OMOZ 2024
NEWCASTLE
AWABAKAL AND WORIMI COUNTRY

INTRODUCING OUR SPEAKERS

Just some of our exciting speakers. More to come.

  • Lisa Brown is an Aotearoa New Zealand trained Hepatic pancreatic and biliary Surgeon currently working at the Royal Melbourne Hospital and Peter MacCallum Cancer Center in Melbourne. She is a NZ Māori, from Ngāi Tahu rūnunga. In addition to Surgical training Lisa has undertaken extensive training and research in Aerospace Medicine since 2005. She was the Aerospace Medicine Research Fellow at Oxford and completed an internship at German Aerospace. She helped found the Space Surgery Association and Women in Space Aotearoa New Zealand.

  • Loren is a proud Bandjin woman, her country is Munnamudanamy now known as Hinchinbrook Island in the waters off North East Queensland. Loren currently lives and works on Awabakal and Worimi country as the Acting Deputy Head of the Wollotuka Institute at the University of Newcastle.

    Loren has almost two decades of professional experience in legal, education roles and community roles. As a lawyer Loren practiced for Aboriginal community organisations in Western NSW primarily working in Care and Protection and criminal law. Loren has worked in private legal practice in family law and estate litigation and spent many years with the NSW Crowns Solicitors Office

  • Hasantha is a Clinical Academic and Professor of Paediatric Priority Populations in the Children’s Hospital Westmead Clinical School, University of Sydney. He is engaged in research partnerships with Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services across Australia focussing on ear health, and established a service delivery project for Aboriginal children across NSW called HEALS. He works as a General Paediatrician at the Children’s Hospital at Westmead where he has worked in the refugee clinic for nearly two decades. As a Board member and Treasurer for the Academy of Child and Adolescent Health he has been able to advocate for children from priority populations such as children from refugee backgrounds and First Nations children.

  • Jay Horvat is a Professor of Immunology and Microbiology and Deputy Head of School of Biomedical Sciences and Pharmacy (Research) at the University of Newcastle and Hunter Medical Research Institute. He leads a team that specialises in the development of the most highly representative animal and cell models of many infection & inflammation-induced diseases. His team have used their unique models to make major advances in understanding mechanisms of pathogenesis of respiratory and reproductive tract diseases and identify novel therapies. One of his research interests includes understanding how the inter-relationship between immunity and iron metabolism affects the pathogenesis and susceptibility to infection in lung diseases such as asthma, COPD and IPF.

  • Professor Amanda Leach, PhD(medicine) is Leader of the Ear Health Research Program at Menzies School of Health Research. Amanda’s career has focused on randomised controlled trials (RCTs) for prevention and treatment of otitis media (OM) and disabling hearing loss in First Nations children. Prof Leach led a 6-year Centre of Research Excellence and is currently Co-Chair of a 5-year Randomised Trial of ear and hearing workforce enhancement in remote communities (the Hearing for Learning Initiative). Since 2013, Prof Leach has published 147 papers. In 2019 Prof Leach won the Telstra NT Business Woman of the Year, and in 2020, Prof Leach was made a Member (AM) of the Order of Australia.

  • Head of Department of Linguistics | Director, HEAR Centre, Macquarie University Hearing Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia

    Catherine McMahon is a Professor of Audiology, Head of Department of Linguistics at Macquarie University, and Director of the HEAR Centre, a WHO Ear & Hearing Care Collaborating Centre. Her research centres on understanding the barriers and facilitators to accessing and ultilising hearing healthcare, and the design and implementation of effective care pathways. Professor McMahon worked closely with the World Health Organisation to develop and collate the evidence-base for the World Report on Hearing and is a Commissioner on the Lancet Commission of Hearing Loss, co-chairing the “Innovation in Service Delivery” group. Her current work aims to strengthen the ear and hearing healthcare pathway and services to enhance accessibility and outcomes for under-served populations.

