21st Annual Congress 2017 (PSANZ 2017)

Perinatal Society Of Australia And New Zealand 21st Annual Congress 2017 (PSANZ 2017):
POLICY and CONTROVERSY: FROM RESEARCH TO REALITY

This year’s PSANZ conference is being followed by the DOHaD Conference (Developmental Origins of Health and Disease, Society of Australia and New Zealand). There will be a joint session on the Wednesday afternoon with the DOHaD meeting continuing on the Thursday. You have the option of registering for the PSANZ Congress AND the DOHaD Conference OR you can choose to attend just the PSANZ Congress. If you wish to attend both the PSANZ and the DOHaD Conferences, there is a discounted rate to attend all four days. This is a wonderful opportunity for professionals from the whole of Australia and New Zealand to join together to learn and network.

You are invited to join us in the capital city of Australia, Canberra, a young and vibrant city that hosts Australian Policy and Controversy. We would like to show you another side of our city, where research is translated to reality to improve all aspects of perinatal and neonatal healthcare.

The Local Organizing Committee has developed an exciting program that encompasses the diversity of all disciplines. Over the three days our program will focus on the high quality research undertaken by perinatal health practitioners and researchers. Invited speakers who are at the forefront of their specialty, both overseas and local, will discuss research methodology, results and translating findings into practice.

You will be welcomed at daily opening sessions to introduce the invited speakers, oral and poster presentations to explore current research topics and trends, interactive workshops and expert sessions where congress members can meet and learn from experts across disciplines, as well as innovative breakfast sessions and symposia aimed to link smaller groups of researchers with similar research interests.

The congress aims to support and promote PSANZ Special Interest Groups and subcommittees projects and progress providing updates and networking opportunities.

Join us at the newly refurbished National Convention Centre situated between the Parliamentary Triangle and the City, allowing visitors to explore both the culture and scenery of the Bush Capital. The congress dinner is being held at New Parliament House where you are invited to join us in celebrating PSANZ Congress 2017.

Our confirmed invited international speakers for PSANZ 2017

Frank A. Chervenak, MD currently serves as the Given Foundation Professor and Chairman of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, as well as Obstetrician and Gynecologist-in-Chief and the Director of Maternal Fetal Medicine at the New York Presbyterian Hospital, Weill Medical College of Cornell University. He was Assistant Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Mt. Sinai Medical Center, where he was also Director of Perinatal Research and received the Dr. Solomon Silver Award for application of advances in research to the practice of Clinical Medicine.

Dr. Agnes van den Hoogen is a nurse scientist at the University Medical Centre of Utrecht (UMCU) – Wilhelmina Children’s Hospital in Utrecht, The Netherlands. She has been a neonatal intensive care nurse since 1985. In 2000, she graduated in Health Science at Cardiff University, Wales, United Kingdom. In September 2009 Agnes received her Ph.D., topic: ‘Infections in Neonatal Intensive Care its Prevalence, Prevention and Antibiotic use’ at the University of Utrecht, medical faculty of the University Medical Centre Utrecht. At present she is a postdoc researcher, neonatal nurse at Neonatology at Wilhelmina Children’s Hospital, UMCU and lecturer at the university Utrecht. She is qualified in education, teacher at the University of Utrecht and engaged in various educational activities. Agnes van den Hoogen is past president of the European Society for Pediatric and Neonatal Intensive Care (ESPNIC). She is actively involved as a committee member in the Council of International Neonatal Nurses (COINN).

Andrew Ewer is a Professor of Neonatal Medicine based at Birmingham Women’s Hospital. Andrew has published research papers in scientific journals as well as reviews and an undergraduate problem-based learning book in the field of Paediatrics and Neonatology. He has received grants from NIHR Health Technology Assessment, NIHR Efficacy and Mechanism Evaluation and Action Medical Research. He led the PulseOx trial investigating pulse oximetry as a screening test for congenital heart defects in newborn babies. As a result of this work he was nominated for the Charles Beale Founder's Award for Excellence in Policy Development in May 2012. The study was included in the 2012 NIHR Evaluation, Trials and Studies annual report and was described as a ‘Research Highlight’ in the 2012 NIHR annual report and as ‘a new milestone in the history of congenital heart disease’ in a Lancet editorial. In 2015 the PulseOx study was selected as the entry for Birmingham University in ‘Health of the Nation’  published by the Medical Schools Council following REF 2014.

Carina Mallard, PhD, defended her thesis in 1995 at the Department of Paediatrics at the University of Auckland, New Zealand in Pathophysiology of fetal asphyxia: factors that influence the severity and distribution of neuronal damage. In 1996 she was awarded a SIDS Postdoctoral Fellowship (1996–1998) at Melbourne University, Australia. She was a junior research fellow at the Swedish Research Council in 1999–2002 and became senior lecturer in physiology at the University of Gothenburg 2002. Appointed from 1 March 2006 as Professor in experimental perinatal brain damage research. Dr. Mallard and her lab are working to determine how brain damage occurs in the fetus or newborn and possible methods to prevent or treat the injuries. They are working to identify inflammatory mediators in the blood and the brain that are injurious following intrauterine infection or inflammation in the newborn. Specific cellular mechanisms that are important for brain injury are examined in genetically manipulated mice and in vitro in cell cultures. Examples of inflammatory processes that are investigated are matrix metalloproteinases and toll-like receptors. The research is conducted at the Perinatal Center in Gothenburg, Sweden. The Perinatal Center is a multi-disciplinary organization where basic and clinical research meet. Both experimental animal models and molecular techniques are used. A better understanding of these injurious mechanisms will be important in preventing or treating infection-induced vulnerability of the newborn brain.

