Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences The Nossal Institute for Global Health

Staff

Director's Office

Professor Graham Brown | Associate Professor Peter Deutschmann

Tropical Health and Infectious Disease

Professor Graham Brown is the Foundation Director of the Nossal Institute for Global Health. He has served as Head of Division of Infection and Immunity at The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute for Medical Research and as Head of the Victorian Infectious Diseases Service at the Royal Melbourne Hospital.

Professor Brown has worked in education and research in Papua New Guinea and Tanzania. For more than ten years, he served on Steering Committees of the United Nations Development Program/World Bank/World Health Organization Special Program for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases, on Committees for Applied Field Research in Malaria, Immunology of Malaria, and finally as Chairman of Vaccine Discovery Research programme. He holds many other appointments and was a member of the Strategic Advisory Council for the Bill and Melinda Gates Children’s Vaccine Programme. See malaria research profile

Associate Professor Jim Black is a public health physician and epidemiologist, with broad interests including disease surveillance and outbreak preparedness, public health informatics and research ethics. He spent ten years in and around Africa, including four years as a 'general duties doctor' in Mozambique, a year as project epidemiologist in the Adult Morbidity and Mortality Project in Tanzania, and another four years in Mozambique as a provincial level epidemiologist. He later took six months out of his PhD in infectious disease epidemiology to work in disease surveillance and epidemic preparedness for the World Health Organisation in newly-independent East Timor. Jim comes to the institute from the Royal Melbourne Hospital where he has headed epidemiology in the Victorian Infectious Diseases Service since 2002. See full research profile.

Associate Professor Tilman Ruff is an infectious diseases and public health physician with particular interests in vaccines and immunisation, and in the urgent public health imperative to abolish nuclear weapons. In addition to his work at the Nossal Institute, he serves as medical advisor to the international department of the Australian Red Cross and as technical advisor to the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) and UNICEF on immunisation programs in Pacific island countries. Tilman has played a leading role in the development of travel medicine, worked extensively on control of hepatitis B, immunisation, and maternal and child health in Indonesia and Pacific island countries, and was previously regional medical director for vaccines for a major vaccine manufacturer. He has been active in the Medical Association for Prevention of War (Australia) for 24 years and is now its national president. See full research profile

International Health Education and Learning

Associate Professor Peter Deutschmann is Associate Director of the Nossal Institute and the Executive Director of the Australian International Health Institute (AIHI) now co-located and integrated with the Nossal Institute. Peter, a surgeon and public health specialist, has worked in international health for twenty-five years. His interests range from primary health care and strengthening of clinical services in resource poor settings to the development of multi-sectoral responses that support HIV prevention, all with a major focus on the development of individual and institutional capacity to respond to the associated health needs. Over the past decade Peter has led multiple missions and directed major programs in the Asia Pacific region on behalf of AusAID, DFID, UNAIDS, the World Bank and the Gates Foundation. Download Peter's CV

Alison Morgan has over 15 years experience in education and training in primary health care and maternal and child health, with eight of those years spent living in Nepal and China (Tibet). Her particular focus is in the capacity development of health workers and the systems in which they work. She has expertise in curriculum development, competency based training and program design. She has undertaken consultancies for WHO, AusAID, and many international non government organisations and private foundations throughout South and South East Asia.

Emma Brathwaite is a technical advisor on adolescent/youth health. Emma has over five years of experience as a development practitioner and has technical skills in program development, management and monitoring and evaluation. Prior to joining the Nossal Institute in January 2008, Emma was with UNAIDS based in Hanoi, Viet Nam and has been closely involved with program and policy issues relating to youth, gender and harm reduction in Viet Nam and South-east Asia.