  • Tracey McCosker PSM is the Chief Executive of Hunter New England Local Health District.  Tracey has worked in the NSW public health system for over 30 years and held the positions of Chief Executive, NSW Health Pathology, as well as Director of Finance, Director of Corporate Services and Director of Clinical Services for the Hunter New England Local Health District.  Tracey started her health career as Business Manager for the Hunter Area Pathology Service, now part of NSW Health Pathology

  • Professor Peter Richmond is a Consultant Paediatric Immunologist and Paediatrician at Perth Children’s Hospital, and is Head of the Immunology Department at the Child and Adolescent Health Service in WA. He also heads the Vaccine Trials Group within the Wesfarmers Centre of Vaccines and Infectious Diseases at the Telethon Kids Institute, and is Head of the Discipline of Paediatrics at the UWA Medical School. His major research interests are in the prevention of meningitis, pneumonia, respiratory infections and otitis media. He has authored over 300 scientific publications in these areas and has worked in vaccine research for over 25 years.

  • Nathan Towney is a proud Wiradjuri man from Wellington NSW. He is currently the Pro Vice-Chancellor Indigenous Strategy and Leadership at the University of Newcastle. Prior to this appointment Nathan spent over 20 years in the NSW Department of Education in a variety of roles, including his final appointment as the Principal of Newcastle High School, where he spent six years. Nathan is a visible, active and strategic leader who champions people to be the best they can be. Most recently, Nathan has pulled a team together to develop the ‘Reimagining Evaluation: A Culturally Responsive Evaluation Framework for the NSW Department of Education’. Nathan has a passion for educational leadership and the characteristics of leaders that crate environments where people want to be.

  • Claudette Tyson, known as Sissy, is a proud Kuku Yalanji woman from far North Queensland. She has worked as an Aboriginal Research Officer at the Southern Queensland Centre of Excellence in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Primary Health Care since 2014. Her passions are paediatric ear health, mental health and working in her community helping her mob. Claudette has been part of the WATCH & INFLATE randomized controlled trials with Western Sydney University. She is an emerging leader in ear health and is currently undertaking a Diploma in Audiometry. Claudette is also the coordinator and chair of the Inala Community Jury for Health Research.

  • Dr Lisa Waia is a first year ENT registrar from Torres Strait Islands. She grew up in the communities surrounding Bamaga in Cape York, with blood lines from Saibai Island. She completed medical school at James Cook University and is currently training in ENT in Brisbane. She is committed to improving healthcare outcomes and advancing knowledge within Indigenous communities. In her research endeavours, she has prioritised community-initiated and driven projects, recognizing the importance of Indigenous voices in shaping healthcare practices. She has collaborated closely with community members to ensure that research is culturally sensitive, relevant, and beneficial to the community.

  • Dr Kate Wylie is a GP and the executive director of Doctors for the Environment Australia (DEA), a not-for-profit advocacy organisation that recognises that human health depends upon a healthy environment.

    Based in Adelaide, Dr Wylie’s work centres on the need for emissions reduction and the protection of biodiversity in order to protect human health and on the need for sustainability in health care.

    A skilled media commentator, Dr Wylie has spoken on television and radio and provided comment for written media on the health impacts of climate change and what we can do to protect ourselves from harm.

    Dr Wylie is the immediate past chair of the RACGP’s Climate and Environmental Medicine Specific Interest Group, elevating the need for climate action with GPs across Australia. She is a previous chair of DEA and is the founder of Climate Medicine, an advocacy project whereby she presents to community groups on the health effects of climate change. 

    In all her work, Dr Wylie applies a medical model to the climate crisis and as such offers a treatment plan for climate change. She seeks to activate her audience so they can help create the paradigm shift that we need to combat the climate crisis. 

    “Our planet is worth saving, and so are we.”

  • Jake is a proud Ngarabal man, who has ties to Emmaville/Deepwater NSW, and was born and raised on Darkinjung Country, Central Coast NSW. Jake holds a Bachelor of Teaching (Secondary) / Bachelor of Health and Physical Education.

