a physiotherapist and neuroscientist whose research program includes both laboratory-based and clinical projects with the overall theme of control of voluntary movement by the brain, and factors that promote recovery following nervous system damage. Professor Galea is currently the principal investigator on a large multi-site program of research, SCIPA (Spinal Cord Injury and Physical Activity), investigating the effects of exercise after spinal cord injury.

Stacey George

Dr Stacey George

Dr Stacey George is a Senior Lecturer and Coordinator of the Clinical Rehabilitation Course at Flinders University. Dr George is a practicing occupational therapist in driving rehabilitation following traumatic brain injury. Her research interests are in assessment and retraining in driving and vision for people following acquired brain injury. She has published over 25 papers in peer reviewed journals. 

Fary Khan

Associate Professor Fary Khan

A/Professor Fary Khan is a Principal Fellow at the Department of Medicine, University of Melbourne and Director of Rehabilitation Medicine at The Royal Melbourne Hospital Australia; and Associate Professor (Research) School of Public Health and Preventative Medicine, Monash University Australia. She completed her specialist training with the Australasian Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine, Royal Australasian College of Physicians in 2000. Her areas of special interest are: Rehabilitation for chronic degenerative neurological diseases especially Multiple sclerosis. Her Doctoral thesis (Title: Rehabilitation for Multiple sclerosis) was accepted in 2009 at the Department of Medicine at the University of Melbourne. 

Friedbert Kohler

Associate Professor Friedbert Kohler

A/Professor Friedbert Kohler is a Senior Staff Specialist in Rehabilitation Medicine at Braeside, Liverpool and Fairfield hospitals in Sydney. He is the Clinical Director for Aged Care and Rehabilitation for SWSLHD. He is also a lecturer in the School of Public Health and Community Medicine at the University of New South Wales.
A/Professor Kohler is a member of the editorial boards of Prosthetics and Orthotics International and Physikalische Medizin and is secretary on the international board of ISPO.
Since 2001 he has been involved in activities relating to the ICF and is currently the chair of an international steering group for the development of ICF Core Sets for amputees and co-chair of the ICF implementation subcommittee of the ISPRM.

Peter New

Dr Peter New

Dr Peter New is the Head of Rehabilitation program at Monash Health, Melbourne, and the Head of the Spinal Rehabilitation Unit at Caulfield Hospital, Alfred Health, Melbourne.  He is a PhD candidate with Monash University.  He has 40 publications on various rehabilitation topics to his credit.  Dr New's main research interest is in the field of spinal cord injury.  He is a member of the International Spinal Cord Society Prevention Committee working group and a previous member of the International Spinal Cord Injury Disaster Committee.

Louisa Ng

Dr Louisa Ng

Dr Louisa Ng is a Rehabilitation Physician and the Supervisor of Intern Training at the Royal Melbourne Hospital and Honorary Clinical Senior Lecturer at the Department of Medicine, University of Melbourne. Her area of special interest is in neurological rehabilitation especially for chronic degenerative diseases such as multiple sclerosis and motor neurone disease. She completed her doctoral thesis titled “The use of International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health in Motor Neurone Disease Rehabilitation International Classification of Functioning”, through Melbourne University in 2011, one-week prior to the birth of her second child.  Her other interests include junior doctor welfare. She has published over 35 scientific papers in peer-reviewed journals.

Leslie Nicholson

Associate Professor Leslie Nicholson

A/Professor Leslie Nicholson is a titled musculoskeletal and sports physiotherapist having practiced in Sydney’s northern suburbs and north west.   As A/Professor at The University of Sydney she has taught musculoskeletal Physiotherapy and Anatomy for 20 years.  She is an honorary at The Children’s Hospital Westmead where she participates in the Connective Tissue Dysplasia Clinic and undertakes research and PhD supervision.  Through research she is determined to understand the pathoanatomy and presentation of the hypermobility related disorders of connective tissue and to identify best practice for their management. 

Michael  Nilsson

Professor Michael Nilsson

Professor Michael Nilsson, MD, PhD (specialising in neurology and rehabilitation medicine) is an internationally well-established neuroscientist within the fields of astrocyte biology, brain plasticity and recovery after stroke. The role of enriched environment in plasticity and regeneration after stroke has been a main focus and constitutes an important platform for ongoing animal studies as well as for clinical studies.
Before coming to The University of Newcastle as Burges Professor of Medical Science, Professor Nilsson was the Director of Research, Development and Education at Sahlgrenska University Hospital in Gothenburg, Sweden. In 2011 Professor Nilsson accepted the role of Director of Hunter Medical Research Institute, Newcastle. 

Verity Pacey

Mrs Verity Pacey

Mrs Verity Pacey is senior physiotherapist in the Connective Tissue Dysplasia Clinic at The Children’s Hospital at Westmead and began the physiotherapy service to The Children’s Hospital Institute of Sports Medicine. She has over 10 years paediatric physiotherapy experience.
Verity holds a Bachelor of Applied Science from the University of Sydney and a Graduate Certificate in Sports Physiotherapy from La Trobe University. Verity is the current recipient of the Sir Robert Menzies Memorial Scholarship into the Allied Health Sciences, to assist her in completing her PhD at The University of Sydney into the management of children and adolescents with symptomatic generalised joint hypermobility. 

