Dr Marita Long is a Victorian based GP working across clinical practice, medical education and research. She has a strong interest in women’s health and cognitive health. She is a current committee member for the Australian Society of Psychosocial Obstetrics and Gynaecology, a member of the WIGP RACGP committee and is the current Vic/Tas representative on the board of the Australasian Menopause Society. Marita is actively engaged in various projects related to dementia, and is the first GP appointed as an Honorary Medical Advisor for Dementia Australia and a Clinical Assoc Professor for Wicking Dementia Education and Research Centre.

Dr M Talat Uppal is a Gynaecologist and Visiting Medical Officer at Macquarie University and Hornsby Hospital. She is the Director of Women’s Health Road, an RACGP-accredited, national hybrid, multidisciplinary practice offering private menopause management services. Her niche expertise lies in managing abnormal menstrual bleeding (AUB), having pioneered Australia’s first digitally enhanced AUB Management Hub. She also leads the charity based, Bleed Better initiative, and founded the International Heavy Menstrual Bleeding Day to raise awareness. With a passion for digital health, Dr. Uppal research how technology enhances patient journeys and healthcare practices and is a RANZCOG service medal award recipient for excellence in GP clinical education.

Dr Sarwer is the senior associate dean for research and strategic partnerships and the director of the Center for Obesity Research and Education at the College of Public Health. He is also a professor in the Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences. His research is focused on the etiology and treatment of obesity. Much of his work has focused on the psychosocial and behavioral aspects of extreme obesity and bariatric surgery. Dr. Sarwer also has a wealth of experience in the treatment of obesity with lifestyle modification interventions and pharmacotherapy. His more recent work in this area has focused on the adaptation and delivery of weight loss treatments in specialized medical settings, the contribution of neighborhood level variables to obesity, and the underutilization of evidence-based treatments.

Dr Sarwer also maintains an active program of research on the psychological aspects of physical appearance. This includes a project funded by the Department of Defense investigating the psychosocial experiences of American military veterans who have suffered devastating injuries that could leave them as candidates for vascularized composite allotransplantation (VCA) procedures, otherwise known as face and hand transplants.

Dr Sarwer is the founding editor-in-chief of the journal Obesity Science and Practice. He also serves as an associate editor for Obesity Surgery; consulting editor for Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery; and serves on the editorial boards of several other journals. In 2020, he was co-editor of a special issue of The American Psychologist dedicated to obesity.

Dr Sarwer has published over 350 papers and book chapters based on his research. He has served as editor of three books: Psychological Aspects of Reconstructive and Cosmetic Plastic Surgery (2006); Presurgical Psychological Screening (2014); and The ASMBS Textbook of Bariatric Surgery (2014). Dr. Sarwer’s research has been continuouly funded by the National Institutes of Health since 2002. His scholarly productivity leaves him ranked in the top 2% of scientists worldwide.

Dr Robert (Rob) Hosking (MBBS, DRANZCOG, GradCertHealthInformatics, FRACGP, FAIDH) is a specialist General Practitioner and co-owner who has been at The Elms since 1994. A graduate of Melbourne University, he is a Fellow of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners, and holds the Diploma of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists. Rob has special interests in men’s health (including performing vasectomies), women’s health, ante-natal care, paediatrics and skin conditions.

He is involved with training Registrars as a Medical Supervisor in the post-graduate General Practice Training Program. Rob has a keen interest in the use of computers and technology in general practice, having previously completed a Graduate Certificate in Health Informatics from Monash University, and he is a Fellow of the Australasian Institute of Digital Health. He is the current Chair of the RACGP Expert Committee – Practice Technology and Management (REC-PTM), which advises on matters relating to digital technology, information management and e-health standards.

Dr Bradley Borges obtained his MD from Deakin University, Geelong and is a former Microbiologist/Virologist at both Melbourne and Monash Universities. Since then, he has worked in both metropolitan and rural hospitals in Melbourne & South West Victoria. He currently works as a rural GP registrar at Active Health in Portland.

Brad has a variety of special interests including sports and musculoskeletal medicine and teaching the next generation of medical students on GP placement. One of his hobbies is learning and adapting new and emerging software and technology. He helped create and implement the policy for AI use within his rural practice and navigated the financial, legal and ethical factors that were required for its use clinically.

Dr Katie Frith is a Consultant Specialist in paediatric immunology and allergy. She is an active member of ASCIA, and the current chair of the ASCIA anaphylaxis committee. In addition to her private work, she is a staff specialist in paediatric immunology at Sydney Children’s Hospital, and a conjoint lecturer in the School of Women’s and Children’s Health, UNSW. Dr Frith has expertise in diagnosing and managing children with food allergies, allergic rhinitis, hives and has a special interest in Food Protein Induced Enterocolitis (FPIES). She is also experienced in looking after children with inborn errors of immunity, including primary immune deficiencies (PID) and immune dysregulation.

