Stillbirth CRE Events

Hybrid Event
Time & Date: Friday 9th - Sunday 11th August 2024
Location: Large Lecture Theatre, Ground Floor, PED Building, Gold Coast University Hospital
Catering throughout the conference included

We are excited to invite you to the Waves of Change Conference which integrates the Annual National Stillbirth Forum and the QLD Maternal Fetal Medicine Symposium. This year we will be holding the conference at Gold Coast University Hospital.

We have an exciting program planned for you to stimulate discussion and engage all involved in pregnancy care from new research findings to implement into everyday care to new horizons all with an equity lens. Importantly the program will include a focus on best practice care after perinatal loss.

Please join us for three days of connecting and learning to improve pregnancy care and outcomes for women and families across Australia and beyond.

Prof. Vicki Flenady and Prof. Fabricio Costa (Co-chairs)
Prof. Adrienne Gordon, Dr Glenn Gardener and Prof Sailesh Kumar (Deputy chairs)

Professor Caroline Homer AO

Professor Caroline Homer AO is the leading midwifery researcher in Australia and has an international reputation as a scholar and leader in maternal and newborn health care and service delivery. She obtained her PhD in 2001 and since then has led research and development projects in Australia and internationally especially in relation to health services delivery, reproductive, maternal and newborn care, human resources for health workforce development and midwifery education. She has more than 30 years of experience in the sector – as a clinician, educator, researcher and leader.

Professor Andy Shennan OBE

Andrew Shennan is Professor of Obstetrics at King’s College London. He leads an NIHR Global Health Research Group (2021-2024). He is Chair of the FIGO Preterm Birth Committee (2012-23). He sits on the UK HTA commissioning board. He is current Chair of Action on Pre-eclampsia UK charity. He specialises in clinical trials in antenatal and intrapartum care and has an active clinical role in managing high risk obstetric patients, including a regular hands-on labour ward commitment, and a specialist award winning preterm birth surveillance clinic that accepts national and international referrals.

Professor Aris Papageorghiou

Aris is a Professor of Fetal Medicine and the Clinical Research Director of the Oxford Maternal and Perinatal Health Institute. He leads a number of research projects focused in the areas of maternal, fetal and perinatal health and using diverse methods - including basic science, clinical epidemiology, trials, knowledge transfer and implementation science. A major research interests is the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in pregnancy imaging and screening, and for several years he has worked with biomedical engineers on these problems. Through this work, Aris co-founded the Oxford University spin-out, Intelligent Ultrasound.

Professor Sue Walker AO

Professor Walker is a Maternal Fetal Medicine Specialist and Co-Director of Mercy Perinatal and Head of Department Obstetrics, Gynaecology and Newborn Health at The University of Melbourne. Prof. Walker has a focus on high-risk pregnancy, particularly novel markers of fetal growth restriction and therapeutics for preeclampsia.

Professor Vicki Flenady AM

Prof. Flenady is the Co-Director of the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Centre of Research Excellence in Stillbirth. Vicki’s research focusses on collaborative programs in Australia and globally to effectively reduce the numbers of babies who are stillborn and to improve care for families who experience this loss.

Professor Fabricio Costa

Prof Costa is a Consultant at the Maternal Fetal Medicine Unit, Gold Coast University Hospital and Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at Griffith University. Fabricio’s integrated program of perinatal research spans laboratory-based discovery research, clinical trials, implementation science, and health policy.

Professor Adrienne Gordon

Prof Gordon is a Senior Staff Specialist Neonatologist in the RPA Centre for Newborn Care, Clinical Professor at the University of Sydney and Chief Investigator on the Stillbirth Centre of Research Excellence. She is President-Elect of the Perinatal Society of Australia and New Zealand, Co-Chair of the IMPACT Network (Improving Maternal and Perinatal Outcomes – Action through Clinical Trials) and a Board Member of the International Stillbirth Alliance. She has strong links with National parent led organisations and is Deputy Chair of the National RedNose scientific advisory group. Adrienne is a key member of the Safer Baby Bundle initiative and leads the MRFF funded PreBabe Trial which aims to improve pregnancy and newborn outcomes for women with overweight or obesity. She founded the award winning Sydney local health district iSAIL (integrated support after infant loss) service.

Dr Glenn Gardener

Dr Glenn Gardener is the Director of Maternal, Fetal and Obstetric Medicine at Mater Mothers Hospital, South Brisbane, MFM VMO to Townsville and Gold Coast University Hospitals and RANZCOG CMFM training supervisor and examiner. He is also a Senior Research Fellow with Mater Research, University of Qld. Having completing his medical training at the University of Qld, he pursued a career in Obstetrics and Gynaecology, subspecialising in Maternal Fetal Medicine and undertaking a 2-year fellowship at University College London, United Kingdom. He returned to Brisbane as Consultant in Maternal Fetal Medicine and in 2007 he was appointed Director of the service. He has authored 87 peer reviewed publications and 5 book chapters. His research interests include prenatal diagnosis, fetal therapy, fetal growth restriction, ultrasound in obstetrics, telehealth and the investigation and prevention of stillbirth.