Stuart Tan

Dr Stuart Tan

Dr Stuart Tan is a Consultant Physician in Trauma and Rehabilitation Medicine based in New South Wales. He is currently the Director of HNE Polytrauma Rehabilitation Service, an innovative service catering for the needs of patients with severe polytrauma. Dr Tan was a former Director of Trauma at Royal North Shore Hospital, a Level 1 Trauma Centre in Sydney and was responsible for the establishment of the inaugural Trauma Ward.  Dr Tan has a special interest in musculoskeletal trauma and has been the Honorary Secretary of the Musculoskeletal, Pain & Occupational Medicine Special Interest Group of Australasian Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine. He is a strong advocate of early rehabilitation input for severe trauma patients to maximise recovery and has a particular research interest on trauma outcome.

Charlie Teo AM

Associate Professor Charlie Teo AM

A/Professor Charlie Teo is an internationally acclaimed neurosurgeon and a pioneer in keyhole minimally invasive techniques. He has been invited to many distinguished universities in over 50 countries as Visiting Professor, including Johns Hopkins, Vanderbilt and Stanford Universities in the USA, Marburg University in Germany and the Karolinska Institute in Sweden.

A/Prof Teo dedicates 3 months every year to pro bono work in developing countries, for which he has been recognised with awards from Rotary International, including the Paul Harris Fellowship, and as a finalist in the NSW Australian of the Year awards in 2003 and 2009. In the 2011 Australia Day awards he was named as a Member of the Order of Australia. A/Prof Teo founded the Cure for Life Foundation in 2003, which is now the largest funder of brain cancer research in Australia and which supports the Neuro-oncology wing of the Lowy Cancer Centre.

A/Prof Teo is a father to 4 beautiful girls and when not performing intricate brain surgery is proud to support his 2 favourite charities, the Cambodian Children's Trust, which runs an orphanage in Battambang, and Voiceless, which funds legislative reform for the prevention of cruelty to industrial animals.

Louise Tofts

Dr Louise Tofts

Dr Louise Tofts is a paediatric rehabilitation specialist with a special interest in musculoskeletal conditions which cause disability in childhood. 

 

 

 

Paulette van Vliet

Professor Paulette van Vliet

Professor Paulette van Vliet, PhD , MSc, B App Sc,  is a Professor at the University of Newcastle. She has worked as a physiotherapist in neurological rehabilitation in Australia, and completed her MSc in 1990 (Loughborough University) and her PhD in 1998 (University of Nottingham). Her research interests are recovery of upper limb motor control after stroke, evaluation and development of physiotherapy intervention for stroke patients, and motor skill acquisition following stroke. Past research has included leading a randomised controlled trial comparing a Bobath-based and a Movement Science-based approach to stroke rehabilitation. Current research focuses on the temporal coordination of reach-to-grasp in patients with stroke and the effects of different types of feedback on motor learning after stroke. 

John Walsh AM

Mr John Walsh AM

Mr Walsh is a Partner in the Advisory division of PricewaterhouseCoopers, where he has worked for over twenty years.  He was a member of the Disability Investment Group established in 2008 to study options for increasing the investment opportunities in the disability sector, and in 2010 was appointed to the Productivity Commission to investigate the feasibility of a National Disability Insurance Scheme and other options to fund lifetime care and support for people with a disability.  In 2011 he was made Deputy-Chair of the National Health Performance Authority.  In 2001 he was named Australia’s Actuary of the Year, and in 2011 was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia.  In 2011 John was also appointed as a member of the Order of Australia, and received the Prime Minister's award for outstanding contribution to the disability sector.

Jordan Wood

Dr Jordan Wood

Dr Jordan Wood is an Anaesthetist and Specialist Pain Medicine Physician employed as a Staff Specialist at Sydney Children's and Prince of Wales Hospitals, Randwick. After completing registrar training in Anaesthesia in Christchurch, New Zealand, Dr Wood moved to Sydney to undertake fellowships in paediatric anaesthesia and paediatric and adult pain medicine. He is a member of the education committee of the Faculty of Pain Medicine. 

 
     


 

Breakfast Session Speaker

 
 
Leeanne Carey

Professor Leeanne Carey

Professor Leeanne Carey heads the Neurorehabilitation and Recovery research group at the Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health and is an ARC Future Fellow. Dr Carey’s research program focuses on stroke rehabilitation and recovery: in particular how the brain adapts and how we might harness that potential in rehabilitation. It has involved development of novel rehabilitation approaches based on neuroscience. Dr Carey uses tools such as MRI to investigate changes in the brain and how this knowledge may be used to better understand recovery and target rehabilitation optimally to individual stroke survivors. An important focus is to translate these discoveries into clinical practice and better outcomes for stroke survivors. 

Sarah Dunlop

Professor Sarah Dunlop

Professor Sarah Dunlop leads an integrated program of laboratory and clinical research to promote functional recovery after traumatic injury to the nervous system. Laboratory studies use rodent models and focus on preventing the spread of secondary degeneration to intact tissue using technologies such as red light, pulsed magnetic fields and nanotechnology to target drug delivery. Clinical studies comprise three multi-centre randomized controlled trials “Spinal Cord Injury and Physical Activity (SCIPA)”involving all 8 spinal units in Australia and New Zealand and are examining novel ways to exercise the paralysed limbs to promote neurological recovery and improve health. The trials span acute care to the community, reflecting the lifetime need of these patients.