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Martine Abel-Williamson QSM
Martine is a disability advocate, accessibility consultant and policy advisor. She has held numerous governance and other leadership roles in the disability area, including for the World Blind Union, as its treasurer and strategic lead, access to the environment and transport, as well as its Asia-Pacific UN Advocacy Network regional coordinator, and at Auckland and Manukau local council levels within New Zealand. She is a member of the Health Quality and Safety Commission Consumer Network, as well as one of the Health Consumer Advisory Service members.
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Erik Andersen MBChB
Erik (Ngāti Raukawa ki te Tonga) works as a paediatric neurologist at Wellington Hospital. He is also a senior clinical lecturer for the University of Otago, Wellington Medical School. He has an interest in Māori health and health equity issues, and sits on a number of national boards, including as the secretary of the New Zealand League Against Epilepsy and as the New Zealand director for the Australia/New Zealand Child Neurology Society.
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Dr Jonathan Broadbent
BDS, PhD, PGDipComDent
Jonathan is associate professor in Dental Public Health, Department of Oral Sciences, University of Otago. He is a dental public health specialist.
Website link here(external link)
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Rudy Bakker
NZ Registered Psychiatric Nurse, (RPN,PG, Dip Health.MHN)
Primary health is generally the first point of contact for people with presenting mental health and addiction issues. Integral to my role as mental health & addiction coordinator for East Health Trust PHO is to build a primary healthcare clinicians tool kit for mental health and addiction-related presentations with the emphasis on supporting early intervention processes.
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Dr Yoram Barak
MD, MHA, Affiliate RANZCPsychiatry
Yoram is Associate Professor in psychogeriatrics at the Dunedin School of Medicine, University of Otago. His specialty area is psychiatry in older people, and his research interests also include multiple sclerosis, cancer, a wide range of psychiatric conditions (such as depression, schizophrenia and obsessive compulsive disorder) and suicide.
Profile link here(external link)
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Dr Pyari Bose
Consultant Neurologist Auckland City Hospital, MBBS, MRCP (UK), MRCP (UK)(Neurology), CCT in Neurology (UK), MD, FRCP (London), FRACP
Pyari is a neurologist with special interest in headache disorders. He did headache research at King's College London, looking into the postdrome (recovery) phase of migraine using functional brain imaging.
Website link here(external link)
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Nicola Brown
Advanced clinical dietitian (BSc, DipSci, PGDipDiet, MHSc)
Nicola Brown has worked as a clinical dietitian in various areas, all within hospitals throughout New Zealand and the UK. Over the past 12 years, she has supported patients with their nutritional needs at Auckland Regional Cancer and Blood Services.
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Amanda Buhaets
NZ Registered Dietitian
Amanda works as a liaison dietitian for the Auckland District Health Board. Her role includes supporting primary care and public health programmes with up-to-date nutrition information. She has a special interest in child health and supporting health professionals to have successful conversations to whānau about health and lifestyle.
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Miranda Bűhler
MPhty, HTNZ Registered Hand Therapist
Miranda is a physiotherapist and hand therapist with 20 years’ clinical experience. She works at Southern District Health Board. Her clinical and research interests cover a wide range of post-traumatic and long-term conditions involving the hand and upper limb. She is currently completing her PhD at the University of Otago.
Profile link here(external link)
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Julie Carter
NZ Registered Dietitian
Julie works as a liaison dietitian for the Auckland District Health Board. Her role focuses on improving nutrition environments, sustainable food, food systems and food security, and connecting these into a range of health and other settings.
Website link here(external link)
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Dr Andrew Cho
FRACS (Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery), MB ChB
Andrew works in private practice at Robot Head and Neck Surgery and as an otolaryngologist, and head and neck surgeon at Counties Manukau DHB, Auckland. He has previously worked at Starship Hospital in Auckland and undertook a prestigious American Head and Neck Society Fellowship at the University of California in head and neck oncological surgery and microvascular reconstruction. His area of expertise includes general ENT, paediatric ENT, sinusitis, and head and neck surgery.
Website link here(external link)
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Dr Karen Chung
BHB, MBChB, PGCertWHlth, MRCUC, FRNZCGP
Karen is a GP. She works for Counties Medical and the National Public Health Service – Northern Region. She is also a clinical editor at Auckland Regional HealthPathways and has worked on the palliative care pathways.
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Dr Courtney Cline
Registered Clinical Psychologist, BA, BA Hons, MA, PhD (eating disorders), PGDipClinPsych
Courtney is a registered clinical psychologist who specialises in eating disorders. She has worked for many years in the profession, beginning at Invercargill then Nelson adult mental health divisions in the hospitals. She now works part time in my private practice based in Nelson.
