Adjunct Staff

Dr Tony Robins

MBBS(UWA), MBA(UWA), FRACGP, MRACMA, AFCHSE, Cert. Human Bioethics (Monash), PCert. Mediation & Conciliation (IAMA)
Email: tony.robins@sjog.org.au

Dr Tony Robins is the Director of Medical Services at St John of God Hospital Murdoch, a 350 bed acute tertiary private hospital in Western Australia. He is a graduate of the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Western Australia and has completed post-graduate business studies and clinical fellowship training as a primary care physician.

After undertaking his internship and residency at Fremantle Hospital, Tony completed his clinical fellowship whilst a medical officer in the Australian Defence Force. After entering civilian practice, he worked in several rural and remote Australian communities and with the Royal Flying Doctor Service. Tony has a comprehensive background in primary care medicine and executive medical management with public and private sector organisations at a state, national and international level.

As a physician with the Australian Defence Force, Tony was deployed with the United Nations in Somalia. During his deployment he advised the UN on its aeromedical evacuation strategy. He has also worked in remote areas of Indonesia and served as a clinical medical director in the Southern Highlands and Gulf Provinces of Papua New Guinea. More recently Tony has worked as an emergency and family physician in the United Arab Emirates and was engaged as a senior physician advisor for health infrastructure development by the General Health Authority of Abu Dhabi. He has also worked in the Antarctic on a Russian Ice Breaker.

As a result of Tony’s international medical service, he has been awarded the Australian Active Service Medal, The Australian Defence Medal and the United Nations Medal (Somalia).

Tony’s specialist area of interest involves the strategic design and management of health care systems in developing nations. He also has interests in medical workforce retention, up-skilling and exchange in the developing world, clinical governance system implementation and international clinical project management.

Dr Wendy Cheng

MBBS(UWA), FRACP, MD(QLD)
Email: wendy.cheng@health.wa.gov.au

Dr Cheng is the Head of Liver Service at the Department of Gastroenterology & Hepatology at Royal Perth Hospital, the largest teaching hospital in Western Australia.

Dr Cheng graduated from the University of Western Australia and trained in Gastroenterology at Royal Perth Hospital. She is a Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians. She obtained her Doctor of Medicine in Hepatology under the supervision of Professor Lawrie Powell AC and Professor June Halliday at the University of Queensland, Australia. She subsequently underwent her two-year Post-doctorate Hepatology Fellowship at the University of Southern California (USC), USA, under Professors Telfer Reynolds, Allan Redeker and Bruce Runyon, renowned for their work in Viral Hepatitis and portal hypertension, in particular, in the management of ascites.

Currently Dr Cheng is a Gastroenterologist and Hepatologist at Royal Perth Hospital, Visiting Consultant to the WA Liver Transplant Unit at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital and has private practice at Mercy Medical Centre. In 1995 she established the Liver Service at Royal Perth Hospital, one of the largest Viral Hepatitis treatment centres in Australia. To increase access of patients with Viral Hepatitis to treatment and to provide equity of care across all health sectors, the Liver Service has developed innovative strategies such as the first Hepatitis Telehealth Service in Australia for rural and remote areas; the first Hepatology Nurse Practitioner service in Australia and Hepatitis C GP Shared Care Program. In addition, the service has established treatment and support programs for minority groups such as Vietnamese, Aborigines and prisoners.

Dr Cheng is an accredited supervisor for the Royal Australasian College of Physicians and is active in teaching Physician trainees, junior medical officers, General Practitioners, medical and dental students and nurses. A state-wide education program for GP, nurses and health care workers in the management of chronic hepatitis C is in the process of development. The Liver Service has links with several international Liver Units, with training of clinical research fellows from UK and nurses from Malaysia.

Dr Cheng is a member of the WA Advisory Committee for Viral Hepatitis, WA state-wide Liver Transplant Panel, as well as a number of national Advisory Boards for management of Viral Hepatitis. She was a member of the Australian Drug Evaluation Committee from 1999-2005. Her main clinical interests are in Viral Hepatitis and portal hypertension. Her current main research interest is in Viral Hepatitis, being involved in multiple national and international trials on chronic hepatitis B & C, and is a member of Protocol Steering Committee for an international trial in hepatitis C.

Dr Cheng is Executive Advisory Member for Infections & Immunology and Digestive Health Networks, which have been established as part of the health reform in Western Australia. A state-wide Hepatitis C Model of Care is currently under development. She was a Leader of Hepatology Working Group in Metropolitan Clinical Services Planning and is the leader of the Hepatology Service Reference Group in South Metropolitan Area Health Service.

Dr Cheng is the President of Australian Chinese Medical Association (WA) and had been a past president of Australasian Council of Chinese Medical Association.

