Deputy Vice Chancellor (Research), The University of Western Australia

Professor Tim Colmer is Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) and has responsibility for research policy development and leadership of the University's research activities, postgraduate education, industry liaison, intellectual property and commercialisation.

Professor Colmer is a plant physiologist and enjoys working across various academic disciplines to support research at UWA, including research infrastructure initiatives. His substantive position is as a Teaching and Research academic in the School of Agriculture and Environment, the Faculty of Science. His contributions to coursework teaching have been recognised by two national awards. He has supervised 35 PhD students to completion.

His research is on abiotic stress tolerance (salinity, flooding, and drought) in grain crops, forages, turfgrass and halophytes. He has long-standing collaborations with key scientists in various countries (e.g. Argentina, Denmark, England, India and Japan) and success in winning competitive grants, publishing in well-ranked journals, and engaging with industry. He has a strong service record (e.g. degree coordinator; postgraduate coordinator; editor of scientific journals; organising conferences/workshops; President of Australian Society of Plant Scientists); Associate Dean for Teaching & Learning; Head of School; Acting Pro Vice-Chancellor (Research).

Professor Colmer is a Board member of the Integrated Marine Observing System, International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research, Microscopy Australia and the Population Health Research Network.

Independent Nurse Practitioner, Consultant Collaborative Health Perth

Liz has extensive clinical practice in chronic disease and wound management within primary, community and aged care nursing. Liz works in the position as Nurse Practitioner for Collaborative Heathcare and has special interest in the management of complex chronic wounds and is committed to education and research within these areas. Liz has completed studies in Masters in Philosophy (Nursing), Masters of Nursing (Nurse Practitioner) & is currently completing her PhD studies researching the effectiveness of low frequency ultrasonic debridement in the treatment of venous leg ulcers. Liz has previously held positions on both state and national committees for Wounds Australia. Liz received the 2012 Primary & Community Care WA Nursing & Midwifery award.

Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital

Sharon Pickles is an Orthopaedic Nurse Practitioner at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital (SCGH) in Perth Western Australia. SCGH is a 600 bed tertiary hospital one of three tertiary hospital in the city of Perth. Sharon completed her ‘Masters of Nursing’- Nurse Practitioner in 2010 Sharon submitted a business case to create the position for an Orthopaedic Nurse Practitioner due to the increased complexity of orthopaedic patients and the frail elderly being admitted to the orthopaedic ward. Sharon has been working as an Orthopaedic Nurse Practitioner since 2012. The Orthopaedic Nurse Practitioner is collaborative care model in association with the orthopaedic surgeons, and geriatrician. Sharon provides clinical expertise in all orthopaedic care including fracture management, pain management, surgical wound care and many other orthopaedic situations and issues. Sharon coordinates the care of all minimal trauma fracture patients as an integral part of the Orthogeriatric team facilitating clinical care and discharge planning including to referrals to Private and public rehabilitation units.

Director Skin Integrity Research Institute (SKINRI), Senior Research Fellow, The University of Western Australia

Dr Sandy-Hodgetts is a Senior Research Fellow and Chief Investigator of a programme of research into early identification and prevention of surgical wound complications.  Dr Sandy-Hodgetts research programme is multi-centred, multidisciplinary and is conducted across national and international healthcare settings. Kylie has founded the Skin Integrity Research Institute (SKINRI) where Phase I-IV clinical trials in surgical wound research are conducted. She has recently founded the International Surgical Wound Complications Advisory Panel (ISWCAP), a global not for profit organisation to raise awareness of the early identification and prevention of surgical wound complications around the globe. ISWACP has an established a panel of directors that span the Asia-Pacific Rim, Australasia, Canada, Europe, UK, India, Africa & the US, who work together to drive change in research and clinical practice for surgical wound healing. Dr Sandy-Hodgetts was recognised for her contribution to the field of wound healing research in 2018 as the recipient of the Journal of Wound Care Best Clinical Research 2018 Award, an international peer reviewed award as well as second placing for the JWC Award Innovation in Surgical Site Infection 2019.  More recently, she has lead the development of the ISWCAP Best Practice Statement on early identification and prevention of surgical wound complications, launched in March 2020 and currently being translated into Spanish and Portuguese.  

President World Union of Wound Healing Societies

Gulnaz Tariq is Unit Manager for Wound Care in Sheikh Khalifa Medical City, Abu Dhabi. She trained as a nurse in the armed forces and graduated with First Position in Province, Post-graduate with honours. She has pursued further international wound care training by joining the International Inter-professional Wound Care Course (IIWCC) from University of Toronto in 2007. She completed her MSc in Skin Integrity from University of Hertfordshire (UK) in 2014. She is a local, regional and international wound care key opinion leader and speaker and is the founder (2015) and course director of the Ostomy Care and Management (OCM). She introduced a diabetic foot prevention program and pressure ulcer prevention program in SKMC and has organized the Abu Dhabi Wound Care Conference for the past 9 years. Gulnaz is Founder of International Inter-professional Wound Care Group, and was elected to be President. She has won the Bid for Abu Dhabi for 2020 to bring World Union Wound Healing Society Congress to the region and is the President of World Union of Wound Healing Societies (WUWHS).

The University of Western Australia

Vincent Wallace has over 20 years of experience in Biophotonics. He graduated with a PhD in Medical Physics from the University of London, in 1997. After three years at the Beckman Laser Institute, UC Irvine, he joined Toshiba Research in Cambridge, UK to look at potential medical applications of terahertz radiation. TeraView Ltd, also based in Cambridge, was spun-out of Toshiba Labs in April 2001. At TeraView, Vince led a group looking at medical applications of terahertz. In 2007 he moved to the University of Western Australia where he continues to apply terahertz and other techniques to biomedical and clinical problems.

Dr Fear has worked is a Senior Research Fellow at the  Burn injury research unit, University of Western Australia and has worked on burn injury, wound repair and scarring over the past 14 years.

Dr Fear’s work focuses on scar formation, tissue regeneration and the systemic impacts of acute burn injury on children and adults.

Keryln Carville RN, PhD, STN(Cred), FWA

Professor of Primary Health Care and Community Nursing

Silver Chain and Curtin University

Keryln has extensive clinical experience in wound and ostomy clinical care, education and research. She is committed to advancing best practice within these domains.  She is an investigator in the Australian Wound Research Alliance National Wound Care Initiative. Keryln co-ordinates the Curtin University Postgraduate Program of Wound, Ostomy and Continence Practice in Australia and Singapore, in addition to supervision of PhD and MPhil students. She is the Deputy Lead of the Curtin Health Innovation Research Institute Inflammation, Infectious Diseases and Wound Care Domain and the lead of the Wound Care stream. Keryln is the Chair of the Pan Pacific Pressure Injury Alliance and participated in the Guideline Governance Committee for the development of the International Guideline 2014, 2019. She is the Evidence Chair on the International Wound Infection Institute. She was appointed a Fellow of Wounds Australia in 2006 and a Life Member of the Australian Association of Stomal Therapy Nurses in 2015.  She was awarded the Western Australian Health Life-Time Achievement in Nursing Award in 2010.  Keryln has over 120 peer reviewed publications and texts. She has been a member of the Editorial Board Journal Wound Practice & Research 1993-2021.