Conference moderators
Professor Sally Chan
Professor Sally Chan is a global healthcare educator and researcher with more than 25 years’ experience in the university sector. She played an integral role in promoting the University’s nursing and healthcare research globally through developing and maintaining collaborative relationships with research partners in universities, hospitals and health providers in countries all over the world including Singapore, Thailand, China, Europe and the United Kingdom. Having featured in more than 400 international publications and presentations, Professor Chan’s passion for combining research, education and practice has significantly impacted nursing education, mental healthcare policy and service delivery across the globe.
As Pro Vice-Chancellor, University of Newcastle Singapore, Professor Chan brought with her an outstanding track record in building international partnerships that will help create new opportunities for the University of Newcastle in this important region.
Professor Chan has been honored for her significant contributions to healthcare. In 2013, she was inducted into the ‘International Nurse Researcher Hall of Fame’ by the Sigma Theta Tau International Honors Society of Nursing and Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing.
Conjoint Associate Professor Richard Clancy
Richard Clancy is the Mental Health Nursing Research Fellow with Hunter New England Health, and Conjoint Associate Professor with the University of Newcastle.
In 2014, after 35 years nursing in clinical health settings, Richard took up the position of Nursing Research Fellow for Hunter New England Mental Health and commenced a PhD in translational research, evaluating the use of digital signage in an innovative way to support people who access mental health services and to influence clinician uptake of evidence-based practices.
Richard has published on topics related to mental health comorbidities of substance use, physical health and recovery. In addition to his nursing qualifications, Richard has qualifications in epidemiology and the social sciences.
Richard’s position as a Mental Health Nursing Research Fellow involves promoting a clinical culture in mental health informed by research and translating evidence into clinical practice.
Dr Agatha Conrad
Dr Agatha Conrad is a senior Research Development Officer for Hunter New England Mental Health. Dr Conrad holds a PhD in psychology and Doctorate in clinical psychology. She is also a registered clinical psychologist and is a conjoint Lecturer at the University of Newcastle.
Dr Conrad is part of the Mental Health - Research, Evaluation, Analysis & Dissemination (MH-READ) unit, which has a brokerage and research/evalaution management and support role to all HNE MH staff and affiliated researchers. MH-READ unit is based at the University of Newcastle Priority Research Centre (PRC) for Brain & Mental Health Research (CBMHR).
Dr Hazel Dalton
Dr Dalton is the Research Leader and Senior Research Fellow (Executive) at the University of Newcastle’s Centre for Rural and Remote Mental Health, based in Orange, New South Wales. She manages research across mental health promotion (including the Rural Adversity Mental Health Program), innovation in mental health service provision (including integrated care) and rural suicide prevention. Hazel is a Facilitator for the International Foundation for Integrated Care (IFIC) Australia, playing a key role in the advancement of integrated care in Australia. Hazel is interested in translational research, communication of research more broadly and providing evidence to support programs and inform policy. Hazel has extensive research experience across university and health sectors, with skills in conceptual modelling, quantitative and qualitative research approaches.
Dr Sally Hunt
Dr Sally Hunt is a Clinical Psychologist and Senior Lecturer at the University of Newcastle, Australia, where she trains post-graduate psychologists. She has worked both clinically and in a research capacity in the field of mental health for over 20 years, and completed her PhD in 2015. Sally’s research examines the relationship between substance use and mental health disorders, with a focus on developing and disseminating eHealth interventions for these problems. Sally was the recipient of the 2018 Australian Rotary Health Impact Award for her work on the development and dissemination of the eCliPSE program to increase access to evidence-based eHealth interventions for co-occurring mental health and substance use problems. Currently Sally is leading research into the increasing use of alcohol by Australian women and the development of an online intervention to support women’s health and well-being and is a current University of Newcastle Women in Research Fellow.
Professor Regina Lee
Regina Lee is the Professor in Nursing and Acting Deputy Head and Head of International at the School of Nursing and Midwifery, University of Newcastle, New South Wales in Australia. She is a nurse researcher promoting child and adolescent health. She graduated with a Bachelor Honour Degree from University of Alberta in Edmonton, Alberta in Canada. Regina received her Master of Science in Community Health Nursing in New York City, United States. She completed her PhD studies at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University in Hong Kong. Regina is the President of Hong Kong School Nurses Association and she obtained her Fellowship from the American Academy of Nursing and the Hong Kong Academy of Nursing. Her research areas focus on weight management, hand hygiene, eHealth/mHealth programs, unstructured play among children and adolescents especially for those with special health needs and their family caregivers. Regina also examines the effect of health-promoting schools and roles of school nursing on students’ lifestyle behaviours.
Conjoint Associate Professor Carmel Loughland
Associate Professor Carmel Loughland holds the position of Lead, Translational Mental Health Research with the Hunter New England Mental Health Service, Newcastle, NSW, Australia, is a senior member of the Priority Research Centre for Brain and Mental Health Research, Faculty of Health and Medicine, University of Newcastle, and Director of the Visuo-cognition Laboratory overseeing psychophysiology (eye-tracking) research focusing on social cognition, face processing disturbances, and rehabilitation in people with mental ill-health. She is also a senior registered psychologist with several years of clinical experience in public and private practice, a Psychology Board of Australia authorised supervisor of probationary psychologists, and a registered Justice of the Peace in NSW Australia.
Dr Emma Quilty
Emma is a social anthropologist and in 2020 she completed her Doctor of Philosophy in anthropology under the supervision of Dr. Kathleen McPhillip’s and Dr. Hedda Askland. Emma completed fieldwork amongst the Australian witchcraft community, showing how young women find themselves and find where they belong.
Emma currently works as a Research Officer in the Everymind team, based in Newcastle at the James Fletcher Hospital. This is an interdisciplinary research and project team involved in mental health and suicide prevention policy and national promotion programs of work. In her work at Everymind she applies ethnographic and participatory design techniques of research to mental health promotion. To do so she draws from a wide range of empirical and scholarly sources to explore (1) mental health literacy and (2) policies to develop critically reflective, values-aware programs available directly to the public.
Dr Zoi Triandafilidis
Dr Zoi Triandafilidis is a Senior Project Officer at Everymind, and a Conjoint Fellow with the School of Medicine and Public Health, Faculty of Health and Medicine, at the University of Newcastle. In 2018 she completed a PhD at Western Sydney University’s Translational Health Research Institute, exploring young women’s experiences of cigarette smoking. She has an interest in mental health, suicide prevention, family and friend carers, women’s health, and knowledge translation, and has conducted qualitative and qualitative research and evaluation at Carers NSW, the Black Dog Institute, and Western Sydney University’s School of Nursing and Midwifery.
The University of Newcastle acknowledges the traditional custodians of the lands within our footprint areas: Awabakal, Darkinjung, Biripai, Worimi, Wonnarua, and Eora Nations. We also pay respect to the wisdom of our Elders past and present.