Program:

Plenary Speakers

Prof. Gerard Silvestri (Medical University of South Carolina, US)
Hillenbrand Professor of Thoracic Oncology, Vice-Chair of Medicine for Faculty Development, Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Professor of Medicine, President of the American College of Chest Physicians (CHEST). He has experience in evaluating new technologies for the diagnosis and staging of lung cancer and was the part of the first group to publish the utility of endoscopic ultrasound with fine needle aspiration of mediastinal lymph nodes to stage lung cancer patients. The focus of his research is into evaluation and management of screen detected abnormalities, the ability to predict malignancy from a radiographically detected nodule, and the health policy implications of a mass screening program. He has developed a national and international reputation in lung cancer.
Topic:
Screening for Lung Cancer



Prof. Nikolai Petrovsky (Flinders University, SA)

Professor of Medicine at Flinders University of South Australia. Director of Endocrinology at Flinders Medical Centre. Founder and Research Director of Vaxine Pty Ltd. Secretary-General of the International Immunomics Society. Main areas of research interest: immunoinformatics, vaccinology and autoimmune diseases. Active in translational research taking four novel vaccines from the lab to human clinical trials, including the world’s first recombinant H1N1/2009 pandemic vaccine.
Topic: Novel Vaccines for Respiratory Viruses


Prof. David Currow (CEO of the Cancer Institute of NSW; Professor at Flinders University (SA) and an Honorary Professor of Sydney University and the University of Technology, Sydney, NSW)
David’s career has been an exercise in commitment to improving the quality of care for people at the end of their lives. His impact is evident in policy and service development, research and teaching throughout Australia and the world. With more than 240 publications to his name, David was recently rated one of the top 10 most published palliative care researchers in the world.

Topic: Management of Dyspnoea in end-stage Lung Disease


Dr Anthony Smith (Flinders University, South Australia)
Head of Clinical Immunology and Allergy at Flinders Medical Centre. Clinical and research interests include food, respiratory, venom and drug allergies, in addition to primary immunodeficiency disorders and systemic autoimmune disorders. His PhD studies to discover an autoantibody in Narcolepsy were supported by Sleep Physicians across the Southern Adelaide Health Region.

Topic: What Does Immunology Have to Offer in Management of Severe Asthma?


Dr Andrew Webster (University of WA, Perth Western Australia)
Andrew graduated from University of Glasgow and moved to Australia and underwent advanced training in Respiratory and Sleep Medicine at the Royal Adelaide Hospital, St Vincent’s Hospital including Advanced Lung Diseases and Transplantation and the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital. He obtained his FRACP in 2006. He subsequently obtained a research grant and spent three years as a Research Fellow in Advanced Lung Disease. He completed further training in Sleep Medicine at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital including the Graduate Certificate in Sleep Science from the UWA. He worked there as a Consultant Sleep Physician and started his own practice in Mandurah three years ago. He is the Consultant Physician for Sleep Australia and also consults at Derbarl Yerrigan Aboriginal Health service in Perth. Andrew has a special interest in sleep disorders associated with psychiatric disorders. He actively participates in the meetings conducted by the Neurosciences Council of the ASA and is an associate researcher at the Institute for Respiratory Health.
Topic:
What Are the Outcomes of Untreated Obstructive Sleep Apnoea (Treating OSA – Does it Matter?)



Dr Ryan Hoy MBBS FRACP MOccEnvHlth Senior Research Fellow, Monash Centre for Occupational and Environmental Health. Respiratory and Sleep Disorders Physician, Cabrini Hospital. Malvern, Victoria
Dr Ryan Hoy is a Respiratory and Sleep Disorders physician based at Cabrini Medical Centre and the Alfred Hospital, Melbourne. Ryan undertook a fellowship in Occupational Lung Diseases at Toronto Western Hospital in Canada, where he gained valuable experience in the diagnosis and management of complex work-related respiratory disorders. He has a Master’s degree of Occupational and Environmental Health and holds an appointment as a senior research fellow at the Monash Centre for Occupational and Environmental Health.

Topic: Occupational Lung Disease


Prof. Christine McDonald (University of Melbourne, Victoria)
Director, Department of Respiratory and Sleep Medicine, and Chief Executive Officer, Institute for Breathing and Sleep, Austin Health, Heidelberg, Victoria. Research interests include non-pharmacological management of chronic lung diseases including COPD, interstitial lung diseases and lung cancer. Christine is Chair of the COPD Coordinating Committee and member of the COPD Guidelines Committee, Lung Foundation Australia and lead author of the TSANZ Position Paper on Provision of Adult Domiciliary Oxygen Therapy.

Topic: COPD Phenotypes


Dr Simon Frenkel (University of Melbourne, Victoria)
Specialist at Western Health with private practice in the Western and Northern suburbs of Melbourne. Particular interest in non-respiratory sleep disorders including insomnia, sleepiness, circadian rhythm disturbances and restless legs syndrome. He uses multi-disciplinary models of care to optimise health outcomes. He is co-chair of the Sleep Physicians Council of the Australasian Sleep Association.

