2023 Neuromodulation Society of Australia and New Zealand16th Annual Scientific Meeting11 - 13 August 2023 | Sofitel Brisbane Central, QLD

Oregon Health & Science University
USA

Dr Kim Burchiel is the John Raaf Professor and Chairman Emeritus of the Department of Neurological Surgery at OHSU, he served as department chair for 27 years from 1988-2015.

Dr Burchiel is Head of the Division of Functional Neurosurgery at OHSU, and also directs the Functional and Stereotactic Neurosurgery fellowship program that encompasses the surgical treatment of pain, movement disorders, and epilepsy. Beginning in 1994, he has now trained over 40 fellows in Functional and Stereotactic Neurosurgery. His major clinical interests are in Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) for movement disorders and other conditions, and the surgical treatment of pain, particularly trigeminal neuralgia.

His research interests are concerned with the physiology of nociception and neuropathic pains, including trigeminal neuralgia, the neurosurgical treatment of movement disorders, epilepsy surgery, image-guided neurosurgery, and the application of DBS to the problem of obesity. He has published over 300 peer-reviewed articles and chapters, and his five published textbooks include the Surgical Management of Pain (1st and 2nd editions), Spinal Cord Injury Pain: Assessment, Mechanisms, Management, and Microelectrode Recording in Movement Disorder Surgery.

For a full biography, please click here.

Erasmus University Medical Centre
The Netherlands

Dr Cecile de Vos is a medical physicist and assistant professor at the Centre for Pain Medicine of Erasmus University Medical Centre Rotterdam (the Netherlands). She has a background in Applied Physics (MSc 2001) and Neuroscience (MSc 2009), received her PhD in the field of neuromodulation at the University of Twente in 2013 and did two postdocs on chronic pain and neuroimaging at McGill University and Montreal Neurological Institute (Canada).

Her current research interests focus on increasing our understanding of the underlying physiology of neurological disorders, and developing and implementing new neuromodulation techniques to optimize treatment options for patients suffering from them. Her teaching activities are also related to neuromodulation and signal analysis of biomedical and clinical data.

Spine & Pain Institute Of New York
USA

Evolve Restorative Center
USA

Dr Jason Pope (MD, DABPM, FIPP) is the President and CEO of Evolve Restorative Center in Northern California, USA, with offices across Sonoma, Napa, and Lake Counties.  He is the Chairman of the Pacific Spine and Pain Society (PSPS) and the President Elect for the American Society of Pain and Neuroscience (ASPN). He served the North American Neuromodulation Society (NANS) as a Director-at Large, Advocacy and Policy Committee Co-chair, Annual Meeting Co-Chair, and is currently the Co-Chair of the Emerging Technology Committee and was an invited member of the Institute of Neuromodulation (ION). 

He recently completed his term as the Director at Large for the International Neuromodulation Society, and is the Co-Chair for the CME committee and the Co-Chair for the Young Neuromodulation Committee.  He also is the Co-Founder the Special Interest Group in Neuromodulation for the American Society of Regional Anesthesia (ASRA).  

Dr Pope has published over 100 peer reviewed articles, while working with medical device start-up companies and established industry partners to offer strategies for education surrounding patient centric adoption and development of clinic research, while overseeing the clinical research and data integrity of multiple multicenter, prospective studies.  He serves as the Principle Investigator for national and international studies.   He is the co-founder of Celeri Health, a digital data tracking platform and is the Regulatory Vice President for Anesthesia Gas Reclamation, a renewable volatile anesthetic capture and recycling solution.

Precision Brain, Spine & Pain Centre

VIC Australia

Dr Mohammed Awad is a UK and Australian-trained Neurosurgeon. He is a full member of the Royal college of Surgeons of England and The Royal Australasian college of surgeons, and is a leader and global educator in surgeries on brain tumours, complex spinal (robotic) surgery, computer and ultrasound guided surgery and complex pain surgeries amongst many others.

Dr Awad conducted his medical school and Neurosurgery training in the United Kingdom. He trained and gained expertise in some of the leading neurosurgical centres in London and Australia, and deriving experience in a diverse range of areas in brain and spinal surgery. He has been granted Fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons and the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons.