Lisa completed her Bachelor of Pharmacy at The University of Queensland, graduating in 1993, followed by pre-registration and subsequent employment as a pharmacist with Queensland Health at metropolitan and rural hospitals. She returned to UQ to undertake a PhD focusing on the quality use of medicines, which was completed in 2002. Following postdoctoral research, she took up a position of lecturer at the School of Pharmacy, UQ in June 2003. Lisa was promoted to Senior Lecturer in 2006, and Associate Professor in 2010. Lisa was the Professor and Head of the School of Clinical Sciences at Queensland University of Technology from 2012-2022. She is currently the Director and Taylor Family Chair, Centre for the Business & Economics of Health at The University of Queensland.Lisa is interested in optimizing the use of the health workforce to ensure the best outcomes for the system and the community. She has provided over 300 invited presentations both nationally and internationally and is a sought after speaker. These have included keynote addresses, plenary lectures, workshop presentations and debates / panel discussions.Professional RoleLisa was the elected chairman of the Queensland branch committee of the Society of Hospital Pharmacists (SHPA) in 2004-2006 and became a Fellow of SHPA in 2007. After being involved with the continuing education committee of the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia (PSA) Queensland branch for many years, Lisa was elected to the branch committee in 2006 and President of the Queensland Branch of the PSA in 2007, a role she continued until 2015. She was then elected to represent Queensland on the National Board of the PSA in 2008 and served as National Vice President in 2009-2010. In 2011 she was awarded a Fellowship of the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia.Lisa was awarded the PSA Young Pharmacist of the Year in 2002 and the PSA Pharmacist of the Year in 2008 – she is the youngest recipient of the Pharmacist of the Year and the only person to have received both awards. Lisa is one of Australia’s first credentialed Advanced pharmacy Practitioners and is regarded as one of pharmacies most influential people.Lisa provides advice and representation to local, national and international groups including professional organizations, accreditation authorities, boards and organizations such as the Commonwealth Department of Health and Aging, the International Pharmacy Federation, and the World Health Organization. She actively contributes to both the Pharmacy profession and the wider health network in many ways including presentations for education events and conferences and writing regular articles for professional media.TeachingLisa received a UQ Commendation for Excellence in Teaching in 2006 a UQ Award for Excellence in Teaching in 2007, and won Australian Award for University Teaching from the Australian Learning & Teaching Council (formally known as the Carrick Institute) in 2008 and 2013.

I am an Associate Professor and member of the Evolve Health, Health Workforce Optimisation Program at The University of Queensland’s Centre for the Business and Economics of Health (CBEH). This program is part of the seven strategic Health Research Accelerator (HERA) initiatives announced by UQ in 2022, with the aim of redefining the future of work in the Australian healthcare sector.As a health economist, I have a particular interest in developing and evaluating health workforce models that enable culturally safe, integrated, multidisciplinary team care using economic frameworks and system-based approaches. A key research focus is improving medicines safety in primary care – one of the Australian Government’s ten health priority areas.

Dr Benjamin Namdarian is a specialist urologist who provides personalised care to his patients that uses cutting edge techniques and treatments.Dr Namdarian has particular expertise in robotic-assisted urological cancers and reconstruction surgery, advanced prostate diagnostics — fusion and transperineal — endourology, and BPH.After becoming a Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons in 2016, Benjamin completed the prestigious Robotic Oncology Fellowship at Guy’s and St Thomas’ Trust in Central London, followed by an Adolescent/Transition Urology Fellowship at University College London Hospital.Subsequently, as an NHS Consultant Surgeon at Guy’s Hospital, Ben played a key role in establishing robotic reconstructive and transplant services, pioneering and disseminating local anaesthetic transperineal prostate biopsy, MRI fusion biopsies, tailored BPH treatments, prostatic arterial embolisation, Urolift®, and LASER HoLEP.Ben is widely published across diverse urological disciplines. He’s also written a number of book chapters on robotics and urological anatomy, most recently in the esteemed Gray’s Anatomy.

Associate Professor Bernard Shiu is the Clinical Director of Banksia Medical Centre and Geelong Long COVID Clinic in Victoria. He was recognised as the RACGP GP of the Year in 2020, and under his leadership, Banksia Medical Centre was awarded National RACGP General Practice of the Year in 2023.  With a strong clinical focus on Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS), Long COVID, and other complex chronic conditions, Associate Professor Shiu is deeply committed to advancing patient care in these areas.  In addition to his clinical work, he is an experienced researcher and medical educator with extensive involvement in training both medical students, graduate candidates and healthcare professionals.

Molly Banks is a Speech Pathologist by background with over 10 years in Brain Injury Rehabilitation, working with adults with communication and swallowing impairments. Molly has worked within Western NSW for a number of years with an understanding of the challenges and rewards of rural and remote health care. As the Program Manager of MWBIRP and ACI Co-Chair Molly is passionate about providing specialist care while addressing equitable access to services.