Department of Community and Clinical Health Leadership

Professor Michael Dillon

Professor Michael Dillon is the Head of the Department of Community and Clinical Health. He is an experienced tertiary educator whose contributions to student learning have been recognised by several Vice-Chancellor’s commendations, and invitations to facilitate curriculum development at universities in Japan and the United States of America. Professor Dillon has published over 70 journal articles and reports, most recently for the World Health Organisation’s Global Report on Assistive Technology. He is an internationally-recognised expert on the outcomes of lower limb amputation, and his research has promoted the use of shared decision making to inform decisions about amputation surgery. Professor Dillon has also served as a Co-Editor-in-Chief of Prosthetics and Orthotics International.

Professor Lisa Brophy

Professor Lisa Brophy is Discipline Lead of Social Work and Social Policy, with over 35 years’ experience in the mental health and university sectors in Victoria. She is regarded as one of Australia’s foremost mental health social work academics and is a member of the Australian Association of Social Workers’ National Advisory Panel on Mental Health. Professor Brophy’s research examines the experience of mental illness and psychosocial disability, and the impact on social inclusion and human rights. Her research has had a significant impact, in part because of her strong interdisciplinary partnerships with academics and people with a lived experience of mental illness and psychosocial disability. Professor Brophy is a member of the Expert Advisory Group for the Victorian Mental Health and Wellbeing Act and currently serves as a sessional community member of the Victorian Mental Health Tribunal.

Dr Connie Koklanis

Dr Connie Koklanis is a Senior Lecturer and Discipline Lead of Orthoptics. She specialises in paediatrics and ocular motility, and teaches and coordinates related subjects with a focus on innovation. Dr Koklanis also leads the development of the Bachelor of Orthoptics (Honours). Her research focuses on best practice care of patients with ocular disorders and innovative models of service delivery. Dr Koklanis has served in a variety of leadership roles including Manager of Orthoptics Services at the Royal Children's Hospital in Melbourne, President of Orthoptics Australia and the Australian Representative of the International Orthoptic Association. She led the establishment of the La Trobe Eye Clinic, which offers orthoptic services to the community and placement opportunities to students. For this work, she received a Vice-Chancellor’s Cultural Quality Award for Innovation.

Associate Professor Robyn O’Halloran

Associate Professor Robyn O’Halloran is a Senior Lecturer and Discipline Lead of Speech Pathology. As an experienced tertiary educator, she leads the development of the Bachelor of Speech Pathology (Honours). Among her many accomplishments, Associate Professor O’Halloran developed a new assessment tool, the Inpatient Functional Communication Interview, that supports people with communication disability so that they can better participate in their healthcare while in hospital. Associate Professor O’Halloran works with clinicians and other researchers across a range of disciplines to create accessible healthcare services and systems for people with communication disability. She is Program Lead of the Aphasia Inclusion Hub, one of the five programs within the Centre for Research Excellence in Aphasia Recovery and Rehabilitation.

Dr Bojana Šarkić

Dr Bojana Šarkić is a Lecturer, Discipline Lead and Course Coordinator of Audiology. Dr Šarkić’s commitment to an outstanding student experience was recognised with an AccessAbility and Inclusion Academic Award for her work using Microsoft Teams to create an accessible and inclusive learning environment. Her research has made an important contribution to understanding the effects of non-blast related traumatic brain injury on auditory and vestibular function. Dr Šarkić currently serves as President of the Allied Health Graduate Research Society at La Trobe University.

Dr Tamara Tse

Dr Tamara Tse is a Senior Lecturer and Discipline Lead of Occupational Therapy. With many years in clinical and management roles, Dr Tse is committed to education that improves occupational therapy services and care. Her research focuses on participation-related outcomes – understanding and improving what people do and why they do it. Dr Tse has strong research partnership with St. Vincent’s Hospital, where she also served as the Research Lead in Occupational Therapy, and is responsible for several collaborative research projects. She has mentored and supervised dozens of undergraduate and postgraduate students to build clinical research capacity in the discipline.

Read our Statement of Strategic Intent.