University of Malaya
Malaysia
Zaliha Omar has dedicated her career in Medicine to building a robust and innovative rehabilitation system in Malaysia, training doctors, Rehabilitation Physicians and transforming rehabilitation services in the country. Her pioneering work in establishing and advancing rehabilitation medicine and sports medicine in Malaysia has earned her the title "Mother of Rehabilitation". A summary of her roles and contributions include:
* Academic capacity building while being head of rehabilitation programme at University Malaya over twenty-five years
*Curriculum Development: She introduced a Rehabilitation Medicine curriculum for undergraduate medical studies and developed two academic postgraduate residency Masters training programs for doctors (Rehabilitation Medicine and Sports Medicine) at the University Malaya. She also introduced a Rehabilitation Medicine curriculum at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland.
* Consultant Rehabilitation Physician: She practiced as a Consultant Rehabilitation Physician at University Malaya Medical Center and 2 private hospitals in Malaysia.
* Pioneer in Multidisciplinary Rehabilitation: She pioneered multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary, and transdisciplinary medical rehabilitation practice and capacity building in Malaysia since 1980.
* Awards and Recognition: She has received several awards, including the Darjah Dato' Paduka Mahkota Perak (DPMP) and Setia Mahkota Selangor (SMS) from two Malaysian royal rulers for her contributions to the development of rehabilitation for people with disabilities. She is also a recipient of many international awards including, the International Council for Caring Community Humanitarian Award for Medicine and Rehabilitation, Herman Flax Award (ISPRM), the ASEAN Rehabilitation Medicine Association Pillar of Excellence, ACRM CIRM NG Excellence in CIRM Research amongst others. .
* Education and Fellowships: Her qualifications include MBBS (Mal), FRCP (Glasg), DMR(RCP, London), FAFRM (Hon) and FAMM. She received her medical degree from the University Malaya, postgraduate training in medical rehabilitation in the UK and untimately her Ph.D from Fujita Health University, Japan at the age of 71
* Research Interests: Her current research interests include community-based rehabilitation, leadership in rehabilitation medicine, nature-based rehabilitation, and geriatric rehabilitation
Personal life: She is married to a family physician and has been blessed with three children and two granddaughters. She loves cooking, gardening, travelling and dwells in lifelong learning.
Seoul National University
South Korea
Nam-Jong Paik, MD, PhD, is a Professor of Rehabilitation Medicine at Seoul National University College of Medicine and Seoul National University Bundang Hospital. Dr. Paik earned his MD and PhD from Seoul National University, where he also completed residency training in rehabilitation medicine. He further advanced his expertise with fellowships in neurorehabilitation and clinical neurophysiology at Seoul National University Hospital and in human cortical physiology at NIH/NINDS, USA.
Currently President-Elect of the World Federation for NeuroRehabilitation, Dr. Paik previously held key administrative roles including President & CEO of Seoul National University Bundang Hospital and Chair of Rehabilitation Medicine at Seoul National University. His editorial responsibilities include serving as editor for the Annals of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine.
Dr. Paik is recognized for pioneering contributions to neurorehabilitation, telemedicine, and neuromodulation, reflected by an H-index of 56 and over 11,000 citations. His achievements are honored with prestigious awards such as the Seok-Jeon Lifetime Achievement Award, Fletcher H. McDowell Award, and Scientific Award from the Korean Academy of Rehabilitation Medicine. Dr. Paik continues to lead global initiatives in neurorehabilitation research and practice, promoting international collaboration and innovation in neurological rehabilitation.
Combined Military Hospital
Pakistan
Professor Farooq Rathore is currently working at the Quetta Institute of Medical Sciences, Quetta as Professor and Consultant in Rehabilitation Medicine, Pain Specialist, and Bioethicist. He describes himself as a rehabilitation medicine physician, lifelong learner, teacher, and mentor. With over 250 publications, more than 5000 citations, and numerous awards, travel grants, and scholarships, he is a globally recognized expert in the field of Rehabilitation Medicine. He has been an invited and plenary speaker at multiple national and international conferences, chairing and co-chairing scientific sessions.
Professor Rathore serves as an editorial board member of several international biomedical journals and as the national representative of Pakistan for the International Society of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (ISPRM) and the Asia-Oceanian Society of PMR. He has conducted over 150 workshops on medical writing, the use of AI tools in research, scientific misconduct, research ethics, evidence-based medicine, and presentation skills in eight countries worldwide. His areas of interest and research include spinal cord injuries, stroke rehabilitation, amputee management, disaster rehabilitation, medical education, and bioethics. He is also the Co-Editor-in-Chief of the JISPRM and the current Chair of the Emergency Rehabilitation Committee of ISPRM.
