Speakers

We look forward to welcoming speakers and guests to the PaCCSC & CST Research Forum 2025 at the International Convention Centre in Sydney on 27 and 28 March 2025.

Keynote speakers

William Dale is an internist/geriatrician and is board-certified in hospice and palliative medicine with a PhD in health policy. He serves as a Professor and Vice Chair of Academic Affairs at City of Hope and is the George Tsai Family Chair in Geriatric Oncology in Honor of Arti Hurria at City of Hope.
A Beeson Scholar and past leader of a Hartford Center of Excellence in Geriatrics, his career is devoted to cancer care for older adults with cancer, with a focus on medical decision-making, high-value care models, and quality of life in older adults with cancer.
In 2006, William established the award-winning Specialized Oncology Care & Research in the Elders (SOCARE) clinic, a geriatric clinic embedded in oncology, offering interdisciplinary, individualized, and integrated treatment for older adults with cancer.
William is a national leader in geriatric oncology, with over 200 publications, and supported by funding from NIH (NIA, NCI), American Cancer Society, and multiple foundations. He collaborates widely on interdisciplinary research that integrates the clinical and social sciences, particularly through his leadership of the Cancer & Aging Research Group (CARG; mycarg.org).
He is the lead Principal Investigator, along with Co-Principal Investigators Dr Supriya Mohile and Dr Heidi Klepin, on a R33 NIA grant, Geriatric Oncology Research Infrastructure to Improve Clinical Care. This grant originally included as a multi-PI our colleague Dr. Arti Hurria.
William has also served for over three years as the Director of the Center for Cancer and Aging at City of Hope, succeeding founding director, Dr. Arti Hurria.
Catherine Walshe is Professor of Palliative Care in the International Observatory on End of Life Care at Lancaster University. Catherine has an extensive background in palliative care clinical practice, education and research.
Prior to completing a Masters in Nursing at King’s College, London, and a PhD at Lancaster University, Catherine worked clinically for 15 years with a focus on both generalist and specialist palliative care.
Catherine has an international research reputation in palliative care. Her research programme primarily focuses on the organisation and provision of services at the end of life. This includes trials of new interventions and models of care, especially recently focusing on the role of volunteers and peer mentors.
With a broad methodological expertise, Catherine’s studies include clinical trials, feasibility studies, qualitative research and mixed methods. She also supervises PhD students, primarily in the Lancaster University innovative blended learning PhD in Palliative Care. She also teaches widely on different aspects of research.
Catherine has been an editor for the journal Palliative Medicine since 2008. She became editor-in-chief in 2011, overseeing the journal’s development into the premier research journal in the field.
Catherine was elected to the board of the European Association of Palliative Care in 2015, serving two terms on the board as secretary (2015-2019) and treasurer (2019-2023). She was also a trustee of her local hospice from 2013-2022, and is now vice-president of the organisation.
Steve Pantilat is the Kates-Burnard and Hellman Distinguished Professor in Palliative Care and the inaugural Chief of the Division of Palliative Medicine at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF).
An internationally recognised expert in Palliative Care, Steve has published over 140 peer-reviewed scientific papers, authored more than two dozen book chapters, and co-edited with colleagues at UCSF two textbooks on palliative care titled, “Care at the Close of Life” and “Hospital Based Palliative Medicine.” He is also the author of, “Life After the Diagnosis: Expert Advice on Living Well with Serious Illness for Patients and their Caregivers”, published by DaCapo Lifelong Books in 2017.
Steve is the Immediate Past President of the Board of Directors for the Palliative Care Quality Collaborative, the USA’s leading organisation dedicated to improving the quality of care for seriously ill people and their families. He chairs the Advisory Board for the Cambia Health Foundation’s Sojourns Scholar Leadership Program and is a member of the Palliative Care Outcomes Collaboration (PCOC) Clinical Committee.
As Co-director of the UCSF Palliative Care Leadership Center, Steve has consulted with over 300 hospitals and healthcare institutions to help them launch, grow, and improve their palliative care services.
Steve and the palliative care team at UCSF are featured in the Academy Award-nominated, Netflix documentary, “End Game” and in 2018 he gave a TEDMED talk title “Why palliative care is essential in the face of serious illness”.
In 2007, Steve was a Fulbright Senior Scholar at the University of Sydney, Curtin University, and the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in Sydney, Australia. His leadership in improving the lives of people with serious illness has been recognised with a James Irvine Foundation Leadership Award and the Ritz E. Heerman Award from the California Hospital Association.
Steve was named a Master of Hospital Medicine by the Society of Hospital Medicine - the society’s highest honor – in recognition of his work to integrate palliative care into hospital medicine and as a pioneer in that field. He was also named a Visionary in Palliative Care by the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine.
He received the Excellence in Teaching Award from the Society of Hospital Medicine, the Award for Excellence in Education and Training from the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine, and five teaching awards from the medical students at UCSF for outstanding lectures and lecture series.