Beth Fuller is the Disability Program Coordinator at the Nossal Institute for Global Health. Beth established the Disability program at Nossal and developed the subject "Disability in Developing Countries" for the Master in Public Health. She is a Core-Committee member of the Australian Disability and Development Consortium (ADDC) and co-authored ADDC's Research and Education Strategy Paper. She arranges and coordinates the Nossal Disability Special Interest Group which has over 150 members, composed mainly of disability, health and development practitioners. She worked as the head of Occupational Therapy services at the Centre for the Rehabilitation of the Paralysed in Bangladesh and wrote the B.Sc (OT) degree curriculum for the Bangladesh Health Professions Institute which is still being taught and has been accredited by the World Federation of Occupational Therapists and by Dhaka University. Beth completed Honours in Occupational Therapy at La Trobe University and a Master in Public Health (International Health) at Monash University.

Shyamali Larsen is the Administration Officer for the International Health Education and Learning Unit and the AusAID funded Health Policy and Health Finance Hub within the Health Systems Strengthening Unit. She holds a Masters in Anthropology from University of Melbourne and was for many years a secondary school teacher in Victorian Government Schools. Before joining Nossal Institute in April 2008, Shyamali worked as an Australian Volunteer for two years in an international women’s NGO in Bangkok.

Joni Law is Program Officer of the International Health Education and Learning Unit, responsible for student administration and course organisation.  Joni worked in a tertiary institution in Hong Kong before moving to Australia. Since completing her BA at the University of Melbourne, she has been a staff member of the University, starting first at the Key Centre for Women’s Health and moved to the Australian International Health Institute in 2003.

Disease Prevention and Health Promotion

Professor Rob Moodie is the inaugural Chair of Global Health. He has 30 years experience in planning and evaluating health programs in Australia, Africa, Asia and the Pacific. He was the inaugural Director of Country Support for UNAIDS in Geneva from 1995-98, and the CEO of VicHealth from 1998-2007. He is Chair of the National Preventative Health Taskforce and is acting Chair of the Commission on AIDS in the Pacific. He chairs the technical advisory panel of Avahan, the Gates Foundation's HIV prevention program in India, and combines these roles with many others including Chair of Melbourne Storm Rugby League Club. He has co-edited and co-authored 4 books including Promoting Mental Health, Hands on Health Promotion and his latest, Recipes for a Great Life written with Gabriel Gate. See full research profile | Presentation

Professor Nick Crofts worked at the Burnet Institute for Medical Research and Public Health in Melbourne for nearly twenty years, the last ten as Deputy Director; he was instrumental in founding Centres for Harm Reduction (CHR), for International Health (CIH) and for Epidemiology and Research in Population Health (CERPH). Prof Crofts is highly experienced in the design, collection and analysis of research data in illicit drug use, HIV, Hepatitis C, STIs, and harm reduction generally. His research career has concentrated on the epidemiology and control of blood-borne viruses among injecting drug users (IDUs), prisoners and other marginalised groups in Australia; he received an NHMRC Principal Research Fellowship in 2001. See full research profile

Dr Michelle Kermode is a Senior Research Fellow who has many years experience as a public health practitioner working in research, education and technical assistance. Her main areas of work are HIV, injection safety and mental health. She has experience in designing and delivering training programs, and engaging with partners in developing countries to develop capacity in applied public health research. Michelle has worked in a number of Asian countries, especially India, and with a range of partners including NGOs and community and faith-based organisations, as well as within the private and public sectors and hospital settings. See full research profile

Dr Martha Morrow has been Coordinator of Research at AIHI since 2002. Her work involves capacity building in research and evaluation skills, and undertaking collaborative projects and technical assistance for a range of organisations. Among her current / recent projects are:

Dr Grant Blashki is a Senior Research Fellow in Global Health, a Visiting Fellow at the National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health at The Australian National University and an Honorary Senior Lecturer at Kings College London. He is currently supported by a senior PHCRED fellowship between 2007-2010. His three themes of work are: 1. Climate change and health 2. Mental health and 3. Primary health care. He has co-authored 61 peer reviewed publications, is lead editor of the text book General Practice Psychiatry (also translated into Italian), and over the last 5 years has been a chief investigator on approximately $4 million of research projects. He is actively engaged with community work including as a clinical advisor to beyondblue, as a mentor in the Al Gore Climate Leadership Project, as a cofounder of Doctors for the Environment Australia and as a 2020 summit participant. In 2008, he was a co-recipient of the Fundraiser Institute of Australia’s Major Grant’s award for excellence in fundraising.  He is a practicing GP and Fellow of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners. See full research profile.

