Board of Directors

Current Board Members

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  President

  Miranda Davies-Tuck

  Dr Miranda Davies-Tuck is an NHMRC Centre for Research Excellence in Stillbirth Fellow. She obtained her PhD from the School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University in 2010 where she worked on a number of large prospective cohort studies developing epidemiological and bio-statistical expertise. Miranda joined The Ritchie Centre in 2012 and in 2014 was awarded an NHMRC Early Career Research to undertake research to address disparities in poor pregnancy outcomes among migrant women in Victoria. This work resulted in changes to clinical care that have lowered the rates of stillbirth in women of South Asian background at Monash Health.

  Miranda currently leads a research program that combines population-based and clinical epidemiological studies with basic science research to improve maternity care and outcomes for women and their babies. She has a particular focus on addressing disparities in stillbirth rates seen in migrant and refugee women in Victoria, understanding drivers of preterm stillbirth, randomised controlled trials to improve maternal and perinatal outcomes, assessing the effectiveness of current antenatal and intrapartum interventions and improving access and safety of homebirth.

  Dr Davies-Tuck also has an established collaboration with Safer Care Victoria, the lead quality improvement agency for the state, where she has a secondment to undertake research that aligns with department of health priorities and her research interests as well as develop state guidance and policies.

  Miranda is an executive member of the NHMRC CRE Stillbirth and the Perinatal Society of Australia and New Zealand Interdisciplinary Maternal Perinatal Australasian Collaborative Trials (PSANZ-IMPACT) network as well as sitting on the scientific advisory board for the Stillbirth Foundation Australia.
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  Past President

  Caroline Homer

  Caroline Homer (RM MScMed Clin Epi PhD FAAHMS) is a midwife, health services researcher, educator and international development advisor. She is the Co-Program Director of Maternal, Child and Adolescent Health at the Burnet Institute, Visiting Distinguished Professor of Midwifery at the University of Technology Sydney and an NHMRC Principal Research Fellow. She is the immediate Past President of the Australian College of Midwives. She has more than 30 years of experience as a midwife in practice, research, education and international development. She has more than 250 publications (more than 100 in the past 5 years) and holds current NHMRC Ideas and Partnership grants in the area of maternal health and stillbirth. She has recently been appointed by the WHO’s Director General as the Inaugural Chair, WHO's Strategic and Technical Advisory Group of Experts (STAGE) for Maternal, Newborn, Child, Adolescent Health, and Nutrition (2020-2022). She is a member of the Victorian Consultative Council on Obstetric and Paediatric Mortality and Morbidity (CCOPMM) and leads the newly established Victorian COVID-19 Perinatal Research Network.
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  Treasurer

  Jonathan Hirst

  Professor Jonathan Hirst's primary research interest is centred on the development of fetus during late gestation and the prevention of adverse pregnancy outcomes.  This work involves examining the effects of stressors that compromise late pregnancy and adversely affect the growing fetus. In addition, his studies examine the adverse effects of premature birth which deprives the fetus of the nurturing in utero environment. The consequent loss of development promoting hormones reduces growth of the baby’s brain leading to long-term damage and behavioural deficits that stretches into childhood and beyond.
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  President Elect

  Adrienne Gordon

  Dr Adrienne Gordon is a Senior Staff Specialist Neonatologist in the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital Centre for Newborn Care and an NHMRC Early Career Fellow at the University of Sydney. Her Fellowship aims to develop and pilot test a culturally appropriate information resource for pregnant women targeting health behaviours that can optimise pregnancy outcome. She led the Sydney Stillbirth Study and has established a district health service for families who have experienced the loss of their baby. She is Deputy Chair of the National Scientific Advisory Group of SIDS and KIDS, a member of the IMPACT network, a PSANZ board director, NSW regional coordinator for IMPROVE and a member of PSANZ-SANDA and the ANZSA research consortium.
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  Secretary