Dr Awad has completed subspecialty fellowship training in spinal surgery and neuro-oncology. Dr Awad applies the latest state-of-the-art techniques, including minimally invasive surgery and artificial disc replacement, as well as robotic spinal surgery, to the treatment of a range of spinal conditions, including disc prolapse, degenerative spinal disease, tumours, and spinal trauma. He is also a world leader in the removal of brain tumours using high-tech intra-operative techniques to make for safer surgery.

Dr Awad prides himself on providing every patient timely, compassionate and personalised care of the highest standard.

Nevro Corp
USA

Rose Azalde, MSBME, is the lead scientist at Nevro Corp. for studies investigating new indications for spinal cord stimulation, as well as manager of Nevro’s Investigator Initiated Study grant program.  Her goal is to design and lead high quality clinical studies that will provide insight into the therapeutic effect of spinal cord stimulation (SCS) to treat new areas of refractory, chronic pain.  Rose has a strong interest in investigating new types of biomarkers for pain and ways to objectively assess the true benefit of SCS therapy.   She has a passion for helping clinicians collect and analyze data from their treatment outcomes to guide future clinical practice.

Following graduation from Johns Hopkins University with a masters in biomedical engineering, Rose had extensive research experience in the medical device industry in neuromodulation (spinal cord, phrenic nerve, and gastric stimulation), as well as cardiac electrophysiology and defibrillation.  This experience includes a large number of publications and patent awards in these areas.  Most recently, she lead a large randomized controlled study in a new indication – nonsurgical, refractory back pain, from inception to final dissemination which resulted in new FDA labeling for Nevro’s SCS system.  

Abbott

VIC Australia

Adele Barnard is currently Senior Manager in Global Clinical Research at Abbott. She graduated with a PhD in Immunology and Neurobiology from Monash University in Melbourne and started her career in academia before moving to pharmaceutical and medical device Phase I-III clinical trials, working across both the public and private health sectors. She was pivotal in building a chronic pain research business in Melbourne, where she gained experience with new therapies across most of the neuromodulation device companies. With a publication record across RFN, SCS and DRG therapies she transitioned to industry, with multiple appointments across various neuromodulation companies and is currently responsible for the Asia Pacific emerging markets clinical research strategy, managing investigational and new indication clinical trials, and holds cross functional leadership team appointments and commercial scientific support roles.

Northern Pain Centre

NSW Australia

Charles Brooker is a pain medicine specialist at the Michael J Cousins Pain Management and Research Centre in Sydney. He is also in private practice at the Northern Pain Centre in St Leonards. He has been involved in clinical research in pain medicine for many years and is a clinical associate professor at the northern clinical school at the University of Sydney.

Medtronic
USA

Andrew Cleland, MD, serves as a Principal Scientist within the Neuromodulation Research and Development division at Medtronic. Based out of the Minneapolis head office, he commenced working with Medtronic in 2017. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry and attained his Doctorate of Medicine at the University of Minnesota following which he completed his internship in General Surgery at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center. 

Throughout his career at Medtronic, Dr Cleland has played a pivotal role in the development of innovative surgical procedures and has spearheaded numerous preclinical and clinical research projects related to the latest advancements in Spinal Cord Stimulation and Sacral Neuromodulation therapies and devices. His most recent trip to Australia was to help train and support the local Field Clinical Engineers in the Closed-loop Study, a First-in-human being conducted in Australia. His contributions have resulted in numerous publications at congresses and the filing of 31 patents to date. Andrew is passionate about supporting students in their career journey. He also enjoys playing blues music.

University of Melbourne

VIC Australia

Professor Mary Galea, AM FAHMS, is a physiotherapist and neuroscientist whose research program includes both laboratory-based and clinical projects with the overall theme of control of voluntary movement by the brain, and factors that promote recovery following nervous system damage. Professor Galea is Professorial Fellow in the Department of Medicine (Royal Melbourne Hospital) at the University of Melbourne, and previously Foundation Professor of Clinical Physiotherapy at the University of Melbourne and Austin Health.

She has a strong record of intellectual leadership in physiotherapy in Australia, building research capacity and an evidence base when research in the discipline was sparse. Over the past 30 years her primary research program in basic and clinical neuroscience has contributed to understanding the organisation and development of the motor system and its recovery from injury in nervous system disease. Her research includes multi-site trials of exercise in people with spinal cord injury, the outcomes of nerve transfer surgery in people with tetraplegia, and interventions to improve peripheral nerve health after spinal cord injury. She has established a technology-driven program to improve upper limb function after nervous system injury, and is investigating the use of wearable sensors for remote assessment changes in walking as a reflection of multiple sclerosis neuropathology, as well as for assessment of rehabilitation outcomes in general. Her latest project is an early phase adaptive trial of transcutaneous electrical spinal cord neuromodulation to improve hand function in people with tetraplegia.