Consumer advocates

James Butler is a two-time cancer survivor having been diagnosed with stage 4 Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma before the age of 40.
He was in remission for four years before his disease recurred. He then had an autologous stem cell transplant and is now a proud survivor.
James has been a consumer representative and advocate for cancer patients for several years and has had many successful advocacy campaigns leading to improved conditions for people affected by cancer.

He is chair of the Daffodil Centre consumer committee and is chair of the Cancer Council New South Wales (CCNSW) consumer review of research panel.
He has also been on several other consumer committees and at some point been chair of most of them. He has been co–chair of CCNSW Aboriginal Advisory Committee.
James was awarded the Order of Australia Medal (OAM) for his work for cancer patients.
John Stubbs is a committed and passionate advocate for people affected by cancer and chronic disease. He holds degrees in Accounting and Arts and is a regular speaker at medical conferences in Australia and internationally about health policy, advocacy, clinical trials, research and the benefits of consumer engagement.
He was awarded an Honorary Associate of the University of Sydney-School of Medicine in 2009 for work in the promotion of Research and Clinical Trials in Australia and a Recognition Award from the Federal Department of Health in 2011 for “long standing commitment to advancing the quality of radiation oncology services in this country”.
In 2023, he was awarded a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for ‘ongoing support for people affected by cancer and contribution to community health’ and in the same year awarded life membership of the Australasian Leukaemia and Lymphoma Group.
Imelda Gilmore cared for and supported her husband for seven years, from his diagnosis with younger-onset Alzheimer’s Disease until his death in 2016.
Imelda's early career was as an executive secretary (PA in today's language) and on returning to the workforce after raising her children she moved through a career in information technology, specialising in database administration.
As an experienced communicator, advocate, speaker and campaigner in dementia care, carer services policy and media, Imelda works to promote the advancement of knowledge, care and services for people with dementia and their family carers.
Imelda was a consumer representative for the Health Commission of NSW in examining how a broad range of researchers, health professionals and consumers can collaborate for better health outcomes. She has been instrumental in developing collaborations between consumers, health and aged care services. She is also a consumer member of the Patient Experience and Consumer Engagement Team, for the Hospitals Commission of NSW.
As well as participating in workshops and forums examining end-of-life care planning and palliative care for people living with dementia, she has presented at over 16 conferences (both national and international). Imelda is a founding member of the IMPACCT Centre Consumer Advisory Group, Faculty of Health at UTS.
Imelda is passionate about ensuring that the best palliative care is available for all, particularly for those who are living with dementia. The current COVID environment gives the opportunity to take additional steps to maintain the best possible wellbeing environment for those in palliative care and at end of life, despite the restrictions in place. Nobody should be forced to experience death without the unlimited support of their closest relatives/friends.
Kristine Rawlinson has a diverse professional background including working as a Speech Pathologist, Policy Maker, NDIS Community Engagement Officer and Project Manager with Neighbourhood Houses Victoria.
When her husband became a quadruple amputee with significant brain injury from a meningococcal infection, Kristine quickly discovered that being an unpaid carer was a very unappreciated and unsupported role.
Her experience with professionals who continued to load more and more responsibility on her, led her to create, write and feature in the podcast, Care Factor - In Conversation with Sara James.
Since this time, Kristine's husband has also been diagnosed with lymphoma, her son with an autism-related eating disorder, and her daughter with ongoing trauma -related mental health challenges.
Kristine now volunteers as the Chair of Power to Care, a charity based in Victoria that supports unpaid carers to achieve greater physical, emotional, social, financial, educational and professional wellbeing. Power to Care believes that this approach prevents carer burnout and supports a more sustainable caregiving relationship, while supporting the carer to pursue their own aspirations.
Kristine is also a Lived Experience Advisory Group Member for the Right Care Right Place Sector Advisory Group at North Western Melbourne Primary Care Network.
In March 2021, Peter Spolc received a diagnosis of advanced lung cancer; a relatively rare form, not associated with smoking. He was shocked, to say the least! He embarked on a targeted therapy treatment, which was very effective and that has continued to this day.
Having his life upended by all of this had the effect of motivating Peter to make his welfare and the welfare of his lung-cancer peers his greatest priority. He began to explore the landscape, taking up almost every opportunity to learn about his disease, its treatment and his quality of life. He found a group of like-minded patients and a whole new circle of friends developed.
Peter chose to get involved with IMPACCT on the strength of one event that he attended in February 2024 - Measuring Quality of Life in Cancer Clinical Trials: A workshop for consumers. He was so impressed by the workshop and the contributions of his fellow attendees that he decided to apply for and was accepted as a member of the IMPACCT Consumer Advisory Group (CAG).
Getting his diagnosis of a potentially lethal cancer reminded Peter that time is very much of the essence. Building on a thought he had been considering since November 2023, he decided to apply for a research degree to look further into patient and public involvement in cancer research. He ended up applying to UTS for admission into the PhD program at IMPACCT. He was so grateful to be accepted, and commenced in November 2024 under the supervision of Associate Professor Tim Luckett and Associate Professor Michelle DiGiacomo.
The whole team supporting the Consumer Advisory Group have demonstrated great engagement and professionalism, and Peter cannot recommend it enough for patients and members of the public who really want to make a difference to the quality of life for so many. Hearing the views of the diverse range of members is critical to being representative and leading to better outcomes for all.
Dan Kent first became an advocate for health/cancer following the loss of his daughter to metastatic breast cancer in 2002. He joined Cancer Council Queensland as a community speaker and later in 2005 joined the Advocacy Group, Cancer Voices Queensland.
In 2005, Dan was diagnosed with rectal cancer and underwent a TME (TME). He also became a hospital-based volunteer and in 2008 was invited to join the newly formed Australasian Gastrointestinal Trials Group (AGITG) Consumer Advisory Panel.
Dan was Chair of the AGITG Consumer Advisory Panel for six years to 2017 and then became a Director of the AGITG until retiring in 2023 to better care for his wife who has a medical condition. He was the proud recipient of the inaugural AGITG Award for Excellence in AGITG Research in 2015 and was involved in reviewing and/or being a CI or AI on over 50 studies.
Dan has been an AI on several trials developed by the Queensland Gastroenterology Clinical Network. He joined Cancer Voices NSW and was a member of their executive committee until retiring a few years ago, again to better care for his wife.
Over the years, Dan has been a member of numerous grant review panels, as well as a member of several Cancer Australia groups as well as other groups. His other health interests involve advocacy in the GI, cancer, and dementia sectors as well as the CHF and Dementia Australia.
Dan joined the IMPACCT Consumer Advisory Group (CAG) through his association with Bev Noble on Cancer Voices NSW and his desire to contribute to research into cancer symptoms and palliative care – areas I believe are under researched. He enjoys his involvement with IMPACCT and reviewing the new concept proposals. He also enjoys working with the passionate team at PaCCSC and CST.
Tim has been an active health consumer representative & advocate for over 27 years and has been a participant in numerous clinical trials where he has seen the many benefits of research into medical advancement.
Living in WA, he is extremely conscious of the limitations imposed by the vastness of the state and can see the significant importance of involving consumers despite the tyranny of distance.
Amongst numerous current roles at state, federal, and international levels he is: a member of the Australian Teletrials Steering Group, and the IMPACCT Consumer Advisory Group; a Patient for Patient Safety Champion for the World Health Organisation; the Australian representative on the Six Degrees Medical T2D DEEP Virtual Advisory Board; and a member of a number of ethics committees.
Former appointments include: advisor to two federal Health Ministers (as a member of the Lead Clinicians Group), member of the WA Clinical Senate Executive, Councillor for the Royal Australian & New Zealand College of Radiology, member of Diabetes Australia’s Medical, Education and Scientific Advisory Council, and member of the Boards of Health Consumers’ Council WA and the Consumers Health Forum of Australia.
He has presented at a number of conferences, including: the "Asia Pacific Conference on the Metabolic Syndrome"; and the United Nations conference on "Global Health Challenges - Achieving the Millennium Development Goals”.
He is currently involved as co-investigator in a number of trials in the cancer, diabetes, and dementia spaces, as well as a researcher in a program looking at the efficacy of Covid vaccines as the disease mutates.

