Invited speakers
Hon Chris Picton MP
Chris is passionate about improving health care outcomes for all South Australians and delivering improved services and opportunities for people in his southern suburbs electorate.
Chris has previously served as Minister for Police, Correctional Services, Emergency Services and Road Safety, Assistant Minister to the Treasurer and Convenor of SA Labor’s Policy Platform Committee.
Before election to Parliament he served as Adviser and Chief of Staff to the federal former Health Minister and Attorney-General, Nicola Roxon, as Chief of Staff to former SA Health Minister John Hill and as an Associate Director at Deloitte Access Economics. His areas of policy work included tobacco plain packaging and national public hospital funding reforms.
He was educated at public schools in Adelaide and graduated from Flinders University with a Bachelor of Laws and Legal Practice and a Bachelor of Arts.
Chris is the lucky husband to Connie and proud dad of three young kids. When has free time he enjoys walking his dog on the beach, taking his kids to the playground, volunteer surf lifesaving at Moana and barracking for the Crows.
Mrs Stephanie Clota
Stephanie Clota is the CEO of RACS and a highly respected and experienced leader with a remarkable track record of success in the healthcare and training sectors. Her expertise is in strategic decision-making, financial performance, policy and advocacy and corporate governance.
Stephanie previously served as the CEO of GPEx, South Australia's leading primary care specialist training and workforce planning organisation. During her tenure at GPEx, she spearheaded the successful delivery of the Australian General Practice Training program in South Australia and oversaw its transition to a college-led model in 2023. Her ability to build and maintain key partnerships with government, private, and not-for-profit organisations has been instrumental in strengthening practitioner development and ensuring it meets the evolving healthcare needs of communities.
Beyond her operational and stakeholder management acumen, Stephanie has a deep understanding of the healthcare landscape.
Associate Professor Nicole Williams
Associate Professor Nicole Williams is a paediatric orthopaedic surgeon seeking to optimise outcomes for children and young people suffering musculoskeletal conditions and trauma.
Dr Bernard Carney
Bernard Carney is a consultant Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeon working in the private and public sphere in South Australia. He is in his 20th year as a consultant and has a focus on paediatric plastic surgery and burns, skin cancer and hand surgery, cosmetic and body recontouring surgery and rural delivery of healthcare.
He is on the South Australian State Committee for RACS and is the current Chair.Associate Professor Peter Cundy
Associate Professor Peter Cundy is an Orthopaedic Surgeon with 35 years of consultant experience at the WCH and was the Head of Orthopaedic Surgery for over 13 years. He is a past Examiner for the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons. He sits on the Editorial Boards of specialist Orthopaedic Journals and has special research interests in orthopaedic disorders in children, paediatric trauma and metal ion release from prostheses. Peter has over 60 publications in peer-reviewed journals. Peter was an active leader in trauma management and spine surgery, as well as being innovative in safe surgery and cost efficiencies in health management. He also has a long history of volunteer work in the Solomon Islands, Samoa and Fiji. Peter has extensive Board experience comprising MIGA (Medical Defence Insurer) for nine years including Chair of the Claims Committee. He currently sits on the Advisory Committee for Medical Devices for the Federal Government TGA (Therapeutic Goods Administration). He is on the Board of ACHA (Adelaide Community Healthcare Alliance) which manages three private hospitals in South Australia (Memorial, Ashford and Flinders Private). Peter completed an academic sabbatical at University College London / Great Ormond Street Hospital, London, UK for most of 2024 having retired from clinical practice in Australia. On weekends he competed in Historic Car Racing around England, using his 1934 MG which accompanied him from Australia. He returned to the UK in 2025 for more serious car racing.