Professor Galea is Chair of the Board of the Stroke Association of Victoria, and a member of the Scientific Advisory Committee of SpinalCure Australia, and the Clinical Governance and Research Committee of Spinal Cord Injuries Australia.

Private Practice

QLD Australia

Dr Peter Georgius has been in private practice on the Sunshine Coast since 2008 and conducts clinics, performs procedures and is a consultant in both hospital and community based locations around the Sunshine Coast.

He offers a comprehensive, multi-disciplinary and individualised treatment plan for patients with chronic pain and complex conditions. As an expert in advanced pain management procedures, Dr Georgius has a strong interest in all aspects of musculo-skeletal and neurological rehabilitation. He is regularly asked to give lectures and is the principal investigator of clinical studies involving neuromodulation and pharmacology.

Brigham and Women's Hospital
USA

Chris Gilligan, MD, MBA, is Associate Chief Medical Officer and a pain medicine physician in the Division of Pain Medicine at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital. He is also an Associate Professor of Anaesthesia at Harvard Medical School

In his administrative role, Gilligan is charged with leading hospital wide initiatives in Perioperative and Periprocedural Services that redesign the delivery of care to improve patient outcomes, clinician and patient satisfaction and operational effectiveness. Areas of focus include quality and safety, teamwork and professionalism, and operational performance.

He began his career at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in 1997 as a resident in General Surgery and Emergency Medicine. He then completed a fellowship in Pain Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital and earned a Master’s in Business Administration from Harvard Business School. He also serves as the Director of the Brigham and Women’s Spine Center. He remains clinically active, and continues to conduct clinical trials, and teach and mentor fellows, residents and students.

Westmead Private Hospital

NSW Australia

Dr Mahant is a Movement Disorders Neurologist. Following his training in neurology and movement disorders, he completed a PhD at Westmead Hospital and post-doctoral fellowship in Toronto, Canada. Within his specialty, his interests include phenomenology, neurophysiology, complex diagnostics and advanced therapeutics. The latter includes the deep brain stimulation (DBS) and infusional therapies for Parkinson's. DBS is also a good option in some forms of dystonia, tremor, Tourette's syndrome and other movement disorders. He also has experience with spinal cord stimulation for spasticity and movement disorders. He enjoys outdoor activities.

Boston Scientific

NSW Australia

Joel McCabe is a senior field clinical engineer who works across deep brain stimulation, spinal cord stimulation, and Radiofrequency ablation at Boston Scientific. He is based in Sydney, supporting local clinical research, advanced clinical troubleshooting, and is responsible for training and education of neuromodulation employees across Australia.

Joel studied Biomedical Engineering at Sydney University. His honours research was with Saluda Medical, looking at computational modelling of evoked compound action potentials, and how they could be impacted by different disease states and medications.

Pain Matrix Clinic

VIC Australia

Dr Diarmuid McCoy is a medical practitioner of 30 post-primary degrees. He obtained his degrees at the National University of Ireland MB BCh BAO (NUI UCC) University College Cork medical school 1991. He has fellowships from the Faculty of Anaesthetists Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (FFARCSI) and the Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists (FANZCA). In addition, he is a foundation diplomat of the Faculty of Pain Medicine, College of Anaesthetists Ireland (FFPMCAI), and a fellow by examination of the Faculty of Pain Medicine FFPM ANZCA.

Involved in clinical pain medicine for over 25 years, he has worked in various centres (Ireland, UK, South Australia, Victoria). He is a member of the court of examiners at the Faculty of Pain Medicine ANZCA and is a committee member of the training unit accreditation committee (TUAC) at the Faculty of Pain Medicine. He is current chair of the Professional Standards Committee and past chair of the Victorian Regional Committee FPM.

Dr McCoy has delivered lectures at national and international meetings in Ireland, United Kingdom, New Zealand, Singapore, Kuala Lumper, Hong Kong and Australia.