Professor Sailesh Kumar

Professor Kumar is a Maternal Fetal Medicine Specialist and Mayne Professor and Head of the Academy of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at The University of Queensland. Prof. Kumar’s research interests are in complex pregnancies and fetal therapy with a particular focus on complications related to placental dysfunction. He heads the Genesis Maternal Fetal Research Group at the Mater Research Institute-University of Queensland.

Associate Professor Kirsten Palmer

A/Professor Kirsten Palmer is a clinician researcher. She is Head of Maternal Fetal Medicine at Monash Health and also deputy head of the department of O&G at Monash University, co-leading the Pregnancy Discovery and Translational Research Collaborative. Kirsten's research focuses on translational and clinical research that addresses common pregnancy complications, particularly disorders of placentation, such as fetal growth restriction and preeclampsia. She led the implementation of telehealth in pregnancy care during the COVID-19 pandemic and continues to explore digital tool improvements to enhance access and equity in pregnancy care. She co-chairs the Interdisciplinary Maternal and Perinatal Australasian Collaborative Trials network and is a member of the Consultative Council of Obstetric and Paediatric Morbidity and Mortality stillbirth sub-committee.

Professor Lisa Hui

Professor Lisa Hui is a maternal fetal medicine specialist at Mercy Hospital for Women and The Northern Hospital and professor in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynaecology and Newborn Medicine at The University of Melbourne. She also leads the Reproductive Epidemiology group at the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute and is a member of the Victorian Consultative Council on Obstetric and Paediatric Mortality and Morbidity Stillbirth subcommittee. During the pandemic she established research collaborations to measure and understand the impact of the Covid 19 pandemic on maternity care and perinatal outcomes, including stillbirth and preterm birth.

Dr Scott White

Dr Scott White is senior lecturer in maternal fetal medicine at The University of Western Australia and consultant at King Edward Memorial Hospital. His research interests are varied, including the prevention of preterm birth and perinatal epidemiology. Scott holds senior positions at RANZCOG and is Editor-in-Chief of the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology.

Vicki Culling

Vicki Culling, PhD, is a bereaved parent, experiencing the stillbirth of her first daughter over 25 years ago. Vicki Culling Associates, was established in 2011 with the audacious goal of changing the landscape of perinatal and infant loss in New Zealand through better information and support.

Kirstin Tindal

Kirstin Tindal is a perinatal researcher and bereaved parent. She co-leads the Stillbirth CRE bereaved parent advocacy program, facilitating partnerships between researchers and bereaved parents to improve perinatal outcomes and ensure that our voices shape the conduct and translation of research.

Dr Christine Andrews

Dr Andrews is a postdoctoral perinatal implementation science researcher with the Stillbirth CRE. Christine’s research focuses on implementation and evaluation of stillbirth prevention strategies across maternity settings in Australia through the Safer Baby Bundle (SBB). Christine is also an emerging leader for consumer involvement in research and leads a national project to enhance bereaved parents’ engagement in stillbirth research in partnership with the Stillbirth Foundation Australia.

Deanna Stuart-Butler

Deanna Stuart-Butler is a key figure in Indigenous health research, focusing on stillbirth. She leads Indigenous initiatives within the Stillbirth CRE providing strategic direction and advocacy. She believes Indigenous people's diversity, equity and inclusion requires going beyond intervention to systemic change.

Professor David Ellwood AO

Prof. Ellwood is Professor of Obstetrics & Gynaecology at Griffith University, Queensland and Director of the Maternal-Fetal Medicine Unit at Gold Coast University Hospital. He is a senior clinician researcher with over 200 publications, multiple competitive research grants, and successful HDR completions. His research interests span a range of adverse outcomes of pregnancy but particularly include maternal and perinatal death. He is the co-Director of the NHMRC Centre of Research Excellence in Stillbirth (the Stillbirth CRE) and has co-authored many articles on this topic.

Dr Laura Biggs

Dr Biggs is a midwife and Research Fellow in the Intergenerational Health group, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute. Her program of research focuses on the use of innovative qualitative methodologies and methods to generate deeper understandings of complex social and health phenomena, including maternal suicide, intergenerational trauma, and stillbirth prevention. Laura is passionate about working in partnership with marginalised communities and health and social care professionals to strengthen culturally safe and trauma responsive approaches to maternity care.

Dr Valerie Slavin

Dr Valerie Slavin is the Assistant Director of Midwifery Research, a conjoint appointment between GCHHS and Griffith University.
As a midwifery researcher who remains deeply embedded in clinical practice, Valerie is a leading expert in the measurement and delivery of value-based approaches in maternity care.