Associate Professor Susan Neuhaus AM CSC
Susan Neuhaus AM CSC is a graduate of the University of Adelaide, a Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons and former Army officer. Susan is a member of the Section of Surgical History and has extensively published and presented over many years on historical topics, including to the Cowlishaw Symposium and Surgical News. Susan has been the recipient of both the RACS Lumley Exchange Fellowship – to undertake post Fellowship training at the Royal Marsden Hospital, London and the RACS Younger Fellows Leadership Exchange Scholarship – as Visiting Professor to the American Academic Surgeons Meeting, USA. In 2003-2004 Susan held a position as Reader at the Wellcome Trust History of Medicine Library in the United Kingdom. Susan is an appointed member of Council of the Australian War Memorial and Patron of the Virtual War Memorial Australia. Susan’s publications, on military and surgical history and the often-overlooked historical contributions of women, are recognised nationally and internationally. In 2012 Susan was the recipient of a ‘Saluting their Service’, Department of Veterans Affairs Grant for A History of Australian Medical Women; WWII, Vietnam and Peaceoperations and of an Australian Army History Unit Grant for A History of the Australian Army’s Female Medical Professionals – From the Western Front to Contemporary Operations. In 2014 Susan co-authored Not for Glory: a century of service by medical women to the Australian Army and its Allies which in 2018 was adapted by The Shift Theatre into the acclaimed play Hallowed Ground: Women Doctors at War. Susan’s recently released novel, The Surgeon of Royaumont, is based on the experience of Australian women doctors on the Western Front during World War I.
Associate Professor Nicola Dean
Associate Professor Nicola Dean is an academic plastic surgeon at Flinders Medical Centre in South Australia. Her early medical and surgical training was in the UK in Leeds and Manchester. After migrating to Australia in 1998 she completed a PhD in the field of post mastectomy breast reconstruction and had her 2 children in that 3 year period, supported by her artist husband.
Following completion of the RACS training program in Adelaide, Australia she set up a dedicated breast reconstruction service in Flinders Medical Centre (a public teaching hospital). Her research focus is on Patient Reported Outcome Measurement and patient empowerment. She has supervised 6 PhDs on this theme, over the areas of breast reconstruction, breast reduction and hand surgery.
Dr Dean’s voluntary roles include being immediate past president of the Australian Society of Plastic Surgeons, International Representative on the American Board of Plastic Surgeons. She has previously served as Plastic Surgery Section Editor on the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Surgery and Breast Section editor for the Australasian Journal of Plastic Surgery.
Her continuing interest in advocacy is improving equity of access to functional plastic surgery procedures for all who need them.
Professor Karen Lower
Karen has worked in medical education and research for over 30 years, including undertaking a postdoctoral Nuffield research fellowship and Lecturer position at the University of Oxford, where she taught her first medical students. Within her discipline area of human genetics, Karen’s research work has included identifying genes involved in inherited intellectual disability, exploring long range regulation of gene expression, and furthering our understanding of the role of epigenetics in disease. Karen has been at Flinders University since 2010, during which time she has held many educational leadership roles. As the Dean (Education) for the College of Medicine and Public Health, Karen is leading a team of dedicated and passionate educators to provide innovative and learner-centred educational opportunities for students in all areas of medicine and public health.
Dr Michal Wozniak
Michal is the Director, Doctor of Medicine (MD) at College of Medicine and Public Health, Flinders University.
Associate Professor Gillian Farrell
Associate Professor Gillian Farrell is Head of Plastic Surgery in the Northern Territory and works as a breast reconstructive surgeon at Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre in Melbourne. She is an Associate Professor at Monash University in the School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine and is on the Research committee of the Australian Breast Device Registry. She is on the Board of Avant Mutual and the Doctors Health Fund and is a member of the Australian Access to Breast Reconstruction Collaborative group.
Professor Owen Ung
Owen Ung is the RACS Vice President and previous Chair of the Qld RACS Regional Committee.
He worked in rural and metropolitan hospitals throughout Qld, later completed his advanced surgical training at the Royal Brisbane Hospital. He undertook fellowships at Westmead Hospital in NSW and the University of Wales College of Medicine in the United Kingdom as a lecturer in surgery. From 1995 to 2008 he has been a consultant surgeon at Westmead where he headed the Breast and Endocrine surgical unit and was Director of the department of general surgery.
From the beginning of 2009 he returned to Queensland to head the Breast and Endocrine unit at the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital and join the academic department of the University of Queensland School of Medicine.
Owen has obtained extensive administrative and management experience through his various clinical leadership roles and representations at numerous state, national and international levels. He has over 90 peer reviewed publications and is a lead investigator for a number of significant trials of international significance.