Alexandra Devine is a public health researcher who came to the Nossal Institute through the Victorian Public Health Training Scheme in 2005. Her local and international research experience spans the areas of HIV, prisoner health, mental health and sex work. Alexandra is involved in international health capacity development activities and has coordinated a number of AusAID Australian Leadership Awards programs for international colleagues in the areas of pandemic preparedness and tuberculosis control.

Dr Tim Moore is a Senior Project Officer who has spent much of the past two decades in Southeast Asia, in an international health capacity, focussing on refugee health and HIV prevention. He has worked in the NGO, government, private and UN sectors; most notably with MSF in Hong Kong, WHO in Indonesia (harm reduction), with the Burnet Institute in the AusAID-funded Asia Regional HIV/AIDS Project, and recently as Program Coordinator for the Thailand Burma Border Consortium’s program with refugee partners from Burma. Currently Tim is engaged in training development and delivery on HIV and sex work for the UNFPA, research in Southeast Asia on harm reduction and law enforcement, and educational activities including the coordination of the Nossal Institute’s new HIV subject for the Master of Public Health.

Dr David Stephens is a policy and development specialist with the Nossal Institute with an interest in HIV, harm reduction, human rights and the role of affected communities in HIV responses. David has worked for over 20 years in HIV research, policy advocacy and community development in Australia and in many countries in South East Asia. In 2008 David returned from 5 years living and working in Viet Nam where he provided support for HIV law and policy development and worked with communities of people living with HIV to develop self help and support groups and networks across the country. Prior to moving from Australia to Viet Nam he completed his PhD thesis ‘Experts and Activists: HIV/AIDS and Human rights in South East Asia’.  David was co-recipient of the Australian Government’s inaugural Jonathan Mann Memorial Scholarship in 2001.

Brigitte Tenni has been a project officer in the Disease Prevention and Health Promotion unit since October 2007. Prior to joining the Nossal, Brigitte worked for a PLHIV network in Thailand in program management, treatment preparedness, advocacy, and trade related aspects of intellectual property rights. Additionally, she was a member of their regional team responsible for the implementation and review of capacity building projects in SE and South Asia. Brigitte has particular interest in HIV & AIDS, issues of sex work and IDU and is currently involved in a UNFPA funded project to design and deliver training in HIV and sex work. She is also the coordinator of a University of Melbourne new generation breadth subject titled, “Global Health, Security and Sustainability”.

Kit Yee Chan is a Post-doctoral Research Fellow at the institute and a Visiting Fellow at the Peking University Health Science Center. She is currently supported by an NHMRC post-doctoral exchange fellowship and will be spending the next two years in China studying the HIV risk and health service access of Chinese internal migrant workers (2009-2010). Kit is also involved in research in the Child Health and Nutrition Research Initiative (CHNRI), and is coordinating a systematic review of Chinese health and epidemiological databases for the Child Health Epidemiology Reference Group (CHERG). Prior to joining the Nossal Institute for Global Health, Kit coordinated a Ford Foundation funded six-country project on institutional forms of HIV-related discrimination in the Asia-Pacific. She has a PhD in an HIV-related area, co-authored approximately 20 peer-reviewed publications and was Guest Editor for a special issue of the international journal AIDS Care in 2005. See full research profile.

Health Systems Strengthening

Kris Hort has extensive experience in planning, management, leadership and evaluation of development assistance projects in public health, epidemiology, communicable disease control, maternal and child health programs, reproductive health and family planning programs, water and sanitation programs. He is skilled in the management and leadership of public health services at the strategic, planning and operational levels, and is experienced in the provision of postgraduate level training in the field of international health and development.