He is an author of various scientific papers published in peer-reviewed journals and a book chapter. He has been involved in clinical teaching and training in pain medicine for 2 decades. He is a past director of the Pain Management Unit University Hospital Geelong. Other activities including consultant at the medical panels (Victoria), honorary senior lecturer Deakin University Medical School. Specific interests in assessment and management of pain, neuropathic and nociceptive pain in a multidisciplinary setting.  Appropriate use of pharmacological and interventional resources and selection for multidisciplinary pain management programs and neuromodulation.  Current appointments at the University Hospital Geelong Barwon Health, St John Hospital Geelong (SJOG Health Group), Epworth hospital (Group) Waurn Ponds and Mitcham Private Hospital (Ramsey Group) Melbourne and is co-founder and a Clinical Director of Pain Matrix Pty Ltd Geelong.  In his spare time he is a terrible cyclist, collector of fountain pens and spends far too much time in boats.

The University of Sydney

NSW Australia

West Coast Urology

VIC Australia

Saluda Medical
USA

Leah completed her MD and PhD degrees from University of California, San Francisco, with a PhD focus in Neural Engineering from the lab of Eddie Chang. In her research, she used electrocorticography for recording and stimulation of the human brain, with particular efforts in examining the optimal electrode configurations for recording from the surface of the human brain and characterizing the effects of direct cortical stimulation on neural activity. She has worked in medical device development since completing her degrees. Currently she is excited to be contributing to the field of neuromodulation through her work at Saluda Medical, where she is a data scientist studying closed-loop stimulation therapy for people with chronic pain.

University of Queensland

QLD Australia

Trung has over a decade of professional STEMM experience & skillsets in driving fundamental discovery and translational projects, along with providing specialist research evaluation services that have delivered several large-scale strategic & funding priorities for a wide client base (e.g., principal investigators, professional medical science associations, multi-institutional collaborations & cross-sector national/international partnerships). 

With an interdisciplinary synthesis & quality outcomes focus, he is currently leading:

(I) Precision Pain Medicine R&D program to delineate genetically supported risk & protective factors and novel translational targets across chronic pain, sleep (apnea) & mental health disorders for broad-based population-level utility; 

(II) Investigation of the caloric test as a non-invasive neuromodulation therapy in these disorders and disease-modifying prevention approach for chronic illness (e.g., maladaptive plasticity following injury/trauma, disorders of consciousness) with both local and U.S. industry & clinical collaborators. 

This VCS body of work has a particular focus on the majority of underserved populations across rural/regional areas and the Asia Pacific region along with enhancing readiness, recovery & resilience (e.g., paediatric–adolescents, First Responders, Defence & Veterans). 

It follows his earlier NHMRC Clinical Research Fellowship examining a bistable switching biomarker & therapeutic intervention for bipolar disorder (and before that a PhD in Neuroscience with Jack Pettigrew MBBS, FRS, FAA).

PainMedSA

SA Australia

Rebekah has been a part of the team at PainMedSA since 2018. With post graduate qualifications in Oncology & Haematology, Rebekah’s special interests were in chronic malignant pain and cancer survivorship.

Under the guidance of Dr Matthew Green, Rebekah successfully completed her Masters of Nurse Practitioner in 2020, and has since extended her special interests to include neuromodulation and medication management. Since her transition to an independent role, Rebekah’s qualifications have allowed us to build on the services we currently provide here at PainMedSA through dedicated patient education sessions, offering increased supports for patients through any phase of their pain journey, and by bridging the gap between specialist and primary healthcare.

Rebekah currently splits her time between dedicated patient consults, post-operative patient management, clinical research and teaching / supporting the next generation of Nurses.

Hunter Pain Specialists

NSW Australia

Dr Marc Russo is a Specialist Pain Medicine Physician in Newcastle NSW. He is the Director of Hunter Pain Specialists, Genesis Research Services, Hamilton Day Surgery Centre and Co-Director of the Innervate Pain Management Program. He believes that clinical diligence, early intervention, education and research in the field of pain management are integral to successfully treating patients suffering from chronic persistent pain. He has a special interest and expertise in neuromodulation, particularly spinal cord stimulation.

PainCare

WA Australia

Dr John Salmon has been a Pain Medicine specialist in private practice, PainCare Perth, WA since 1990. Originally from the United Kingdom, he received medical training at Guy’s Hospital London and anaesthetic training at the Westminster Hospital and King’s College Hospital London.

Special interests include implanted neuromodulation therapy, particularly cervical, upper-body and whole-body neuromodulation applications and also integrated interventional and multidisciplinary biopsychosocial pain management treatment.

