Abstract and Poster Presenters

Dr Jim Basilakis is a Senior Lecturer in Digital Health at Western Sydney University and holds technical and research roles at the Ingham Institute and NSW Health. He has worked as a medical doctor in hospitals and holds postgraduate qualifications in Internal Medicine and Biomedical Engineering, and has a PhD in Computing. His work advances AI-driven clinical decision support through medical record data analytics, software development, and systems integration, fostering interdisciplinary digital health research across clinical, academic, and commercial domains

PhD Fellow, the University of Melbourne and The National Centre for Infections in Cancer; ICU Outreach Nurse Consultant, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre 

Alison completed her Postgraduate Critical Care studies for her intensive care training at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Sydney in 2005 followed by a Graduate Certificate in Cancer Nursing through the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre and University of Melbourne. She was awarded an Australian Legion of Ex-Servicemen and Women scholarship by the Australian Nurses Memorial Centre to complete her Master of Advanced Nursing Practice. She was awarded a University of Melbourne scholarship to undertake further research studies. Her PhD focus investigates the role of nurses and nursing leadership in the early recognition and management of sepsis across high and low-resourced clinical settings, including metropolitan, regional and rural/remote Australia. It also explores how clinical team dynamics, cultural and linguistic diversity amongst staff, and psychological safety in organisational culture impacts on how nurses communicate concern and escalate care in response to patient deterioration. 

Ian Seppelt is a senior specialist in Intensive Care Medicine at Nepean Hospital, Sydney and the University of Sydney Medical School, Clinical Professor in the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Macquarie University, Professorial Fellow at the George Institute for Global Health, Sydney and Adjunct Professor (Research) at Monash University. He is an active clinical researcher and teacher in intensive care medicine. Research interests include critical care infection (including gut microbiology in critical illness), fluid resuscitation, complex airway management, and sedation and delirium in intensive care. He has NHMRC/MRFF grant funding for the SuDDICU, SPICE and REMAP-CAP programs. Other interests include neuroanaesthesia and neurocritical care, and the ethics of clinical research in critical illness. He is senior horse transport technician and deputy assistant groom for his children and a member of the Medical Advisory Committee to Equestrian Australia. He is also part owner of a very nice vineyard near Orange in central New South Wales.

Dr. Masafumi Suga is a Research Fellow in Intensive Care Medicine at Monash Medical Centre, Melbourne, Australia. He trained in medicine in Japan and has extensive clinical experience in critical care. His current research focuses on sedation strategies, airway emergencies, and outcomes in critically ill patients, with a particular interest in registry-based observational studies. He has contributed to several multinational trials and is the first author of multiple peer-reviewed publications in critical care journals. Dr. Suga is actively involved in ANZICS collaborative research and is passionate about translating evidence into bedside practice. At this conference, he will present findings from his recent study on the effect of early intubation for urosepsis patients. 

Dr. Hugh Lavelle graduated from the National University of Ireland, Galway in 2021 and completed his internship in Ireland. He spent two years in Perth, where he gained critical care experience at Fiona Stanley Hospital and worked as an ICU Junior Registrar. He is currently based in Melbourne where he has held an Honorary Research Registrar position in the ICU at St Vincent’s Hospital. 

Dr Jen Carolin Cao is a critical care senior resident medical officer who is dedicated to managing sick patients in high-dependency and intensive care settings. With a keen interest in quality and safety research in ICU and anaesthetics, Dr Cao has contributed to several quality improvement initiatives focused on safety, clinical efficiency and improvement in patient outcomes. At this conference, Dr Cao will present findings from a recent large audit aimed at improving pain assessment and treatment in postoperative patients.

Dr Julia Pilowsky currently works for the NSW Agency for Clinical Innovation as a Project Officer with Intensive Care NSW and the University of Sydney as a Research Fellow . She has a background in ICU nursing and has recently been applying her clinical experience to a range of projects involving data science and artificial intelligence. 

Dr Agatha Bebbington MBBS BSc (Hons) DMCC is currently an ICU Registrar (PGY4 non-training) at Hutt Hospital, having completed her PGY1/2 years in Oxford (UK) including a run at the John Radcliffe ICU. 

Jess Herbert is a Clinical Support and Development Nurse working on the acute respiratory ward at the Alfred Hospital in Melbourne. She has clinical experience in adult and paediatric Lung Transplant, Cystic Fibrosis, Pulmonary Hypertension, COPD and other respiratory conditions. Her role includes supporting staff in their education and professional development and well as providing clinical care for patients. Jess has an interest in quality improvement with completed and ongoing projects focusing on the ward management of the deteriorating patient, COPD exacerbation management and inhaler device technique assessment. She holds a Masters of Nursing Science through the University of Melbourne.  

