Speakers

Sarah Dunlop, PhD, is Emerita Professor (University of Western Australia). Her medical research career focused on brain development and recovery following chemical and physical injury to the brain, spinal cord and peripheral nervous system, including randomised controlled trials.

She joined Minderoo Foundation in 2020 to establish and lead the Plastics and Human Health Impact Mission. Our goal is to identify causal evidence for harm to human health as well as pathways to safe and sustainable alternative material production at scale. We collaborate with global partners to synthesise evidence for harm to human health across the plastic life cycle of production, use and disposal. We also deliver world-leading research where critical evidence is lacking. This includes the Minderoo Centre – Plastics and Human Health which is developing accurate measurement techniques for nanoplastics and plastic-associated chemicals in humans, the Plastics Exposure Reduction Transforms Health (PERTH) randomised controlled clinical trial for cardiovascular disease.

Sarah’s previous roles include: Accorded Status, Royal Perth Hospital; Director, Spinal Cord Injury Network; President, Australian Neuroscience Society; President, Federation of Australasian & Oceanian Neuroscience Societies.

Esther Freeman, MD, PhD, is Director of Global Health Dermatology at Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School. She also serves as the Director of Clinical Innovation and Education for the Center for Global Health at Massachusetts General Hospital. As founding and immediate past chair of GLODERM (the International Alliance for Global Health Dermatology), she developed an international mentorship program for dermatology changemakers from under-resourced settings around the globe. She is the Vice Chair of the International Foundation for Dermatology, which is the foundation arm of the International League of Dermatologic Societies (ILDS). Her work as a physician-scientist and epidemiologist focuses on access to care and infectious diseases affecting underserved populations globally. She is the principal investigator of the American Academy of Dermatology and ILDS registry for COVID-19, Mpox, and Emerging Infections, and has won two Presidential Citations from the American Academy of Dermatology for her work. She has been a consultant to the World Health Organization. In addition to her >100 scientific papers, some of which have been viewed more than >1 million times in the New England Journal of Medicine, her work has been cited extensively in the lay press, including the New York Times, The Washington Post, and National Geographic.

Professor Khosrotehrani is a clinician-scientist, practicing dermatologist with a focus on delivering state of the art concept and technologies to real-world clinical problems. He is the inaugural St Baker-Soyer chair of Dermatology at The University of Queensland where he leads the Dermatology Research Centre and the Experimental Dermatology Group at the Frazer Institute, director of the Department of Dermatology at the Princess Alexandra Hospital and co-director of the Australian Skin and Skin Cancer Research Centre in Brisbane, Australia. Prof Khosrotehrani is passionate about the development of academic medicine and future academic clinicians and leads this effort in dermatology on the board of directors of the Australasian College of Dermatologists, or as the immediate-past President of the Australasian Society for Dermatology Research, past board member of the International Society for Investigative Dermatology, and past-Editor in Chief of the Australasian Journal of Dermatology.

Associate Professor Vanessa Morgan is Head of Unit at the Royal Melbourne Hospital, consultant dermatologist at the Royal Children’s Hospital and runs a busy inner city dermatology practice. 

Prof H. Peter Soyer, a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Health & Medical Sciences, is the Inaugural Chair in Dermatology at The University of Queensland (appointed in 2007) and was Director of the Dermatology Research Centre at the Frazer Institute until 2024. He was Director of the Dermatology Department, at Princess Alexandra Hospital in Brisbane from 2008 to 2023.

His research focus is on early detection of skin cancer and melanoma with emphasis on technological innovation and integration of AI into dermatology. In 2018, he was awarded a $9.9M infrastructure grant by the Australian Cancer Research Foundation to establish and lead the Australian Centre of Excellence in Melanoma Imaging and Diagnosis (ACEMID). Under his leadership ACEMID was recently (September 2024) awarded the EUREKA prize of the Australian Museum for Excellence in Interdisciplinary Scientific Research.

Dr. Warren Weightman has practised as a dermatologist for 30 years in both private practice and public hospitals. He was Head of the Department of Dermatology at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital until 2023. He has been Chief Examiner and President of the Australasian College of Dermatologists as well as serving on many committees and task forces. He is currently current chairman of the Expert Advisory Committee.

He has been involved in clinical research and has investigated new treatments of actinic keratoses and superficial basal cell cancers including Metvix with photodynamic therapy, Imiquimod, and Ingenol mebutate, biologics for psoriasis, vitiligo and eczema, antifungal treatments for tinea and topical treatments for rosacea. He is interested in the management of non melanoma skin cancer in transplant patients and the role of oral retinoids in preventing skin cancer. He has been on several pharmaceutical company advisory boards including Roche, Abbvie, Janssen, Leo Pharma, Galderma, Eli Lily and Novartis.