In 2002, Dr Cheng was nominated as one of most inspirational Western Australians.

Dr Eric Tan

AM JP, CitWA, HonDSc(Curtin), MBBS(UWA), FRACS FACS
Email: erictan@medicalcorp.com.au

An eminent surgeon, humanitarian and entrepreneur Dr Tan was Curtin University's Chancellor from 2003 - 2006. Dr Tan moved from Malaysia to Australia as an overseas student in 1961. He excelled in his studies, and won the Australian Medical Association (AMA) gold medal for being the top medical graduate for his year. He went on to become a surgeon and a pioneer in the use of laparoscopic techniques in general surgery - founding the WA Endosurgical Society - and was a Governor of the Laparoscopic and Endoscopic Surgeons of Asia Society. He has taught extensively in Asia and became an Australian citizen in 1972.Dr Tan has been a director or chairman of many companies and his corporate expertise has been recognised by appointments to numerous boards and committees, both government and private. He has worked with the Australian Chinese community in Western Australia developing initiatives such as the Western Australian Chinese Chamber of Commerce. He was involved in the development of sister state relationships with Zhejiang Province of China and East Java Province in Indonesia and served for five years as a member of the Australia-China Council. For his contributions to international relations and the community Dr Tan became a member of the Order of Australia on Australia Day 1991.

Dr Tan has been very productive at the leading edges of surgical science, healthcare provision, pharmaceutical industry reform and life science technology commercialization. Dr Tan’s research interests are in radio-immunoassay of GI hormones, Islet Cell Transplantation, Splenic Transplantation, Surgical Stapling, Various aspects of Biliary Surgery and Endoscopic Surgery.

Some awards that Dr Tan has received:

• Life Member, Chung Wah Association for exceptional service to the Chinese community and the Association
• Advance Australia Award from the Advance Australia Foundation for excellence in communication across cultures
• Order of Australia (AM) for contribution to the community and international relations
• Citizen of the Year in Community Service for alleviation of youth unemployment
• Man of Vision Award, The Western Australian Chinese Chamber of Commerce
• Hon DSc (Curtin) for outstanding contribution to community service and medical science
• John Curtin Medal for vision and leadership
• Special Judges Prize, Entrepreneur of the Year in a social setting for community service

Dr Susan (Sue) Boyd

BA(WAust), DipEd(WAust), D.Litt(WAust), GAICD
Email: sjdb4@bigpond.net.au

Sue Boyd spent 35 years pursuing Australia’s international interests as a senior Australian diplomatic representative in Europe, North America, Asia and the Pacific. She was Australian High Commissioner in Fiji 1999-2003, and was concurrently High Commissioner to Tuvalu, Nauru and Tuvalu, and Australia’s Permanent Representative to the South Pacific Forum Secretariat. Previous postings as Head of Australian diplomatic missions were Australian Consul General in Hong Kong (May 1998 to June 1999); Australian Ambassador to Vietnam (October 94 to May 1998) and Australian High Commissioner in Bangladesh (1986 to 1989). Other diplomatic postings were in Australian diplomatic missions in Portugal, East Germany and the Australian Mission to the United Nations in New York.

She is currently President of the Australian Institute for International Affairs (WA Branch); a member of the Senate of the University of Western Australia, Chairman of the University’s Centenary Planing Committee; Advisory Board member of the Confucius Institute; Adjunct Associate Professor in the Centre for International Health at Curtin University; a Board member of RRRT, the South Pacific’s Regional Human Rights Organisation; an Independent Trustee of the Argyle Diamond Mine Trusts for the benefit of the traditional landowners in the East Kimberley (Gelganyem and Kilkayi Trusts); an Executive Coach with Foresight Global Coaching Partnership; and International Advisor to UNIFEM Australia with special emphasis on UNIFEM’s development programs for women in the South Pacific.

SUe was born in Calcutta, India. She lived and was educated in Germany, Ireland, Egypt, Cyprus and Britain before migrating to Australia in 1966. Before joining the Foreign Service, she worked for three years as a journalist on the Perth Daily News and from 1964-65 was a volunteer teacher in Zambia.

She has a BA Dip Ed and an honorary doctorate from the University of WA, where she was the first woman Guild President (1969). She is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and a member of Chief Executive Women.

Dr Annelies Wilder-Smith

MD(Heidel), DTM&H(Lond), MIH(Curtin), PhD(Amst)
Email: epvws@pacific.net.sg

Dr Annelies Wilder-Smith is Associate Professor at the National University of Singapore, and the Director of the Travellers’ Screening and Vaccination Clinic, National University Hospital Singapore. She obtained her MD from the University of Heidelberg, Germany, in 1987, her MIH at Curtin University in 2002 and her PhD from the University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands, in 2003.

