ACT Pain Centre

ACT Australia

Matt is a physiotherapist with more than ten years’ experience. Born and bred around Lake Macquarie, NSW, he moved to Canberra shortly after graduating from the University of Newcastle.
Matt quickly developed an interest in persistent and complex pain conditions, which lead to completing a Master of Science in Medicine (Pain Management) through the University of Sydney.
Matt is one of the very few physiotherapists in the ACT to hold this qualification at a Masters level.
Matt has a strong belief in helping people understand their pain experience and then use this to achieve their goals.
Matt has sat on various professional committees committed to helping address the issue of persistent pain both at a local and national level, including being part of the National Pain Strategy on behalf of the APA.

Calvary Hospital

ACT Australia

Dr Gawarikar is an interventional pain specialist working at Calvary Hospital and Canberra Region Neurology and Pain Centre. Her areas of interest are neuropathic pain and pelvic pain. Being a radiation oncologist as well makes cancer pain her niche. She is a lecturer at ANU and enjoy teaching and research.

The University of New South Wales

NSW Australia

Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at UNSW and Honorary Professor at the School of Public Health at the University fo Sydney. His clinical practice is based in Liverpool and he works at Liverpool, St George, Sutherland and Royal Prince Alfred Hospitals. His research interests are clinical in nature, conducting randomised trials, systematic reviews and methodological studies centred on the effectiveness of surgery.

Hunter Integrated Pain Service

NSW Australia

Dr Katyk is an Obstetrician and Gynaecologist and Specialist Pain Medicine Physician. Dr Katyk has an interest in persistent pelvic pain, endometriosis, obstetric pain and post-operative persistent pain. She is currently working to set up a persistent pelvic pain interdisciplinary service at John Hunter Hospital, in Newcastle, NSW.

The University of Sydney

NSW Australia

Professor Chris Maher BAppSc (Phty), PhD, DMedSc, FACP, FAHMS is a physiotherapist, recognised internationally for his clinical research in the low back pain field. He is Professor in Sydney School of Public Health and founding Director of the Institute for Musculoskeletal Health. He is an NHMRC Investigator Fellow, a Fellow of the Australian College of Physiotherapy and a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences. He has over 700 publications, $55million in grant funding and has supervised 38 PhD students to completion. Chris leads the NHMRC Low Back Pain Centre for Research Excellence (ANZBACK).

Northern Health

VIC Australia

Dr Laura Prendergast is a Senior Psychologist at the Northern Health Pain Service in Melbourne, Victoria, where she delivers group programs and provides assessment and individual treatment to clients with persistent pain. She also consults on the Transport Accident Commission (TAC) Clinical Panel, reviewing and providing advice for psychologists treating people who have been touched by road trauma. She is passionate about multidisciplinary pain management and enjoys the challenge of improving educational resources for people with pain in her clinical practice. Laura is a strong advocate for Health Psychology and its focus on prevention and population level interventions in addition to targeted clinical work.
Laura has served as the Victorian director on the board of the Australian Pain Society since 2017 and is also on the organising committee of the Victorian College of Health Psychologists. She recently led the team of psychologists who have written the Australian Pain Society’s third edition of its position statement: “The Role of the Psychologist in the Management of Pain” to be published following the forthcoming 2021 Australian Pain Society AGM.

Canberra Hospital

ACT Australia

Anandhi is a Pain Medicine Physician and is the Director of Canberra Hospital Pain Management Unit. Anandhi completed her Anaesthetic Fellowship from Nepean Hospital Sydney before pursuing her Fellowship in Pain Medicine from Nepean Hospital. She further trained in Paediatric  and Adolescent pain from Westmead Children’s Hospital Sydney before joining Canberra Hospital Pain Management Unit as a Specialist. She is also a Clinical Lecturer at ANU and contributes her time towards teaching medical students the various aspects of pain management.Her areas of interest include Back pain, Persistent post surgical pain, CRPS, Pelvic and Paediatric Pain.

Emergency Department, Canberra Hospital

ACT Australia

Adrian has been a registered physiotherapist since 1981 and has worked the majority of his career in private practice focusing on sports injury and mechanical spinal pain rehabilitation. He is currently working as an Extended Scope Physiotherapist in the Emergency and Orthopaedic Departments at Canberra Hospital. Adrian has been an APA Titled Musculoskeletal Physiotherapist since 1985 and completed a Masters of Physiotherapy (Research) at the University of Canberra in 2014 – Thesis title “Smartphone assessment of postural sway in chronic neck pain sufferers”. On Australia Day 2020 Adrian was awarded OAM honours for services to homeless youth, and physiotherapy.

Deakin Professional Centre

ACT Australia

Dr Sivakumaran completed his medical training at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Ceylon, Colombo and initial training at Badulla, Sri Lanka.

He moved to London to complete advanced training in General Medicine and Rheumatology working
mainly in teaching hospitals. He was Registrar in General Medicine, Rheumatology and Rehabilitation at St George’s group of hospitals in south London before he obtained his MRCP (UK).

He was Consultant General Physician for 2 years in Saudi Arabia. Returning to London he furthered his training in Geriatric Medicine, at Croydon General Hospital and St George’s Hospital Tooting and worked as Locum Consultant at St Thomas, a teaching hospital.

In 1988 he migrated to Canberra, Australia. After working in private practice for 10 years he worked as Senior Staff Specialist in Geriatric Medicine, Canberra Hospital. In 2011 he worked as Senior Consultant Physician in General Medicine at Calvary Public Hospital.

A few years ago he retired from public service. He continues in General and Geriatric Medicine at private hospitals and as Consultant Physician in General and Geriatric Medicine in private practice.

Temora Medical Complex

NSW Australia

Dr Jennifer Smith is a GP in Temora, a town of 5000 in the Murrumbidgee area of NSW, famed for its aviation museum and home to wheat, sheep, canola and really good coffee shops.  She's worked there for 10 years, and joined Pain Revolution in 2018 after mounting frustration at the increasing disability suffered by her patients with chronic pain.  She has a keen interest in mental health and chronic disease, and believes we do a great disservice to our patients by artificially splitting the body into "mental" and "physical".  When not seeing patients at her practice, the local hospital or nursing homes she is playing board games with her 2 kids, walking her dogs or dancing to everything from swing to psytrance.

Avenue Road Medical Practice

NSW Australia

Dr Milana Votrubec is a Sydney GP & a Pain Management consultant, who also teaches the Graduate Medical Program at the University of Notre Dame. Currently the Chair of the Pain Management Network of the RACGP and Honorary Editorial member of Medicine Today.

Calvary Hospital

ACT Australia

Andrew Watson is the director of Anaesthesia and Pain and Calvary hospital, works as a senior staff specialist at the Pain Management Unit of the Canberra hospital, lecturer at the Australian National University, and is a board member of the Australian Pain Society. Dr Watson’s interests include communication and the practical application of the placebo literature to enhance the effects of powerful drugs.  Presentations at the ANZCA ASM, SIGs and in the Canberra region have been well received.