SHP Annual Forum 2023 - Aligning Research, Adding Impact

Executive Director, South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute

Professor Steve Wesselingh is an Infectious Diseases Physician and researcher in HIV, vaccine development and the impact of the microbiome on human health. Steve is the Executive Director of the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI), Chair of the NHMRC Research Committee and Director NHMRC Council and President of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences Limited (AAHMS). Steve was Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences at Monash University, from 2007-2011.

Research Director, Sydney Health Partners

Associate Professor Angela Todd joined Sydney Health Partners (SHP) in 2016 and is now SHP’s Research Director.
Angela works with SHP partners on programs that make it easier to do multi-centre research including harmonising research governance approval and data sharing processes and promoting and supporting consumer involvement in research and clinical trial activities.

She has extensive work experience in health research, research funding, service development, service evaluation, policy development, education and training, and strategic planning. Angela previously worked for government, public hospitals, and non-government organisations both in Australia and Canada, in various health research and health policy roles.

Deputy Secretary, Clinical Innovation and Research, NSW Ministry of Health, and Chief Executive, Agency for Clinical Innovation

Dr Jean-Frédéric Levesque is the Deputy Secretary, Clinical Innovation and Research at the NSW Ministry of Health, and Chief Executive of the NSW Agency for Clinical Innovation. He is an Adjunct Professor at the Centre for Primary Health Care and Equity at the University of New South Wales. He has authored more than 150 peer-reviewed publications and his seminal research on healthcare access and inequity has been cited more than 2,000 times. Jean-Frédéric Levesque has a Medical Degree, a Master's in Community Health and a Doctorate in Public Health from the Université de Montréal, Canada. He brings extensive leadership in healthcare systems analysis and improvement, combining experience in clinical practice in refugee health and tropical medicine, in clinical governance and in academic research.

Program Manager, Sydney Health Partners

Andria joined Sydney Health Partners in 2019 as Program Manager working extensively across stakeholder groups and currently manages the Clinical Academic Groups program. She has worked in health and medical research for over 20 years connecting with clinicians, academics and consumers. In her previous roles she managed public health registries, large research studies and clinical trials, across cardiovascular, cancer, and developmental disabilities.

Andria holds a Master of Science in Public Health and has worked with state health agencies, universities and clinical research organisations in the U.S. and Australia. Andria is passionate about working with health and medical research to deliver meaningful health outcomes.

Director, Sydney Cancer Partners

Professor DeFazio holds the Sydney-West Chair in Translational Cancer Research, University of Sydney. She is Director of the Centre for Cancer Research and head of the gynaecological cancer research program at the Westmead Institute for Medical Research, Westmead Hospital. Professor DeFazio is Director of Sydney Cancer Partners, Convenor of the Cancer Research Network and a member of the Daffodil Centre, University of Sydney, a joint venture with Cancer Council NSW. Professor DeFazio has a long-standing commitment to translational research with an emphasis on improving treatment outcomes for women with ovarian cancer. She is lead investigator on INOVATe, a program focused on molecular profiling, precision medicine and ovarian cancer clinical trials.

Chief Executive, Sydney Children’s Hospitals

Cathryn Cox PSM was appointed Chief Executive of Sydney Children’s Hospitals Network in August 2020. Cathryn has many years of experience as an Executive within NSW Health with responsibility for a range of health policy, planning, infrastructure and strategic reform programs. Cathryn is passionate about the role of Sydney Children’s Hospitals Network in providing world-class patient-centred care for children and young people, and their families, as well as ground-breaking health research and its translation into clinical practice. Cathryn is a member of a number of Boards and has recently become an Adjunct Associate Professor at the University of Sydney.

Executive Director, The Westmead Institute for Medical Research

Professor Philip O’Connell is the Executive Director of The Westmead Institute for Medical Research. He is also the Director of the Centre for Transplant and Renal Research and a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences. His research interests include the use of genomics for the development of biomarkers of renal allograft dysfunction and biomarker enrichment for clinical trials in renal transplantation.

Director of Research, Sydney Children’s Hospitals Network

Adj. Associate Professor Paula Bray is the Director of Research for the Sydney Children’s Hospitals Network. Paula started her career as an occupational therapist and clinical-researcher who completed her PhD and post-doctoral studies in measurement science and improving clinical care through development and implementation of international clinical practice guidelines for Duchenne muscular dystrophy and Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease. Paula is committed to advancing healthcare delivery through unlocking value by implementing research-enabled care.

Executive Dean and Pro-Vice-Chancellor, Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney

Professor Robyn Ward (AM) is an academic leader, cancer researcher and clinician who has made significant contributions to health policy and practice in Australia, as well as to the higher education sector. Since 2018 she has served as Pro-Vice Chancellor Medicine and Health, and Executive Dean, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney. Over her research career, she has published over 270 original manuscripts that have been cited over 20,000 times by peers.

Chief Executive, Sydney Local Health District

Dr Teresa Anderson is the Chief Executive of Sydney Local Health District. She is an internationally recognised Speech Pathologist and has more than 35 years of experience as a clinician and health service executive. She is a Fellow of the NSW Institute of Public Administration Australia, and a member of seven Medical Research, Health and PHN boards including Sydney Health Partners.

Chair of Research, Northern Sydney Local Health District

Professor Bruce Robinson is an Endocrinologist and is Chair of Research at Royal North Shore Hospital. Bruce has previously held roles as the Chair of the Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) Review Taskforce and was also the Chair of the Council of NHMRC. He is also Co- Head of the Cancer Genetics Laboratory at the Kolling Institute and was Dean of Medicine 2006–2016 at the University of Sydney.

Research Translation Fellow, Sydney Health Partners

Dr Alan Ma is a clinician researcher based at Sydney Children's Hospitals Network - Westmead. He specialises in clinical genetics and sees patients with genetic conditions and rare diseases in urban and rural NSW. His research interests are in genomics, and the implementation of genomics and precision medicine into the healthcare system.

Executive Director Research, Western Sydney Local Health District

Professor Mark McLean is a clinical endocrinologist at Blacktown and Westmead Hospitals, and also Executive Director of Research at Western Sydney Local Health District. Mark is a Conjoint Professor of Medicine at Western Sydney University and Honorary Professor of Medicine, University of Sydney and an active clinical researcher with a particular interest in diabetes in pregnancy.

Leadership Team member, Sydney Cancer Partners CAG

Lisa Horvath is the Director of Research at the Chris O’Brien Lifehouse, Professor of Medical Oncology at the University of Sydney and Head of Advanced Prostate Cancer Research/Faculty member at the Garvan Institute for Medical Research.

Susan Wakil School of Nursing and Midwifery, The University of Sydney

Kate White is Professor of Cancer Nursing and Director of the Cancer Care Research Unit at the Sydney Local Health District and University of Sydney. Drawing on over 20 years in specialising in cancer and palliative care, Kate has led development of new models of care in rural communities, expanded roles of the specialist nurse, and supportive care research.

Executive Director, Kolling Institute of Medical Research

Professor Jim Elliott is the Academic Director of the Kolling Institute and a Professor of Allied/ Public Health at the University of Sydney and the Northern Sydney Local Health District. He is the Principal Investigator of the Neuromuscular Imaging Research Laboratory.