Speakers - Day 1

Image credit: Sarah Malone
Rhonda Dixon Grovenor is a Gadigal/Bidgigal/Yuin Elder and Traditional Descendant from the Sydney (Warrane) and saltwater basin and the South Coast of New South Wales. She is the daughter of First Nations activist and advocate, Dr Charles “Chicka” Dixon, who was an MUA union activist.
Rhonda is an Academic whose Creative Research Masters project focused on an education model, “How to study and work respectfully on Gadigal/Bidgigal land and Principals”. She is currently working on her her PhD.
Rhonda has over 50 years’ experience in the performing arts having received a scholarship to UCLA and she also has experience within the theatre sector as a writer, actor, collaborator and consultant.
She is a compassionate advocate in the fields of social and environmental justice and human rights self-determination, decolonisation, self-governance, community strengthening and cultural revitalisation for the future generations.
In her capacity as the Elder in Residence at AFTRS, Rhonda draws on the many years of her cultural, political, historical knowledge and advocacy. She is passionate about bringing and sharing her unique skills knowledge and expertise to AFTRS and our future leaders and also learning from them.
“It is so important that we (as First Nations people) tell our stories in our way through an Indigenous eye and through Indigenous perspectives, and that it is documented through Truth telling utilising the creative mediums of Film Art Dance Music Theatre and Technology” – Rhonda Dixon Grovenor
Professor Meera Agar leads a clinical research portfolio at UTS, including clinical trials and health services evaluation in cancer and palliative care. She is the Director of IMPACCT as well as the CST Chair.
Meera is the Director of the Centre for Improving Palliative, Aged and Chronic Care through Clinical Research and Translation, NHMRC Investigator Fellow (leadership 1) and Professor of Palliative Medicine. She leads a team of >30 researchers who conduct interdisciplinary collaborative research in partnership with consumer advocates to optimise care for people with cancer and chronic illness. She is in active clinical practice as a senior palliative care physician and research lead for South West Sydney Local Health District Palliative Care Service.

Meera graduated in Medicine with honours from the University of Adelaide and obtained Fellowship of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians in 2004 in Palliative Medicine. She holds a Master of Palliative Care and her doctorate was awarded in the area of delirium in advanced illness. In 2020, Meera was appointed as Chair of the Palliative Care Australia Board. She holds significant clinical, leadership, policy, and research roles with expertise recognised nationally and internationally in palliative care, cancer supportive care, delirium, and clinical trials. Her research and teaching have won numerous awards, including an Australian Learning & Teaching Council Citation, an Australian Award for University teaching, and the European Association for Palliative Care Early Career Researcher Award.

An experienced clinical researcher and trialist, Meera has specific interests in the impacts of advanced illness on the brain, delirium, care of older people with cancer, and symptom management in cancer and advanced illness. She leads one of the largest programs of clinical research and clinical trials nationally in these areas, with sustained competitive funding including category 1 funding.