  Tanya Nippita

  A/Prof Nippita is a Staff Specialist Obstetrician and Gynaecologist at Royal North Shore Hospital, Sydney, Australia. In addition to her substantial clinical responsibilities, Tanya’s passion lies in education and clinical research. She is a RANZCOG ITP Supervisor, a RANZCOG OSCE Co-Ordinator and sits on the 10th RANZCOG College Council as one of the NSW Councillors. Her current research with Womens and Babies Research, Kolling Institute, University of Sydney, aims to make a major contribution to the judicious use of obstetric interventions & the practice of evidence-based maternity care.A/Prof Nippita is a Staff Specialist Obstetrician and Gynaecologist at Royal North Shore Hospital, Sydney, Australia. In addition to her substantial clinical responsibilities, Tanya’s passion lies in education and clinical research. She is a RANZCOG ITP Supervisor, a RANZCOG OSCE Co-Ordinator and sits on the 10th RANZCOG College Council as one of the NSW Councillors. Her current research with Womens and Babies Research, Kolling Institute, University of Sydney, aims to make a major contribution to the judicious use of obstetric interventions & the practice of evidence-based maternity care.
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  Director

  Ngaire Anderson

  Dr Ngaire Anderson is a Senior Lecturer, clinical academic, at the University of Auckland, New Zealand. Her research interests include obesity in pregnancy, pre-eclampsia, fetal growth, fetal growth restriction, and stillbirth as well as the how ethnicity influences pregnancy outcomes. Ngaire completed her PhD in 2013 investigating the impact of ethnicity and obesity on adverse pregnancy outcomes. She works clinically as an Obstetrician and Gynaecologist at North Shore and Waitakere hospitals, Waitemata District Health Board, Auckland, New Zealand.
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  Director

  Jane Alsweiler

  Dr Jane Alsweiler is a senior lecturer at The University of Auckland. She completed her PhD at the Liggins Institute undertaking clinical and experimental research into the management and long-term consequences of high blood glucose concentrations in preterm babies. The study aimed to provide an evidence-based approach to a problem that commonly affects babies born very preterm.
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  Director

  Billie Bradford

  Billie Bradford is a midwife and a lecturer at the School of Nursing, Midwifery and Health Practice at Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington.
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  Director

  Sue Walker

  Professor Sue Walker is a Professor of Maternal Fetal Medicine based in Melbourne and Co-Director of Mercy Perinatal as well as Head of Department (Obstetrics, Gynaecology and Newborn Health) at the University of Melbourne.  Her research, clinical leadership and education programs are all directed to improving care in high-risk pregnancy and mentoring the next generation of clinicians and academics. Sue has also had additional leadership experience through RANZCOG, the Stillbirth CRE, NHMRC and LEAP Guideline Development and acknowledges these positions helped to accelerate her pace of knowledge translation and improving outcomes for pregnant women and their babies.    
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  Director

  Atul Malhotra

  A/Professor Atul Malhotra is a senior neonatologist and mid-career researcher with a good handle on the dynamics of the society as well as the clinical and research landscape of perinatal medicine in ANZ, having been in clinical practice here for the last 20 years. Atul has a wide collaborative global network in neonatal evidence based medicine, neonatal clinical trials and especially in regenerative medicine, global health education, and dissemination of scientific knowledge and evidence. Atul is the chief organiser of two other meetings in the ANZ region - Neonatal Cell Therapies Symposium and the Australasian Brain Club whilst also being on the Scientific Committee of the AusACPDM annual conference. In addition, he has been an active PSANZ Academy member for over a decade as well as a previous IMPACT member.
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  Representing Early Career Research

  Ishmael (Mikee) Inocencio

  Mikee's research focus is to investigate and develop novel mechanisms for the management and treatment of preterm babies. Mikee received my PhD from Monash University in 2020, where he investigated novel therapies for preterm lung injury and fetal growth restriction using large animal models. This experience has provided him with an excellent background in fetal development and neonatal management. Now, as a post-doctoral research fellow, his current research focuses on investigating how differing conditions of birth and early neonatal treatments can influence organ structure and function in newborn babies.
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  Representing Lived Experience Advisory Network

  Natalie Merida

  Natalie is the Chair of the PSANZ Lived Experience Advisory Network (LEAN), helping to provide advice to PSANZ from a lived experience perspective and offering those with lived experience participation in PSANZ subcommittees and activities. Nat is a mum to 29 weeker twin boys, a parent representative, ANZNN Executive Committee, parent representative, PREMITUR study, NurtureProgram support worker, Miracle Babies Foundation (casual part-time) and Former parent representative, Miracle Babies Foundation