I am a highly experienced Intensive care nurse with over 30 yrs of clinical practice, including the past decade as a Clinical nurse Consultant at Gold Coast University Hospital. I hold a Graduate Diploma in Critical care Nursing, and my areas of special interest include the care of long – term patients, OVP management, Neuro and trauma care, as well as staff wellbeing within the unit. I also focus on risk management, safety and quality improvement , working closely with our multi- disciplinary teams to support best practice in patient care. 

Nurse Unit Manager in Nepean Intensive Care Unit, with 33 years of experience in Intensive Care Unit.20 years in Australia and previously in U.K ,Maldives and India. Lives in Sydney with family 

Dr Ben Seymour is a Transitional Year Fellow at the Gold Coast University Hospital Intensive Care Unit with interests in regional intensive care, unit culture, and improving decision-making for vulnerable patient groups. 

Senior Intensive Care Registrar with over 14 years of broad postgraduate experience across critical‑care units in Australia and the United Kingdom. Foundations in basic physician training and significant exposure to critical care, including emergency medicine and anaesthesia. Expertise in cardiothoracic, neurosurgical, trauma and medical ICU, including transplant. 

Angharad Rowles is a medical doctor with a strong interest in microbiology and career aspirations to become a clinical microbiologist. She is passionate about global health, infectious diseases, and public health, with a focus on improving clinical practice, infection control, and patient safety. Her clinical experience spans hospitals in the UK, Ethiopia, Trinidad and Australia, which has shaped her commitment to quality improvement and evidence-based care globally.

She holds a Postgraduate Certificate in Medical Education and has delivered a wide range of practical, clinically focused teaching to medical students and junior doctors. Although early in her research journey, her recent work includes a quality improvement project on cannulation documentation compliance, contributing to better infection prevention practices. With a growing focus on antimicrobial stewardship and healthcare-associated infections, she is building a career at the intersection of clinical care, education, and microbiological research.

Yolanda is the ECMO Coordinator and Clinical Nurse Consultant (CNC) for Monash Health, based at the Victorian Heart Hospital, Australia’s first dedicated cardiac hospital. She also serves as the state secretary for the Victorian branch of the Australian College of Critical Care Nurses (ACCCN). With more than 20 years’ experience in intensive care, including over a decade in ICU education roles, Yolanda is dedicated to advancing education by translating theory into practice and developing sustainable learning solutions. She holds a Master of Clinical Education from the University of Melbourne (2022) and published her first research paper in Australian Critical Care in 2023.

Critical Care SRMO on the NSW Central Coast, with a passion for improving sustainability practices within the Critical Care setting. 

I am an Intensivist from SWSLHD who is passionate about sustainability.

I am a senior registrar at the Royal Adelaide Hospital Intensive Care Unit. I am also a higher degree by research candidate at the University of Adelaide with main research interests in novel therapies for septic shock, and identification of corticosteroid responsiveness in the ICU. I am also passionate about ICU quality improvement projects, especially projects that aim to stop things we do for no reason! 

Dr Marino Festa trained and has worked as a paediatric intensivist in the UK and Australia. He is a consultant in PICU at the Children’s Hospital at Westmead in Sydney and the Medical Director for the NSW Kids ECMO Referral Service. Marino completed a MD (Research) at Imperial College, London studying changes in the microcirculation in children with meningococcal septic shock. He co-leads the Kids Critical Care Research group at Children’s Hospital at Westmead and is vice co-chair of the ANZICS Paediatric Study Group. His current research interests include data modelling to inform healthcare systems design and the role of transfusion in paediatric critical illness. 

Dr Thomas Glynn is a Basic Physician Trainee year one at Monash Health, Victoria. He graduated at the University of East Anglia in 2019 (UK), before moving to Australia in 2023. He is interested in quality improvement and sustainable healthcare. 

Gelana Fekadu (RN, BSc (Honours), MSc) is a PhD candidate at the School of Nursing and Midwifery, Griffith University, Queensland, Australia. His doctoral research focuses on patient safety and incident reporting in low-resource settings, with a particular emphasis on the Ethiopian healthcare system. Prior to commencing his PhD, Gelana worked as a lecturer and researcher in Nursing at the College of Health and Medical Sciences, Haramaya University, Ethiopia, for over seven years and has published more than 20 peer-reviewed articles in internationally recognised journals. During his PhD, he has worked as a casual research assistant and has published three papers, one currently under review, and has two more in preparation related to his doctoral project. Additionally, he co-authored two published articles. 

