Speakers

Adult Medicine Program Keynote Speakers

Priscilla Kincaid-Smith Oration: Advances in the management of stroke
Tuesday 8 May: 11.00 am- 12.30 pm

Professor Geoffrey Donnan

Geoffrey A. Donnan, MD is Professor of Neurology, University of Melbourne, Austin Hospital and Director of the National Stroke Research Institute in Australia. He graduated from the University of Melbourne and trained in Neurology at the Austin Hospital followed by post-doctoral positions at the Mayo Clinic and Massachusetts General Hospital.

Professor Donnan was involved in the original descriptive work identifying a number of unique clinical syndromes including the Capsular Warning Syndrome and Striatocapsular infarction. He established the North East Melbourne Stroke Incidence Study (NEMESIS) in which the incidence of stroke was determined for the East coast of Australia. Using this as a basis and other case control studies he made early contributions to the establishment of smoking and passive smoking as risk factor for stroke, aortic arch atheroma and the lack of risk associated with the low dose oral contraceptive pill.

He was co-founder with Professor Stephen Davis of the Australian Stroke Trials Network ( ASTN) within which there have been conducted numerous investigator driven and other stroke trials. The first of these was the Australian Streptokinase Trial (ASK) which he led and has since been involved in numerous clinical trials of therapy as Chair, Co-Chair or Steering Committee member. More recently he has co-founded Neurosciences Trials Australia (NTA) which incorporates neuroscience interest groups ranging from stroke to migraine and provides coordination and support for commercial and investigator driven clinical trials. He also has a major interest in the imaging of the ischaemic penumbra and pioneered the use of the hypoxic marker 18FMISO PET. His other major interest is the interface between basic sciences and clinical stroke medicine and in collaboration with Dr Malcolm Macleod and Associate Professor David Howells has adapted the meta-analysis technique to assess therapies in animal stroke models.

Professor Donnan has been involved in a number of international initiatives including establishment of the World Neurology Foundation and the World Stroke Foundation (Secretary). Has chaired the scientific committee or executive committees of a number of international meetings including the 6 th International Symposium on Thrombolysis and Acute Stroke (2000), World Stroke Congress (2000) and World Congress of Neurology (2005). Currently co-chair of the Education Committee for the World Stroke Congress, Vienna 2008.

Professor Donnan has published over 350 papers in peer reviewed journals, over 60 book chapters, edited 4 books and has been Lecturer or Visiting Professor in numerous countries. He has trained a large number of Fellows in stroke neurology who now work throughout Australia and other parts of the world. He serves on a number journal editorial boards including Stroke (Co-Section editor for Stroke Controversies), Cerebrovascular Diseases (Associate Editor) and Lancet Neurology and is Editor in Chief of the International Journal of Stroke.

He is Past President of the Stroke Society of Australasia and Past President of the Australian Association of Neurologists. Following the recent amalgamation of the International Stroke Society and World Stroke Federation to become the World Stroke Organisation, he was elected as its President.

Paediatric & Child Health Program Keynote Speakers

Howard Williams Oration: Can we believe what children tell us?
Tuesday 8 May: 9.00 am – 10.00 am

Dr Kim Oates AM

Kim Oates, a general paediatrician, has had several roles at The Royal Alexandra Hospital for Children, now the Children’s Hospital at Westmead. He was previously Head of the Child Development and Child Protection Units, Professor of Paediatrics and Child Health (1985-1997) and Chief Executive (1997-2006). He has published widely on the consequences of the various forms of child abuse and is currently undertaking a review of the Undergraduate Medical Program for the University of Sydney.

Natural history of epilepsy – through to adulthood
Wednesday 9 May: 9.00 am – 10.30 am

Dr Carol Camfield

The first half of Dr Carol Camfield’s life was spent in Ann Arbor Michigan where she attended the University of Michigan, completing a BS, MD and Paediatric residency training. There she met Dr Peter Camfield and they moved to Montreal for 3 years where she was a Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholar in Epidemiology and Research Design.  A love of the ocean and Maritime culture brought the Camfield family to Nova Scotia.  She works at the IWK Health Centre and is a Professor of Paediatrics and Clinical Psychology at Dalhousie University.  She has published over 200 peer reviewed papers and book chapters.  Awards have included the IWK Research Award, Wilder Penfield Canadian League Against Epilepsy Research Award, American Epilepsy Society Clinical Investigator Milken Family Foundation Award, and the Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Residency. Carol is an avid sailor, skier and ice dancer.

Dr Peter Camfield

Dr Peter Camfield grew up in Ottawa Ontario, completed a BA at Queen’s University in Kingston Ontario and MD at Harvard University.  Paediatric residency followed at McGill University and University of Michigan.  He survived Paediatric neurology training at McGill University and Montreal Children’s Hospital before moving to Halifax, Nova Scotia.  He is Professor of Paediatrics at Dalhousie University and the IWK Health Centre and previous Chair of the Department of Paediatrics.  He has published over 200 peer-reviewed papers and book chapters many with his wife, Dr. Carol Camfield.  Awards have included IWK Research Award, Wilder Penfield Canadian League Against Epilepsy Research Award, Pioneer Award from Epilepsy Canada, American Epilepsy Society Clinical Investigator Milken Family Foundation Award, and the Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Residency. He enjoys all outdoor sports except Aussie rules football.