Dr Lauren Akesson is a dual trained genetic pathologist and clinical geneticist with a PhD in cystic fibrosis. Her training in paediatrics and genetics was completed in Perth, Darwin, Melbourne, Adelaide, and the Netherlands. She has experience in the clinical management of couples seeking fertility and pregnancy management including high risk reproductive carrier screening and non-invasive prenatal screening (NIPS) results. Lauren is Melbourne Pathology’s first genetic pathologist, and she has honorary positions at the University of Melbourne and Royal Melbourne Hospital. She has a special interest in implementing new approaches to genetic testing, and understands the importance of patient-centred care.

C. Michael White, Pharm.D., FCP, FCCP is a Board of Trustees Distinguished Professor and Chair of the Department of Pharmacy Practice at the University of Connecticut School of Pharmacy.

His ~490 publications resulted in 16288 citations, an H-index of 66, and i10 Index of 242; placing him within an elite group of researchers. Dr. White’s research interests are in the areas of comparative effectiveness and preventing adverse events from drugs, devices, dietary supplements, and illicit substances. His work has been published in JAMA, Lancet, Annals of Internal Medicine and Circulation (among others) with research coverage by NBC Nightly News, Good Morning America, BBC, CNN, NY Times, Washington Post, LA Times, Boston Globe, PBSNewsHour, WNPR Morning Edition, Prevention Magazine, and hundreds of other (inter)national media outlets. Five of his publications were among the top 5 read articles in that journal in the years they were published. His work has been primarily funded by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality with additional grants from the Donaghue Foundation, Pfeiffer Foundation, and American College of Clinical Pharmacy, among others.

He had a recurring segment on a local Connecticut TV station (NBC30 and then FOX61) where he shared medical news with the public (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZrPgfEMHpv4_MfEm1W_tRQ) from 2001 to 2020, has articles with over 1.5 million readers for The Conversation, and appeared on the Dr Oz show. He is a Fellow of the American College of Clinical Pharmacologists and The American College of Clinical Pharmacy and is on the editorial boards of the Annals of Pharmacotherapy and Pharmacy Practice News. Dr. White is a UConn Teaching Fellow, the highest university teaching designation, and received the Provost’s Award for Public Engagement for his media, migrant farmworker clinic, and COVID-19 work.
He has received the American College of Clinical Pharmacist Young Investigator Award, American Society of Health-System Pharmacists Award for Sustained Contributions to the Literature and the Drug Therapy Research Awards, and the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy Lyman Award and the Weaver Award.

I am a 2025 Doctor of Pharmacy Candidate at the University of Connecticut’s School of Pharmacy. I have a bachelor’s degree in Molecular and Cell Biology and Pharmacy from the University of Connecticut that I obtained in 2021 and 2023, respectively. I am a research student for Dr. C. Michael White at the University of Connecticut School of Pharmacy.

James McCaw is a mathematical biologist and epidemiologist and past Australian Research Council Future Fellow (2011 15) at the University of Melbourne. After obtaining a PhD in theoretical physics in 2005, he turned his interests to a recognised needs area in Australia mathematical modelling of infectious diseases to inform public health policy. He now holds a teaching and research position split between the School of Mathematics & Statistics and the Melbourne School of Population and Global Health. He also holds an honorary appointment at the Peter Doherty Institute. Since January 2020 he has served as an expert member of the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee, advising government on the epidemiology of COVID-19.

Dr Shearer is an NHMRC Research Fellow based at The University of Melbourne. Her expertise is in the use of data analytics, modelling, and decision science to support infectious disease management. Her work focuses on two broad pathogen types: those with constrained geographic distributions due to their complex transmission cycles involving multiple animal reservoir and vector species (e.g., zoonotic malaria); and those of pandemic potential due to their novelty and direct/efficient human-to-human transmission (e.g., SARS-CoV-2).

Since January 2020, Dr Shearer has been engaged in supporting the Australian Government response to COVID-19. She has a leadership role in weekly reporting to key national decision-making committees on state-level and national epidemic situational assessment.

Dr James Wood is an applied mathematician with interests across a broad range from evolutionary and immunological processes to cost-effectiveness evaluations for disease interventions. He completed his honours degree and PhD at the University of Queensland (both in mathematical physics). His primary application area is respiratory viruses and vaccine preventable diseases but he also has interests in tuberculosis and sexually transmitted infections.

He has published over 90 papers in international journals, focusing on the impact and cost-effectiveness of vaccines on epidemiology, along with research related to disease elimination and characteristing infectious disease epidemiology. Since 2020 he has been heavily involved in Australian state and national responses to COVID-19 as well some WHO work in support of responses in the Philippines and Malaysia. His current primary interests are in integrating genetic and immunologic elements into epidemiological models to account for trends in pathogen resistance and population immunity and developing improved respiratory virus surveillance and forecasts.