Professor Andrew Barbour is a surgical oncologist, clinical trialist and translational researcher. Prof Barbour has 20 years experience in the management of melanoma and is the Director of the Princess Alexandra Hospital Melanoma Clinic, the principal dedicated tertiary referral centre for melanoma in Queensland. He is also the co-director of the Queensland Melanoma Project, the clinical research arm of the Melanoma clinic.  CI Barbour is also head of the Surgical Oncology Lab, Frazer Institute, The University of Queensland. His translational research program includes next generation sequencing and spatial profiling, radiomics and artificial intelligence to identify biomarkers of outcome in melanoma, oesophageal and pancreatic cancer.  Prof Barbour has been a co-author of over 170 peer reviewed publications (H index 48), has presented at a number of international meetings and served on national committees. Furthermore, he has been involved as the principal investigator for the phase II DOCTOR trial, a study of response-based chemo(radio)therapy in oesophageal cancer and the GAP trial, the first study of pre-operative chemotherapy for operable pancreatic cancer. He was a Board member for the Australasian Gastrointestinal Trials Group. He has also been an investigator in a number of phase II / III adjuvant and neo-adjuvant studies for melanoma and as such has vast experience with conducting clinical trials. In addition he is a member of the working party developing and maintaining clinical practice guidelines for the management of melanoma.  

Associate Professor Philip Bekhor is a nationally and internationally recognised leader in laser and procedural dermatology. With over three decades of clinical experience, he is renowned for his pioneering contributions to the field in Australia.

A/Prof Bekhor graduated in medicine from the University of Melbourne and became a Fellow of the Australasian College of Dermatologists in 1978. He undertook advanced dermatology training in Canada, where he was Chief Resident at Toronto General Hospital, before returning to Melbourne to establish Laser Dermatology — one of Australia’s first dedicated laser centres.

He is the founding Director of the Laser Unit at the Royal Children’s Hospital, Melbourne, established in 1989, where he continues to lead care for paediatric vascular and pigmentary disorders. Under his leadership, the unit has become the most advanced paediatric laser facility in the country.

A/Prof Bekhor is an endorsed Mohs surgeon, having trained in dermatologic surgery at the Skin Health Institute. He has published widely in peer-reviewed journals and is a frequent speaker at national and international dermatology conferences, particularly on laser applications for vascular and pigmentary conditions.

He serves on several professional advisory boards and committees, including the Australasian College of Dermatologists, AVANT, and Laser Clinics Australia. His commitment to patient care, safety, and clinical education has made him one of the most respected voices in dermatology.

Helen is currently the Executive Director of Translation at the Translational Research Institute and a Senior Staff Specialist Rheumatologist at Princess Alexandra Hospital. She is an Associate Professor with The University of Queensland and has experience across the research spectrum including discovery and translational science, clinical research including trials and applying the principles of implementation science as an NHMRC Translating Research into Practice Fellow.

Dr Justin Bui is an Australian trained Specialist Dermatologist who completed a prestigious fellowship in Medical Dermatology and Medical Education at St John’s Institute of Dermatology in London after finishing specialist dermatology training in Western Australia.

During his training he was awarded the Postgraduate Medical Council of Western Australia’s Junior Doctor of the Year Award.

He now consults privately at South Perth Specialist Skin Cancer Centre and Dermatology Specialist Group. He also holds public consultant positions at Royal Perth Hospital and Fiona Stanley Hospital.

Dr Byrom is a Queensland-based Specialist Dermatologist and a Fellow of the Australasian College of Dermatologists (ACD). She has a special interest in the management of acne, pregnancy associated skin conditions, auto-immune diseases, and the detection and management of skin cancers.

She currently works in private practice in Brisbane and is a Visiting Medical Officer at Mater Hospital Brisbane. She is the Queensland Director of Training for the ACD. Dr Byrom is currently a Senior Lecturer for the School of Medicine at UQ and is actively involved in teaching Dermatology Registrars and General Practitioners.

Dr Byrom has a special interest in management of acne. She is a Co-Chair and Committee Member of the All About Acne group. She has a particular interest in adult-onset acne and believes in a holistic approach for these patients.

She has written over 30 publications in peer reviewed medical journals and is a current reviewer for the Australasian Journal of Dermatology and the Journal of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology. She has presented both nationally and internationally and was an invited speaker for the World Congress of Dermatology and international research institutes.

Dr Byrom has received the College Citation from the ACD for substantial contribution to the College. She was the recipient of the UQDI Clinician-Researcher Scholarship and the UQ Graduate School Travel Grant. She has been awarded the AMA Queensland Presidents Award for her contribution to both the AMAQ Council and Council of Doctors of Training.