Meera has extensive and sustained experience as an undergraduate, postgraduate and vocational teacher and she is passionate about building capacity and skills in the next generation of educators and researchers. She has supervised several doctoral candidates to completion who have quickly progressed to hold senior roles and secure independent funding. Internationally, Meera has facilitated growth in the region through the Lien Collaborative for Palliative Carer and the National Cancer Grid Quality Improvement program in India.
Ged Kearney is the Federal Member for Cooper and the Assistant Minister for Health and Aged Care and Assistant Minister for Indigenous Health. Ged has served in the Parliament since March 2018, when she was elected in a by-election. She is the first woman to hold the seat.
Ged started her working life as a nurse and rose to become Federal Secretary of the Australian Nursing Federation. From 2010, Ged served as the president of the ACTU – the peak body of Australia’s union movement – where she fought for better conditions for Australian workers.
Ged’s working life – from nurse to President of the ACTU to parliamentarian – has been about fighting for the rights of others.
She is a strong voice for social justice, workers’ rights and universal healthcare inside Parliament. Ged is a passionate advocate for the environment and throughout her career she has supported a humane response to refugees.
Associate Professor Christopher Steer is a medical oncologist working at Border Medical Oncology in the recently completed Albury Wodonga Regional Cancer Centre. He is also a senior lecturer at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) Rural Clinical School, Albury campus.
Christopher was the inaugural chair of the geriatric oncology interest group of the Clinical Oncological Society of Australia (COSA). He is actively involved in the International Society of Geriatric Oncology (SIOG) and was chair of the annual scientific meeting in Prague in November 2015. He is an editorial board member of the Journal of Geriatric Oncology and the European Journal of Surgical Oncology. Christopher is chair of the geriatric oncology interest group of the Multinational Association for Supportive Care in Cancer (MASCC). He is the current president of the Private Cancer Physicians of Australia (PCPA) and is a member of the MOGA/PCPA cancer drugs working group.
Christopher is a principal investigator at the Border Medical Oncology Research Unit (BMORU). The BMORU has been recognised for innovation in clinical research, particularly in delivering care to a rural/regional population. He has led a pilot project of supportive care in older adults with cancer with funding from Cancer Australia. He is currently investigating the feasibility of an electronic rapid fitness assessment in older adults with cancer in collaboration with the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Centre in New York with research funding from the AWRCC Trust.
Other research projects include supervision of UNSW medical students as they conduct Independent Learning Projects.
Dr Rayan Saleh Moussa leads the national office team to implement both the Palliative Care Clinical Studies Collaborative (PaCCSC) and Cancer Symptom Trials (CST) strategic and operational plans working closely with Chairs of the various committees, members, consumers, investigators and staff. Rayan is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Cancer Symptom Trials (CST) team. She was awarded her doctorate in cancer therapeutics in 2017 by the University of Sydney. Rayan's postdoctoral research is focused on improving the preclinical to clinical pipeline through multidisciplinary translational research in cancer symptom therapeutics and interventions.
Professor Maria A. Fiatarone Singh AM, MD, FGSA, FRACP, is a a formally trained, board-certified internist and geriatrician (MD, University of California at San Diego, 1981, Internal Medicine Boston University 1984, Geriatric Medicine, UCLA 1987), and a Fellow of the Gerontological Society of America and the Royal Australasian College of Physicians.
Maria has held the inaugural John Sutton Chair of Exercise and Sport Science, Faculty of Health Sciences, and Professorship, Sydney Medical School since 1999, with continuing appointment as Senior Research Associate at Harvard-Affiliate Hebrew Institute for Aging Research since 1987. Her research, teaching and clinical career has focused on the integration of geriatric medicine, exercise, and nutrition to improve quality of life in older adults, and she is recognised internationally for this work spanning over 36 years.
She has designed and carried out many clinical trials and longitudinal studies internationally, including large multi-centre trials of exercise and chronic disease management. She has published extensively, having authored/edited three3 books and over 450 peer-reviewed journal articles, book chapters, position stands, and reviews, with an H-Index of 88 in 2023. To date, Maria has been awarded research funding in the US and AU exceeding AUD $81 million.
Her active clinical practice, student training, and dissemination work is carried out via her directorship of The Centre for Strong Medicine, the Strong Medicine Foundation and in the USA via the Circle of Fitness at Hebrew SeniorLife and the Fit for Your Life Foundation. Maria leads a group of volunteers working with marginalised individuals in collaboration with Cana Communities, and as a Eucharistic minister at Nerigah Hospice. She is a Board Member of Doctors Against Forced Organ Harvesting (DAFOH) and The International Coalition to End Transplant Abuse in China (ETAC).
Maria’s findings have led to a paradigm shift in geriatric medicine, whereby sarcopenia is now recognized as a disease for which PRT is a potent preventive and therapeutic intervention for older adults, both fit and frail. Since that time, the target of her trials has expanded to include most of the major chronic diseases and geriatric syndromes affecting function, including mobility disorders, osteoporosis, falls, hip fracture, as well as diabetes, arthritis, obesity, depression, cognitive decline, insomnia, peripheral vascular disease, renal failure, cardiac failure, Lewy Body dementia, peripheral neuropathy, breast cancer, inflammatory bowel disease, and mental health and substance use disorders, among others, using both face-to-face clinic and digital/eHealth-supported delivery of multidisciplinary interventions.