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Dr David Codyre
FRANZCP, 15 years leading development of primary mental health programmes in Auckland
David is the clinical lead mental health and a consultant psychiatrist at East Tamaki Healthcare. He's a subject matter expert in mental health and addiction, primary mental health and long-term conditions.
Website link here(external link)
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Dave Cox
RN, DipHE
Dave is the Clinical Lead in the Health Advice team at Arthritis New Zealand. He is a member of the passionate team at Arthritis New Zealand who are striving to improve the lives of every New Zealander affected by arthritis.
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Dr Janet Crofts
MBChB, BSc Med Sci (Hons), FRANZCOG, CMFM
Janet is an obstetrician with further specialisation in maternal-fetal medicine. She is currently based in Auckland, and has trained in the UK, New Zealand and Australia.
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Dr Ben Darlow
BPhty, MSportPhysio, PhD
Ben is musculoskeletal physiotherapy specialist in private practice in Wellington and a senior lecturer and researcher in the Department of Primary Health Care and General Practice at the University of Otago, Wellington. Ben has particular interests in the management of back pain and osteoarthritis in primary care.
Profile link here(external link)
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Teresa Demetriou
NZ Registered Nurse
Teresa is the head of education and research at the Asthma and Respiratory Foundation NZ and co-author of the Child and Adolescent Asthma Guidelines. As a registered nurse with a wide range of experience in primary health, respiratory healthcare and education, she is responsible for ensuring that evidence-based best practice is implemented into all of the Foundation’s training, guidelines and resources.
Website link here(external link)
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Dr Hemakumar Devan
BPT (Chennai), M Phty (Distnc) (Otago), PhD (Otago)
Hemakumar is a postdoctoral fellow conducting health research at the School of Physiotherapy, University of Otago in Wellington. He is interested in developing web-based, culturally-appropriate technologies (eg, online-delivered treatments, apps and websites for supporting self-management and facilitating behaviour change in people with long-term health conditions, particularly those living with persistent pain.
Profile link here(external link)
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Dr Rosie Dobson
NZ Registered Psychologist, MSc, PgDipHlthPsych, PhD
Rosie is a Health Psychologist and Senior Research Fellow at the National Institute for Health Innovation at the University of Auckland. Her work focuses on designing and evaluating digital health tools to provide accessible support to people within their daily lives.
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Robynann Dyson
Primary Health Nurse
Robynann is a primary health nurse with a passion for women's health, sexual heath and mental health. She has a post graduate diploma in health sciences. Robynann has been nursing for 35 years and became a primary health nurse 15 years ago.
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Tina Earl
Clinical Psychologist, MA(Hons), Dip Clin Psy
Tina is a clinical psychologist with over 20 years’ experience, currently in private practice and consultancy. She has been a clinical lead for psychological services in the DHB and primary care. Tina has authored resources at a national level for mental health clinical practice and service delivery, and is a subject matter consultant for psychological practice and mental health.
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Dr Adrienna Ember
PhD (Psych.), PhD (Eu.St.),PGDipPsych(Clin), MBA, Dipl.Appl. Māori Health & Coexisting Disorders
Adrienna is a clinical psychologist, coexisting disorders therapist and personal development strategist in private practice. She supports people with diverse sexual orientations and cultural backgrounds. Adrienna also provides supervision and therapy for those with high public exposure/stressful work conditions (eg, medical professionals, CEOs, lawyers, politicians, police, artists) to avoid burnout and maintain safe practice.
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Dr Lisa Eskildsen
Clinical Lead (GP) Safety in Practice, Auckland DHB and Waitematā DHB
Lisa has worked as a GP in a number of different types of practices over the last 20 years, including as Clinical Lead of a high needs GP service for 7 years. Currently she works as the GP Clinical Lead for the ‘Safety in Practice’ programme with WDHB/ADHB and as a GP at a high needs practice in central Auckland. Her particular interests are focused on improvement in processes and systems within General Practice to improve safety and quality.
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Nari Faiers
Te Arawa, Ngāpuhi, MA (Hons)
Nari is the Workforce Development and Cultural Lead for the National SUDI Prevention Coordination Service at Hāpai Te Hauora. She brings with her a wealth of knowledge in Māori development and practice and is passionate about reducing inequities within the child health sector. She is a mother of two and grandmother of one.
Website link here(external link)
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Dan Ford
MA(Hons), PGDipCBT, CertCBT-I, AESSP, Regd NZPsB
Dan Ford is the Director and Principal Sleep Psychologist at The Better Sleep Clinic. He is a New Zealand-registered psychologist and specialises in treating insomnia, behavioural sleep disorders and co-occurring mental health issues.