Ahmer Akther has more than a decade of international health care and management experience, including seven years working in the health sector in Indonesia. He has proven skills in formulating high quality health policies, strategic plans and operational management plans for public health programs. Ahmer has worked in senior roles as a project manager and technical officer for emergency and humanitarian activities conducted by UNICEF, WHO and Medecins Sans Frontiers.

John Grundy has been living in Cambodia since 2002. His work focuses on providing technical assistance for immunisation programs; infectious disease surveillance systems; childhood diahoreal disease prevention and maternal and child health system strengthening for a range of organisations and donors. John has also worked on short-term consultancies for health planning and health system strengthening in Mongolia, North Korea and Myanmar. He has published peer-reviewed literature on health promotion, health systems development, immunisation and public health research.

Pippa Druce is a project officer responsible for the Health Policy and Health Finance Hub. Prior to joining the Nossal in October 2008, Pippa worked within AusAID as the coordinator for the Emerging Infectious Diseases program on the Asia Regional desk. She has experience working for the OECD Development Assistance Committee with the French delegation. She holds a M.A. in International Affairs (International Development) from Sciences Po, Paris, in France and Bachelor degrees in Arts and Health Sciences from the University of Melbourne.

Program Development and Management

Jenny Booth is an experienced development practitioner and brings core skills in strategic planning, program development, program management and monitoring and evaluation. Jenny has extensive experience working both within AusAID and on management roles on AusAID and ADB programs in the Asia-Pacific region. She spent two years in Cambodia working as a Community Development advisor on a ADB-funded heath project.

Tanya Edmonds is a Senior Program Officer responsible for Nossal’s Vietnam program, including providing management support to the Education and Training Program at the National Hospital of Paediatrics in Hanoi. Prior to joining the Nossal in July 2008, Tanya managed AusAID-funded tertiary health services projects in East Timor and Papua New Guinea for the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons and worked within AusAID on their Indonesia program, including the response to the 2004 tsunami.  She holds a Masters in Social Science (International Development) from RMIT and a Bachelor of Commerce/Arts from Monash University.

Liz Gill is a Program Officer responsible for the development and management of programs across the four health units of the Nossal Institute and for liaising with and coordinating experts from other relevant schools and centres within the University of Melbourne to contribute to Nossal’s international health programs and research.  Prior to joining the Nossal Institute in July 2008, Liz coordinated the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health program at Marie Stopes Australia. She holds a Bachelor of Social Science (International Development) and as part of her studies she spent time in Bangladesh and in Mexico; conducting research and working with Indigenous communities to develop community development programs.

Mia Urbano is involved in the development and project management of the Institute’s international public health assistance and project-based research activities. She is responsible for a number of multi-site health sector projects including in child health, post-tsunami health workforce and mental heath systems development, and HIV and harm reduction in the Mekong region and Indonesia. Engaged in lecturing on child rights, primary health care & community based program design and monitoring, Mia also supervises and examines undergraduate medical students and postgraduate students enrolled in the international health stream of the Masters of Public Health.

Angela Rintoul is a Senior Program Officer for the South Asia program at the Nossal Institute, where she has worked since September 2005. In this role she has developed and managed a number of health and development interventions and research in North-East India, supervised and examined medical students studying international health and co-tutored the Institute's Primary Health Care course at Jamkhed, India. Prior to this, she worked for International Development Support Services assisting with AusAID funded activities.  Angela has a Bachelor of Arts and Master of Social Science (International Development). She is currently on leave until April 2009 while she works as a Migration Health Associate with the International Organisation for Migration in Lao PDR, as part of the Australian Youth Ambassador for Development Program.

Prarthna Dayal is a Senior Program Officer responsible for Nossal’s South Asia program.  Prarthna has over five years of experience as a development practitioner and skills in program development, management and monitoring and evaluation. Prior to joining the Nossal in January 2008, Prarthna was with the Health, Nutrition and Population unit at the World Bank based in New Delhi and has been closely involved with research and policy issues relating to health systems strengthening in India.  She holds a M.A in International Relations and Economics from the Johns Hopkins University Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), and a B.A in Economics from Lewis and Clark College, Portland, OR, U.S.A.