Dr Salmon’s research interests include contributions to numerous published multicentre neuromodulation studies and reviews and several sole investigator studies and also contribution to neuromodulation training programs.

He has experience with CBT programme treatment including training from Professors Michael Nicholas and Amanda Williams at the Input program St Thomas’s Hospital London and ongoing collaboration with the Prof Nicholas and the Adapt program at the Royal North Shore Hospital Sydney resulted in medical directorship of the Achieve intensive CBT programme in Perth which treated injured workers and motor vehicle accident patients for several years in the early 2000’s .

Bionics Queensland

QLD Australia

Dr Robyn Stokes became Bionics Queensland’s inaugural CEO in early 2020 after successfully leading her own business Stokes Strategy and Research for more than a decade. Robyn’s interest in health and bio-medical advances came to the foreground in shaping Brisbane and Queensland’s plans to leverage Australia’s G20 Leaders’ Summit and the Brisbane Global Café. At Bionics Queensland, Robyn has spearheaded Australia’s first-ever Bionics Challenge and wider plans for a state-wide Human Bionics LivingLab Community. Other key projects delivered in partnership with the Motor Accident Insurance Commission (MAIC Qld) and Advance Queensland include a Bionics Innovation Opportunity Analysis and a Bionics Innovation Ecosystem Mapping Study that will inform an umbrella roadmap forward for bionic innovations across the state.

Women?s Health and Research Institute of Australia

NSW Australia

Professor Thierry Vancaillie is a gynaecologist and pain specialist, renowned for his role in developing minimally invasive procedures, including hysteroscopic and laparoscopic surgery. His expertise includes pudendal neuralgia, pelvic pain, post-surgical pain and the surgical treatment of infertility with Asherman’s Syndrome.

He has published over 200 papers, ranging from the application of electrosurgery to the world-first pilot study utilising Botulinum Toxin for pelvic floor muscle pain. He is a founding director of the Women’s Health and Research Institute of Australia, working with a large interdisciplinary team.

After studying medicine in Namur, Belgium from 1973-1976 then Leuven, Belgium 1976-1980, Professor Vancaillie went on to complete his obstetrics and gynaecology specialist training in Bremen, Germany in 1985. He is a fellow of the RANZCOG, as well as fellow of the Faculty of Pain Medicine (FFPMANZCA).

Vera Women's Wellness

QLD Australia

Dr Alice Whittaker (BSc (Biochem), MBBS (Hons), FRANZCOG) is an Obstetrician Gynaecologist working predominantly in the field of gynaecology. Her interest areas are in pelvic pain, sexual pain, vulval and vaginal health, menopause and hormonal health and laparoscopic surgery. She also has expertise in prolapse repair and has volunteered overseas with a Urogynaecology team in Uganda doing prolapse and fistula work.

Whatever issue she is helping her patients with, she knows the value of the multidisciplinary team and works closely with her network of physiotherapists, psychologists and dieticians.

She holds a public position at QEII Hospital, and works in private practice at Mater Private Hospital as well as at Vera Women’s Wellness. Vera Women’s Wellness is a multidisciplinary clinic located in the Samford Valley providing personalised, holistic care and support for women to heal, to restore and to empower women to achieve their best health.

Pain Spine & Joint

NSW Australia

Dr. Robert E. Wright is a respected pain management expert with a distinguished career spanning over three decades. After graduating from Texas A&M University, he studied medicine at Baylor College as a President’s Scholar. His specialized training includes an Anesthesiology residency and Pain Medicine fellowship at the University of Utah. After serving in the U.S. Air Force, he established Denver Pain Management in 1993 by following the principles of Dr. John J. Bonica. The center soon became a regional leader in pain treatment.

As an early Spine Intervention Society member and instructor, Dr. Wright helped shape the protocols that guide safe and effective interventional pain practice today; he continues to serve SIS as a master instructor. He also co-directed the development of Cedars-Sinai's interventional pain management program and created one of America's first ambulatory surgery centers for pain management.

Known for his innovative work, Dr. Wright has improved patient care, led original research, and developed new technologies, including the Dekompressor™ and the Nimbus^tm radiofrequency ablation device, holding several patents.

Relocating to Australia in 2019 under the Global Talent Initiative, Dr. Wright remains committed to patient care, original research, and technology development.