Website link here(external link)
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Dr Bryan Frost
FRNZCGP, DHA, DObst, BSc, MBChB
After 45 years of GP experience, and 8 years as an examiner and practice assessor, Bryan has completed a Diploma in Editing and is pursuing a new career. He also has a Diploma in Health Administration, with honours in management, and has also completed a paper in Health Care Law.
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Dr Kirsty Furness
Clinical Psychologist, PG Dip Bus, BA (Hons), DClinPsych, MZNCCP
Kirsty is a clinical psychologist and neuropsychologist with experience in both community mental health and private practice. She works with people experiencing a wide range of difficulties but has a particular interest in anxiety and resilience. Kirsty also works for Massey University where she supervises students in the post-graduate clinical psychology programme.
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Dr Mieke Garrett
Bachelor of Science in Psychology – BSc, BSc Honours, First Class - Hons, 1st, Doctor of Clinical Psychology - DClinPsych
Mieke is a clinical psychologist with experience in both community mental health and private practice. She works with people experiencing a wide range of difficulties but has a particular interest in stress and anxiety, as well as mood disorders. Mieke has also lectured for Massey University and supervised students in the Postgraduate Diploma in Cognitive Behaviour Therapy.
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Kris Garstang
M.Sc., M.Mgt (Health Services), PGDipClinPsych
Kris Garstang is consulting clinical psychologist at Life Mind Psychology. She has practiced as a registered clinical psychologist for over twenty years and is a fellow of the New Zealand College of Clinical Psychologists. Kris has worked in many different settings including residential treatment centres and in general practices. She has expertise in different evidence based psychological therapies including cognitive behavioural therapy, acceptance and commitment therapy and dialectical behaviour therapy. Her current areas of interest include primary mental health, e-therapies, mental health leadership and workplace wellbeing.
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Sarah Godsell
NZ and UK Registered Nurse
Sarah is a registered nurse with a specialised degree in Child and Adolescent Public Health. She has experience and a special interest in mental and sexual health.
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Assoc Professor Rebecca Grainger
MBChB, FRACP, PhD
Rebecca is a senior lecturer in the Department of Medicine and Department of Pathology at the University of Otago, Wellington. She is also a consultant rheumatologist at Hutt Valley DHB. Rebecca is a subject matter expert in osteoarthritis and arthritis.
Profile link here(external link)
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Grace Griffiths
Master of Occupational Therapy, NZ Registered Hand Therapist
Grace is a hand therapist at Hutt Valley District Health Board. She is currently completing her PhD through the University of Otago, exploring lived experiences of healthcare for upper limb Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS). Her clinical and research interests include supporting people to self-manage rare and/or chronic conditions and to navigate healthcare for these.
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Cara Hafner
NZ Registered Nurse
Cara is a Registered Nurse and Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) with an extensive background in maternal-child nursing as a postnatal nurse and public health nurse. She currently works as the Baby Friendly Advisor for the New Zealand Breastfeeding Alliance, which administers the Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative for maternity services in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Website link here(external link)
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Lily Henderson
NZ Registered Dietitian, Board Director Australasian Society of Lifestyle Medicine
Lily is passionate about unpacking the science and providing credible, evidenced-based advice. She is currently the Nutrition and Development Kitchen Manager at My Food Bag and was previously National Nutrition Advisor at the New Zealand Heart Foundation where she led the process of developing and publishing position statements on topics like sodium, alcohol and physical activity.
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Dr Eve Hermansson-Webb
PhD, PGDipClinPsy, NZCCP
Eve works as a senior clinical psychologist and the coordinator of the adult treatment team at Tupu Ora Eating Disorder Service within the Auckland DHB. She co-facilitates a treatment group for bulimia nervosa, and has a specialist interest in treating negative body image and promoting Health At Every Size.
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Dr Phoebe Hunt
MBChB, PGDipOMG
Phoebe is a Medical Officer working in Northland, primarily in women's health and contraception. Her interests are sexual health, women's health and mental health. Phoebe has completed the University of Otago Diploma in Obstetrics and Medical Gynaecology (DipOMG), as well as her Stage 1 training in Psychiatry under the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists. Phoebe is looking to continue expanding her skills and training in sexual and reproductive health.
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Dr Mark Huthwaite
Mark is a senior lecturer in psychiatry in the Department of Psychological Medicine and the Associate Dean of Student Affairs at the University of Otago, Wellington. He is also a perinatal psychiatrist in CCDHB’s Regional Specialist Maternal Mental Health Service and is a committee member of the RANZCP’s Special Interest Group in Perinatal and Infant Psychiatry. Mark is a founding member of the World Maternal Mental Health Day Committee. He has published research on sleep in pregnancy, the use of psychotropic medication in pregnancy and the use of hyponsedative medication.
