ARCH Executive

Professor Meg Morris

Professor Meg Morris is Director of the Academic and Research Collaborative in Health (ARCH) at La Trobe University, and Director of the Healthscope ARCH. She is a fellow of the Australian College of Physiotherapists with a special interest in preventing hospital falls, quality and safety, movement rehabilitation, and exercise for people living with chronic diseases such as Parkinson’s disease and stroke. Professor Morris leads a large NHMRC Partnership Grant, a major collaboration between La Trobe University, Healthscope, Holmesglen Institute and four other universities. She has over 300 publications, including four books, and is based at Healthscope’s Victorian Rehabilitation Centre.

Associate Professor Bev Copnell

Associate Professor Bev Copnell is Director of the Northern Health ARCH and Coordinator of the Northern Clinical School. She has a clinical background as a paediatric intensive care nurse and, for many years, has been actively involved in promoting paediatric nursing nationally and internationally. Her current research focuses on caring for families of acutely ill children, end-of-life care for infants and children in acute care settings, professional issues in nursing, educational preparation for nurses and evidence-based practice.

Professor Christine East

Professor Christine East is Director of the Mercy Health ARCH, and is a Professor of Nursing and Midwifery at Mercy Health and La Trobe University. She is a member of the Perinatal Society of Australia New Zealand (and a past president), the Australian College of Nursing, the Australian College of Midwifery and the External Review Group for World Health Organisation Recommendations (maternity). She has led randomised controlled trials of fetal monitoring during labour, is an investigator on the National Health and Medical Research Council's Stillbirth Centre of Excellence and an investigator on two project grants. She also conducts numerous systematic reviews. She has over 100 publications and is based at the Mercy Hospital for Women and Werribee Mercy Hospital.

Associate Professor Kristina Edvardsson

Associate Professor Kristina Edvardsson is Site coordinator of the Austin Health ARCH and Associate Professor in the School of Nursing and Midwifery, La Trobe University. Her expertise lies in large population-based studies and qualitative approaches, and she leads research in the areas of women’s and maternal and child health. She has international collaboration that spans low-, middle and high-income countries, is a collaborator of the Australian Longitudinal Study of Women’s Health (ALSWH) and the Global Burden of Disease Study (GBD), and an Associate Editor of BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth. She has received numerous grants and awards for her research and is author of over 50 publications.

Professor Della Forster

Professor Della Forster is Director of the Women's ARCH, Director of the Midwifery and Maternity Services Research Unit at the Women’s, and a leading international researcher in maternal and infant care. Professor Forster has a joint appointment as the Professor of Midwifery and Maternity Services Research with the Judith Lumley Centre, La Trobe University and the Women’s, and extensive experience as a clinical midwife. She has broad experience in a range of methodologies and large projects including randomised controlled trials, descriptive studies, cohort studies, focus groups and evaluation projects. She specialises in maternity care, perinatal mental health and breastfeeding.

Dr Karen Lawrence

Dr Karen Lawrence is interim Director of the Royal Melbourne Hospital ARCH and Director of the Royal Melbourne Hospital Clinical School, in the School of Nursing and Midwifery at La Trobe University. As Clinical School Director, she leads and manages academic staff located at the Royal Melbourne Hospital Clinical School and oversees the resourcing of coursework delivery. Dr Lawrence is passionate about improving the quality of learning in the clinical environment. She is interested in student learning and engagement, teaching and curriculum development, and simulated learning.

Professor Brian Oldenburg

Professor Brian Oldenburg is the Director of Academic and Research Collaborative in Health (ARCH) with La Trobe University at the Alfred Hospital and has a joint position as Professor of Public Health and Implementation Science at La Trobe University and the Baker Heart & Diabetes Institute. He is also the Director of the NHMRC Centre for Research Excellence in Digital Technology to Transform Chronic Diseases, called Connected Health CRE.

Professor Oldenburg is a behavioural medicine and implementation scientist with an interest in the prevention and management of chronic diseases, with a particular focus on cardiovascular disease and Type 2 diabetes. Brian’s research has also been instrumental in the development and evaluation of mobile health (M-health) interventions and new and emerging technology platforms for the prevention and self-management of chronic diseases. He is regarded as a global public health expert and he has extensive experience providing evidence-based advice to governmental and non-governmental organisation, both locally and internationally, including the World Health Organisation. He has undertaken trials in policy and healthcare settings, work organisations, schools and other community settingsin many different countries, most recently in Africa and Asia.