Owen is Director of the Metro North Comprehensive Breast Cancer Institute (CBCI) and Program lead for the Breast Reconstruction at the Herston Biofabrication Institute (HBI). Professor of Surgery, University of Queensland and visiting specialist surgeon at the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital (RBWH) and Surgical Treatment and Rehabilitation Service (STARS) in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
Dr Ben Teague
Dr Ben Teague is a General Surgeon with an interest in Laparoscopic Surgery including Bariatrics, Hiatus Hernia and Abdominal Wall Hernia. He works in the public sector at Modbury Hospital and in private at Ashford Hospital. Ben did his undergraduate degree at Adelaide Uni and postgraduate training in General Surgery in Adelaide. He did a Minimal Access Surgery Fellowship at McMaster University in Hamilton, Canada. Ben also has a Bachelor of Arts degree majoring in German and Philosophy. He enjoys skiing, snowboarding and bushwalking and is currently undertaking planting, regenerating native vegetation on a 10 acre property on the Fleurieu Peninsula.
Dr Nicholas Smith
Dr Nicholas Smith completed his training in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery in South Australia where he developed a special interest in complex hand, wrist, peripheral nerve, and brachial plexus injuries and conditions.
Following this, he was awarded the prestigious Royal Australasian College of Surgeons Margorie Hooper scholarship. He used this to undertake a fellowship in complex arthroscopic hand and wrist surgery with Dr Jeff Ecker in Perth, Australia.
Nick holds public appointments at The Royal Adelaide Hospital, and Women’s and Children’s Hospital. He is a member of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons, the Australian Society of Plastic Surgeons, the Australian Hand Surgery Society and the Asia-Pacific Wrist Association.
Nick specialises in adult and paediatric hand and wrist surgery, including nerve and microsurgery.
Professor Guy Maddern
Professor Guy Maddern is the RP Jepson Professor of Surgery at the University of Adelaide, Director of Research at the Basil Hetzel Institute for Translational Health Research at The Queen Elizabeth Hospital and Director, Surgical Research and Evaluation (incorporating ASERNIP-S) of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons. He was trained at the University of Adelaide and became a Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons in 1989. He has also published widely on new surgical techniques and their introduction into surgical practice and is the current chair of the ANZASM Audit of RACS. He has over 700 publications in scientific journals.
Dr Ravi Mahajani
Dr Ravi Mahajani grew up and studied in Darwin. He received his M.B.B.S. from the University of Adelaide. Upon completion, he underwent an internship, basic surgical training, followed by advanced training in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery under the auspices of the Royal Australian College of Surgeons.
In 2003, he was the only Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeon in Darwin and was the first Head of Department of Plastic Surgery at the Royal Darwin Hospital. He started Darwin Day Surgery with two nursing colleagues.
Dr Mahajani is also a reserve officer with the Royal Australian Navy. His foundation is his family including Dr Ketaki Mahajani (wife) Sara and Sohan (children), his parents and in-laws.
Associate Professor Diego C. García-Bellido
School of Biological Sciences University of Adelaide and Earth Sciences Section South Australian Museum
Diego was born, raised and graduated in Spain, where he got his BSc in Zoology (1997) and PhD in Palaeontology (2002) from the Complutense University in Madrid. Diego settled in Australia in 2012 but has previously carried out long research stays in Los Angeles, Toronto, Cambridge and London. He studies the early evolution of animals during the Ediacaran and Cambrian, more than half a billion years ago, particularly in the Flinders Ranges and Kangaroo Island, but also the Canadian Rockies, the Andes and the Atlas. His expertise focuses on exceptional preservation of trilobites and other arthropods, molluscs, echinoderms, worms, sponges… and has published on fossils from Australia, Canada, Spain, Portugal, Morocco, China, Argentina and Peru. Diego has written over 100 research papers (including 3 in the journal Nature), book chapters and popular articles, presented over 80 international conference communications, and has led research projects totalling over $4 Million in funding, from organisations like Australian Research Council, NASA, Spanish Research Council and National Geographic Society.
Dr Amanda Foster
Amanda is a General Surgeon with a particular interest in Emergency General Surgery. Her training years were spent in Tasmania, Victoria, ACT and WA. She commenced her consultant career as the first dedicated Acute Surgical Unit Consultant at Fremantle Hospital in 2013 and subsequently commissioned the ASU and Trauma service at Fiona Stanley Hospital, opening February 2015. In 2020 she took on the role of Head of Department of General Surgery across the Fiona Stanley Fremantle Hospital Group.
Outside of Emergency General Surgery, Amanda’s passions include supporting her two sons in their many education and sporting endeavours and Global Health Education through her work with Pangea GHE in Central Africa.