Samuel Rajadurai is a Senior Consultant in the Department of Neonatology at the KK Women's and Children’s Hospital, Singapore. He is a Professor of Paediatrics at the Duke-NUS and also a visiting Professor to Tianjin Central Hospital, China. He has had extensive experience in Neonatology for more than 30 years. He is the immediate past President of the College of Paediatrics and Child Health. Currently, he serves as the President of the Perinatal Society of Singapore and Chairman of the IPOKRaTES Group in Singapore. He was the founding Director of the National Expanded Newborn Screening Programme. Sam’s research interests are perinatal asphyxia, inhaled nitric oxide therapy, chronic lung disease of prematurity, neonatal nutrition, hypoglycaemia, and newborn screening. He has participated as a collaborator in several multicenter randomized control trials including the OSECT trial, RAST study, UKOS trial and N3RO trial. He has been invited to speak at several national and international conferences and has also conducted Seminars / Workshops in Malaysia, Indonesia, Bangladesh, India, China, Japan and Myanmar. His publications include 3 chapters in books, 110 abstracts  and 90 articles in journals.

Dr. Fleiss is a developmental neurobiologist working at King’s College London and Inserm U1141, Paris, France, who completed her thesis with David W Walker at Monash University in 2010 . She is an up and coming mid career research scientist whose career has been devoted to the investigation of perinatal brain injury, including understanding the underlying mechanisms of injury and pre-clinical testing of neurotherapeutics with a particular focus on inflammation. This has led to high impact publications in journals such as The Lancet Neurology, Brain and Annals of Neurology. She is senior author on one of the most highly cited paper in Brain Behaviour and Immunity (ranked 2/62 in behavioural neurosciences) since 2011 (Chhor et al., 2015 [150 citations]). Dr. Fleiss’ current research interests include understanding microglial activation states across forms of perinatal/paediatric brain injury with a focus on the delayed (Tertiary Phase) activation and the testing of novel neurotherapeutic strategies.   Dr. Fleiss is an elected Member of the Brain and Development Committee within the European Society for Pediatric Research and she has invited membership of the European Neonatal Brain Club.

Louise Stephens is passionate about improving care in a pregnancy after Stillbirth and is the specialist lead midwife at St Mary’s Rainbow Clinic Manchester, England. Rainbow Clinic is a specialist antenatal service led by Dr Alex Heazell and is for women and their families who have experienced the death of a baby in a previous pregnancy. St Mary’s Rainbow Clinic is a partnership between Tommy’s the baby charity, Central Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and The University of Manchester. Louise has been involved in an Improvement Science programme supported by Manchester Academic Health Science Centre to develop the Rainbow Clinic service at a second site in South Manchester in which Louise works in partnership. Louise is actively involved in research and developing care locally, within the region and nationally through her involvement with Baby Lifeline; delivering training to midwives and obstetricians on FGR, stillbirth and care in the next pregnancy.  Louise works closely with Tommy’s providing midwifery advice and guidance on stillbirth and care in a subsequent pregnancy. Louise is involved in International Collaboration with countries involved in similar care pathways and has recently visited Toronto, Canada. The St Mary’s Rainbow Clinic won International Star Legacy Award for stillbirth research 2016 and British Journal of Midwifery Team of the Year 2015.

VENUE: National Convention Centre Canberra

Multiple award-winning, the National Convention Centre Canberra is the largest, purpose-built conference and event venue in the ACT. The Centre offers more than 8200 sq metres of flexible space and 15 venues over two floors. The 2017 PSANZ Congress will have sole use of the Centre, with a large exhibition area, plenary room, symposia rooms and breakout rooms. Conveniently located just 7 km from the airport, the National Convention Centre Canberra is just a few minutes’ walk from the city centre and a range of accommodation options.

To download the complete PROGRAMME, please, follow the link: https://custom.cvent.com/FE8ADE3646EB4896BCEA8239F12DC577/files/af8ecc7066fd4c0fbfa229e7e1b584e0.pdf

Contact us: 

PSANZ has appointed Professional Conference Organisers, Corporate Communique.  For any queries relating to the conference, please contact one of their friendly team.

Depending on the nature of your enquiry, you can contact the appropriate person by email - see details below.

Chat Icon Jenny Boden, Event Manager – jenny@corporatecommunique.com.au – 0419 582 884

Chat Icon Ben Thompson, Exhibition Manager – ben@corporatecommunique.com.au – 0410 567 301

Alternatively, the whole Corporate Communique team can be contacted by calling 03 5977 0244.