CareSearch Acknowledges its Contributors

The CareSearch Advisory Group and content review group members are selected to represent a wide range of Australian population groups and organisations. Input from these groups is instrumental in guiding and ensuring that CareSearch provides evidence-based information that is relevant, practical, current, and inclusive. With representation from all states and territories of Australia the aim is to provide nationally relevant and accessible evidence-based support in palliative care.

The development of complex projects requires a wide range of expertise. The CareSearch Project uses skills and knowledge from various fields and disciplines such as medicine, sociology, education, marketing and informatics. A network of individuals and groups has also contributed to the project's development. There are two formal groups.

Strategic Management Group: Provides strategic guidance and direction. Reviews and endorses the project's structure and network.

CareSearch Advisory Group: Acts as a reservoir of knowledge, skills and networks for the CareSearch project. Provides a sounding body and an exchange point for promotion and linkage into constituencies.

In addition the Project Team comprises full time, part-time and casual staff with backgrounds in medicine, nursing, social work, librarianship, marketing, informatics and research.

Professor Jennifer Tieman is CareSearch Director and Chief Investigator for the project.

A large number of people throughout Australia volunteer their time and expertise in developing resources for the network.

CareSearch National Advisory Group 2020 - 2023

Associate Professor Amanda Walker - Clinical Director - Australian Commission on Safey and Quality in Health Care

Associate Professor Amanda Walker is a practicing Specialist in Palliative Medicine from the Southern Highlands of NSW. She also works as a Clinical Director at the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care, and is a Clinical Advisor in safety and quality in health IT at eHealth NSW. She has led state-wide work in improving care at the end of life at the NSW Clinical Excellence Commission, and has a special interest in diagnostic error and strategies to prevent it.

Ms Carmela Sergi - Health Partnerships Director - Flinders University

As the Director of Health Partnerships at Flinders University, Carmela is responsible for developing research partnerships and fostering collaboration at local, national and international levels across the broad health sector. With an undergraduate in biotechnology, Carmela has post-graduate qualifications in business administration and IP law and is a registered trade mark attorney. Carmela works with diverse stakeholders such as Federal and State governments, Australian and international universities, industry, health services and business including start-up, SME and large corporations to ensure research evidence is translated into practice. An accomplished executive, Carmela has been instrumental in the development of the Medical Device Partnering Program (MDPP) which fosters collaborations between researchers, industry, end-users and government to develop medical technologies with global market potential. Carmela has previously led and managed the operations of the Medical Device Research Institute, engaging in business development, operational management and partner engagement. Her previous work experience includes commercialisation and IP management roles for Mayne Pharma, Medvet Science and GroPep.

Mr Chris Hall - Chief Executive Officer - Australian Centre for Grief and Bereavement

Christopher is the Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Centre for Grief and Bereavement. He is a psychologist specialising in grief and bereavement. Christopher was elected President of the Association for Death Education and Counseling in 2015. The Association for Death Education and Counseling in 2018 awarded him the ADEC Service Award for his commitment to the field and advancing the study of dying, death and bereavement. A Fellow of the Australian Institute of Management. Christopher is also an Honorary Fellow of the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Melbourne. He serves as the Editor of the journal Grief Matters: The Australian Journal of Grief and Bereavement and is a former Associate Editor of Death Studies.

Daniel Coase - FECCA

Ms Shyla Mills - Chief Executive Officer - Palliative Care Queensland

Shyla Mills is the CEO at Palliative Care Queensland (PCQ). Shyla has worked in palliative care as a nurse, educator and national program manager for over 20 years and has been the CEO of Queenslands and peak body and leading charity for Palliative Care since 2017. Inspired by international models of palliative care, Shyla has successfully led the introduction of several new community engagement programs at PCQ including Ambulance Wish Queensland (which when launched in 2019 reached over 155 million people online) and the community education program, Last Aid. Her dream is that just as all businesses have first aid officers, they also have last aid officers to support their colleagues experiencing serious illness, dying, death or grief and that last aid is embedded in the Queensland school curriculum. She has worked in palliative care across different settings including paediatrics, community and aged care throughout Australia, as well as internationally in India, Nepal, Mongolia and the UK. Shyla has a special interest in public health palliative care, palliative care strategy and policy, as well as compassion and death literacy. She holds a Master of Palliative Care and Master of Public Health and has been a board member of the international organisation Foundation for Developing Compassion and Wisdom for over 10 years.

Mr Tony Lawson - Executive Director - Laurel Palliative Care, The Hospital Research Foundation

Tony established his consulting practice in August 1998 and for over 20 years has managed major organisational and cultural change projects and been involved in the development of key policies and strategies across all tiers of government and in other sectors. Tony is respected for his leadership and management skills and for his highly developed understanding of the workings of government and industry and the importance of strategic relationships between government, industry and the community. Tony has held a number of senior executive and Chief Executive Officer positions during his career; two key positons were Commissioner for Consumer Affairs and Chief Executive Officer, City of Mitcham. Tony is currently Executive Director, Laurel Palliative Care, The Hospital Research Foundation. Tony has been involved in palliative care issues as a manager of a Foundation that supports palliative care for over 5 years. Tony has also been involved in the health sector for more than a decade and is Chair and a Board Director of two national health-related not-for-profit organisations. Tony has also undertaken a number of high-level health-related projects and has co-authored three major articles on the development of health service standards and consumer engagement frameworks for consumers involved in research.