Professor Nicholas Taylor

Professor Nicholas Taylor is Director of the Eastern Health ARCH. He is also a Professor of Allied Health, a joint position between Eastern Health and La Trobe University. He leads the Allied Health Clinical Research Office at Eastern Health, which supports the research culture within the organisation. Professor Taylor specialises in improving rehabilitation outcomes. He has developed and evaluated exercise programs for people with health conditions, including fracture rehabilitation. Key projects include National Health and Medical Research Council-funded trials investigating the effects of an extra day of rehabilitation and reducing waiting times in community and outpatient services.

The Academic Research Collaborative in Health (ARCH) Advisory Board provides strategic advice on the Collaborative’s vision and agenda.

Professor Christopher Reid

Professor Christopher Reid is Chair of the ARCH Industry Advisory Board. He is John Curtin Distinguished Professor at Curtin University and Co-Director of the Monash Centre for Cardiovascular Research and Education in Therapeutics. A cardiovascular epidemiologist and clinical trialist with a specific interest in quality improvement and outcomes research, Professor Reid specialises in large-scale community based clinical trials including the ANBP2, ASPREE and STAREE trials. He is currently Chair of the ANZACT Clinical Trials Network. Professor Reid has published over 400 papers in prestigious clinical journals including New England Journal of Medicine, Lancet and British Medical Journal. His work has translated into clinical practice guidelines for the prevention of cardiovascular disease and the establishment of clinical quality registries in interventional cardiology and cardiac surgery.

Professor Meg Morris

Professor Meg Morris is Director of the ARCH at La Trobe University and Director of the Healthscope ARCH. She is a Fellow of the Australian College of Physiotherapists with a special interest in preventing hospital falls, quality and safety, movement rehabilitation, and exercise for people living with chronic diseases such as Parkinson’s disease and stroke. Professor Morris leads a large NHMRC Partnership Grant, a major collaboration between La Trobe University, Healthscope, Holmesglen Institute and four other universities. She has over 350 publications, including four books, and is based at Healthscope’s Victorian Rehabilitation Centre.

Professor Robert Pike

Professor Robert Pike is Provost of the College of Science, Technology and Engineering at La Trobe University. An academic leader and internationally recognised scientist, he oversees a College that spans nine schools and 16 departments across La Trobe’s multi-campus operations. Prior to his appointment as Provost, Professor Pike was Director of the La Trobe Institute for Molecular Science and Head of the School of Molecular Sciences at La Trobe University (2014-16); Head of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (2006-11), Head of the School of Biological Sciences (2012), and Deputy Dean (Academic Planning) in the Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences (2013-14) at Monash University. Professor Pike is also a biochemist specialising in the study of enzymes involved in innate immunity. He has published over 150 research papers and supervised over 20 PhD students to completion.

Professor Peter Fuller

Professor Peter Fuller is Head of the Centre for Endocrinology and Metabolism at the Hudson Institute and Head of the Endocrinology Unit at Monash Health. He specialises in understanding the molecular mechanisms of adrenocortical steroid hormone action and the molecular pathogenesis of endocrine tumours. Professor Fuller has served on committees/boards of the Endocrine Society (USA), National Health and Medical Research Council, Cancer Council of Victoria, Victorian Cancer Agency, Cabrini Institute and Endocrine Society of Australia. He has received awards from the Wellcome Trust, the Royal Australasian College of Physicians, the British Endocrine Society and the Endocrine Society of Australia. In 2015 he was made a Member (AM) in the General Division of the Order of Australia.

Dr Nik Zeps

Dr Nik Zeps is Group Director of Research for Epworth HealthCare. Prior to that he was the Director of Research at St John of God HealthCare (2012-16) and Head of their Translational Cancer Research Program (2008-16). He is an Adjunct Professor at the Eastern Clinical School of Monash University. Dr Zeps was a member of the Australian Health Ethics Committee (2006-12) and the Research Committee of the National Health and Medical Research Council (2009-15). He is a board member and Chair of the Cancer Biology Group of the Clinical Oncology Society of Australia and a member of the Scientific Advisory Committee of the Australasian Gastro-intestinal Trials Group. He is Chair of the Primary Care Collaborative Cancer Trials Group (PC4) Advisory Committee and member of the PC4 Scientific Committee. He was a founding director and board member of the Australian Clinical Trials Alliance.