Gelana is passionate about patient safety and incident reporting across healthcare, with a particular focus on intensive care settings. He aims to advance contextually sensitive research that strengthens clinical safety practices and reduces patient harm in resource-limited environments. 

Amanda McGrath is a CCRN and currently working in the role of Safety and Quality Nurse in the Intensive Care Unit at Barwon Health, Geelong, Victoria. She has a strong passion for improving outcomes for patients experiencing ICU delirium. Drawing on extensive clinical experience, Amanda works to embed best practice in delirium assessment and management. This past year, Amanda has co-led the Delirium Special Interest Group, fostering collaboration, education, and innovation in delirium assessment and management. 

Naitik Mehta is currently managing the statewide Digital Early Warning Tools Portfolio at Patient Safety and Quality, Queensland Health. After completing a medical degree from India, he completed a Master of Public Health and Master of Health Service Management from Griffith University, Australia. During the span of 17 years of work experience in healthcare, he has worked in metropolitan as well as rural regions, the not-for-profit sector as well as the public sector and in a range of quality improvement projects.  

He believes in the ability to make system-wide changes to improve health outcomes of larger populations, and that change starts with one person at a time – You. 

ICU Consultant with a strong interest in fostering team wellbeing, cultivating positive workplace culture, and advancing clinical education. I am currently undertaking a Simulation Fellowship and a Master of Health Professions Education to deepen my skills as an educator and simulationist, with a focus on creating psychologically safe learning environments and delivering high-impact educational experiences. 

Jason Au is a Clinical Nurse Educator in the Intensive Care Unit at Hornsby Ku-Ring-Gai Hospital, with over 11 years of experience in critical care nursing. He holds a Master of Advanced Nursing in Education and a Postgraduate Certificate in Critical Care Nursing from the University of Technology Sydney. Jason has led and contributed to multiple quality improvement initiatives, including projects on pressure injury prevention, endotracheal tube safety, and rapid training during the COVID-19 pandemic. Passionate about advancing nursing education and capability, Jason collaborates widely across clinical departments and continues to integrate innovation, education, and patient safety into critical care practice. 

Scott is a senior ICU registrar at the Royal Melbourne Hospital, having trained also at The Alfred and St Vincent’s Melbourne. His area of interest is in human factors and the design of safety critical systems. Scott has worked in Quality and Safety roles at the Alfred ICU, as a board member of the Safe Airway Society and in numerous education roles at Monash University and St John Ambulance Victoria. 

Jonathan is a Simulation Fellow at Monash Health Simulation and an Intensive Care Medicine Chief Registrar at Monash Health with experience in Acute Medicine and Clinical Anaesthesia. He is passionate about simulation education and integrating simulation at the bedside. His special interest is in crisis resource management, leadership and communication. 

He is working towards completion of his Masters of Clinical Simulation to solidify the academic foundations of simulation experiential learning. He has contributed to multi-discipline education across Monash Health in Junior Medical Staff Clinical Expert Series Lectures, Pharmacy Education, Intensive Care Unit teaching and has been faculty on the Basic Assessment and Support in Intensive Care (BASIC) course and Cardiac Advanced Life Support (CALS). 

When not at Monash Simulation or at the bedside in Intensive Care, Jonathan can be found spending quality time with his family or enjoying the outdoors. 

Dr Kerrianne Huynh is an intensivist at Monash Health, instructor at Monash Simulation and the Head of ICU Simulation for the Monash network. As a core faculty member of the Monash Simulation team, Kerrianne is the primary author and lead facilitator of the Clinical Event Debriefing program, and was instrumental in the development and implementation of the MET Response @ Monash Health program.  

She is passionate about the role of simulation in patient safety, quality, and workplace culture. She is nearing completion of her Masters of Clinical Simulation and has completed the Simulation Essentials Course at the Center for Medical Simualtion, affiliated with Harvard Medical School. 

As a strong advocate for diversity and sustainability in medicine, she is the immediate past blog editor for Women in Intensive Care and was awarded an Intensive Care Foundation Grant for Sustainability in ICU. 

When not at work, she cultivates a balcony garden and has been surprisingly successful growing ghost peppers.  

Vince Marzano is a physiotherapist with extensive experience in early mobility and rehabilitation in the ICU environment.  He is currently completing a PhD in validating the Acute Care Index of Function in the ICU population and factors predicting functional outcomes for ICU survivors. 