Emma Porter

Emma Porter is a Clinical Midwifery Consultant, leading the Perinatal Loss team at the Mater Mothers Hospital in South Brisbane. She also works at the Stillbirth CRE, where she actively contributes to various bereavement care projects. Emma is dedicated to setting a high standard of excellence for herself in bereavement care delivery, advocating for best practices, and identifying the unique needs of parents and families facing the loss of a baby.

Dr Deborah Gilmour

Dr Deborah Gilmour (she/her) is a neonatologist at the Mater Mothers Hospital Neonatal Critical Care Unit, where she is the clinical co-lead for the Cardiac and Surgical Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). She is also a clinical ethics fellow at the Centre for Children’s Health Ethics and Law (CCHEL) and co-chair of the PSANZ Perinatal Ethics Special Interest Group. Her clinical and research interests include perinatal palliative care, clinical ethics, neonatal retrieval medicine, and quality improvement in the NICU. Deborah is passionate about ensuring babies and their families have access to excellent end of life care, and she is an advocate for integrated palliative care. Deb is proud to be a foundation member and current co-chair of PAN-PC, a unique multi-professional and multi-organisational group which supports perinatal and infant palliative care and education across diverse hospital and community contexts.

A/Prof Mike Beckmann

A/Prof Mike Beckmann is the Chief Medical Officer for Mater Queensland.  He has held previous roles as General Manager and Director of Medical Services for Mater Mothers Hospitals, and Chief Digital Health Officer.  Mike is an obstetrician and gynaecologist, health informatician, and health services researcher with more 100 research publications, and is currently supervising PhD students in the areas of minimising clinical variation, and redesigning outpatient models of care.  As a clinician, researcher and healthcare leader, Mike has led many innovations in healthcare delivery to improve safety and the quality of care, improve efficiency, enhance patient experience as well as improve the work-life of staff.    

Melina Connors

Melina Connors is a proud Gurindji woman, and the First Nations Midwifery Director within Queensland Health’s Office of the Chief Midwife Officer.

Melina oversees the coordination and ongoing implementation, governance, and expansion of the Growing Deadly Families Strategy. She also supports the First Nations Midwifery workforce to expand, drive health equity and support the cultural needs of First Nations families.

Melina is passionate about making a difference in maternity care and the development of best practice when working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families through First Nations ways of Knowing, Being and Doing.

Dr Miranda Davies-Tuck

Dr Miranda Davies-Tuck is the Head of Epidemiology and Clinical Trials, Hudson Institute of Medical Research. She is also a Chief Investigator on the Stillbirth Centre of Research Excellence where she co-leads the Stillbirth CRE’s Equity Program. Miranda is also the current President of the Perinatal Society of Australia and New Zealand (PSANZ) and executive member of the PSANZ Interdisciplinary Maternal Perinatal Australasian Collaborative Trials (IMPACT) Network. Miranda leads dynamic and collaborative research program that spans the entire translational pipeline, including discovery science, epidemiology, randomised controlled trials, evidence synthesis, implementation, and evaluation. Her work seeks to transform care, mitigating adverse events in pregnancy and guaranteeing equitable outcomes for every mother and her baby, irrespective of her background.

Associate Professor Christoph Lehner

A/Professor Chris Lehner works as a Maternal Fetal Medicine Subspecialist Obstetrician at the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital.
Chris is a member of the Executive Board of the Australian Preterm Birth Prevention Alliance (APTBPA) and the Queensland Clinical Lead of the National Preterm Birth Prevention Program.
His current work and research focus on quality improvement and implementation strategies in rural and remote maternity care. Chris holds several advisory roles within Clinical Excellence Queensland and he co-chairs the joint Timing of Birth Working Group between APTBPA and the Stillbirth CRE.

Megan Weller

Megan is a proud Registered Nurse and a Registered Midwife. She is passionate about providing holistic, women-centered care to women, babies and families. She has a clinical background in continuity of care. Megan has been involved in multiple activities in the Stillbirth CRE including coordinating the large, multi-centre My Baby’s Movements trial. Megan is the current Education Manager at the Stillbirth CRE, which includes the coordination of women’s and clinician facing resources and education as part of the Safer Baby Bundle implementation. She is also the current National Coordinator for IMPROVE.

Samantha Payne

Sam is on a mission to ensure that no one faces the journey of pregnancy loss alone and that they receive the support they need and deserve. Sam is an empathetic, engaging, knowledgeable and impactful advocate for those experiencing early pregnancy loss. She is an experienced public speaker with an ability to engage all. She speaks from the heart, sharing her personal journey as well as those of the thousands that The Pink Elephants supports. She links to a strong evidence base to create a clear call to action to inspire enhanced support for those experiencing early pregnancy loss. She is challenging cultural norms, breaking the silence and initiating much needed change.

Marnie Icim

Marnie is an experienced clinical midwife with 13 years experience across the continuum of maternity care in both public and private midwifery services. She is currently a midwifery lecturer and PhD candidate at Griffith University. Marnie's PhD focus is de-implementation of low value maternity care.