Maria designed and led the NHMRC-funded HIPFIT; the only study ever to significantly reduce nursing home admissions and death (by 84%) after hip fracture, and the NHMRC-funded SMART Study- the first RCT to show that high intensity PRT improved long-term cognitive outcomes and brain morphology in adults with mild cognitive impairment. Current studies investigate lifestyle interventions to promote healthy ageing and treatment of disease and disability, targeting frailty, sarcopenia, mental health, and cognitive decline.
Dr Carolina Sandler is an accredited exercise physiologist and Senior Lecturer at UNSW. Her program of research focuses on understanding the pathophysiology, management, and clinician and patient education of fatigue as a sequalae of cancer (post-cancer fatigue) and acute infection (post-infective fatigue).
Carolina holds a NSW Cancer Institute Early Career fellowship and co-leads the UNSW Fatigue Clinic - Australia’s only integrated centre of research and clinical service focused on improving the health of people living with fatigue conditions.
Dr David Mizrahi is a Research Fellow at The Daffodil Centre at The University of Sydney. He is an Accredited Exercise Physiologist (AEP), and was awarded AEP of the year in 2023 for his contribution to the exercise-oncology field.
David’s research focuses on the role of exercise during and after cancer treatment, among adults and children. His motivation as a researcher is to strive towards improving access to exercise by embedding exercise and AEPs in cancer care to improve the health and wellbeing of all people impacted by cancer.
As a Fulbright Fellowship holder, David investigated exercise in children’s cancer at St Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee. Following this work, David was awarded a Fellowship by The Kids Cancer Project to develop and deliver exercise programs to children during and after cancer treatment.
David is Chair of the Exercise and Cancer Committee for Clinical Oncology Society of Australia.
Professor Jenny Philip is a Palliative Care Physician with clinical responsibilities at St Vincent’s Hospital, The Royal Melbourne Hospital and Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre. Jenny is Chair of Palliative Medicine at the University of Melbourne in collaboration with St Vincent’s Hospital and the Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Centre (VCCC).
Jenny leads the Palliative Nexus Research Group conducting mixed methods research to understand and test complex interventions in palliative care and she oversees the VCCC Building Capability in Clinical Trials Program conducting a series of multisite phase 2 and 3 trials in palliative care across Victoria.
She is a chief investigator on multiple trials directed towards improving the symptoms and care of people with cancer and as part of the VCCC Building Capability in Clinical Trials Program she has mentored multiple early career researchers to develop investigator initiated clinical trials. Jenny is dedicated to building successful collaborations between researchers and clinicians enabling high-quality evidence to be directly translated into high-quality care for patients and families.
Michelle Tusler holds a Bachelor of Science (Anatomy and Histopathology). She is the newly appointed Clinical Trials Support Unit (CTSU) Manager for the Western NSW Local Health District. Prior to this, Michelle worked in the pharmaceutical industry for over 15 years. Michelle has been a national and international project manager as well as department head before joining the CTSU team.
Michelle has been part of the drug development pipeline for early-stage concept to final marketed product. Michelle is proud to bring trials to the Australian landscape and particularly in her new role where she can highlight the need for clinical research in Rural, Regional and Remote communities.
She is passionate about clinical trials that can bring positive change and outcomes to participants. Michelle is focused on delivering trials through the Rural, Regional and Remote Clinical Trial Enabling Program (R3 CTEP) to communities in NSW who have faced barriers to participating in clinical research.
Dr Taylan Gurgenci is a clinician-investigator (palliative care) at the Mater Hospital, Brisbane, and a PhD candidate at the Mater Research Institute - University of Queensland. Taylan is the recipient of multiple competitive grants. His research interests include medicinal cannabis in cancer patients and the use of artificial intelligence in clinical medicine. Prior to completing his specialty training in palliative medicine, he was a medical officer in the Australian Defence Force.
Belinda Fazekas leads the IMPACCT Trials Coordination Centre (ITCC) team at UTS. She has over 15 years’ experience in the conduct of clinical trials within palliative care and cancer symptom management. She is integral to site selection and training for new and ongoing trials conducted by the ITCC and international partners.
Belinda is responsible for the development of recruitment strategies, key performance indicators, and standard operating procedures, and for the development of data management and monitoring plans.
Jessica is passionate about provision of high-quality, person-centered care for people with cancer and embedding a culture of evidence-based practice and research into Australian healthcare.
Jessica is a palliative care physician and the inaugural research lead at the Concord Centre for Palliative Care, Sydney Local Health District. She has been instrumental in facilitating a diverse portfolio of investigator-led clinical trials and research undertaken at the Concord Centre for Palliative Care.
Jessica is a PhD candidate at the University of Technology Sydney exploring how to improve outcomes for people with neuropathic cancer pain. She is the recipient of a New South Wales Health PhD scholarship in translational research. Her research interest areas span development and implementation of evidence-based interventions into clinical practice to improve outcomes for people with life-limiting illnesses. She is a senior lecturer at Concord Clinical School, University of Sydney.
Jessica is a firm believer in the power of the PaCCSC & CST collaborative to facilitate high-quality Australian and international research to improve palliative care and cancer symptom control. She is the secretary for the pain symptom node subcommittee and investigator on multiple collaborative clinical trials.
Dr Amanda Landers was born and bred in rural Aotearoa New Zealand. The Deep South is where her passion for palliative care began as a junior doctor, and she now works for Hospice Southland. Amanda enjoys talking with patients and families facing life-limiting illness, and helping them plan and prepare for the future. She has worked in large urban areas, and in remote environments in both Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand.