Dr Alex Chamberlain is an Adjunct Associate Professor at the School of Translational Medicine, Monash University (Alfred Health campus), and a visiting dermatologist at the Victorian Melanoma Service, Paul Fox Melanoma and Cancer Centre. His subspecialty interests focus on melanoma and dermoscopy. Dr Chamberlain serves on the executive board of the International Dermoscopy Society and is the society’s National Representative for Australia. He is also a member of the Australasian College of Dermatologists’ National Examination Committee. In 2022, he co-edited the second edition of Diagnostic Dermoscopy: The Illustrated Guide (John Wiley & Sons, Oxford), alongside co-editors Jonathan Bowling and John Paoli.

Matteo Tretti Clementoni, is a board-certified Plastic Surgeon. He has an H index of 14 and a G index of 35. Graduating summa cum laude at the University of Bologna in 1993 he went on to medical school at the University of Pavia where he concluded his residency program in 1999. He is member of the SICPRE (Società Italiana di Chirurgia Plastica Ricostruttiva ed Estetica), ASLMS (American Society for Laser Medicine and Surgery – Fellow), ESLAS (European Society for Laser Aesthetic Surgery), ESLD (European Society for Laser Dermatolgy), SIDCO (Società Italiana di Dermatologia Chirurgica ed Oncologica), AICPE (Associazione Italiana Chirurgia Plastica Estetica) and he is honorary member of the SASDS (South African Society of Dermatologic Surgery), founding member of DASIL (Dermatologic and Aesthetic Surgery International League) and COSMEDICA. He is also member of the 中國激 光協會 (Chinese Laser Association) and the ABL (Academia Brasileira de Laser e Fotomedicina). He started, as private practice, his laser activity in 1995 and now he is author of many papers and he attended, as speaker, at many national and international meetings. Laser professor for the International Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery 2006 Master’s Course he was also professor during the International Society for Dermatologic Surgery 2007 Master’s Course. Professor of the Italian Laser Surgery School in 2005 and 2006 he is also Laser Professor at 2 second level Masters of University of Naples and Insubria University. He is Laser Professor of the Aesthetic Laser Surgery School since 2008. He is also Member of the National Advisory Board of Hi-Tech Dermo, reviewer of the JEADV, of the Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, of the Journal of Cosmetic and Laser Therapy, of the Lasers in Medical Science and of the Lasers in Surgery and Medicine.

Professor Diona Damian is a Clinical Academic and Co-Head of Discipline, Dermatology, at The University of Sydney, Head of Department at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital and Faculty member of the Melanoma Institute Australia. Her publicly funded translational program of research over the past 30 years has focussed on the role of skin immunity in the causation, prevention and treatment of skin cancer. Her findings in the fields of skin cancer chemoprevention with nicotinamide, the role of ultraviolet radiation-induced immune suppression and UVA in skin carcinogenesis and the use of topical immunotherapy for metastatic melanoma have been translated into clinical practice in Australia and internationally.

Dr Kate DeAmbrosis is a Fellow of the Australasian College of Dermatologists. She works in private practice at Valley Plastic Surgery in Brisbane, and has a public appointment at Princess Alexandra Hospital. She has a special interest in working as a teenage skincare advocate and has worked with school for the past 5 years to promote and improve skincare knowledge in adolescents. She has published in the areas of skin cancer and vulval dermatology and practices both surgical and medical dermatology.

Dr Fallah is dermatologist based in Sydney. Since 2018, Dr Fallah has run a dedicated Acne Clinic at the Skin Hospital, Sydney, NSW. He is a published author on the subject of acne in several international peer reviewed journals. Dr Fallah is a Clinical Senior Lecturer at the University of Sydney and is Supervisor of Training at Concord Hospital. He holds a Master of Medicine (Clinical Epidemiology) degree from the University of Sydney and has served on the Editorial Board of the Australasian Journal of Dermatology since 2014.

David Francis has been a Fellow of the Australasian College of Dermatologists (ACD) for more than 30 years, and is a former national President of College.

Previously having graduated in Medicine from The University of Queensland , he is a Visiting Consultant Dermatologist at the Princess Alexandra Hospital and the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital, where he is the Clinical Lead.and teaches Dermatologic Surgery.

He is an Adjunct Associate Professor with the University of Queensland Medical School and Fraser Insitute, an ACD accredited Mohs Dermatologist, a Fellow of the American College of Mohs Surgery and a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Michael Freeman, MB BS, FRACGP, FACD, is Director of Dermatology at Gold Coast Hospital and Adjunct Associate Professor of Dermatology at Bond University. He is the founder of The Skin Centre and Bloc Cosmetics in Benowa, Queensland. Dr Freeman received his medical degree from the University of Queensland and has been a Fellow of the Australasian College of Dermatologists since 1995. He has served as a dermatologist at The Skin Centre since 2004 and has held his hospital and academic appointments since 1998. He is also an Associate Investigator with Probity Medical Research in Ontario, Canada (since 2012). With over three decades of experience, he has participated in numerous multicentre clinical trials since 1991, contributing to advances in dermatologic therapeutics. Outside of medicine, Dr Freeman is a keen sailor.