I am a Clinical Nurse Specialist at John Hunter Hospital’s Intensive Care Unit, with more than 12 years of experience in Critical care—spanning across adult ICU, paediatric ICU (PICU), and the Hunter Retrieval Service. I am deeply committed to advancing patient safety and driving Quality Improvement. During my role as Quality Improvement Coordinator for JHH ICU/PICU, I’ve led and contributed to numerous initiatives aimed at enhancing patient outcomes and fostering excellence in care. 

Dr Alison Pirret is employed as a Nurse Practitioner in the Critical Care Complex, Middlemore Hospital, Auckland. Alison works clinically within the ICU outreach service, sharing the role with the ICU registrars and the Patient at Risk Team in providing care to physiologically unstable ward patients. She works closely with the education team and is actively involved in nursing/interdisciplinary research. Her research interests include advanced nursing practice, ICU outreach, and improving patient outcomes. 

I am currently a PGY3 doctor working in critical care as a senior resident medical officer at Westmead Hospital, Sydney. I have previously worked at the Gold Coast University Hospital as an intern and completed my RMO year at the Royal North Shore Hospital. I am passionate about patient safety and I believe medication safety is the cornerstone of ensuring safe healthcare

FCICM, EDA, EDIC, FCARCSI, DDU (Critical Care), MLd, MPH

Judit is an Intensive Care Specialist and ICU deputy director at The Alfred Hospital, Melbourne. Her interests include care of deteriorating patients, cardiac arrest management including extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, Rapid Response and sepsis management. She is the Intensive Care Medical Lead for Medical Emergency Teams and plays an integral part in the planning and development of hospital wide management of deteriorating patients.

Gregory Brogan is an Intensivist based in Melbourne with an interest in ECMO, Cardiac Intensive Care and Education. He is honoured to present on behalf of the Victorian ECMO Service—a statewide, centralised, consultation, referral, and management service. VECMOS is powered by the dedication of countless individuals, all committed to advancing ECMO care and improving outcomes for patients across Victoria. 

Paul is an Intensivist and Deputy Director (Workforce) at The Alfred ICU. He completed his Physician and Intensive Care training at The Alfred, followed by a Fellowship in Paediatric Intensive Care at the Royal Children’s Hospital, Melbourne. He serves on the Victorian ECMO Service (VECMOS) Executive Committee as the representative for Standards and Operations, and also supports the Clinical Lead for VECMOS. His clinical interests include difficult ventilation, echocardiography, and circulatory support. Paul is a supervisor of training for the College of Intensive Care Medicine (CICM) and contributes to The Alfred ICU echocardiography service. Beyond his professional work, Paul enjoys spending time with his family and embarking on adventures with his three children.

Claire Crossfield is a registered nurse, lecturer in nursing, and PhD candidate at Deakin University. With a clinical background in critical care and a research focus on patient safety and consumer engagement, her doctoral work explores the implementation and impact of patient and family activated escalation systems in acute care settings. Claire combines her experience in clinical practice, education, and health services research to inform improvements in escalation processes and person-centred care. 

Deb Massey is an internationally recognized expert in patient deterioration and rapid response systems. With a distinguished career dedicated to improving patient safety, Deb has played a pivotal role in shaping global standards through her contributions to key position statements and her extensive publication record in the field. 

Her research spans clinical deterioration, rapid response systems, and healthcare education, reflecting a deep commitment to advancing both practice and pedagogy. Deb has collaborated with diverse, multidisciplinary research teams, bringing together expertise from across healthcare and academia to drive innovation in patient safety and teaching and learning. 

Emergency Medicine trainee working in tertiary, metropolitan and regional Australian hospitals since moving from Wales in 2017.

Interest in health equity, systems and policy, with experience working in Medical Administration.

Global Health Policy MSc candidate at London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

Dr Christopher Smith MBChB BSc(Hons) MSc MRCP(UK) FFICM FCICM is an Intensive Care Doctor with a role as the Governance Fellow at the Royal Adelaide Hospital. Originally trained in the UK, he holds dual fellowships in intensive care medicine (UK and Australia) and a Master’s degree in Medical Education. His clinical interests include complex cardiovascular support, neurocritical care, and pre-hospital retrieval medicine. He has a strong track record in quality improvement, leading multiple unit-wide initiatives ranging from airway governance and extubation protocols to structured mortality reviews and procedural safety. Dr Smith is the principal investigator for the LEGEND study on pneumonia diagnostics and has presented internationally on medical education and patient safety. He is an Honorary Clinical Lecturer at the University of Adelaide and serves on the CICM South Australia State Committee. His work integrates evidence-based practice, data-driven governance, and patient-centred outcomes. 