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Sarah Hyder
RCpN, Clinical & Quality Nurse Manager, POAC
Sarah qualified as a registered nurse in 1993 and has held senior nursing positions in Auckland since 2004. These include Clinical Nurse Specialist in Haematology, where Sarah presented research at ISTH in 2013, Development Lead for the Auckland Regional HealthPathways and regional Nurse Advisor for POAC.
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Dr Helen Kenealy
MBChB (Auckland), FRACP
Helen is a is a geriatrician and general physician working at Counties Manukau DHB. She has a broad range of interests and has worked in a variety of settings including inpatient rehabilitation, orthgeriatrics and community geriatrics.
Website link here(external link)
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Dr Jonathan Kennedy
MBChB (Otago), FRNZCGP
Jonathan is a senior lecturer in the Department of Primary Health Care & General Practice at the University of Otago, Wellington and a general practitioner in Newtown, Wellington. He has a special interest in the primary healthcare needs of refugee and migrant arrivals to New Zealand. He graduated with an MBChB (Otago) in 1997 and subsequently completed postgraduate diplomas in Obstetrics, Paediatrics and Public Health. He has been a fellow of the Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners since 2007.
Profile link here(external link)
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Angela Lambie
BPharm, PGCertClinPharm
Angela is a pharmacist in the Quality Use of Medicines Team at Waitematā District Health Board. She has experience in hospital pharmacy in New Zealand and in the UK, and was previously a medical writer for Elsevier in The Netherlands. Angela is interested in promoting the safe use of medicines, particularly high-risk medicines.
Website link here(external link)
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Dr Carlos Lam Yang
MBChB, FRNZCGP, MRNZCUC
Carlos is a GP and Urgent Care Senior Registrar for Botany Junction Medical Centre and Eastcare. He has reviewed Health Navigator content on gambling.
Website link here(external link)
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Dr Sharon Leitch
MBChB, DCH, PGDipGP, FRNZCGP
Sharon is a general practitioner and clinical research training fellow in the Department of General Practice and Rural Health at the University of Otago. Her area of research is patient safety in primary care and safe medicine use.
Profile link here(external link)
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Dr Arna Letica
MBChB FRNZCGP
Arna has worked as a GP for over 13 years, with particular interests in women's and children's health. She is currently focusing on non-clinical roles, including working as a medical assessor.
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Oonagh Lithgow
NZ Registered Nurse, PG Cert
Oonagh is a hepatocellular carcinoma clinical nurse specialist/coordinator for Auckland DHB. She has worked with the liver service for six and a half years as a nurse specialist and is passionate about ensuring the best outcomes for people with primary liver cancer.
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Mr Giovanni Losco
Adult and Paediatric Urological Surgeon MB ChB(Dist) FRACS(Urol) FUSANZ AMusTCL LTCL DipABRSM CMInstD
Giovanni is an adult and paediatric urologist from Christchurch, New Zealand. He completed fellowship training in paediatric urology at Birmingham Children’s Hospital and gained extensive experience in reconstructive urology, female urology, pelvic organ prolapse, mesh complications, urethroplasty and urological care of spinal injuries while working at the London Spinal Cord Injury Centre, Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital and the Institute of Urology, University College Hospital, London. Prior to that, he worked at Concord Repatriation General Hospital in Sydney where he focussed on bladder dysfunction with a particular interest in male and female incontinence as well as mesh removal surgery. He is currently Clinical Director of Urology at Health NZ Te Whatu Ora Waitaha Canterbury.
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Dr Derek Luo
MBChB (Otago), FRACP
Derek is a consultant gastroenterologist at Counties Manukau Health and has also been in private practice since 2011. He has a broad interest in general gastroenterology and hepatology and has a subspecialty interest in pancreatic and hepatobiliary disease. He speaks Mandarin and Cantonese and is passionate about doing his bit for the Chinese community. He has been actively involved with the Auckland Chinese Medical Association for the past seven years as well as being on several committees with an interest on Asian Health.
Website link here(external link)
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Dr Osman Mansoor
BA, MSc, MA, MBBChir (Cambridge), Postgraduate Diploma in Community Health (Otago), Fellow of the Australasian Faculty of Public Health Medicine, Fellow of the New Zealand College of Public Health Medicine
Osman was a GP before training in public health medicine. He was national lead on immunisation in NZ and led the introduction of new vaccines to, and simplified, the National Immunisation Schedule. He's also worked for the World Health Organization and UNICEF. He returned to Wellington from overseas in 1994 as an independent consultant. Since 2017, he's been working part-time as medical officer of health in Napier. As well as his expertise in immunisation programmes, he has a broad understanding of public health.