Amanda is the Head of Department, Medicine at the Otago Medical School in Christchurch and is the module convenor for the Palliative and End of Life Module. In 2023, she completed a PhD investigating end-stage chronic lung disease and their health care network, with recommendations for new models of care. Amanda also leads the Aotearoa Australia Pancreatic Enzyme Replacement Treatment (ASPERT) group who strive towards implementing best practice for treating people with pancreatic cancer in Australasia.
Dr Wei Lee is a palliative care physician based in the northern districts of Sydney. He is a senior lecturer at the University of Sydney, and directs the palliative care service in Mater Hospital (North Sydney).
Wei is passionate about palliative care research and teaching of symptom management. He has completed a doctoral program at UTS exploring depression in the end-of-life setting, and continues to find ways to optimise psychoexistential distress in the palliative care setting.
He has a strong interest in clinical trials. Being the deputy chair of the pain symptom node of CST and part of the IMPACCT Rapid Program trial committee, he looks for innovative ways of making clinical trials feasible for individuals with advanced life-limiting illnesses. Wei is the recipient of the CST Emerging Trialist Award 2022.

Speakers - Day 2

Associate Professor Tim Luckett's research aims to learn from people with life-limiting illness about the best ways to support self-management of symptoms such as breathlessness and pain. His fields of special interest include symptom management, shared decision making, and advance care planning.
Tim brings a perspective at the intersection between health, social, and implementation sciences that is needed to inform multi-disciplinary, person-centred care. His research focuses on the development and evaluation of complex interventions to improve quality of care and outcomes for people with life-limiting illness and their families.

Tim’s work focuses on giving ‘voice’ to people with life-limiting illness and their families as well as the clinicians who care for them. He has particular expertise in qualitative approaches, surveys and systematic reviews. He is especially interested in learning from people with chronic illness who are experts at self-management about ways we can better support those who are struggling.

Tim is co-chair of the Palliative Care Clinical Studies Collaborative (PaCCSC) and co-executive of the Cancer Quality of Life Expert Service Team (CQUEST), a technical service funded by Cancer Australia for the 14 national cancer co-operative trials groups. He is also an academic editor for the journal PLOS ONE. In his teaching role, Tim contributes to UTS post-graduate courses in palliative care.
Professor Zoe McQuilten is a consultant haematologist and Tony Charlton Chair of Oncology at Alfred Health and Monash University. She is Head of the Cancer Research Program and Deputy Director of the Transfusion Research Unit, School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine at Monash University.
Zoe's research is focused on interventions to improve supportive care in blood cancers and transfusion in areas of major blood use. She is lead investigator on a number of national and international clinical trials and oversees a large clinical registry program.
Zoe is Chair of the Supportive Care Group and member of the Scientific Advisory Committee for the Australasian Leukaemia and Lymphoma Group (ALLG).
Professor Mark Pearson is Professor of Implementation Science in the Wolfson Palliative Care Research Centre, Hull York Medical School, University of Hull, UK.
A nurse turned social scientist, Mark uses theory-driven methods - in particular, realist approaches - to conduct collaborative implementation research for intervention design and evaluation.
Mark has conducted implementation research in palliative care, including the implementation of person-centred outcome measures, delirium assessment and management, and the management of breathlessness, as well as in areas such as prison leavers’ mental health, the design of intermediate care services, and the implementation of health promotion programs in schools.
Dr Tracy Smith is a Respiratory Physician at Westmead Hospital in Western Sydney. She has also worked as a Staff Specialist in Palliative Care.
Her clinical and research interests are the management of breathlessness, especially in patients with non-malignant respiratory disease. She has the privilege of working with a fabulous multidisciplinary team to deliver care to people living with non-malignant respiratory disease and disabling breathlessness.
Assistant Professor Nanako Nishiyama is an occupational therapist and certified respiratory therapist as well as an Assistant Professor at Osaka Metropolitan University where she teaches in the occupational therapy program. She was previously employed as a hospital-based occupational therapist for 13 years where she was a member of palliative care teams and palliative care units. Nanako’s research interests are rehabilitation in the palliative care setting for people with life-limiting cancer.
