Session 2C: Chronic Illness
Tracks
Track 3
| Thursday, April 23, 2026 |
| 10:30 AM - 12:00 PM |
| Lennox 3 |
Speaker
Ms Sarah Kilgour
Clinical Psychologist
The Children's Hospital At Westmead
Co-Presenting: The Adolescent Bladder Clinic – Improving Engagement and Outcomes in Adolescents with Urinary Incontinence
10:30 AM - 10:45 AMBiography
Sarah Kilgour is a Clinical Psychologist in the Department of Adolescent Medicine at the Children's Hospital at Westmead in the Complex Adolescent Clinic and the Adolescent Bladder Clinic. She is also a PhD candidate at the University of Sydney investigating pain education and clinical care for Australian high school students.
Mrs Jane Gauci
Clinical Nurse Consultant
Department Of Adolescent Medicine, The Children's Hospital At Westmead
Co-Presenting: The Adolescent Bladder Clinic – Improving Engagement and Outcomes in Adolescents with Urinary Incontinence
10:30 AM - 10:45 AMBiography
Jane Gauci is a Clinical Nurse Consultant in the Department of Adolescent Medicine at the Children’s Hospital at Westmead. She works in the Complex Adolescent Clinic and the Adolescent Bladder Clinic and leads research in a nurse-led self-management clinic. Her PhD research focuses on self-management of adolescents with a chronic condition transitioning to adult care.
Mr Mahamudul Hasan
Phd Student, Indigenous Epidemiology and Health Unit, MSPGH
Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, The University of Melbourne
Prediabetes among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people based on Glycated Haemoglobin (HbA1c) measurement: Results from the Next Generation Youth Well-Being Study
10:45 AM - 11:00 AMBiography
Mahamudul Hasan is a PhD student with the Indigenous Epidemiology and Health Unit at the Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, The University of Melbourne. His doctoral research focuses on the epidemiology of prediabetes and type 2 diabetes among Aboriginal young people.
Dr Kelsee Shepherd
Research Officer/ Registered Nurse
FASD Service, CICADA Centre NSW, SCHN
An unmet need: FASD in youth entangled in the justice system
11:00 AM - 11:15 AMBiography
Kelsee is a Research Officer and Registered Nurse at the NSW FASD Diagnostic Service, The Children’s Hospital at Westmead. With a PhD in neonatal physiology, she supports multidisciplinary FASD assessments, rural outreach, and research focused on service innovation for young people and adolescents with FASD.
Dr Lily Davidson
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
The University of Sydney
Optimising a Digital Intervention for Parents, Targeting Multiple Adolescent Health Risk Behaviours: Results from Phase Two of a Multiphase Optimisation Strategy Trial
11:15 AM - 11:30 AMBiography
Dr Davidson is a postdoctoral research fellow at University of Sydney’s Matilda Centre for Research in Mental Health and Substance Use. Lily's current focus is optimising and evaluating ‘Health4Life Parents and Teens’, aimed at preventing onset of the ‘Big 6’ health risk behaviours for chronic disease (CIA Dr Katrina Champion).
Dr Neda Karimi
Senior Research Fellow
Australian National University
‘Being part of the conversation’: developmentally appropriate communication in inflammatory bowel diseasea
11:30 AM - 11:45 AMBiography
Dr Karimi is a functional linguist specialising in health communication. Using linguistic ethnography, she examines health literacy, clinician-patient alignment, and patient agency to improve outcomes. Her current research explores the communication needs of young people, aiming to inform developmentally appropriate strategies that strengthen engagement and support better healthcare experiences.
Ms Payton Soussa
Clinical Psychologist
Sydney Children's Hospital Network/ University Of Sydney
Understanding the Prevalence and Impact of Chronic Pain in Australian Neurodiverse Adolescents
11:45 AM - 12:00 PMBiography
Payton Soussa is a Clinical Psychologist working in the Complex Adolescent Clinic at The Children's Hospital Westmead. Payton is also a PhD candidate at the University of Sydney researching chronic pain in neurodiverse adolescents.
Chairperson
Jaspreet Sangha
Visiting Research Student
University Of Sydney
Aaron Thomas
Lived experience researcher
Matilda Centre for Research in Mental Health and Substance Use