Invited Speakers

Invited Speakers

	Dr Mick Adams Dr Mick Adams is a descendent of the Yadhiagana people of Cape York Peninsula in Queensland and has traditional family ties with the Grindji/Wardaman people of central western Northern Territory and an extended family relationship with the people of the Torres Straits , Warlpiri (Yuendumu) and East Arnhem Land (Gurrumaru) communities. He spent his childhood growing up in Darwin "s Parap Camp community. Dr Adams has been working in the health industry for over 30 years. He has worked in both state and the community-controlled health service sector, has been a representative on local, state and national boards, and has been nominated as a representative to advocate for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health issues on national boards and national and international conferences. Click here for detailed biography


	Professor Ian Anderson Professor Ian Anderson is the foundation Chair in Indigenous Health at The University of Melbourne. His family are Palawa Trouwunna: Plaimairrerenner and Trawlwoolway clans. Professor Anderson is currently the Deputy Head of the School of Population Health and the Director of the Centre for Health and Society and the Onemda VicHealth Koori Health Unit. He has been a full-time research academic since 1998 when he established the Onemda VicHealth Koori Health Unit with external funding from the Victorian Health Promotion Foundation and the Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing. Professor Anderson is also currently the Research Director for the Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) for Aboriginal Health (CRCAH). He completed a medical degree at The University of Melbourne in 1989 and has a PhD in sociology and anthropology from La Trobe University.


	Professor Trisha Greenhalgh Professor Trisha Greenhalgh is a non-principal GP in north London and Professor of Primary Health Care at University College London, where she has worked since 1986. She also holds a Consultant post in Primary Health Care at Barnet Primary Care Trust. Her diverse research interests fall into three main categories: (a) complex innovation in healthcare, especially the introduction and assimilation of ‘networked' electronic health records; (b) service development for chronic disease management, with a particular focus on the provision of culturally congruent services for diabetes; and (c) the use of narrative methods in health services research, especially in the realm of audit and quality improvement. Prof Greenhalgh is Programme Director of the Masters in International Primary Health Care at UCL (which currently offers 20 free scholarships annually to students from developing countries) and of the Dick Whittington Project (which welcomes 40 academically able teenagers from socio-economically deprived backgrounds annually to a pre-medicine summer school). She has published over 90 papers in peer reviewed journals, is the author of 7 academic textbooks, and was awarded the OBE for Services to Medicine in 2001.


	Professor Zorayda Leopando Professor Zorayda “Dada” Leopando is Vice Chancellor for Planning and Development of the University of the Philippines Manila and Professor of Family and Community Medicine, editor of Asia Pacific Family Medicine and active member of the Wonca Working Party for Women. Dada has devoted 25 years in the promotion of high standard of family medicine education, research and practice. As Wonca Asia Pacific Regional President, she brought WONCA closer to the member organizations through 3 Regional Conferences, 5 Family Medicine Education Workshops, a blue print for an Asia Pacific Family Medicine Journal and a Regional By-Laws and structure. Dada contributed in the development of Family Medicine in Vietnam, Indonesia and Mongolila. Click here for detailed biography


	Dr Donald Li Donald Kwok Tung Li is a specialist in Family Medicine in private practice. He was President of the Hong Kong College of Family Physicians, a position he has held from 1998 to 2004. He is the newly elected President of WONCA Asia Pacific Region for 2007-9. Dr Li graduated with his first degree (BA) from Cornell University , USA , followed by his second degree (MBBS) from the University of Hong Kong , Hong Kong , in 1975 and 1980, respectively. He is an Honorary Fellow of the Hong Kong College of Family Physicians, Honorary Fellow of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners, Honorary Fellow of the Hong Kong College of Dental Surgeons and Fellow of the Hong Kong Academy of Medicine. Dr Li holds a number of other distinguished professional memberships, including Hon. Secretary of the Past President's Advisory Committee of the Hong Kong Academy of Medicine. Click here for detailed biography


	Professor Roger Strasser In September 2002, Professor Strasser took up his current position as Founding Dean of the Northern Ontario School of Medicine, a joint initiative of Lakehead University in Thunder Bay and Laurentian University in Sudbury, Canada. Prior to this, Professor Strasser was Professor of Rural Health for Monash University and Head of the Monash University School of Rural Health in Australia. Between 1992 and 2004, Professor Strasser also had an international role as Chair of the Working Party on Rural Practice of Wonca, the World Organization of Family Doctors. In November 2002, Professor Strasser was awarded an Honorary Fellowship of the Royal College of General Practitioners in recognition of his world leadership in the field of rural health. In March 2003, he received the Louis Ariotti Award for excellence and innovation in rural and remote health in Australia. Professor Strasser is also the recipient of the prestigious award, Fellow of Wonca, presented in October 2004, in recognition of his outstanding service to Wonca and family medicine around the world. In 2006, Professor Strasser received the Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine Life Fellowship Award for outstanding and meritorious service to Rural and Remote Medicine in Australia.