Dr Sonia Reisenhofer

Dr Sonia Reisenhofer is Associate Provost (International) in the College of Science, Health and Engineering at La Trobe University. She was previously the Director of International for the School of Nursing and Midwifery, and the Academic Program Director of the Singapore Bachelor of Nursing (a conversion degree program conducted by La Trobe University in collaboration with the Singapore Nurses Association). Dr Reisenhofer specialises in women’s health and gender-based violence, globalisation, internationalisation and mobility, and the scholarship of learning and teaching.

Dr Angela Crombie

Dr Angela Crombie is Director of Research and Innovation at Bendigo Health. She has a nursing background and, over the past 25 years, she has specialised in translating research into practice. Dr Crombie is a passionate advocate for rural and regional health research. In her current role she both oversees and conducts a broad range of rural health research projects with a focus on improving the health of rural communities.

Professor Steve Webb

Professor Steve Webb is a Senior Staff Specialist in Intensive Care Medicine at Royal Perth Hospital, Director of Clinical Trials at St John of God Hospital Subiaco, and a Professor of Critical Care Research in the School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine at Monash University. Professor Webb has received more than $100M in research funding and has published over 180 papers in journals including the New England Journal of Medicine, the Journal of the American Medical Association, The BMJ, and The Lancet. His work has been cited more than 39,000 times. He is a Founding Director and Deputy Chair of the Australian Clinical Trials Alliance, a Foundation Fellow and former member of Council of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences, and Co-Chair of the Federal Government’s Clinical Trials Collaborative Forum. He is a former Chair of the ANZICS Clinical Trials Group.

Associate Professor Donna Markham

Associate Professor Donna Markham is Chief Allied Health Officer for Victoria and the Chief Allied Health Officer for the State-wide Equipment Program. As a qualified occupational therapist, she has worked in the healthcare sector for over 17 years. Ms Markham is recognised as one of Victoria's leaders in allied health. She led the implementation of the Allied Health Credentialing, Competency and Capability Framework. Ms Markham was formerly the Chief Allied Health Officer at Monash Health. She has worked in both public and private health in a variety of senior management and leadership roles and was a Telstra Victorian Young Business Women's Award finalist in 2014. She is a graduate of the Leadership Victoria Williamson Community Leadership Program and the Australia Institute of Company Directors.

Anita Wilton

Anita Wilton is the Director of Allied Health at Eastern Health, one of the largest health services in eastern Melbourne. She oversees over 900 allied health staff. She has qualifications in dietetics and postgraduate qualifications in diabetes education and health education.

Professor David Taylor

Professor David Taylor is the inaugural Director of Research and University Relations at Eastern Health. He is a neuropharmacologist by training and has been involved in cannabis research for over 45 years. He has published 75 papers, presented more than 130 communications at national and international meetings and supervised more than 30 honours and higher degree students. Professor Taylor is interested in translational research and examining the interface of care between the community and the hospital to inform planning towards improved service integration. He is an investigator on an Australian Digital Health Agency project examining medication use and hospitalisation episodes.

Professor Leeanne Carey

Professor Leeanne Carey is Professor of Occupational Therapy at La Trobe University and Founding Head of the Neurorehabilitation and Recovery Research Laboratory at the Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health. Professor Carey’s research focuses on stroke rehabilitation and recovery. She has developed successful neuroscience and learning-based sensorimotor interventions and evidence-based assessments. An important focus has been to translate these discoveries into clinical practice and better outcomes for stroke survivors. Professor Carey has authored over 160 papers and received numerous grants and awards for her research. She is the lead for the SENSe and Task-AT-Home programs of research.

Associate Professor Sophie Hill

Associate Professor Sophie Hill is the Head of the Centre for Health Communication and Participation at La Trobe University. She is also the Joint Coordinating Editor for the Cochrane Consumers and Communication Group. She specialises in improving communication with people about their health and involving them in health planning, delivery, research and policy.