Topic: Orexin inhibitors in management of Insomnia


Dr Jeremy Wrobel (Murdoch University of Perth, Western Australia)

Dr Wrobel is a Melbourne-trained respiratory physician. He completed his PhD in 2013, titled “The pathophysiology of pulmonary hypertension in COPD”. In 2013 he moved to Perth and now works at Fiona Stanley Hospital, specialising in lung transplantation, pulmonary hypertension and interstitial lung disease. He is a board member of the Pulmonary Hypertension Society of Australia and New Zealand and is deputy convener for the Orphan lung disease, Transplant, Interstitial and Vascular (OLIV) special interest group of the TSANZ.
Topic: Modern Management of Pulmonary Hypertension


Dr Christopher Worsnop (Austin Hospital, University of Melbourne, VIC)

Senior respiratory and sleep physician at Austin Hospital in Melbourne. He is involved in clinical research including asthma and COPD trials and is a reviewer for a range of national and international journals including Chest, Respirology, European Respiratory Journal, Respiratory Medicine, Internal Medicine Journal and Respiration. He is currently the American College of Chest Physicians International Governor in Australia.
Topic: Do We Need to Treat COPD with ICS?


Dr Brett Sampson (Flinders University, South Australia)

Intensivist and Director of Trauma at Flinders Medical Centre and Senior Lecturer at Flinders University of South Australia. He is dual trained in Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine with diverse clinical interests relating to the resuscitation of the critically ill. He has completed a Masters in Critical Care Ultrasound and co-authored chapters in critical care textbooks on Asthma and Oxygen Delivery. He is an instructor for both the Australian Resuscitation Council and Advanced Paediatric Life Support.
Topic: What Does the ICU Physician Have to Offer in Management of Severe Asthma?


Prof. Gary Anderson (University of Melbourne, Victoria)

A tenured Professor and Director of the Centre for Lung Health Research. Gary’s own research has centred on using genetic disease models to understanding molecular mechanisms of disease induction, progression, severity and exacerbation in asthma and COPD. As pharmacologist and immunologist he co-discovered the role of Fas in lung inflammation, IL-4 in immune biasing in asthma models and the bronchoprotective PAR receptor system in the airway epithelium.
Topic: What Does the Basic Scientist Have to Offer in Asthma Management?


Assoc. Prof. Hubertus Jersmann (Adelaide University, SA)

Senior Respiratory and Sleep Consultant at the Royal Adelaide Hospital with interest in interventional pulmonology. Teaching coordinator for Respiratory Medicine at the University of Adelaide.
Topic: Lung Disease and Climate Change


Assoc. Prof. Chris Karapetis (Flinders University, South Australia)
Director of Cancer Services for the SALHN in Adelaide. Director of Clinical Research in Medical Oncology at the Flinders Medical Centre and the Flinders Centre for Innovation in Cancer. The principal investigator on over 100 clinical trials with established research interests in lung cancer, gastro-intestinal malignancy, molecular targeted therapies, predictive biomarkers, epidemiology and clinical research methodology. Has published over 100 scientific papers in peer-reviewed scientific journals. An active contributor to clinical research conducted through the Australian Lung Trials Group.
Topic: Immune and Therapies for Lung Cancer


Dr Anand Rose (Flinders University, South Australia)
Senior Consultant, Department of Respiratory and Sleep Medicine, Southern Adelaide Local Health Network. Senior Lecturer at Flinders University. Special interest in interventional pulmonology, thoracic ultrasound and pulmonary thromboembolic disease.
Topic: Pleural Catheters and Ultrasound





Dr Jason D’Costa (Flinders University, SA)

Senior Consultant, Department of Respiratory and Sleep Medicine, Southern Adelaide Local Health Network. Senior Lecturer at Flinders University. Research interest includes pulmonary fibrosis, interventional pulmonology and EBUS.
Topic: New Treatments for Pulmonary Fibrosis


Dr Christopher Weir (University of Sydney, NSW)

Research Fellow at Northern Blood Research Centre in The Kolling Institute at Royal North Shore Hospital. His Research focuses on cancer vaccines and stimulating the immune system to fight cancer. He received the inaugural Kolling Institute award for Translational Medical Research in 2012 and holds several patents including one for cancer vaccine technology.
Topic: Latest Developments in Cancer Vaccines


Dr Paul Cafarella (Flinders University, South Australia)

Health Psychologist with acknowledged expertise in behaviour change programmes such as chronic disease self-management and pulmonary rehabilitation, as well as mental health problems in respiratory populations. He has been regularly consulted by state and national bodies on these matters and has presented regularly at national and international respiratory conferences over the last 20 years. Paul’s current appointments include teaching roles at Flinders University of South Australia.
Topic: Non Pharmacological Therapies for COPD Including Pulmonary Rehabilitation


Mr Leslie Jamieson (Adelaide Accounting Services Pty Ltd, South Australia)
Chartered accountant and Director of Adelaide Accounting Services. Extensive experience in planning and running specialist medical practises and taxation planning. Past experience in Australian Treasury, ATO auditor and accountancy consulting.
Topic: How to Start and Run Private Respiratory Practice