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Dr Rachel McKee
PhD Applied Linguistics (sign language), professional qualifications as an NZSL and ASL interpreter
Rachel is the programme director for New Zealand Sign Language Studies at Victoria University of Wellington. She has 25 years’ experience interpreting, teaching and researching in the field of NZ Sign Language and Deaf Studies.
Profile link here(external link)
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Dr Sophie McKenna BDS
Sophie McKenna, graduated from Otago University School of Dentistry in 1995. She has worked in private practice as a general dentist in the Porirua area, previously practice owner in Thorndon, Wellington for 25 years. Sophie has been the lead dentist running the volunteer dental clinic at DCM in Wellington caring for marginalised people since 2018. She's been a clinical assessor for NZ Dental Council for overseas dentists applying for their qualification to be recognised to practice in NZ since 2021 and has been a NZ Dental Association Wellington Branch executive member since 2018.
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Andy McLachlan
Cardiology Nurse Practitioner
Andy has clinical experience in long-term condition support and management, acute cardiology and adult cardiac intensive care nursing. He leads a team of nurses at Middlemore Hospital managing a range of cardiac nursing interventions including nurse clinics, a comprehensive cardiac rehabilitation programme and supporting patients with heart failure. Andy also runs a number of nurse clinics helping support people back to health following cardiac events, interventions or surgery.
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Dr Angela McNaught
Consultant Clinical Psychologist, BA(Hons) PGDipClinPsych PhD, MZNCCP
Angela is a clinical psychologist with more than 15 years’ experience working in community mental health, psychiatric liaison and private practice. She held a senior lecturer post in the Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) post-graduate programme at Massey University for 9 years, and currently teaches CBT to psychiatry registrars through Auckland University. She now works primarily in private practice and has a keen interest in social anxiety disorder as well as mood and personality disorders.
Website link here(external link)
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Dr Michelle Meiklejohn
Clinical Psychologist, MNZCCP
Michelle is a clinical psychologist with experience working with individuals, families and teams to improve individual functioning, develop resiliency and effectively manage challenges in life and work. She has special interests in eating difficulties, social and emotional skill development and leadership development.
Website link here(external link)
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Dr Alice Miller
MBBS (UK), FRNZCGP
Alice trained as a GP in the UK and has been working in New Zealand since 2013. She has undertaken extra study in diabetes, sexual and reproductive healthcare, and skin cancer medicine. Alice has a special interest in preventative health and self-care, which she is building on by studying for the Diploma of Public Health with the University of Otago in Wellington.
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Louise Morgan
Senior Clinical Psychologist
Louise is a clinical psychologist who has experience in working with children, young people and their families. She provides therapy to children who have experienced trauma through abuse and neglect both privately and through ACC.
Website link here(external link)
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Art Nahill
MD, FRACP
Art trained as internal medicine doctor in the US and has worked in New Zealand since 2005 as a general physician at Auckland and Middlemore Hospitals and as a telehealth doctor for Healthline NZ. He has 30 years of clinical experience in both acute, chronic, and primary care.
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Melanie Naulls
LLB(Hons)
Melanie is passionate about consumer-focussed healthcare and helping healthcare professionals in practice. She splits her time between being a lawyer for Hutt Valley DHB and running her own health law practice, Ora Health Law.
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Hanny Naus
Hanny Naus is Age Concern New Zealand’s Professional Educator for Elder Abuse and Neglect Prevention. She connects with workers around the country who provide assessment and intervention services to enhance the safety and wellbeing of older people / kaumātua. In previous work roles, Hanny’s focus included social work/counselling practice in community and health care settings with older people, families, and people with disabilities; as well as tertiary social work/counselling student education.
Website link here(external link)
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Sylvia North
NZ Registered Dietitian, PhD candidate
Sylvia is a fertility and women’s health dietitian. She is awaiting examination of her PhD thesis on hyperinsulinaemia during pregnancy and dietary advice for women with gestational (awaiting examination in October 2022). Sylvia has a special interest in using nutrition and lifestyle strategies to support women’s health issues, optimise fertility and pregnancy, and manage digestive concerns.
Website link here(external link)
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Dr Judy Ormandy
MBChB, Dip Obs (Dist), FRANZCOG, MClinEd (Hons)
Judy is an obstetrician and gynaecologist at Capital & Coast District Health Board and a Senior Lecturer in Obstetrics & Gynaecology at the University of Otago, Wellington. Her areas of interest are medical education and maternal mental health.