	Dr Sugito Wonodirekso Family Medicine was introduced in Indonesia in 1970-ies. In 1980-ies, Dr. Sugito Wonodirekso joined the group to make FM into practice. He joined WONCA World and developed FM in Indonesia further. Dr Wonodireskso was inaugurated as FM Expert to facilitate the FM development in 2000. Lots of work has been done since then; especially FM training throughout Indonesia, introducing FM into National Standard of Medical Education, establishing Postgraduate program in FM. He was awarded the WONCA Global Family Doctor of the Month - January 2006 Award. In the same year he was elected as The President of the Association of Indonesian Family Physicians.




Workshop Speakers

	Dr Stuart Anderson Dr Stuart Anderson works in Maffra as a GP & VMO with a special interest in skin cancer and minor surgery. Dr Anderson is also involved with teaching medical students through Monash University and sits on the board of General Practice Education and Training Ltd. In 2007 he was the recipient of the GPET/MO GP Registrar Of The Year award. He has previously been active in registrar issues as Vice-Chair of General Practice Registrars Australia and as the GetGP Registrar Liaison Officer. He works part-time in clinical practice and part-time as a Dad.


	Mr Michael Bonning Michael is a final year student at the University of Queensland , President of the Australian Medical Students' Association (AMSA) and chair of the Ashintosh Trust Charity Foundation. He is keenly interested in General Practice issues, in particular the expansion and improvement of training in primary care. He has coauthored major AMSA policy on expanding training of medical students into the GP setting and on ensuring the relevance and quality of this training. AMSA sees early positive experiences in General Practice as the key to encouraging medical students to pursue a career in General Practice. Michael intends to (hopefully) undertake a PGPPP placement during his prevocational years before continuing a career with the Royal Australian Navy as a Medical Officer. He is still working on finding work/life balance.


	Professor Jon Emery Jon Emery is the Professor of General Practice at the University of Western Australia , Senior Clinical Research Associate at the University of Cambridge and a GP in Perth . He trained in medicine at the University of Cambridge and spent his clinical undergraduate years at the University of Oxford . After vocational general practice training in Bath he spent a year as a GP in rural New South Wales . He returned to the UK and gained his DPhil in the Department of Primary Care, University of Oxford . His research interests include the evaluation of health technologies in primary care, including genetic tests and novel procedures for screening and diagnosis of cancer in general practice.


	Professor Domhnall MacAuley Domhnall MacAuley is a clinical editor at the BMJ involved in all aspects of research from first submission to the final decision on publication. His particular responsibility is Primary Care and he been involved in many BMJ activities including presenting BMJ Masterclass, editorial outreach, commissioning and editing 10 minute consultations, lessons of the week etc Recent major projects include the “Making a Difference” campaign and the theme issue on sport and exercise medicine. He was previously editor of the British Journal of Sports Medicine. A former Professor of Primary Health Care (Research) at the University of Ulster, he is currently Hon Professor in the Faculty of Life and Health Science. He has more than 250 publications including 7 books and 73 original research papers.


	Professor John Murtagh Professor John Murtagh is Professor in General Practice, Monash University , Melbourne and Professorial Fellow in the Department of General Practice, University of Melbourne. He is also Adjunct Clinical Professor, Graduate School of Medicine, University of Notre Dame, Western Australia . He is Senior Examiner-Australian Medical Council, consultant to Global Family Doctor and Locumotion (of Ireland ) and a member of Medical Panels, Victoria. His background is that of Science Teaching (B Sc and B Ed- University of Melbourne) and subsequently 10 years of Rural Medical Practice in Neerim South , Victoria following graduation from Monash University . He was appointed Senior Lecturer at Monash University while in Rural Practice and subsequently Professor of General Practice in 1993 and Head of Department of General Practice until retirement from that position in 2000. He practices part-time and currently has teaching responsibilities at two Melbourne based universities in addition to conducting national workshops for registrars in the General Practice Training Program. He is patron of the GPRA. He is the author of several internationally adopted text books including General Practice, Practice Tips, Back Pain and spinal manipulation, Patient Education and Cautionary Tales. In 1995 he was awarded the Member of the Order of Australia for services to medical education, research and publishing. In 2005 he was awarded the David de Kretser medal for exceptional contribution to the Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Science, Monash University ‘over a significant period of time'


	Mr Joe Rotella Joe-Anthony Rotella is a final year post-graduate medical student from the University of Melbourne. He is currently completing his clinical studies at the Austin and Northern Hospitals. He has had a number of roles in various student organisations, most notably as National Coordinator of the Australian Medical Students Association in 2007. He founded the General Practice Students Network in 2007 and is the inaugural chair of the Network, which aims to enhance the profile of General Practice amongst medical students. Joe has often been described as a 'GP activist' and he is more than happy to accept that title. He has a keen enthusiasm for General Practice and looks forward to continuing his involvement in the specialty throughout his professional career.