She is a public health physician with extensive postgraduate training and experience in travel and tropical medicine and vaccine preventable diseases. She is the module coordinator for communicable diseases for the MPH course and runs short courses in global health. Her research interests are meningococcal and influenza vaccines, travel health, dengue, tuberculosis, SARS, and other emerging diseases.

Dr. Annelies Wilder-Smith has published more than 65 scientific papers in international peer reviewed journals. She co-edited the book "Manual of Travel Medicine & Health" (Steffen/DuPont/Wilder-Smith, 2003 and 2007, B.C. Decker Inc) and "Travel Medicine: tales behind the science" (Wilder-Smith, Schwartz, Shaw; Elsevier, 2007) and authored the book "How to take a medical history in Chinese" (Armour Publishing ISBN 981-4045-29-2). She is Editorial Consultant to The Lancet, on the editorial board for the Journal of Travel Medicine, Advisor to GeoSentinel, and was the editor for the World Health Organization for 'International travel and health 2007'.

Dr Jane Barratt

BAppSc(WAIT), MSSc(Guild), PhD(WAust)
Email: jbarratt@ifa-fiv.org

Dr Jane Barratt is a former Churchill Fellow, Executive, Carers' Association of Australia and has been actively engaged in Ministerially-appointed disability and age-related committees in Australia and overseas for many years. Her involvement in the aged and community care sector spans nearly 20 years and includes numerous roles, such as clinician, academic, manager for the delivery of medical and aged care services, and consultant with medical and government and non-government organisations. Her diverse background enables her to bring together strategies, which are relevant to the needs and trends in the aged care industry.

Her doctoral thesis on the allocation and use of home care services lead to her current research interests that include ageing and international health; information support systems for carers and people with disabilities; integration of acute, community and residential care and issues surrounding the notion of active ageing. She teaches in the postgraduate programs in the Centre. Dr Barratt is the Secretary General for the International Federation on Ageing (IFA) based in Canada. www.ifa-fiv.org

Dr Judy Esmond

DipWelPsych(TAFE), BSW, MSW (Curtin), PhD(WAust)
Email: judy@mtd4u.com

Ms Leanne Lester

BScEpi(Curtin), MAppEpi(Curtin)
Email: ljlester@ozemail.com.au

Leanne Lester is a biostatistician and epidemiologist with many years of research experience in the field of public health. Leanne’s skills lie in research design and methodology, questionnaire design, data manipulation and statistical analysis. Her main interests are in child health.

Mr Luke Talikowski

BLaw(Cracow), BSW(WAust), MIH(Curtin)
Email: l.talikowski@curtin.edu.au

Luke Talikowski has had 20 years of wide ranging health service management, monitoring and evaluation and community development experience in several global regions - Eastern Europe, Middle East, South East Asia and Australia. For 12 years, he was responsible for HIV/AIDS case monitoring program in the Department of Health, Western Australia. He was directly involved in planning, developing, implementing, monitoring and evaluating of HIV/STI prevention and education strategies for high risk vulnerable populations such as sex workers, injecting drug users and indigenous people. At the Centre for International Health, Luke has been providing monitoring and evaluation services and training.

Luke has also been working in South East Asia, in collaboration with several international NGOs, where he has conducted assessment and evaluation studies among sex workers. He has just returned from Myanmar (Burma) where he was working for 17 months as a Director of Studies at the Yangon Institute for University Studies (YIUS). YIUS is the only Australian based and recognised educational institution in this country and offers education to both affluent and disadvantaged adolescents.

From January 2007, Luke has been working as a HIV/AIDS consultant with Doctors of the World-USA to support a "Continuum of HIV Services for Street Youth Program" in St Petersburg, Russia.

Ms Sheryl Mattu

DipFN, DipT(Tas), BEd(Tas), MIH (Curtin)
Email: sheryl_joy@hotmail.com

Sheryl was born in Tasmania, Australia but has been living in Sarawak, Malaysia since 1979. Sheryl’s special interests lie in the field of chronic diseases, nutrition and health education and intervention and has worked closely with local communities organising healthy lifestyle programmes, giving health talks, dietary counsel and has frequently initiated medical clinics for remote indigenous settlements, recruiting health professional volunteers. Sheryl developed the past health education curriculum for the Sarawak Teacher’s Training College and as an Adjunct Lecturer with Curtin University (Sarawak Branch) she has run short health courses for visiting lecturers from China. Recently she has supervised students from Curtin University Public Health and Physiotherapy Departments for their overseas professional practice experiences.

For her Masters research project Sheryl gathered baseline epidemiological data on cervical cytological testing in Miri, Sarawak. Currently she is representing the Centre for International Health as Research Coordinator at the Miri Red Crescent Dialysis Centre, investigating the high incidence of end-stage renal failure in Miri.