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.

Dr. Migden is Professor in the departments of Dermatology and Head and Neck at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.  He is a Mohs surgeon and cutaneous oncologist. His Mohs surgery practice includes removal of advanced surgically resectable tumors, immunohistochemistry on Mohs frozen sections, and advanced reconstruction of larger and complex defects. His research roles include that of global study PI, steering committee chair, and consultant for multiple clinical trials in basal and squamous cell carcinoma including trials of hedgehog inhibitors, checkpoint inhibitors and genetically modified oncolytic virus. He was a lead U.S. enroller and first author in publications for the trials leading to FDA approval of cemiplimab and hedgehog inhibitors. His research endeavors have been published in the New England Journal of Medicine, Lancet Oncology, Journal of Clinical Oncology and other peer-reviewed journals.  Dr. Migden is the editor/author of the only modern book on basal cell carcinoma as well as multiple book chapters.  He has spoken nationally and internationally on cutaneous reconstruction, hedgehog inhibitor therapy, immunotherapy, oncolytic viruses, and intratumoral delivery of cancer therapies.

Dr Claire Fuller is a consultant dermatologist from London, UK. She chairs the International Foundation for Dermatology and is on the executive of the International League of Dermatological Societies.

She is a medical dermatologist with interest in global health, infectious and tropical dermatoses. In addition, she has led a multidisciplinary vulval dermatosis service in the UK for 25 years. She is on the leadership team of the Neglected Tropical Disease NGO Network Skin NTD Cross Cutting Group and is a founder and Vice Chair of GLODERM (The International Alliance for Global Health Dermatology) as well as the International Alliance for the Control of Scabies (IACS).

Dr Thng is a Sexual Health Physician and a Fellow of the Australasian Chapter of Sexual Health Medicine (RACP) and is currently the Medical Director at Gold Coast Sexual Health Service. Dr  Thng is the recipient of an NHMRC Postgraduate Fellowship Award is currently undertaking her PhD at the Institute for Glycomics, Griffith University.  

Dr Thng has been site principal investigator in national and international clinical trials including novel treatment and prevention options for sexually transmissible infections, in particular vaccine and treatment options for Neisseria gonorrhoea. In the last 2 years, she has collaborated with commercial and academic partners to secure funding for clinic trials relating to gonorrhoea, chlamydia, herpes simplex and HIV infection. Dr Thng has a keen interest in research development and leadership, with contributions to HREC and journal review panels and conference organisation and abstract selection committees.