Dr Elizabeth Foo is an Intensive Care Registrar in Sydney with experience at Concord Repatriation General Hospital and The Children’s Hospital at Westmead. She is passionate about improving patient outcomes through research and quality improvement, and advocates for doctors-in-training as the Advanced Trainee Representative on her hospital’s Resident Medical Officers Association. Elizabeth was recently nominated for Registrar of the Year in recognition of her professional contributions. 

Dr Hooi Hooi Koay is a consultant intensivist at Werribee Mercy Hospital with a strong focus on clinical governance, education and system improvement. She is an active member of the CICM Victorian State Committee and convenes several educational programs, including transthoracic echocardiography courses, communication workshops and ICU BASIC courses. Her interests include quality improvement and supporting the next generation of intensivists. 

Azmeen Azeem is a Nurse Educator and the Nursing Lead for the NSW Health Net Zero ICU Sustainability Hub. With a strong commitment to environmental sustainability in healthcare, she plays a key role in the Net Zero Hubs program (2024–2027), a statewide initiative aimed at decarbonising high-impact areas of the health sector. Collaborating with experts such as A/Prof Deepak Bhonagiri and Jennifer McClure, Azmeen focuses on implementing sustainable practices within intensive care units (ICUs) to reduce their carbon footprint. Since November 2024, she has been instrumental in driving change across ICUs in New South Wales, combining clinical expertise with a passion for climate-conscious healthcare. 

My name is Marwan Elmenyawi, and I am a final-year Intensive Care Unit (ICU) trainee at Flinders Medical Centre in Adelaide. I am currently undertaking a Clinical Education Diploma to further develop my teaching skills and enhance the professional development of junior staff within the ICU. My clinical and academic interests focus on advanced critical care practice while fostering a supportive and effective learning environment for emerging healthcare professionals. 

Anton van der Vegt is an Advance Queensland Industry Research Fellow with extensive industry experience working with UK and Australian healthcare providers. He is an engineer and computer scientist by training and gained his PhD from the University of Queensland in clinical AI information retrieval. Anton works directly with clinicians and healthcare providers to identify opportunities for using AI, to research and develop suitable AI methods for clinical decision support tasks and to evaluate those methods to ensure they are safe, equitable and effective. He also has extensive experience working with clinical data as both a data engineer and data scientist, and with his team, is currently investigating how to identify and mitigate bias in AI, how to incorporate unstructured data (i.e., clinical notes) into risk prediction and how to present AI to clinicians to improve decision making. Anton is passionate about safely implementing AI into clinical practice within Australian hospitals.​ 

After initially working as a physiotherapist in the public hospital and palliative care setting, Lisa transitioned to nursing in 2014 where she has since worked in the Intensive Care unit and within the Medical Emergency Response team at the Royal Adelaide Hospital.  Since 2022, Lisa has worked within the Nurse Unit Manager role for the Medical Emergency Response service and has an interest in Rapid Response Systems.  Outside of this, Lisa is currently in the final stages of completing her PhD studies at The University of Adelaide in relation to patient and family escalation of care for acute clinical deterioration.   

Georgina Lewis is an Intensive Care Registrar, Royal Adelaide Hospital. 

Courtney is a physiotherapist in Intensive Care at the Canberra Hospital. She has a special interest in mobilisation and rehabilitation in the ICU environment and is passionate about collaborative practice. Courtney has a background in nursing and extensive experience in cardiorespiratory and Intensive Care physiotherapy.

Kate has been working in the field of paediatrics for 18 years, which has included several years at public hospitals in Melbourne and working overseas at various paediatrics hospitals. 

She has completed a Masters of Paediatric Nursing and Education, and Certificate IV in Training and Assessment. 

She is currently the Group Paediatric Clinical Nurse Educator and Simulation coordinator at Epworth HealthCare. Kate recently worked as a Nurse Coordinator for the Victorian Forensic Paediatric Medical Service. 

Kate is the developer of the Paediatric Deteriorating online Learning Program- PaediResus.  

Kate works towards empowering staff to provide safe and quality care to ensure the best outcomes for our paediatric patients.  

My name is Mohamed, and I am a Ph.D. candidate in Mechanical Engineering at the University of New South Wales (UNSW). I hold an M.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering from the Polytechnic University of Turin, Italy. My research focuses on indoor air quality, ventilation design, and airborne infection risk modeling in built environments. Specifically, I specialize in the application of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) to simulate aerosol and CO2 transport in indoor spaces, with a particular interest in healthcare settings, classrooms, and aged care facilities. My work includes advanced modeling of respiratory aerosol emissions as multiphase flows generated by human activities such as coughing, sneezing, and breathing.