University of Sydney
NSW Australia
Ian Cameron is a Consultant Physician in Rehabilitation Medicine and has the Chair in Rehabilitation Medicine, School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health, at the University of Sydney. He is a clinician researcher. Current research themes are injury, rehabilitation and disability; specifically disability and health in older people, musculoskeletal injury in compensable settings, and catastrophic injury (associated with severe long-term disability).
NT Health Department
NT Australia
Susan’s role is the Senior Practitioner, Restrictive Practices Authorisation Unit, Northern Territory (NT) Department of Health. The role of the NT Senior Practitioner includes authorising the use of restrictive practices used in various settings, including Aged Care, Health Care and NDIS Disability Care.
Susan has a psychology background with 20+ years’ experience in behaviour support across disability, out of home care, and juvenile detention. Susan is considered a subject matter expert in restrictive practices and her team is dedicated to the reduction and elimination of the use of restrictive practices where possible. Susan‘s recent work has involved the application of the Health Care Decision Making Act 2023, in relation to restrictive practices, in NT health care.
Royal Darwin Hospital
NT Australia
Richard Freijah is a highly experienced Prosthetist/Orthotist and the Manager of the Prosthetic/Orthotic and Podiatry Department across Royal Darwin Hospital and Palmerston Regional Hospital. With over 30 years in the prosthetic and orthotic industry, he has worked extensively as a technician, clinician, and manager, contributing significantly to both clinical practice and service development. His professional interests focus on advancing prosthetic, orthotic, and podiatry service provision, including leading the transition from exoskeletal to endoskeletal prostheses from the late 1980s through to the early 2000s, and introducing increasingly advanced componentry from the early 1990s onward.
Richard has played a key role in expanding access to care across the Northern Territory, delivering ongoing outreach clinics for more than 26 years to regions including Katherine, Nhulunbuy, Alice Springs, and other Indigenous communities. He has been instrumental in establishing and developing services, including the Prosthetic and Orthotic Department at Alice Springs Hospital in 2012, the first podiatry position at Royal Darwin Hospital in 2015, and multiple facilities at Palmerston Regional Hospital in 2018, including a podiatry clinical room and prosthetic and orthotic workshop. Internationally, he contributed to establishing Samoa’s first prosthetic and orthotic service, serving as a mentor at the Mobility Device Service at Tupua Tamasese Meaole Hospital in Apia between 2016 and 2017. In 2025, he led the establishment of the first standalone Podiatry Department at Royal Darwin Hospital.
Having lived and worked in the Northern Territory for 26 years, Richard is deeply committed to the region and its communities.
Ministry of Health and Medical Services
Fiji
Dr Pratima Gajraj-Singh is a senior rehabilitation physician and nationally recognised leader in disability-inclusive health and rehabilitation services in Fiji. With over two decades of experience, she has played a pivotal role in advancing rehabilitation care, strengthening health systems, and improving access to services for persons with disabilities across the Pacific region.
Dr Gajraj-Singh holds a Master of Clinical Rehabilitation and a Master of Disability Studies from Flinders University, Australia. She has led major national initiatives, including the development of Fiji’s Disability Inclusive Health and Rehabilitation Action Plan 2023–2027, now the guiding framework for rehabilitation service delivery in the country.
Her work extends internationally through collaborations with the World Health Organization, where she has served as a Temporary Advisor, technical contributor, and external reviewer for global rehabilitation standards. She is currently leading transformative projects such as the establishment of Fiji’s first National Rehabilitation Centre and a multi-year assistive technology program supporting school-aged children.
A respected educator and mentor, Dr Gajraj-Singh has trained health professionals across Fiji and has presented at international conferences on spinal cord injury, amputee rehabilitation, community-based rehabilitation, and inclusive health systems.
University of Melbourne
VIC Australia
Professor Mary Galea, AM FAHMS, is a physiotherapist and neuroscientist whose research in basic and clinical neuroscience has contributed to understanding the organisation and development of the motor system and its recovery from injury following nervous system disorders such as spinal cord injury, stroke, and multiple sclerosis.