Professor Trish Williams - Cisco Chair and Professor of Digital Health Systems - Flinders University

Professor Trish Williams is a leader in research and innovation in digital health. Trish is Cisco Chair and Professor of Digital Health Systems at Flinders University, Director of Flinders Digital Health Research Centre, and Director of Cisco-Flinders Digital Health Design Lab and Digital Health IOT Laboratory. Internationally recognised in her field, Trish applies 30 years’ experience in healthcare computing to research and practical outcomes in cybersecurity, health IoT, mobile health, medical devices, governance, patient safety, and health software safety. A passionate contributor and advocate for digital health informatics standards, Trish is co-chair HL7 International Security Workgroup and national expert on health informatics, security and medical device ISO standards. She has authored over 130 medical information security and safety publications.

Review Groups 2020-2023

Community Review Group 2020-23

Anne Burgess, OPAN
Marg Adams, (Uniting aged)
Helena Kyriazopoulos, FECCA
Hannah Morgan (LGBTI)
John Rosenberg, PHPC
Sue Elderton, PCF rep, (Carers Aus)
Kylie Miskovski, PCF rep, (Dementia)
Kristina Thomas, CarerHelp

GP/Primary Care Review Group 2020-23

Kate Reed-Cox, PCA
Linda Nolte, ACP
Dimity Pond, RACGP
Liz Hawkins, Rural and Remote
Joshua Cohen, PCNA
Lyn McVee, PHN
Deb Parker, Aged Care
Helen Stone, PSA
Chris Sanderson, Palliative Care Specialist GP

Evidence and Translation Review Group 2020-23

Ann Ritchie, ALIA
Patsy Yates, PCC4U (ELDAC)
Deidre Morgan, AAHPC
Jennifer Brittain, Health Direct
Teresa Vacaro, NPS Medicinewise
Jennifer Philip, Research Chair of Palliative Care, Uni Melbourne

Project Team 2020-2023

Professor Jennifer Tieman - Matthew Flinders Fellow, CareSearch and Research Centre for Palliative Care, Death and Dying Director

Jennifer is the CareSearch Director and Chief Investigator for the project. As the Director, Jennifer's role is to manage the project and the project team. Prior to her involvement with CareSearch, she had managed projects and teams within the government, community and education sectors.

Dr Katrina Erny-Albrecht - Senior Research Fellow

Katrina Erny-Albrecht is the Senior Research Fellow for the CareSearch project, her responsibilities include management of CareSearch and palliAGED website content. With a background in evidence based research synthesis to inform health care policy and practice decision making, she has previously worked on projects for the government, education and commercial sectors.

Ruth Murton

Ruth Murton is the Web Content Administrator for the project and is responsible for transferring material into the web environment. Ruth works with our IT partner, Morton Blacketer, on functional issues relating to the various systems in the website.

Samantha Parker

Samantha Parker is the Marketing Assistant for the CareSearch project and is responsible for assisting with a range of marketing and communication activities for both CareSearch and palliAGED. Samantha has experience as both an assistant marketing coordinator and project administrator.

Cameron Shepherd

Cameron Shepherd works as a Project Officer assisting in the maintenance and administration of the CareSearch website. Cameron is also responsible for the distribution of newsletters and branded emails as well as assisting in various research and project activities including survey analysis, bibliographic analysis and qualitative analysis.

Mariane Umali

Mariane Umali is the Marketing Coordinator for the CareSearch project and is responsible for developing and implementing marketing and communication strategies for both CareSearch and palliAGED. Mariane has experience working for health, education, and not-for-profit sectors.

Eric Yang

Bio coming soon.

Grace Daw

Grace is the administrative assistant for CareSearch. She deals with invoicing and other administrative tasks, and also assists the web team when required.

Dr Deborah van Gaans - Research Associate

Deborah is the Research Associate (Evidence) for the CareSearch project. In her role she will identify, critically analyse, and synthesize research evidence in palliative care to aid the development of resources for the General Practitioner and primary health community. She has a background in health informatics and spatial science, and has led a couple of projects which assess the accessibility of health services to the population that they serve.

Kristina Walsh

Kristina Walsh is a Research Associate for CareSearch and PalliAGED. Kristina has a registered nurse background with a particular focus on community nursing. Having spent many years caring for people towards the end of life at home and supporting people with chronic and complex health conditions, Kristina will focus on the community aspects of CareSearch and PalliAGED.

Membership of groups prior to 2020

Acknowledging contributions from our palliative care community.

2017-20 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007

Page last updated 22 February 2021