Amanda is the current Chair of the WA RACS State Committee.
Bill Seppelt
Bill retired in 2005 as Packaging Development Manager of Southcorp Wines, now Treasury Wines Estates.
He commenced his work at Seppeltsfield in 1965 as an Industrial Chemist and Microbiologist having studied both at the South Australian Institute of Technology.
In 1971 he transferred to the company’s then new packaging and distribution centre in Mordialloc Victoria as Technical Manager. In 1979 he returned to Head Office in Adelaide as National Bottling and Packaging Manager subsequently being appointed Packaging Development Manager for the group, following the takeover of the Penfold Wine Group.
During this period, Bill served on a number of Industry Committees. Wine and Spirit Industry Metrication Committee in Victoria, Packaging Council of Australia including a period as SA State President, Packaging Committee of the Wine Makers Federation of Australia, two committees of The Standards Association of Australia and since his retirement, 15 years on the Wine Show Committee of the RA&HS of SA. Currently Bill is a member of the Archive Committee for the Adelaide Show.
Associate Professor Douglas Fahlbusch
Douglas is a cancer and trauma survivor who has transformed his personal experiences into a revolutionary book titled "Reimagining Healthcare". This comprehensive guide empowers doctors and administrators to collaborate and enhance the human experience, reduce risk, and cut costs in healthcare by breaking down silos, integrating business processes, and utilizing cutting-edge clinical tools. With over two decades of specialised anaesthesia expertise, Douglas has honed his skills in private practice in Adelaide. His passion lies in neuroanaesthesia, complexity theory, and workflow improvement. Beyond his private practice, Douglas has contributed to public hospitals, served in General Practice and worked with the Royal Australian Navy. Douglas is not only an esteemed teacher at Calvary Adelaide Hospital, but also an active member of medical advisory and perioperative committees. He also serves as an advisor to Surgical Order (SOx), a groundbreaking health technology company. Douglas has lent his expertise to organisations such as the Australian Medical Association and the Australian Society of Anaesthetists. He has delivered captivating speeches at local and international conferences, leaving a lasting impact on audiences. He has published on both medical and non-medical subjects. Douglas's journey began in the idyllic settings of the Barossa Valley and Tasmania. He shares his life with his loving wife, Liz, and together they have raised two remarkable adult children. When not pursuing his professional endeavors, Douglas enjoys expanding his knowledge through learning, exploring new destinations through travel, participating in motor car rallies, sailing, embarking on mountain biking adventures, playing tennis, and snow-skiing. Deeply committed to the belief that education opens doors of opportunity, Douglas actively supports numerous charities focused on providing educational resources to individuals in need.
Dr Christine Lai
Dr Christine Lai is a general surgeon with sub-specialty post-Fellowship training in breast surgery and endocrine surgery – including thyroid surgery and minimally invasive parathyroid and laparoscopic adrenal surgery.
She has an interest in teaching students and trainees and clinician performed ultrasound and is one of a handful of surgeons in Australia with a Diploma in Diagnostic Ultrasound (Surgery) with the Australasian Society of the Ultrasound Medicine.
Dr Jonathan Pollock
Jonathan Pollock qualified in medicine from Oxford University in 1990 following undergraduate training in Cambridge. His neurosurgical training was in Oxford and Nottingham and London with subspecialist training at the National Hospital, Queen Square, London. He is the senior consultant neurosurgeon at Essex Neurosciences Centre in Romford, East London where he was appointed in 2002.
His cranial neurosurgery practice is focussed on brain tumours in adults especially meningioma, pituitary tumours and trigeminal neuralgia.
He developed the multi-disciplinary skullbase team in Romford and is a co-founder and Treasurer of the British-Irish Meningioma Society. He served as a member of the SAC in Neurosurgery (the national training body) and on the authors group for the national neurosurgical examination.
He is currently engaged in writing a History of Neurosurgery in the UK and Ireland ahead of the centenary of the Society of British Neurological Surgeons in 2026.