    Jake has previously worked for the NSW Department of Education as Head Teacher PDPHPE, Aboriginal Education Consultant, and as a teaching staff member at the Wollotuka Institute. Jake is currently completing a PhD titled

    ‘biya yadha gudjagang yadha’: Healthy Dads, Healthy Mob.

  • Peter Morris is a paediatrician who moved to the Menzies School of Health Research from the Royal Children's Hospital in Melbourne in 1994. Since then, he has worked at Menzies, the NT Clinical School (Flinders University), and the Royal Darwin Hospital. He was the Director of the Department of Paediatrics from 2016 to 2021. Peter conducts research on improving the medical management of common health problems in Aboriginal children living in the NT and children attending child care. He is a strong advocate for evidence-based practice and the application of randomised controlled trials to address important health problems. He likes thinking in bets and learning from his mistakes.

  • Dr Guy Cameron is a proud Wailwan man and early career researcher in Immunology and Microbiology. Based at the Hunter Medical research Institute, Guy leads a collaboration between University of Newcastle and NSW Health researchers in a new study using genomic methods to investigate the bacteria causing upper respiratory infections and childhood ear disease. Guy primarily works as a post-doctoral researcher with the Aboriginal ear and immune health team to expand our knowledge on ear disease, which disproportionally affect Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children. Guy also holds a fellowship co-funded by the national imaging facility and systems neuroscience group to foster Indigenous collaboration and ownership in the field of imaging research to improve the health and wellbeing of all Australians. He’s also an Indigenous tutor and mentor with the Wollotuka Institute, and the co-chair of the Indigenous student engagement committee; striving to assist mob with getting equal opportunity. Guy is also a proud member of the Yakul Yabang Aboriginal health community research panel and is part of the executive as a category B member for the animal care and ethics committee.

  • Dr Celestine Aho is a post-doctoral researcher and Acting Head of the Infection and Immunity Unit at the Papua New Guinea Institute of Medical Research (PNGIMR) in Goroka, Papua New Guinea. She has a PhD in Microbiology (2020, Menzies School of Health Research/CDU), a Master of Science in Infection and Epidemiology (2012) and a Bachelor of Science (2003). She has been a bacteriologist at PNGIMR since 2006, during which time she has made significant contributions to acute respiratory infection and otitis media (OM) research at PNGIMR.

  • Dr Shelly Chadha, MBBS, MS, PhD is a Medical Director at the World Health Organisation (WHO) working on the Program for Prevention of Deafness and Hearing Loss. Dr. Chadha was trained as an otolaryngologist at the University of Delhi, India, and undertook doctoral studies in public health at the same university. Shelly is driving global action to address hearing loss including leading advocacy for prioritisation of hearing care, and promoting technical support to countries for development of hearing care strategies and tools.

  • Raylene Gordon is the Executive Director of Aboriginal Health at the Hunter New England Local Health District. Raylene is responsible for the strategic direction, advocacy and planning of Aboriginal health and wellbeing in the district. A decendent of the Kamilaroi people and now living in Awabakal country, Ms Gordon has a strong focus to deliver on the District’s commitment to make meaningful gains for the more than 90,0000 Aboriginal people living and working across the Hunter New England region.

  • Dr Michelle Pokorny is an Audiologist with a strong passion for public health service and a focus on equity of access to care. Michelle completed her studies at The University of Queensland and she also holds hold an honorary lecturer title through University of Auckland. Her areas of expertise include advanced audiology practice, middle ear disease, Artificial Intelligence technologies, and extended scopes of practice.

  • A/Prof Michelle Kennedy is a Wiradjuri woman who has grown up on Worimi country. Michelle is an NHMRC research fellow, partnering with Aboriginal communities to place the power in their hands and address priority areas to improve Indigenous health. She brings 19 year’s experience working with Aboriginal communities and Indigenous ways of knowing, being and doing to the health research space to deliver health research that is appropriate, engaging and meaningful for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. She is leading a national study Murru Minya exploring the conduct of research with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and communities.