Nanako has conducted a randomised controlled trial to evaluate the effect of rehabilitation for people with terminal cancer who were admitted to a palliative care unit. This research idea was developed from a presentation as a new study concept at a collaboration symposium between PaCCSC and the Japanese Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (JORTC) held in Tokyo in 2017. Despite the challenges of conducting a clinical trial during the COVID-19 pandemic, she was able to complete the trial and is looking forward to sharing the outcomes.
Dr Kara Bischoff is the Associate Division Chief for Outpatient Palliative Care and the Medical Director of the Outpatient Palliative Care Service at University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). Kara has developed a particular expertise in palliative care for people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). She has published substantially about outpatient palliative for people will illnesses other than cancer and was recognized as an Emerging Leader in Palliative Medicine by the American Association of Hospice and Palliative Medicine.
Kara feels strongly that patients of all demographic groups should have equal access to palliative care, and that palliative care is inclusive for diverse populations. She runs a program called Care Plus that systematically and equitably identifies palliative care needs in populations of patients, and routes patients to appropriate services based on the needs that are identified. She is the Co-Chair of the Quality Committee for the national Palliative Care Quality Collaborative. She also teaches medical students, residents, and fellows.
Kara received her medical degree from Harvard Medical School, followed by a residency and chief residency at UCSF in Internal Medicine, and a fellowship in Hospice and Palliative Medicine, also at UCSF. She is an active member of The American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine and the International Neuropalliative Care Society. She is a mother, an outdoor enthusiast, and a San Francisco Bay Area native.
Celia Marston is the Clinical Lead for Occupational Therapy at Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre and has specialised in oncology and palliative care for more than 15 years. She is also Research Lead for Occupational Therapy at The Royal Melbourne Hospital and Adjunct Lecturer at Monash University.
Celia is completing her PhD at the University of Technology Sydney. Her PhD aims to produce a model of care that can best support carers and patients with advanced cancer when returning home from hospital.
Celia is involved with research in palliative care, cancer rehabilitation, and health services research. She is a member of the Cancer Symptoms Trials (CST) Scientific Advisory Committee and a member of the Palliative Care Clinical Studies Collaborative. She has authored 19 peer reviewed publications, three book chapters and presented at several national and international conferences.
Professor Peter Hudson is the Director of academic palliative care at St Vincent's Hospital and Director of the Centre for Palliative Care, an academic unit based at St Vincent’s Hospital and a Collaborative Centre of the University of Melbourne, Australia. He is a Professor (honorary) at The University of Melbourne and at Vrije University, Brussels (Belgium).
Peter is a registered nurse with approximately 30 years’ experience in palliative care. He is a board director of the International Neuropalliative Care Society, a former Vice President of Palliative Care Australia, and was a board director of the International Association for Hospice and Palliative Care.
He has authored numerous international journal publications and been an investigator on multiple competitive research grants including National Health and Medical Research Council (Australia) and the European Union and National Institutes of Health (USA).
Peter is a recipient of the Premier's Award for translating evidence into practice and a USA Fulbright scholar. He has a particular interest in undertaking research that improves the wellbeing of people living with serious illness and their family carers.
Brendan Myhill is an End-of-Life Care Coordinator at Sacred Heart Hospice and St Vincent’s Hospital, and is a co-convenor of the NSW/ACT network of Palliative Care Social Work Australia.
Brendan has a clinical background in palliative care social work in both inpatient and community settings, and is passionate about psychosocial care and bereavement, particularly the ways in which experiences in healthcare can shape bereavement outcomes.
Dr Vanessa Yenson is a Research Assistant-Writer with Cancer Symptom Trials (CST). Vanessa received her PhD in the area of Reproductive Immunology in 2012 (University of Sydney, through the Kolling Institute of Medical Research). She worked as a postdoctoral scientist in B-cell immunology with the Baumgarth Laboratory at the University of California, Davis from 2012 - 2013. Vanessa has worked within clinical trials since 2014 in both Contract Research Organisations (Quintiles and Southern Star Research) and a Medical Device Company (Sirtex) as a Clinical Research Associate (CRA) - with comprehensive ICH-GCP and ISO14155 training and full cycle monitoring experience in clinical trials from Phase I to Phase IV.