Brendan Allen has over 10 years international experience in development and technical assistance in Program Managment and is currently working as the Project Manager on an Education and Training Project with the National Hospital of Paediatrics in Hanoi, Vietnam. Brendan has also worked in remote area indigenous health services in Australia, as Project Manager of the AusAID funded Indonesian Women’s Health and Family Welfare Project in Eastern Indonesia and also the Sri Lanka and Maldives programs with Australian Volunteers International. He has also lectured and tutored at the Institute of Health Services in the Republic of Maldives. Brendan was the Program Coordinator of the East Asia region with Oxfam Australia and managed country programs in the Philippines, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and China. In Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia, Brendan was involved supporting community based health programs with a particular focus on water and sanitationactivities. In collaboration with Coffey International Development, he was responsible for the project development of activities within the health and water and sanitation sectors. Brendan has a Masters of Public Health from Monash University, Melbourne, Diploma of Health Science from Queensland University of Technology and Bachelor of Nursing from La Trobe University in Melbourne.

Corporate Services Unit

Mike Sewell, General Manager

Beth Hilton-Thorp, Associate

Lyn Duncan, Administration Manager

Yvonne Sau Yee Yuen, Finance Officer

Andrew Bainbridge, Finance Officer

Natalie Perry, Administration Assistant

Executive Support

Heather Saunders, Executive Assistant to Professor Graham Brown

Casandra Hewett, Executive Assistant to Professor Rob Moodie, DPHP Unit and web maintenance for the Nossal Institute.

 

India based staff

Based in New Delhi

V. Sasi Kumar – India Program Coordinator Mr Kumar is responsible for the coordination of the India country program of the institute, inclusive of all development assistance, research and education projects. Mr Kumar has over 25 years experience in the management and monitoring and evaluation (M&E) of community development and health programs. With postgraduate qualifications in Management, Mr Kumar also has practical experience in programme management, planning and operationalising programs and projects (Nepal 2007, Chad 2007,Darfur 2006, Shillong 1999) managing the operationalisation of global M&E frameworks in parts of India  and assessing and managing risks within programs (Darfur, 2005-06 and Sudan 1995-98). His experience also includes the management of harm reduction interventions with injecting drug users (IDU). He has worked collaboratively with governments across South Asia and Africa whilst in senior positions within the NGO sector.

Based in Kohima, Nagaland

Bernice Dzuvichu – Team Leader, Overcoming Stigma & Discrimination Project Bernice has done her PhD in Anthropology from University of Delhi and has completed a course on Health and Human Rights (TISS-CEHAT Mumbai). She taught social anthropology for a year at the University of Delhi and was a recipient of the Indian Council for Social Sciences Research (ICSSR) –Doctoral Fellowship 2000. She has been involved in conducting major research projects with international and national agencies for issues on HIV/AIDS, drug abuse, sex work, mental health and school education. She has worked with the government and policy makers at the state level in areas of school education and youth issues and written policy based reports to the government (Nagaland) on these issues. Bernice has worked as consultant and trainer in conducting research amongst low literate communities.  She presented paper at international women and health forum (10th IWHM) and was a regional representative for drafting the Women and Health Charter. She is also a founder member of the Youth Action for Rural Development (YARD) a youth led NGO based in Nagaland. Bernice has been awarded the Australian Leadership Awards –Fellowship 2007.

Dr. Joyce Angami- India Projects Manager
Menosaü Kevichüsa – State Communication officer for Nagaland, Overcoming Stigma & Discrimination Project Ms Kevichüsa, State Communications Officer, is responsible for the Overcoming Stigma and Discrimination project activities in Nagaland. Her responsibilities include implementation, broadcast and monitoring and evaluation of  project activities. She has a post graduate degree in Mass Communication with over five years of work experience in the field of feature and ad film-making.  

Based in Manipur

Hajarimayum Jubita Devi - State Communication officer for Manipur, Overcoming Stigma & Discrimination Project

Based in Guwahati

Dr. Sarah Sheridan - Epidemiologist with Project ORCHID to the India-based staff.  

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