Dr Dan Short
Dr Dan Short is a psychiatrist with 22 years of experience currently working in private practice in Adelaide. He specializes in the treatment of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, particularly working with Australian Defence Force members and emergency services personnel, as well as high-performance athletes including past and present AFL players, Cricket Australia athletes, and members of the Australian Olympic team. A Fellow of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists, Dr Short sits on their Military, Veterans' and Emergency Services Personnel Mental Health Network Committee. He graduated from the University of Adelaide, including a student exchange to Washington State University, and has worked extensively in both public and private psychiatric practice throughout South Australia. When not working, Dan enjoys mountain biking, gardening, and fixing things in his shed. He is married to a cognitive neurologist and lives in the hills along with their three children and two Labradors.
Professor Josephine Thomas
Professor Jo (Josephine) Thomas is a Specialist General Physician, Clinical Pharmacologist and Educator. She has a long-term involvement in education and training, with strong connections across SA and nationally. Her PhD in Medical Education completed in 2020, focused on interprofessional education research. She remains involved in teaching undergraduate and postgraduate medicine and pharmacy and with a strong interest in interprofessional learning.
Jo has taught, coordinated and developed a number of courses in the medical programs at The University of Adelaide, including development and coordination of the Transition to internship course and leading development of the B. Med Studies/ MD program framework. Jo graduated from Flinders University South Australia in 1990 and worked in General Practice in Sydney and Adelaide, before pursuing Physician Training. She is a passionate clinician educator with a commitment to high-quality teaching, training, and clinical service delivery.
Ms Tanya Brooks
Tanya is an accomplished hospital executive whose career spans frontline critical care nursing to leading major healthcare organisations. She is currently serving as Acting Regional CEO for Calvary Health Care SA/NT, while typically holding the position of General Manager at Calvary Adelaide Hospital. Tanya has also led Calvary North Adelaide Hospital and held senior clinical leadership roles across the organisation.
Tanya has served on the Mary Potter Foundation Board, contributing to strategic oversight and governance at a national level. She is currently leading the National Procurement Reform program for Calvary Health Care, driving transformation across systems and processes to deliver greater value, efficiency, and sustainability.
Recognised nationally as Calvary’s Emerging Leader of the Year 2019, she brings deep expertise in strategy, innovation, and team leadership, underpinned by her Harvard leadership training. Tanya is passionate about challenging conventional thinking and delivering solutions that enhance healthcare for patients, staff, and the broader community.
Mr Anthony Mennillo
Anthony Mennillo is the Head of Claims and Legal Services at Miga, overseeing the organisation’s medico-legal support and claims management operation. With over 24 years of experience in medical indemnity insurance, Anthony leads a team dedicated to providing expert advice and assistance to healthcare professionals navigating complex legal situations.
Professor Glyn Jamieson
Retired Adelaide General Surgeon
Dr James Aitken
James Aitken recently retired from clinical practice as a consultant surgeon at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, Perth. He worked as a consultant general and colorectal surgeon in Edinburgh for 10 years. While in Edinburgh he was chair of the Lothian Surgical Audit. He established the Western Australian Audit of Surgical Mortality, now the Australian and New Zealand Audit of Surgical Mortality. He is the chair of the Australian and New Zealand Emergency Laparotomy Audit Working Party.
Professor Justin Gundara
Professor Justin Gundara is an endocrine surgeon with additional subspecialty interests in hepato-pancreato-biliary, general and academic surgery. He currently maintains a Staff Specialist position with Metro South, QLD Health and has academic appointments with the University of Queensland and Griffith University.
Dr Ash Hardikar
Dr Ash Hardikar is a Cardiothoracic Surgeon and is the current President of the Australian & New Zealand Society of Cardiac and Thoracic Surgeons.
He helped set up the Cardiothoracic surgical unit at the Mangeshkar hospital in Pune, India and moved to Hobart in 2008 where he worked as a Cardiothoracic surgeon.
He became the head of the department at the Royal Hobart hospital in 2015 and helped set up the Cardiothoracic surgical service at the Calvary hospitals, Lenah Valley campus.
He has independently performed over 7000 Cardiothoracic surgical procedures and was also a trained paediatric cardiac surgeon.
dinner
Commissioner Dale Agius
Mr Agius is the Commissioner for Aboriginal Children and Young People.
A Kaurna, Narungga, Ngadjuri and Ngarrindjeri man, Mr Agius has more than two decades of experience in strategic leadership and advocacy for Aboriginal children, families and communities.
Mr Agius had held positions across the public service including the Director of Aboriginal Practice and Partnerships in the Department of Human Services, and the Director of Aboriginal Practice in the Department of Child Protection.