Chris Boyd-Skinner is Chief Executive Officer of the Digital Health Standards Council of Australasia (DHSCA). He is an experienced digital health and governance expert, having led national and international clinical governance in digital health and AI initiatives for the Australian Government.
Dr Shona Sundaraj BAppSc (Phty), MBBS, FRACGP, MBA is Group Medical Director at Medibank, bringing over two decades of clinical and systems experience to strategy, research and stakeholder engagement. She leads the Medibank Better Health Research Hub and Chairs the Health Research Governance Committee, guiding stakeholder engagement, competitive grant rounds and partnerships with universities, translational research centres and peak bodies to support evidence based improvement in care.
The Australian Government is expanding the Commonwealth Prac Payment to eligible students in 10 additional frontline allied health disciplines, providing financial support during mandatory university placements.
From 1 July 2027, eligible students studying audiology, pharmacy, radiography, clinical psychology, physiotherapy, rehabilitation therapies, occupational therapy, podiatry, speech pathology and paramedicine will be able to access the payment.
Addressing delegates at PSA26, the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia’s (PSA) yearly conference, the Minister for Health and Ageing, the Hon. Mark Butler MP, announced negotiations are progressing on the First Pharmacy Programs Agreement (1PPA), and that from 1 November, follow-up services for Home Medicines Reviews (HMRs) and Residential Medication Management Reviews (RMMRs) programs will be able to be delivered via telehealth.
Professor Robyn Norton AO FAHMS is one of the two Founding Directors of The George Institute for Global Health, Professor of Public Health at UNSW Sydney and Emeritus Professor of Global Health at Imperial College London. Robyn co-established The George Institute’s Global Women’s Health Program and more recently the Centre for Sex and Gender Equity in Health and Medicine, where she co-leads the Business Translation Working Group. Robyn is a director on the board of the Black Dog Institute, a member of the Women in MedTech Committee of the MTAA and a member of Chief Executive Women. She also chairs the NHMRC’s Gender Guidelines Development Committee and the Advisory Board of the Network of Excellence in Women’s Health at Imperial College London.
Aggie Cox is a senior healthcare marketing leader and women’s health advocate with over two decades of experience spanning clinical care, medical technology, and executive marketing leadership. She currently serves as Government Affairs & Marketing Director for Australia and New Zealand at Hologic, Inc., a global medical technology company dedicated to advancing women’s health through early detection, diagnosis, and treatment.
Dr Helen Moon is a Specialist Orthodontist dedicated to delivering evidence-based, patient-centred orthodontic care. She graduated from the University of Queensland with a Bachelor of Dental Science (Honours) and began her career as a general dentist, gaining valuable experience over 2.5 years in comprehensive dental practice. This foundation provided her with a broad understanding of oral health before she pursued advanced specialist training in orthodontics.
Professor Michael Valenzuela is a science opinion leader, innovator and creative thinker with a career-long commitment to the prevention and treatment of dementia.
Following that he completed graduate medicine and medical training at the Prince of Wales Hospital. In 2012, he established the Regenerative Neuroscience Group at the University of Sydney, and in 2017 became the university’s first Professor of Regenerative Medicine.
Professor Valenzuela’s group discovered a new cell type with potential for regenerative medicine, a rare neural precursor cell found deep within the human hair follicle. He is the main inventor on several related patents and is the Founder and Chief Scientific Officer of Skin2Neuron – a biotech company developing the first neurorestorative cell therapy for Alzheimer’s disease based on this work.
Dr Kieran Longley is a Gastroenterologist and Hepatologist committed to providing comprehensive, patient-centred care across a broad spectrum of digestive and liver conditions. He completed his medical degree at the University of Tasmania before undertaking physician training at St Vincent’s Hospital Sydney. Furthering his academic and clinical expertise, he obtained a Master of Science in Internal Medicine from the University of Edinburgh.
Dr Ramya Raman is a Specialist General Practitioner, medical educator, and health policy leader. Raised in Orange in Central West NSW, where she lived for over 15 years, she brings a deep, lived understanding of rural and community healthcare to her work.
