General health

As a mature age nursing student, my path to becoming a nurse hasn’t followed the “traditional” trajectory. I’m a wife and mother of three children who all attend Sale Catholic schools and are heavily involved in local sports teams. I was raised in Heyfield, went to school here, married a local boy and am delighted to be doing my Graduate Nursing Year in 2022 at Central Gippsland Health, Sale. Growing up in a small country town, I now have the privilege to give back to those in their time of need through our wider regional health care system. I was guided by many community and likeminded residents through my educational, sporting avenues and being a member of our small community that I am now seeing those faces again. This time the life circle is evolving, and it is my pleasure to have the opportunity to return the kindness, love and support that was shown to me growing up.

I am a Ramindjeri man who has spent most of my adult life living and working on Kaurna land (Adelaide). My interest in Aboriginal health and education came primarily out of the unanswered questions I had growing up. I say ‘unanswered’ because the mainstream schooling system and curriculum in the 70s and 80s was ill-equipped to answer the questions I had, let alone address the gamut of Aboriginal issues. Regardless, for an Aboriginal kid at the time, I am the first to admit that I had somewhat of a privileged education that was supported by my loving parents. My non-Aboriginal father was a dedicated high school teacher, and my Aboriginal mother had passionately devoted herself to working in Aboriginal early childhood education.

My research background is in ocular research including neurodegenerative disease in the eye. In 2008, I graduated from the department of Ophthalmology and Optometry, Wenzhou Medical University, with a maser degree in Ophthalmology and Optometry (a 7-year program). Till now, I have participated in 3 projects related to neurodegenerative diseases in the eye (Wenzhou Science Y20180728、Y20180713、Y20190635).

Besides, in the field of retina diseases, I have published 7 papers as a co-author. Since 2008, I have worked in the Affiliated Eye Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China

I was interested in Medicine from a very young age as I was exposed to the field quite early in my life. As I grew up, my fascination with neurodegenerative disorders and brain functioning only increased. I attended a Nobel laureate’s lecture during my secondary school that ignited my curiosity into research. Eventually, I chose a career in medical imaging, where I noticed a need for more advanced techniques in neurological diagnostics, especially for children and elderly patients. To address this gap, I pursued a Master of Research at Nottingham Trent University and Sir Peter Mansfield Imaging Centre in the United Kingdom.

During this transformative experience, I gained expertise in cutting-edge neuroimaging techniques. This solidified my passion for research, along with the excitement of discovering something new daily. However, despite my newfound skills, I felt a desire for a deeper understanding of the medical aspects. This led me to the University of Sydney, where I now use novel magnetic resonance techniques and advanced computational tools to uncover early markers of Lewy body diseases.

Chow qualified as a Paediatric Haematologist, Laboratory Haematologist and Paediatric Oncologist in 2023, having trained at New Zealand, the Royal Children’s Hospital Melbourne and the Alfred Hospital, Melbourne. Despite having a busy career at Monash Children’s Hospital, his interest in science, which developed during his time at his alma mater, Imperial College London, England, continues.

Having seen how new classes of drugs impacted greatly on patients, such as tyrosine kinase inhibitors and chronic myeloid leukaemia, anti-tumour necrosis factor monoclonal antibodies and rheumatology patients, and venetoclax with a myriad of haematological malignancies, Chow aspires to follow in the footsteps of several very successful scientists and clinicians to make similar impacts in the paediatric haematological/oncological world.

Dagmawi Chilot is a lecturer of clinical trials at the University of Gondar, Ethiopia. He received his MSc in Clinical trials from Addis Ababa University, Center for Innovative Drug Development and Therapeutic Trials for Africa (CDT Africa), Ethiopia in 2021; and his BSc degree in Nursing from the University of Gondar, Ethiopia in 2016.

Dagmawi joined the University of Gondar as a graduate assistant II in 2016. Alongside his academic duties, he has been working as deputy coordinator of the University of Gondar Clinical Trial Centre, and a clinical data manager expert fellow of the Institute of Tropical Medicine in Antwerp, Belgium.

I received a Bachelor degree in Medicine and Surgery at Nnamdi Azikiwe University Awka, Nigeria (2008) and proceeded for residency and fellowship training at University of Port Harcourt, Nigeria where I obtained the fellowship of the West African College of Physician (2017) in Internal Medicine with my area of subspecialisation as Gastroenterology and Hepatology. To align my clinical interest with therapeutics I enrolled for Master Degree in Pharmacology, which I obtained with Distinction.

I am currently practicing as a Gastroenterologist at Federal Medical Centre, Yenagoa, Nigeria. My areas of interest are Neurogastroenterology and Global Digestive Health.

I am a pharmacist who is eager to improve the safe use of medication through high-quality research that creates evidence, and translating said evidence to drive practice change. As a clinical pharmacist in one of Melbourne’s largest tertiary hospitals, I have first-hand, practical experience in helping patients improve their medication use. Making a positive impact on someone’s health is the most rewarding part of my career. I am excited to translate this passion to helping prevent medication related harm by reducing sedative medications in people living with dementia.

I obtained my undergraduate degree at Flinders University in South Australia, where I continued to work in sleep and dementia research following my graduation. During my time as a research assistant, I developed a passion for exploring neurodegenerative diseases, developing tools for early detection, and methods of early intervention. In 2023, I moved to Melbourne to commence a PhD at Monash University. Here at Monash, I am able to combine my interests in sleep research and neurodegenerative disease to explore how poor quality sleep is associated with increased risk of neurodegenerative disease.

Charlie Ffrench is a life-saving enthusiast who completed her undergraduate degree in Laboratory Medicine (Honours) at the University of South Australia in 2021 and during that time she received several academic honours, including University Merit awards and the Martin Hansen award (for the student with the highest aggregate mark in the final two years of the degree).

Charlie started her PhD in 2022 at the Centre for Cancer Biology (University of South Australia and SA Pathology). Working with a supervisory team of scientists and clinicians, her research broadly focuses on advancing our knowledge of pancreatic cancer.