2024 Australian Pain Society 44th Annual Scientific Meetingin the IASP Global Year about Sex and Gender Disparities in Pain21 - 24 April 2024 | Darwin Convention Centre, NT

Dalhouse University
Canada

Dr Christine Chambers (PhD RPsych FRSC FCAHS) is an international leader in the study of children’s pain and an innovator in patient engagement, partnerships and knowledge mobilization. As a clinical psychologist and national voice for children’s health, Christine creates purposeful connections with diverse groups to move research from ideas to impact, improving the lives of children, youth and families. Twice named one of Canada’s Top 100 Most Powerful Women by the Women’s Executive Network, Christine has published over 200 articles in peer-reviewed scientific journals and is recognized in the top 2% of the most cited scientists in the world.

Christine wears many hats in Canada’s health research community. She is a Professor and Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Children’s Pain at Dalhousie University and faculty member in the Centre for Pediatric Pain Research at IWK Health Centre. Her acclaimed research program has helped establish Canada as a leader in children’s pain research, launching award-winning projects including #ItDoesntHaveToHurt and mentoring more than 100 trainees. Christine is also the Scientific Director of Solutions for Kids in Pain (SKIP), a national knowledge mobilization network spun off from her research lab that is dedicated to improving children's pain management by mobilizing evidence-based solutions through coordination and collaboration.

Christine is honoured to serve as Scientific Director of the Institute of Human Development, Child and Youth Health (IHDCYH) at the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), where she is steering a bold vision to foster research that promotes better beginnings, vibrant childhoods and empowered youth. Christine is a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences, and the Associate Director of the North American Pain School.

University of New South Wales

NSW Australia

Professor James McAuley is a leading researcher in the field of chronic pain, specifically low back pain. He is a psychologist and NHMRC Investigator Fellow at UNSW Sydney, where he is a Professor in the School of Health Sciences. He is also a Senior Research Scientist at Neuroscience Research Australia (NeuRA) and Director of the Centre for Pain IMPACT, a multidisciplinary team of researchers, educators, and clinicians.

Professor McAuley has published >250 articles including 18 randomised controlled trials and holds over $30M in research funding from NHMRC and MRFF. He has a seat on the SPHERE Maridulu Budyari Gumal Governing Council, is a founding member of the Scientific Advisory Group for Australia New Zealand Musculoskeletal Clinical Trials Network, and executive member of the NHMRC Low Back Pain Centre for Research Excellence. In 2015, he founded the NSW network for pain ECRs (SPRiNG).

University of Sydney

NSW Australia

Professor Louise Sharpe is a clinical psychologist by training who worked in clinical roles in the National Health Service in the UK before completing her PhD at The University of London in health psychology.

She is currently a Professor of Clinical Psychology and Associate Dean for Research Education at the University of Sydney. She researches the interface between clinical and health psychology, focused on the development of clinically significant psychological problems in people with a range of chronic health conditions, including pain, cancer and multi-morbidity.

She has published more than 250 peer-reviewed publications. She has received awards from the Australian Psychological Society and The Australian Association for Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (AACBT) for her contribution to clinical psychology and cognitive behavior therapy. She is a Fellow of both the AACBT and the Association for Social Science in Australia.

University of South Australia

SA Australia

A/Professor Tasha Stanton is the co-Director for IIMPACT in Health at The University of South Australia and leads the Persistent Pain Research Group at the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI), Adelaide. A clinical pain neuroscientist, with original training as a physiotherapist, Tasha has a specific interest in understanding sensory and cognitive contributors to pain to underpin development of new treatments for chronic pain. Her research expertise includes pain education, osteoarthritis, body perception, somatosensation, and virtual and mediated reality technologies.  She has received >$7.8m in competitive research funding, has published >110 peer-reviewed journal articles, has authored a book on Pain Science Education for Osteoarthritis (EPIPHAKnee) and she has been a keynote/invited speaker at >110 national and international conferences. Her research has won both national and international awards, including the World Congress of Pain Ronald Dubner research award, the Australian Pain Society Rising Star Award and the Australian Physiotherapy Association Best New Investigator Award. She has been recognised by the field for her scientific communication including ABC RN’s Top 5 under 40 scientific communicators and AIPS Young Tall Poppy of the Year (SA).

Medical College of Wisconsin
USA

Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences

VIC Australia

Dr Nik Veldhuis is an ARC Future Fellow and group leader in the Drug Discovery Biology Theme at the Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences (MIPS). He obtained his PhD in 2009 from the Department of Genetics at The University of Melbourne, and subsequently trained in neuropharmacology and analgesic drug discovery before becoming a group leader in 2016. For >10 years his multi-disciplinary program has utilised molecular pharmacology, microscopy and multi-omics to reveal how TRP ion channels and GPCRs contribute to pain and neuroinflammation; and applied medicinal and polymer chemistry to control these events with novel nanomedicines and drug conjugates. More recently, he initiated a dermatology drug discovery program focussed on characterising a novel mouse pain model for a rare childhood skin fragility disorder known as Epidermolysis Bullosa.   

He has >53 peer-reviewed publications (including Nature Nanotechnology, Nature Chem Biol, Nature Communications, PNAS x 5, Neuron and Biomaterials), >$10M in funding as a group leader (ARC, MRFF, NHMRC, charity), sustained industry partnerships since 2015, 1 patent on novel analgesic nanoparticles that was licensed to a USA-based start-up, and his research has been highlighted by multiple media outlets (Channel 7 Sunrise, Channel 9 News, SBS, Herald Sun and ABC Radio).