conference cOMMITTEE
Prof Gita Mishra, Co-Convenor
Gita Mishra is an NHMRC Leadership Fellow and Professor of Life Course Epidemiology, Director of the Australian Women and Girls’ Health Research Centre at the School of Public Health, University of Queensland. She is Director of the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women’ Health, a major national study running since 1996 that has informed development of policy related to women’s health.
Professor Mishra is internationally recognised for her research on life course epidemiology and women’s health. Her work focuses on the links between reproductive factors, from menarche to menopause, and the risk of non-communicable diseases (NCDs). She initiated and led InterLACE a major international collaboration on women and NCDs, that now has individual data from more than 850,000 women in 28 cohort studies, from over ten countries
She has over 450 peer-reviewed scientific papers, book chapters, and government reports. In 2017, she was presented an honorary membership of Sigma International, a global nursing organization, for her contribution to women’s health and was elected as a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences (FAHMS). In 2018, Professor Mishra received the Leader of the Year Award at the UQ Faculty of Medicine.
Prof Vicki Clifton, Co-Convenor
Professor Vicki Clifton is a National Health and Medical Research Council Senior Research Fellow who is currently a Professorial Research Fellow with Mater Research Institute leading the Pregnancy and Development team. She currently is the lead investigator on the Queensland Family Cohort study and is internationally recognised for her research on the impact of maternal asthma and other health complications during pregnancy on maternal well-being, placental function, fetal growth and childhood development. Her work in asthma during pregnancy has contributed to a change in clinical practice for the management of asthma during pregnancy and the rewriting of numerous practice guidelines in this area. Prof Clifton is a member of the Steering Committee for the AHRA Women’s Health Translation Research Network (WHRTN) and a member of the Research Subcommittee and Workforce Development Subcommittee within WHRTN. Vicki was employed at the Robinson Research Institute at the University of Adelaide from January 2008 to April 2015 after many years at the Mothers and Babies Research Centre in Newcastle, Australia. While at the Robinson Research Institute she was Director of Clinical Research at the Lyell McEwin Hospital in Adelaide, Australia (2009-2014). Prof Clifton was the first female President of the Endocrine Society of Australia (2004-2013). She was the first female Editor of the Placenta Journal (2012-2018). She was an Executive member of the International Society of Endocrinology Board (2016-2020) and has held numerous Governance and Board memberships throughout her career.
dr hsin-fang chung, Committee
Dr Hsin-Fang Chung is an epidemiologist and research fellow on the International Collaboration for a Life Course Approach to Reproductive Health and Chronic Disease Events (InterLACE) consortium at the School of Public Health, University of Queensland. Hsin-Fang is extensively involved in the development and maintenance of this large-scale international collaborative project, managing 28 cohort studies from over ten countries. Hsin-Fang has a multidisciplinary educational background, spanning nursing, nutrition, and public health, and has worked in clinical and non-clinical sectors. Her research interests currently focus on women’s reproductive history, from puberty to menopause, and the risk of chronic diseases in later life, particularly cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes.
dANIELLE BORg, Committee
Danielle a research fellow at the Women’s Newborn and Children’s Services at the Gold Coast University Hospital and coordinates the Queensland Family Cohort Study at the Mater Research Institute. In the past 6 years she has focussed on operational support and provided direction to build research capacity and promote research collaborations and partnerships across disciplines. She has worked internationally in multidisciplinary research centres. Danielle enjoys building relationships and is passionate about inclusivity and strengthening the research workforce to build whole family-centred approaches and improve health outcomes during pregnancy and child development.
dR TRACEY DI SIPIO, Committee
Dr DiSipio is a cancer epidemiologist in the Epidemiology and Biostatistics Division at the School of Public Health, University of Queensland. Tracey's research focuses on women’s cancers (breast, gynaecological) and caregivers to assist them better navigate their care and reduce the burden related to diagnosis and treatment by conducting epidemiological research and behavioural interventions that address survivorship issues. Her research pays particular attention to underserved groups including advanced/metastatic cancer and survivors living in regional/rural geographic locations.
SREEPARNA BHAUMIK, Committee
Sreeparna Bhaumik is a PhD candidate at the University of Queensland. Her research investigates the effect of stress, anxiety and depression on multiple glucocorticoid receptor isoforms in the placenta, placental function and fetal growth.
Title: Effect of maternal stress, anxiety and depression on placental glucocorticoid receptor isoforms in women from the Queensland Family Cohort