Meet the ADS Council
Wah Cheung - President
A/Prof N Wah Cheung is a practising Endocrinologist, who is also involved in basic, clinical and public health research. His main areas of interest are diabetes in pregnancy, the prevention of diabetes, and the management of diabetes and hyperglycaemia in hospital. He is currently the Chairperson of the National Association of Diabetes Centres, and a Director of Diabetes Australia. He works as an Endocrinologist at Westmead and Nepean Hospitals, in Sydney, NSW.
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Jenny Gunton - Vice President
Dr Jenny Gunton is head of the Diabetes and Transcription Factors Group at the Garvan Institute in Sydney, and is an Endocrinologist with a 20% Staff Specialist appointment at Westmead Hospital. The primary research focus of her laboratory is beta-cell function, in Type 1, Type 2 and gestational diabetes. She was elected to Council of the Australian Diabetes Society in 2006.
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Alicia Jenkins - Honorary Treasurer
After completing her medical degree (University of Melbourne, 1983)
Alicia undertook endocrinology training in Australia and the UK and
Ireland, and an MD related to diabetes complications. After seven years
full time research in the USA she returned to the University of
Melbourne in 2000, where she is now an Associate Professor in the
Department of Medicine, St Vincent’s. Her group’s research interests
relate to the prediction, prevention and underlying mechanisms of the
vascular complications of diabetes. She also does clinical work in the
Diabetes Clinics at St Vincent’s Hospital and the Royal Children’s
Hospital (Melbourne), in the Department of Medicine insulin pump clinic
and the Lipid and Vascular Disease Risk Factor Clinic. Her clinical
practice and research interests include the use of diabetes-related
technologies. She is also actively involved in endeavours to improve diabetes care in developing countries through Insulin For Life
(www.insulinforlife.org).
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Ashim Sinha - Honorary Secretary
Ashim Sinha is the Director of Diabetes and Endocrinology at the Cairns Base Hospital and Diabetes Centre, Associate Professor and Senior Research Fellow at James Cook University. Member of the Queensland Health Statewide Steering Committee on Diabetes. He is the Director Of Physician training in Cairns, Member of the Expert Advisory Group of the RACP ATSI Health Committee and Member of the QLD Statewide Diabetes Steering Comm His major clinical and research interests are in Diabetes and Indigenous health. He has previously been on the organising committee of the ADS meeting in Cairns in 2000 and joined the ADS Council in 2006.
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Sof Andrikopoulos - POC Chair
Sof is head of the Islet Biology Research Group at the University of Melbourne Department of Medicine (Austin Health) to investigate the genetic susceptibility of islet dysfunction using animal models of diabetes. This research has lead to the hypothesis that increased insulin secretory demand may be a mechanism that contributes to diabetes. This has clinical implications since a common class of drug used to treat patients with Type 2 diabetes causes increased insulin secretion and in fact may be detrimental in the long term. Sof has had grant support from the NH&MRC since 1998, is on the editorial board of Journal of Endocrinology, on the JDRF/Australia Islet Transplantation Program Advisory Committee, has served on NH&MRC Grant Review Panels and regularly reviews manuscripts for leading journals in the field including Diabetes and Diabetologia.
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Michael d'Emden
A/Prof Michael d'Emden graduated from University of Tasmania in 1978. He was a resident and registrar at the Princess Alexandra Hospital in Brisbane before moving to Royal Melbourne Hospital in 1983. He obtained his fellowship in 1985 and completed a PhD at University of Melbourne in 1988. He undertook post-doctoral studies at the University of Iowa, USA for two years before taking up his current position at the Royal Brisbane & Womens Hospital in 1990, where he is now a Senior Staff Endocrinologist. He was appointed the Clinical Chair of the Queensland state-wide clinical network in January 2008. His major clinical interests are diabetes and lipid metabolism. He is an active clinical trialist. He serves on several national advisory boards has been on the International Management committees of the several studies, including the FIELD and ASPEN studies. He also has a major interest in computers and their use to enhance medical practice. He has been appointed the Medical Director of Extensia Pty Ltd, a leading developer of shared electronic health records and interactive health services directories.
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Jennifer Conn
Dr Jennifer Conn graduated in medicine from The University of Melbourne in 1988. She subsequently undertook specialist training in diabetes and endocrinology at The Royal Melbourne Hospital, Parkville, and The Middlesex and University College London Hospitals in London. She currently works as an endocrinologist in the Department of Diabetes and Endocrinology at The Royal Melbourne Hospital and in the Diabetes Service at The Royal Women’s Hospital in Melbourne. Her major clinical focus is diabetes management in the clinic setting, especially in the areas of type 1 diabetes, diabetes in pregnancy and insulin pump therapy. A former secondary school teacher, Jennifer has a strong interest in medical education and is currently a Senior Education Fellow at The University of Melbourne. In 2009, she was leader of a team that won an Australian Learning and Teaching Council award for innovation in curriculum design. Her interests in education include generic medical student and physician trainee education, as well as patient and professional education in the area of diabetes. Jennifer Conn was elected to ADS Council on 26 August 2008.
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Sophia Zoungas
A/Professor Sophia Zoungas is an academic endocrinologist with an emerging national and international reputation in the field of vascular risk and management of blood glucose and blood pressure in type 2 diabetes. Her current primary appointment is as the Head, Diabetes Research Program, at the George Institute for Global Health, New South Wales. In this capacity she directs and contributes to projects from divisions working on vascular, renal, and metabolic health with a strong focus on translating evidence into clinical practice. A/Professor Zoungas contributes to a number of educational programs around ambulatory diabetes management and provides consultative endocrine services to the Marima Indigenous Health Service in Broken Hill, New South Wales. In addition to a strong early record of publications and grant success (including funding from the International Diabetes Federation, Diabetes Australia Research Trust, Australian Diabetes Society and commercial sources), A/Professor Zoungas has made presentations at a number of major national and international meetings in the last 8 years and received a number of significant awards including Diabetes Australia Research Fellowship, National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia Postdoctoral Health Professional Award and Henry Burger Prize for the Best Original research publication in 2006. A/Professor Zoungas’ also has an ongoing clinical appointment as a Senior Staff Specialist in Endocrinology and Diabetes at Monash Medical Centre and Dandenong Hospital, Southern Health Care Network, Victoria. Past responsibilities and achievements have included expansion of consultative ward services to 4 hospitals within the network, development of a new geriatric diabetes and endocrine consultative service, development of 2 new ambulatory diabetes clinics for the rapid assessment of newly diagnosed patients with complex management issues.
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Suzie Neylon - Executive Officer
Suzie Neylon is the Executive Officer, Senior Project Officer and Company Secretary for the Australian Diabetes Society. Suzie joined the ADS in 1992 with a background in nursing, travel, advertising, promotions and public relations. She completed a Bachelor of Science with Honours in 2004 and is currently utilising her research skills on ADS projects as well as running the administration of the busy ADS Secretariat.
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Past ADS Council Members
View past ADS council members.