Vanessa joined IMPACCT in 2019 as CST - Writer, where she brings her extensive science and clinical trial knowledge and writing expertise to liaise with investigators for grant and ethics applications, clinical trial protocol and other clinical trial document preparation.

Vanessa was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia in 1997, and was the first adult in Australia to receive Cord Blood as a Bone Marrow Transplant in 1999. From this experience, she has dedicated her professional career to improving the lives of others through medical and clinical research. She is a member of Consumer Voices in Clinical Trials, NSW (ConViCTioN), a NSW consumer group formed by Health Consumers NSW, Sydney Health Partners in 2021-2022 to promote consumer involvement and awareness in clinical trials.
Professor Brian Le is a Palliative Care Physician and Medical Oncologist. He is Precinct Director of Palliative Care at The Royal Melbourne Hospital and Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre as well as honorary Professor (Clinical) at The University of Melbourne.
Brian's other appointments include honorary associate Fellow in Palliative Care, University of Technology Sydney, and he is Co-Chair of the Palliative Care Clinical Studies Collaborative (PaCCSC).
Alongside fulltime clinical and service leadership responsibilities, Brian has a career total of more than 100 peer-reviewed publications. He has received in total $4.2million as chief investigator and is associate investigator for a further $4 million, from funders including the National Health and Medical Research Council, Cancer Australia, and the Cancer Council Victoria.
Brian has held numerous roles providing advice to Government and community organisations in relation to Palliative Care, including as a member of the Victorian Clinical Council, and to the Commonwealth Government and New South Wales Health. He is a previous Chair of Palliative Care Victoria.
Brian additionally has a keen interest in Medical Education, including as past Chair of the Training Committee for Palliative Medicine, with oversight of the training and certification of all specialists in Palliative Medicine across Australia and New Zealand.