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Gabrielle Orr
NZ Registered Dietitian
Gabrielle Orr is a New Zealand Registered Dietitian in Tāmaki-Makaurau. She is passionate about supporting parents to raise children who have a life-long healthy relationship with food and their bodies. She has worked as the Raising Healthy Kids Dietitian for Auckland and Waitematā District Health Board, Clinical Dietitian for Starship Community and for the Healthy Babies, Healthy Futures programme. In these roles she advocated for a holistic approach in addressing children’s health and wellbeing.
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Dr Peter Ou
MBChB, BMedSc(hons), FRNZCGP
Peter is a GP with special interests in Men’s health, geriatrics, public health and clinical governance. He also works as a clinical editor at Auckland Regional HealthPathways.
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Katrina Pace
NZ Registered Dietitian
As a freelance nutrition, health and wellness writer, Katrina specialises in making complex health concepts easy to understand.
Website link here(external link)
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Elise Penning
Elise is a registered dietitian and food and nutrition blogger. Elise specialises in the non-diet approach and works with fussy kids, weight concern in children, disordered eating and binge eating.
You can find Elise on Facebook, Instagram and on her website www.feednourishfeast.com(external link).
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Dr Divya Perumal
BOptom (Hons) BHB MbCHB FRANZCO
Divya works at the Eye Institute and Auckland public hospital. She has expertise in performing eye surgery, including advanced glaucoma surgery and cataract surgery. She is a senior lecturer at the University of Auckland and is actively involved in teaching junior doctors and research, as well as conducting public lectures.
Website link here(external link)
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Dr Helen Petousis-Harris
PhD (Vaccinology), Director, Vaccine Datalink and research group, University of Auckland
Helen is an associate professor at the University of Auckland working in the area of vaccinology. Her research is focussed on the effects and the safety of vaccines. She is a member of several national and international advisory committees on vaccines, including the WHO Global Advisory Committee on Vaccine Safety, Brighton Collaboration Science Board and Co-Director of the Global Vaccine Data Network.
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Dr Sara Jayne Pietersen
BHB, MBCHB, PGDipPaediatrics, FRNZCGP
Sara Jayne is a GP practicing in south-east Auckland. She has a special interest in travel medicine, paediatrics and women's health, particularly the postnatal period. She is passionate about the role exercise and nutrition play in our general wellbeing.
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Dr Veronica Playle
Clinical Microbiologist and Infectious Diseases Physician
Veronica Playle is a clinical microbiologist and infectious diseases physician. She is currently completing her PhD at the University of Auckland and works part-time for Auckland District Health Board.
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Sylvia Pyatt
NZ Registered Dietitian, MDiet
Sylvia works as a specialist dietitian at the Tupu Ora Eating Disorder Service within the Auckland DHB. She works with both adults and adolescents. She co-facilitates a treatment group for bulimia nervosa. Sylvia has a special interest in a non-diet approach to nutrition.
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Dr Audrey Robin
BHB, MBChB, Dip Paeds, FRNZCGP
Audrey (Ngāti Kura me Ngāti Rehia, Ngapuhi) currently works for Ora Toa at their Poneke and Takapuwahia sites in Wellington. She has a special interest in rongoa Māori and adolescent health.
Profile link here(external link)
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Professor Lynette Sadleir
MBChB, Dip Paeds, FRACP, MD, Paediatric Neurologist
Lynette has been a paediatric epileptologist at the Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, University of Otago, Wellington since 1999. She is a physician scientist and Director of the Epilepsy Research Group at the University of Otago, Wellington. The Epilepsy Research Group is committed to improving the quality of life for individuals with epilepsy and their families. She is the president of the New Zealand League Against Epilepsy and a member of the International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE) Clinical Genetic Testing for the Epilepsies Task Force.
Profile link here(external link)
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Claire Salter
DipPharm, PGDipClinPharm, DipTTP, RegPharmNZ
Claire is a Tauranga-based pharmacist with experience in community pharmacy, primary care and medical publishing. She has a special interest in diabetes management and is passionate about te reo Māori and health equity.
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Dr Jo Scott-Jones
MMSc, FRNZCGP, MRCGP, Dip ClinEd, DipSports, Dip Obs, Dip Geriatric Med
Jo is a GP with a practice in Opotiki, a community he's served since 1992. Since starting work with Pinnacle Midlands Health Network in September, 2016, Jo’s clinical work has been in practices throughout the network. As medical director, he is the voice of general practice on the leadership team and represents Pinnacle general practice on numerous local, regional and national bodies. He has a role in practice liaison, quality and education along with advising and supporting staff and projects across the broader Pinnacle Group. Jo has had a long involvement in medical governance and has been chair of the Rural General Practice Network, was the inaugural chair of the Rural Health Alliance Aotearoa New Zealand, and is currently an elected member on the board of the RNZCGP. He has been an examiner for the RNZCGP and Cornerstone assessor.