	Associate Professor Steve Trumble Steve Trumble is Associate Professor of Medical Education at the University of Melbourne. He began his career in academic general practice at Monash University in 1991 by establishing Australia's first Developmental Disability Unit, before becoming the Victorian State Director of the RACGP's vocational training program in 1998. His 1999 doctoral thesis defined the medical knowledge and skills required to care for adults with developmental disabilities. Since 2003 he has been at the University of Melbourne and is currently working on curriculum reform, community-based education and medical workforce preparation. He was Editor in Chief of Australian Family Physician from 2003-2008 and chaired the RACGP's recent curriculum review. Steve practices in Melbourne's bayside suburbs and has clinical interests in minor procedures, adolescent health, and risk reduction through improved communication.


	Dr David Tye David practices in Brighton, South Australia. He has a diverse range of interests both within medicine and outside. He has Chaired the Southern Division of General Practice as well as the RACGP SA/NT faculty. Along the way he has been involved in IT projects, Fitness to Drive guidelines, Patient Safety and Safe use of Medicine. Currently founding partner of a 7 FTE practice, he has interests in Business Management, allergy and skin cancer. He is passionate about good design and good management of General Practice. In his spare time he is a qualified lifesaver who also enjoys sailing and hobby farming.


Panel Speakers

	Professor Marc Cohen Professor Marc Cohen is a general practitioner with degrees in western medicine, physiology and psychological medicine along with PhDs in both Chinese medicine and biomedical engineering He is currently the Foundation Professor of Complementary Medicine at RMIT University, an Expert Advisor to the Therapeutic Goods Administrations (TGA) Complementary Medicine Evaluation Committee (CMEC) and a member of the National Institute of Complementary Medicine (NICM) Consultative Committee. He is also Immediate Past President of the Australasian Integrative Medicine Association (President from 2000-2007). Prof Cohen has been involved in the area of holistic health and wellness for over two decades. He is an active complementary medicine researcher with involvement in many clinical trials and basic science research projects. He is also involved in teaching and recently established a postgraduate Master of Wellness program. He has published widely including peer-reviewed articles as well as co-authoring the book, Herbs and Natural Supplements an Evidenced Based Guide which was short listed for the Award for Excellence in Educational Publishing. He is also co-editor and major contributor for the book "Understanding the Global Spa Industry" and sits on the Editorial Board of a number of international journals.


	Professor Elizabeth Farmer Professor Elizabeth Farmer is currently the Dean of Medicine at the University of Wollongong , Graduate School of Medicine. She was previously the Director of Education of the National Primary Care Collaboratives Program at Flinders University, Adelaide, Australia. Professor Farmer has a longstanding commitment to scientific endeavour, not only as a recognized academic leader in best evidence medical education but also through her role as Director of the NPCC where she has promoted the translation of research evidence into practice using systems change methodologies and rigorous measurement of patients health outcomes.


	Professor Jane Gunn Professor Jane Gunn is the inaugural Chair of Primary Care Research in the Department of General Practice, The University of Melbourne where she leads the Primary Care Research Unit (PCRU). A general practitioner, Professor Gunn's doctoral research was on postnatal physical and mental health in general practice. Jane is the immediate past President of the Australian Association for Academic General Practice (AAAGP), a post she held from 2004-2006 and s he serves on a number of professional committees such as the RACGP National Standing Committee-Research, the steering committee of the beyondblue Victorian Centre of Excellence for Research and Evaluation in Depression and Related Disorders and the Research and Development Working Group of the National Prescribing Service. Click here for detailed biography


	Dr Naomi Harris Dr Naomi Harris is currently completing a procedural ARSP (Obstetrics) in Warrnambool which is in rural South West Victoria. Naomi entered the training program in 2005 when she completed hospital posts and then, following her goal of rural practice, moved to Victoria's western district to complete her GP training. First joining the GPRA Advisory Council in her basic term as the Registrar Rep to the NRF, Naomi then quickly became involved at a Board level and Publications Editor, and took on the role of Chair in May 2007. Naomi has a passion for music and sport and strongly believes that Registrar's are the Future of General Practice. She will step down from Chair of GPRA in August 2008 to begin a new role.


