Cool Topics 2023

Katie is Professor of Maternal and Perinatal Health at the Liggins Institute, University of Auckland. She is a Subspecialist in Maternal and Fetal Medicine at National Women’s Health, Te Toka Tumai, Auckland City Hospital.  

Katie has led and is leading several multicentre clinical trials in maternal and perinatal health including the HRC and MRFF funded C*STEROID Trial currently recruiting across ANZ. She has been clinical lead for preterm birth services at Te Toka Tumai since 2013, when she established the first-ever Preterm Birth Clinic in Aotearoa.

She has extensive clinical and research experience in the management of both spontaneous and provider-initiated preterm birth. She is the Chair of the Carosika Collaborative Steering Group and Co-leader for Taonga Tuku Iho Knowledge Translation for Equity in Preterm Birth Care and Outcomes in Aotearoa. 

Peter is Professor of Paediatric Neuropsychology, Director of Grants, Fellowships and Mentoring, and Head of the Neurodevelopmental Research Program in the School of Psychological Sciences, Monash University. He is co-Group Leader of the Victorian Infant Brain Studies (VIBeS) team based at the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, chair of the Australian Paediatric Neuropsychology Research Network (APNRN), member of the Australian and New Zealand Neonatal Network (ANZNN) Follow-up Committee, and on the executive of the NHMRC Centre for Research Excellence in Newborn Medicine. 

Peter studies cognitive development in children, with a particular focus on children who experience an insult to the brain early in life. For over 20 years his research has focused on understanding the mechanisms underlying cognitive and learning problems in children born very preterm. His research involves observational outcome studies, longitudinal neuroimaging studies, and randomised controlled trials assessing short- and long-term benefits and consequences of obstetric, perinatal, and developmental interventions. 

Peter has been continuously funded by NHMRC for the past 20 years and is currently an NHMRC Leadership Fellow. He has published over 380 journal articles and book chapters. 

Abstract of presentation

Children born very preterm (< 32 weeks’ gestational age) are at high risk for a spectrum of neurodevelopmental impairments. However, there is significant inter-individual variability with regards to short and long-term outcomes, and our capacity to predict neurodevelopmental outcome is poor in individual children born very preterm using clinical and socio-demographic risk factors. 

It has been speculated that brain MRI in the neonatal period can improve prediction of long-term outcomes in children born very preterm due to its capacity to detect subtle to severe brain pathology and dysmaturation. Indeed, research has demonstrated that neonatal brain MRI findings are associated with later neurodevelopment. Despite these encouraging reports, the clinical use of neonatal brain MRI remains controversial, with a Delphi study rating it as one of the top 5 unnecessary tests in newborn medicine (Ho et al. Pediatrics, 2015). This presentation will discuss the benefits and limitations of clinical brain MRI for infants born very preterm

Following a Fellowship in Canada for 3½ years after completing his FRACP in 1979, Emeritus Professor Lex Doyle returned to Melbourne in 1983, to appointments at the University of Melbourne and the Women's. He worked as a consultant neonatal paediatrician until 2006, when he ceased working in the nursery at the Women's.

He then continued full time as a researcher and teacher until he retired from the University in 2022, and from the Women's in 2023.  

He continues in an Emeritus role at both institutions. He has major research interests in evaluating neonatal intensive care, including how to improve on that care, and its economic consequences. His major goal is to improve the long-term quality of life of our tiniest and most immature survivors, and their families.

Peter is a consultant neonatologist at the Women's and a Professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at The University of Melbourne. He trained in Brisbane and at McMaster University, Canada. He has a keen interest in the dissemination of highest quality medical evidence to practitioners and consumers. His research interests include alternative methods of respiratory support of premature babies, neonatal resuscitation and identification of important outcomes of neonatal intensive care.

Peter has considerable experience in the design and conduct of international randomised controlled trials. His research work is supported by the National Health and Medical Research Council. He is a member of the Neonatal Taskforce of the International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation (ILCOR) which is responsible for formulating guidelines for neonatal resuscitation which are used worldwide.

Jennifer joined the Women's as a Neonatal Research Nurse in November 2005 and is now Clinical trial coordinator for the multi-centre PLUSS trial. 

She trained as a nurse in Canberra and as a midwife in Scotland. She completed a MN (Research) at the University of Sydney in 2003 and a PhD at the University of Melbourne in 2010.

Her research has led to over 100 peer-reviewed publications with many incorporated into national and international guidelines for neonatal delivery room management of newly born infants. She is a  member of the ILCOR Neonatal Life Support Task Force. 

Amir is a consultant neonatologist who trained in Melbourne and Oxford. He has completed a Masters in Practical Ethics at the University of Oxford, and a Certificate in Clinician Performed Ultrasound. His clinical and research interests include ethical issues in the neonatal intensive care, and functional echocardiography in the neonate.

Amanda is a physiotherapist in the Women's Newborn Follow-up clinic and a post-doctoral research fellow with the University of Melbourne and Murdoch Children's Research Institute.

Amanda's research interests are concerned with early detection and intervention of infants who are at high risk of cerebral palsy or movement difficulties. 

She is involved with the "Knowledge Translation of Early Cerebral Palsy (KiTE CP)" study which is investigating the implementation of early detection of cerebral palsy across key hospitals in Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland, including at the Women's. 

Free started her career as an international circus performer, transitioning to become a physiotherapist a decade later. Another 10 years on, Free is combining these passions in a PhD, looking at how circus activities may influence participation and developmental outcomes for children born preterm.

Having just submitted this PhD, Free continues to work alongside people with lived experience in research, including expanding her work in co-design and stakeholder engagement. She also holds a lecturing position at the University of Melbourne where she teaches collaborative research practices to the next generation of physiotherapists. 

Christiane is a neonatal consultant at the Royal Women’s Hospital in Melbourne with honorary appointments at the University of Melbourne, MCRI and Johns Hopkins University. Originally from Germany, Christiane trained in in the US where she stayed on faculty at Johns Hopkins University until relocating to Melbourne in 2009. With a doctorate in physiological chemistry, years of experience in laboratory research and an MBA, she has a unique set of qualifications. In recent years, Christiane has become increasingly involved in MedTech innovation and has been instrumental in the development of two new medical devices for newborns, adding co-founder, executive, advisor, company director and inventor to her achievements. Christiane will talk about MedTech innovation and present her work on new devices for neonates.

Stacey is a neonatologist, having trained in Melbourne, and currently working within the Paediatric Infant Perinatal Emergency Retrieval (PIPER) department at the Royal Children’s Hospital. She is also a research fellow within the Newborn Research Department at the Royal Women’s Hospital.

Stacey is currently undertaking a PhD at the University of Melbourne, addressing under-represented cohorts in neonatal clinical trials.

Calum is a neonatologist at Monash Children's Hospital. He trained in Scotland, Northeast England and Melbourne. As a clinician-researcher at Monash University and the Ritchie Centre, he leads a program of research focused on improving neonatal respiratory care and resuscitation.

Calum led the HIPSTER Trial of nasal high-flow treatment in preterm infants, as the basis of his PhD at the Women's. His current projects include the NHMRC-funded SURFSUP and neoGASTRIC trials. neoGASTRIC is a collaborative Australian-UK trial assessing the routine measurement of gastric residual volume in preterm infants, which includes an opt-out consent process.