Website link here(external link)
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Dr Angus Shao
MBChB, FRACS ORL-HNS, EAFPS
Angus is an ear, nose and throat consultant at North Shore Hospital, Waitematā DHB, and in private practice. Angus returned to Auckland in 2017 to provide specialist service as a fellowship-trained rhinologist and rhinoplastic surgeon. He has a broad interest in general ENT and paediatric ENT. He also specialises in surgery for nasal and paranasal disease, chronic sinusitis and rhinitis, and functional and cosmetic rhinoplasty. Angus is fluent in Mandarin and is interested in improving Asian health in Auckland.
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Emma Shields
Bachelor in Science in Human Nutrition, Postgrad Diploma in Public Health, Master of Health Sciences in Nutrition and Dietetics (First Class Honours), UK and NZ Registered Dietitian.
Emma is currently Health Promotion Manager at Cancer Society Wellington. Previously she was Health Information Manager at Cancer Research UK and Senior Clinical Advisor at Diabetes UK. She loves turning scientific and clinical information into simple and practical advice for people to help them live healthier lives.
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Professor Gisela Sole
BSc (Physio), MSc (Med) Exercise Science, PhD
Gisela is Associate Professor at the School of Physiotherapy, University of Otago, Dunedin. She is a physiotherapist, currently focusing on education and research. She teaches on the undergraduate physiotherapy programme and coordinates the post-graduate Sports Physiotherapy paper. Her research explores optimal management for individuals with musculoskeletal pain and injury, with special interest in persistent shoulder pain and knee injuries.
Profile link here(external link)
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Terrie Spedding
NZ Registered Nurse
Terrie is a diabetes clinical nurse specialist working for Health Hawke’s Bay PHO. She has with 30+ years’ experience in all aspects of the care, management and support of people with diabetes, presently working in the primary care sector. She also has an interest in diabetes research.
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Dr Ronnie Stein
Consultant Paediatrician and Paediatric Endocrinologist
Ronnie Stein is a Consultant Paediatrician and Paediatric Endocrinologist who currently works in metro Auckland having previously worked in various New Zealand regions and internationally. Ronnie specialises in hormonal issues from newborn to older teenagers. Her expertise lies in addressing the complex needs related to growth, metabolism, and sexual development in paediatrics. Find out more about Ronnie and her work at Tiny Giants(external link).
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Dr Jeremy Steinberg
MBChB, PGCertCPU, PGDipMSM, FRNZCGP
Jeremy is a GP with special interests in musculoskeletal medicine, evidence-based medicine and use of ultrasound. He's been reviewing topics for Health Navigator since 2017 and in his spare time loves programming. You can see some of the tools he's developed on his website and we'll be adding more over coming months to the Healthify website.
Website link here(external link)
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Emma Sutich
Registered Clinical Psychologist, MNZCCP
Emma is a clinical psychologist with 20 years’ clinical experience. She has worked with people in a range of settings, including ACC sensitive claims, prisons, community mental health, an eating disorder service and private practice. Her clients have had a wide range of backgrounds and difficulties, including personality disorders.
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Dr Hari Talreja
MBBS, MD, DNB, MPH(Harvard), FRACP
Hari is a renal physician/hypertension specialist with advanced training from Canada and a master’s degree from Harvard University in the USA. He is one of the very few American Society of Hypertension-certified hypertension specialists in New Zealand. He is the clinical lead for transplantation, hypertension and clinical research at Counties Manukau Health. He also practices at Ormiston Specialists Centre, Flatbush and Gilgit Road Specialist Centre, Epsom.
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Dr Lupe Taumoepeau
MBChB (Auckland), FRACS (Vascular)
Lupe is a vascular and transplant surgeon at Wellington Hospital. While she is involved in all forms of open and endovascular surgery, her interests include management of diabetic foot disease, complex endovascular aortic surgery and renal transplant. She is also actively involved in prevocational medical education and mentoring of women wanting to pursue a career in surgery.
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Amanda Taylor
BPhEd, DPH
Amanda is a community sport advisor at Sport Wellington, with a focus on activity for young children. She reviewed our page on active play for under fives.