	Dr Vasantha Preetham Dr Vasantha Preetham is a Perth-based general practitioner. She was elected RACGP President in 2007 and has served on College Council since 2002. Dr Preetham holds a number of Australian and international appointments: she is the general practice advisor to Professor John Horvath, The Australian Government Chief Medical Officer; a Director of the Committee Of Presidents Of Medical Colleges, an executive member of the World Organisation Of Family Doctors (WONCA) Asia/ Pacific Region; and holds an Honorary Fellowship from the Malaysian College of General Practitioners. Dr Preetham is Chair of the RACGP Research Committee and the RACGP Awards Committee. Click here for detailed biography


	Professor Richard Roberts Richard Roberts is Professor and past Chair in the Department of Family Medicine at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine & Public Health in Madison. A family physician and attorney, Dr. Roberts practices in Belleville, a rural community of 1900, and provides a wide range of services, including attending births, performing endoscopy, and caring for patients in hospital and intensive care. Professor Roberts is President-Elect of Wonca, the World Organization of Family Doctors, and Past President of the American Academy of Family Physicians. He is on the Board of Governors of the National Patient Safety Foundation and the National Advisory Council of the California Health Benefits Review Program. Click here for detailed biography


	Associate Professor Leanne Rowe Adjunct Associate Professor Leanne Rowe AM is a rural GP and Deputy Chancellor of Monash University. A former Chairman of the Royal Australian College of GPs, she holds honorary appointments with both the University of Sydney and the University of Melbourne. She was awarded “Best Individual Contribution to Health Care in Australia” by the AMA for her work with disadvantaged youth and received a Doctor of Medicine Degree on the topic of youth depression. She has co-authored a number of books including “Save your life and the lives of those you love: Your GP's guide to staying healthy longer”, which was endorsed by the RACGP and published by Allen and Unwin.


	Professor Deborah Saltman Professor Deborah Saltman is Head of the Institute of Postgraduate Medicine, part of the innovative Brighton and Sussex Medical School. She is responsible for all aspects of the postgraduate education in health sciences and medicine across both universities, as well as the medical education unit. Professor Saltman has extensive experience and expertise in various areas of clinical practice, including health outcomes, management of non-communicable diseases in primary care; women's health, leadership and teamwork; and continuity of care. She has also been in charge of all Medical Editorial and Publishing aspects for over 100 medical and scientific journals for the world's largest international Open Access publisher BioMed Central; has spent 15 years working with the pharmaceutical industry both as a consultant and Departmental Director for two top 10 International pharmaceutical companies; and has 20 years of experience in leadership positions in academic medicine, delivering education programmes for health workers in Europe, Asia and Australia.


	Professor Chris van Weel Current position professor of family medicine and chair of department, University Medical Centre, Nijmegen, since 1985. Professor van Weel's academic work is directed at teaching and research in primary care. This has resulted in the development of a community oriented curriculum (introduced in 1995) in which family medicine plays a leading role. This curriculum reform has made Nijmegen University Medical Centre the leading in the country: in a recent external review this curriculum received very high marks. Since 1992, Professor van Weel has chaired the faculty committee on exams. In 1992 he founded (and currently chairs) the EU Socrates (formerly Erasmus) exchange programme Primary Care for medical students of the Universities of Vienna (Austria), Gent (Belgium), Nice (France), Düsseldorf and Hannover (Germany), Udine and Monza (Italy), Nijmegen (the Netherlands), Ljubljana (Slovenia), Göteborg (Sweden), Antalya and Kocaeli, (Turkey) and Edinburgh, London Imperial College and Nottingham (UK). He has developed a research programme of chronic diseases in family practice (longitudinal studies on asthma/COPD, diabetes mellitus, hypertension/cardiovascular disease and depression), which is part of the Nijmegen Centre 'Evidence Based medical Practice' and the Netherlands School of Primary Care Research (CaRe) of which he is one of the founders. An academic practice based research network provides the essential data for this programme: The Nijmegen Continuous Morbidity Registration / Monitoring Project. This has resulted in more than 500 scientific papers published in international journals, and more than 45 MD/PhD theses.


	Professor Nick Zwar Nick Zwar is Professor of General Practice at the School of Public Health and Community Medicine, University of New South Wales. He has substantial research experience in the areas of health systems research on chronic illness, intervention on risk factors for chronic disease, quality use of medicines and educational program evaluation. Nick has a long-standing clinical, teaching and research interest in travel medicine. For more than ten years he has contributed a column on travel medicine to Australian Doctor. Nick represents the RACGP on the Travel Health Advisory Group, a joint travel industry and travel health initiative aimed at promoting health travel. Nick was on the organising committee of the Asia Pacific International Conference on Travel Medicine held in Melbourne earlier this year.

Dr Donald Li