Eric L Hsu is a Lecturer in Sociology at the University of South Australia, where he also presently serves as a co-leader of a work package on ‘risk, emergency management and global pandemics’ at the UniSA Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence. He is the co-creator and host of the Sociology of Everything Podcast (sociologypodcast.com). His research specializes in the sociology of sleep, the social analysis of advanced automation, and the social theory of disasters. Most recently with Catherine Coveney, Michael Greaney, Rob Meadows and Simon Williams, he is co-author of Technosleep: Fronters, Fictions, Futures (2023) published by Palgrave Macmillan. More information about his work can be found on his website, www.ericlhsu.com.

I am sociologist of health and illness, interested in health and medical technologies (including pharmaceuticals, self-tracking technologies and fertility treatments) and the roles they play in how we think about, act on and react to health and illness. My research has focussed on the sociological, cultural and ethical aspects of biomedicine across several areas of everyday life, taking disability, sleep, suicide, chronic illness, elite sport and human reproduction as specific examples. My current research projects are ‘Technosleep: Frontiers, Fictions, Futures’ which takes a critical sociological lens to explore the entanglements of sleep and technology; and Living with Noonan Syndrome which explores the everyday lives of parents caring for children with rare genetic disease.

Dr Prerna Varma is a Research Fellow and an NHMRC Cogsleep Research Fellow in the Sleep and Circadian Medicine at the Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health, Monash University. Her current research focuses on two primary themes:
i) design, development, and delivery of personalised digital interventions to address sleep, fatigue, and circadian disruption in shift workers; and
ii) examining sleep and mental health from a public health perspective.

An early career researcher, Dr Varma is deeply interested in involving communities into the design and implementation of their care. She has worked with healthcare and defence sectors, and communities living with dementia to identify optimal areas of support. Her work has received funding from the Medical Research Futures Fund, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, NHMRC funded Cogsleep Program, Defence, Science and Technology group, Dementia Australia and Monash University’s Sleep and Circadian Medicine internal grants.

Dr Varma completed her PhD in psychology from the RMIT University. Her thesis focused on examining family dynamics in sleep. A family intervention designed during her PhD is now being translated to support families living with dementia. Prerna has a background in digital marketing industry and supporting development of smartphone applications, which she brings into her research roles.

Dr Katherine Armour is a Melbourne based medical and cosmetic dermatologist. Her subspeciality interests include biologic treatments to treat inflammatory diseases such as psoriasis, urticaria, and atopic dermatitis; immunobullous diseases; and prevention and treatment of skin aging through the use of cosmeceuticals and energy-based devices.
Dr Armour has posts at the Skin Health Institute, the Alfred Hospital and The Dermatology Institute of Victoria where she attends biologics, photobiology, and general dermatology clinics. She is a member of the Australasian Psoriasis Collaboration, the International Psoriasis Council, and sits on numerous advisory boards in the field of biologics. She is also on the board of the Australasian College of Cosmetic Dermatologists and is a part of the Editorial Committee of Opinions and Progress in Cosmetic Dermatology.

Dr Hunt has expertise in diagnosis of conditions of the retina. He operates weekly on patients with cataract, pterygium and eyelid conditions. He also manages many diabetic and glaucoma patients. Dr Adrian Hunt was awarded a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) from the University of Sydney in 1995 and a Master of Biomedical Engineering (MBiomedE) from the University of NSW in 2000 where he investigated the biomechanics of the human cornea. He then went on to train in Ophthalmology at the Sydney Eye Hospital, becoming a Fellow of The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Ophthalmologists (FRANZCO) in 2006. Dr Hunt is a medical retina sub-specialist in addition to being a general ophthalmologist. Since completing a Retinal Surgery Fellowship with Professor Paul Mitchell at Westmead Hospital, he has been a prominent contributor to the field, which focused on the management of age-related macular degeneration, diabetic and vascular retinopathies. He continues to research this important field as a University of Sydney PhD Candidate under the supervision of Professor Mark Gillies at the Save Sight Institute at Sydney Eye Hospital. His thesis examines real world outcomes of intravitreal treatment for retinal vein occlusion. He has authored, presented and reviewed international and national peer reviewed research. As a Senior Staff Specialist at Westmead Hospital he is involved in training future Ophthalmologists at his clinic and theatre list. At his main practice in Miranda, Dr Hunt offers expert care of cataract, glaucoma and delivers intravitreal injections for macular degeneration, diabetic and vascular retinopathies. He also consults in Macquarie Street in the CBD, and visits Bathurst fortnightly confining his practice to medical retinal conditions in those locations. Dr Hunt is a Shire local married with four young children, plus two dogs. When he is being’ Adrian’, rather than Dr Hunt, he really enjoys taking his kids to Shelly Beach ocean pool and walking on The Esplanade. Special Interests * Cataract surgery (complex and routine) * Macular disease * Retinal laser * Intravitreal injections * Diabetic eye disease