She is Professorial Fellow in the Department of Medicine at the University of Melbourne, with Honorary appointments in the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Royal Melbourne Hospital and the Victorian Spinal Cord Service, Austin Health. She leads the Program in Restorative Neuroscience in the Graeme Clark Institute for Biomedical Engineering at the University of Melbourne.
Her current major project is an early phase adaptive trial of transcutaneous spinal cord neuromodulation to improve hand function following spinal cord injury. Prof Galea is past Chair of the Stroke Association of Victoria, and member, Scientific Advisory Committee of SpinalCure Australia, and Clinical Governance and Research Committee of Spinal Cord Injuries Australia.
Phoenix Consulting
NT Australia
Dr Damien Howard is a psychologist whose recent work explores the use of AI to create music as a therapeutic resource for people more generally — one strand of this has been helping Indigenous people with profound communication challenges to express themselves and connect more effectively. This builds on more than thirty years of practice in the Northern Territory, much of it alongside Indigenous people, with a consistent focus on effective communication. A particular interest throughout his work has been the psychosocial outcomes of hearing loss and auditory processing problems, and how to improve access to mainstream services for Indigenous people who live with them. A selection of his therapeutic music can be found on his YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/damienhoward3385
Swinburne University of Technology
VIC Australia
Vicki is an intercultural communication practitioner-researcher, lecturer and workshop facilitator. She is an award-winning storyteller who is committed to narrative change storytelling to foster anti racism. Her work builds on 20 years’ experience at the Australian Broadcasting Corporation as a multimedia journalist, radio presenter and executive producer.
Vicki collaborates with First Nations leaders in the Northern Territory, the Northern Territory Health service, Aboriginal Community Controlled Health services and the NT Aboriginal Interpreter Service to codesign projects which promote First Nations voices and self-determination. Collaborations led to the creation of the multi-award-winning podcast ‘Ask the Specialist’ which challenges racism in healthcare and to the production of 23 videos in 9 First Nations languages to counter “fake news” in relation to COVID-19 vaccines. These projects resulted in positive outcomes for First Nations communities and systemic changes at NT health. As a journalist, she has a long history of storytelling which challenges deficit-based narratives and has delivered training programs to media makers across Australia and internationally. She has also worked with the ABC International Development Unit in the Pacific region and in post war Kosovo with Serbian and Albanian journalists.
Vicki teaches journalism at Swinburne, is an honorary fellow with Menzies School of Health Research and an Adjunct Professor at Charles Darwin University.
SA Spinal Cord Injury Service
SA Australia
Professor Ruth Marshall AO is a past President of the International Spinal Cord Society, the first woman to be elected to the position, and is a Clinical Professor at Adelaide University.
After graduating in Medicine from Sydney University in 1977, Ruth undertook training in Rehabilitation Medicine in the last group to complete the Diploma in Physical & Rehabilitation Medicine in 1982. She was elected to Fellowship of the Australasian College of Rehab Medicine in 1984 and, in 1993, to the Australasian Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine. She has been very active in various Faculty and College committees including 9 years as the Chair of the CPD committee.
Ruth was the Medical Director of The South Australian Spinal Cord Injury service (SASCIS) from May 1986 to June 2025, a service which provides acute injury management, rehabilitation and life-time follow-up for people who have suffered spinal cord injury or disease. Despite stepping down from her leadership position, she continues to be actively involved in clinical work, teaching and research.
Ruth is considered an expert in spinal cord injury management especially the medical sequelae (short and long term) and rehabilitation issues throughout life stages. Her research interests include issues to do with living with a spinal cord injury and the effect of ageing, bone health after spinal cord injury, improving outcomes during acute and rehabilitation stages and preventing late complications.
She has had a particular interest in Aboriginal health issues and outcomes since medical school and has continued her interest throughout her career, including the development of visiting specialist services in the NT for her Aboriginal patients living with spinal cord injuries and impairments.
In 2023, Ruth was made an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) for her distinguished service in Rehabilitation Medicine, particularly spinal cord injury, for her clinical work, teaching and mentoring.
MJD Foundation
QLD Australia
Libby is a co-founder of the Australian MJD Foundation (MJDF) and Director of Research, Clinical Services and Education. She is an Occupational Therapist experienced in working with neurological conditions. She holds a Master of Public Health and a Law degree and has expertise in health systems integration, Aboriginal health and disability sector issues, project management, research and evaluation methodology. Libby has more than 30 years of professional and personal association with families experiencing MJD and SCA7 in remote communities across the NT and FNQ and is responsible for ensuring that the MJDF research program reflects the expressed desires of families living with MJD and SCA7. Libby is currently completing a PhD investigating the understanding and potential uptake of assisted reproductive technology for MJDF clients.
