EVENT SPEAKERS


Lynne M. Mofenson 

Senior HIV Technical Advisor, Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation

Dr. Mofenson is a pediatric infectious disease specialist, who received her M.D. with honors from Albert Einstein College of Medicine, followed by pediatric residency at Boston Children’s Hospital, and Chief Residency/Infectious Disease Fellowship at the University Massachusetts Medical School. She served as Assistant Commissioner, Division of Communicable Control for the Massachusetts Department of Public Health in the early 1980’s, moving to direct the Pediatric, Adolescent and Maternal AIDS Branch at the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development in 1989, where she was responsible for direction of research and clinical trials on prevention and treatment of pediatric and maternal HIV.  In 2014, after 25 years directing domestic and global research studies on pediatric and maternal HIV/AIDS, she retired and currently serves as Senior HIV Technical Advisor for the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, involved in research evaluating implementation of many interventions she studied at NIH. 

 


Christy Newman

Associate Professor, Centre for Social Research in Health, UNSW Sydney

Christy Newman is a leading social researcher of health, gender and sexuality at the Centre for Social Research in Health and Associate Dean Engagement and Impact in UNSW Arts, Design and Architecture. Their research focuses on social aspects of HIV prevention and care, sexual and reproductive health, and LGBTQ+ health.

Dr Anna Turkova

Research Clinician, University College London

Dr Anna Turkova is a Research Clinician at the Medical Research Council Clinical Trials Units at University College London and an Honorary Consultant Paediatrician at the Imperial College London Healthcare Trust and Great Ormond Street Hospital. She is part of the Executive Committee of the Children’s HIV Association (CHIVA) and one of the lead authors on the PENTA paediatric HIV guidelines.

Catherine O’Connor

Associate Professor, United Nations Development Programme

Catherine is MB.BS(Hons), Dr PH, MM, FAChSHM, FRACGP; Senior Visiting Fellow, The Kirby Institute, UNSW Australia; International Sexual Health Consultant, ASHM International 2009-ongoing;  International HIV/STI Consultant, UNDP Western Pacific 2019-2022. 

Immediate Past President Australasian Chapter of Sexual Health Medicine, RACP 2016-2020; Chair Med Staff Exec Council Sydney Local Health District 2017-18; Vice President, Australasian Society for HIV Medicine 2016-17; Oceania Vice Chair IUSTI Asia-Pacific 2010-2021; Director, Sexual Health, Sydney Local Health District, 1996-2019; Currently working in Australia, PNG, Timor Leste & Pacific Island Countries. 



Clare Nourse  

Associate Professor, Queensland Children’s Hospital

Clare Nourse is a Paediatric Infection Specialist at Queensland Children’s Hospital in Brisbane and is is Clinical Professor in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Queensland. Her particular interests are in HIV and TB infection in children, tropical infection and infection in resource limited countries, particularly in Timor-Leste.


Geraldine Dunne  

Clinical Nurse Consultant Immunology and Infectious Disease, Sydney Children’s Hospital Randwick

Geraldine enjoys a dual role in Immunodeficiency and HIV.  She cares for children and their families affected by HIV, including all aspects of HIV treatment, prevention, counselling, advocacy, case management and education. Geraldine is pivotal to the Hospital’s successful pMTCT service and coordinates care across several services throughout Sydney and NSW. 

Laila Khawar  

PhD Student & Senior Research Officer, Kirby Institute

Dr Laila Khawar is a PhD student and a senior research officer at the Kirby Institute. Her research is focused on developing new methods to track progress toward elimination of sexually transmissible infections and blood-borne viruses in Australia. 

Pamela Palasanthiran   

Associate Professor, Sydney Children’s Hospital Randwick

Associate Professor Pamela Palasanthiran is a paediatric infectious disease specialist, and the Head of the Paediatric HIV Service within the Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases a the Sydney Children’s Hospitals Network, Randwick.  She has been working in the field of paediatric HIV for nearly 3 decades and has lived through the evolution of all the exciting advancements in prevention and treatment in paediatric HIV. She is going to snapshot the journey of breastfeeding and HIV for us today. 

Wipaporn Natalie Songtaweesin  

Clinical Researcher, Chulalongkorn University

Wipaporn Natalie Songtaweesin is a clinical researcher and pediatric infectious diseases clinical fellow at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, Thailand. She has conducted internationally funded clinical trials in adolescent HIV care since 2017 and currently by the NIH to conduct mental health screening and care for adolescent HIV prevention in Thailand. 

Brett Ritchie  

Doctor, Women’s and Children’s HospitalClinical 

Infectious diseases paediatrician, department of paediatric infectious diseases, women's and children's hospital, Adelaide. Interests in HIV and viral hepatitis in children and adolescents.

Nicolette Graham

Clinical Pharmacy Lead, Queensland Children’s hospital

Nicolette is the Clinical Pharmacy Lead for Antimicrobial stewardship at the Queensland Children’s hospital. She is passionate about paediatrics – in particular infectious diseases, therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) and equity of access to appropriate paediatric medicines. Her research interests include antimicrobial stewardship in paediatric sepsis and novel TDM.