Website link here(external link)
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Dr Mark Taylor
MB ChB, FRNZCGP, Dip Obst, Dip Sports Med, Cert Travel Med
Mark has been a specialist GP for over 25 years, as well as a travel medicine specialist for over 20 years, which has included being expedition doctor in places like the Amazon. He is also a GP liaison at Waikato DHB. Previous sports medicine experience includes travelling overseas with several New Zealand sports teams, including to the 1998 Winter Olympics. He has published several novels under the nom-de-plume Jamie B Ernstein.
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Bronwyn Lennox Thompson
PhD (Canterbury), MSc (Psych), DipOccTherapy, NZ registered occupational therapist.
Bronwyn is a senior lecturer and academic coordinator, postgraduate programmes pain & pain management, orthopaedic surgery and musculoskeletal medicine, University of Otago, Christchurch. She initially trained as an occupational therapist, graduating 1984. She later completed her MSc with first class honours in psychology in 1999 at Canterbury University, and in 2015 was awarded her PhD from the Department of Health Sciences at the University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand.
She has worked in pain management for most of her clinical career, with her primary focus on pain management at work. She has practiced in interdisciplinary pain management programmes, private practice, case management both for private organizations, and ACC, primary prevention and secondary prevention, and since 2002, teaching postgraduate papers in pain and pain management at Otago University.
Her main interest areas include resilience, daily coping choices, and knowledge translation from research to clinic.
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Dr Jeremy Tuohy
Dr Jeremy Tuohy trained as an Obstetrician and Gynaecologist with a special interest in Maternal and Fetal Medicine. Jeremy has been a lecturer at the University of Otago, Clinical leader of Ultrasound and Maternal and Fetal Medicine at Capital and Coast DHB, and has practiced as a private obstetrician. More recently he has worked as a researcher and been involved in various COVID related areas.
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Dr Rosamund Vallings
MNZM, MB BS (Lond), MRCS LRCP, Dip Clin Hyp, BA (Massey)
Ros has run a medical practice in Auckland since 1966, which has become specialised over the past 35 years, with most patients suffering from chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS/ME) and related conditions. She runs seminars, gives papers at conferences, and has published books on this condition, as well as undertaking research and providing input to national and international guidelines. She is a member of the NZ Order of Merit for services to CFS/ME.
Website link here(external link)
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Dr Ayesha Verrall
MBChB, MBHL, DTMH, MSc (Epi), FRACP, PhD
Ayesha was a senior lecturer in infectious diseases at the University of Otago, Wellington. She is an epidemiologist and infectious diseases physician with interests in tuberculosis and vaccines. She is now the Minister for Food Safety, and Seniors and the Associate Minister of Health, and Research, Science and Innovation.
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Teresa Watson
MSc, BA (Hons), PGDipClinPsych, MNZCCP, MANZAPP&L
Teresa has comprehensive experience working as a clinical and corporate psychologist providing consultation to professionals with a research-based and results-focused approach. Her role is to challenge thinking, attitudes and approaches to enhance individual and company-wide success. As a registered clinical psychologist she is an expert in behavioural change and understands the unique and complex factors that drive human behaviour.
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Carolyn Wilson
MPhil, PgDipHSc, NZRP
Carolyn has worked for 25 years as a physiotherapist across a wide range of settings in both the public and private sectors with special interests in community rehabilitation and pelvic health. More recently she has been working as a Senior Academic Staff member for Toi Ohomai Institute Technology teaching across a range of health programmes including Rehabilitation, Health of Older Adults and training Healthcare assistants. Her M Phil research focused on effective communication in final year physiotherapy students, exploring educators perspectives on what constitutes effective communication.
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Kenny Wu
BOptom (Hons)
Kenny is a therapeutic optometrist at Manukau Superclinic and Eye Institute who works closely with ophthalmologist Narme Deva in medical retina and uveitis. Kenny has a clinical background in specialty contact lenses, myopia control and ocular surface disease, along with research experience in retinal imaging and macular disease.
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Tracey Xu
RN, PGHealSc, Master of Nursing Science, Nurse Practitioner
Tracey Xu is a New Zealand-trained Nurse Practitioner (Mātanga Tapuhi) in the Emergency Department (ED) at Hutt Hospital in Wellington. With years of experience in primary healthcare before transitioning to ED, Tracey has developed strong skills in assessing, diagnosing, and treating a wide range of conditions. She holds a Master of Nursing Science and is passionate about delivering high-quality care to reduce inequalities and improve patient outcomes.
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Dr Li-Wern Yim
BSc, MBChB, PGDipTravMed (dist), DTMH, MRNZCGP
Li-Wern is a travel doctor with a background in general practice. She studied medicine at the University of Otago, and has a postgraduate diploma in travel medicine (Otago). She also studied tropical medicine in Uganda and Tanzania, and holds a diploma from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. She currently works in clinical travel medicine in Auckland.
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