Monash University
VIC Australia
John Olver (AM, MB, BS, M.D. (Melb), FAFRM (RACP)) is Emeritus Professor at Monash University and Consultant Emeritus at Epworth HealthCare (Melbourne, Australia). He also holds an honorary Senior Research Associate role within the Epworth Monash Rehabilitation Medicine (EMReM) research unit.
Professor Olver was a Consultant Physician in Rehabilitation Medicine and retired from clinical practice in 2024. He was the past Medical Director of Rehabilitation at Epworth Healthcare for 25 years. His past clinical practice included the inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation of patients with traumatic brain injury, spasticity and concussion. In 2009, he was appointed to the Victor Smorgon Chair of Rehabilitation Medicine, Epworth HealthCare and Monash University, which he continued until 2024. He was Director of EMReM for fifteen years. He was also the Clinical Director of the Australasian Rehabilitation Outcomes Centre (AROC) for six years.
In 2014, he was a Recipient of a Member in the General Division of the Order of Australia (AM) “for significant service to medicine, particularly the treatment and rehabilitation of acquired brain injuries.” In 2016, Professor Olver established a specialist, outpatient Concussion Clinic at Epworth HealthCare, that provides multidisciplinary rehabilitation treatment for patients with prolonged concussion.
Professor Olver’s main research interests and a focus of publications includes: traumatic brain injury, multi-trauma, spasticity management and stroke rehabilitation. He has co-authored over 140 papers and 5 book chapters. He is co-supervising three Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) candidates within EMReM.
South Australian Brain Injury Rehabilitation Service
SA Australia
A/Professor Maria Paul is a senior Rehabilitation Physician and Head of Unit of the South Australian Brain Injury Rehabilitation Service (SABIRS). She works at Central Adelaide Local Health Network (CALHN). She has previously held the roles of Chairperson of State-wide Rehabilitation Clinical Network and CALHN Director of Rehabilitation.
Having worked in India and National Health Service U.K, before settling in Australia, she brings a wealth of experience regarding healthcare delivery in various settings. Her particular interest is in making public healthcare accessible and sustainable through efficiency savings and strong clinical leadership whilst always keeping focus on best patient outcomes.
Australasian Rehabilitation Outcomes Centre (AROC)
NSW Australia
Brigitte Phillips is the Interim Director of AROC, with a diverse professional background spanning neuroscience, health communication and strategy, instructional design, and clinical quality registries. Across these roles, a consistent focus has been understanding and influencing behaviour, and exploring how data, education, and communication can support meaningful change in clinical practice.
Through her work with the electronic Persistent Pain Outcomes Collaboration (ePPOC), she has led initiatives focused on data-driven quality improvement, clinician education, and strengthening the use of outcomes measurement in practice. This work has centred on using benchmarking not just to report performance, but to support reflection, engagement, and behaviour change within clinical teams.
Brigitte holds a PhD in Parkinson’s disease and has a longstanding interest in translational research and improving outcomes for people living with chronic health conditions.
Kapok Prosthetics & Orthotics
NT Australia
Steven Quach is a Certified Prosthetist/Orthotist and the Director of Kapok Prosthetics & Orthotics. Based in the Northern Territory for the past nine years, Steven has worked across regional hospitals and remote community clinics in both the Top End and Central Australia. He established Kapok Prosthetics and Orthotics in 2022 to help address the shortage of locally based prosthetic and orthotic services in the Territory and to help find practical ways to deliver care closer to home for remote clients. Steven’s current interest lies in adapting mobile service models and exploring new technologies to improve service access for remote communities.
Townsville University Hospital
QLD Australia
Dr Tracey Symmons, a distinguished Rehabilitation Physician, is celebrated for her expertise in diagnosing and managing a wide range of physical disabilities and rehabilitation needs. Her medical interests include neurological rehabilitation, musculoskeletal rehabilitation, and chronic pain management, ensuring personalized and comprehensive care for each patient. Dr Symmons excels in advanced diagnostic techniques, therapeutic interventions, and evidence-based treatments, dedicated to improving patient outcomes and enhancing overall quality of life. Known for her compassionate approach and commitment to continuous medical education, Dr Symmons empowers her patients through informed decision-making.