Dr. Jessica Howell, MBBS(Hons) FRACP PhD MSc (Epi) PGDip PH, is a gastroenterologist and senior research fellow in the Department of Gastroenterology, St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne/ University of Melbourne. She also leads the Hepatitis B research group within the Disease Elimination program at Burnet Institute. She combines clinical, basic science, epidemiological and public health expertise in translational research projects in liver cancer and viral hepatitis, focused on marginalized populations including people who inject drugs and people from culturally and linguistically diverse communities. She currently leads several national and international multi-center studies in rapid point-of-care diagnostics in viral hepatitis, biomarker development in liver cancer, health systems research and global health programs for viral hepatitis and liver disease in low-resource settings. She is also a regularly invited panel for multiple national and international clinical guidelines and a technical advisor to the WHO (WPRO).
Prof. Margaret E. Hellard's work has centered around infectious diseases for almost two decades, preventing their transmission and identifying the impact of these infections in vulnerable populations. A researcher and clinician, her principal research interests are in the epidemiology of blood-borne viruses (BBVs) HIV, hepatitis B and hepatitis C, sexually transmitted infections, and improving the management of individuals who already have the infection. Margaret has considerable experience in undertaking community-based research involving young people, injecting drug users (IDUs) and vulnerable populations, and experience in research in tertiary care institutes. She also has considerable experience in undertaking research that uses new technologies (such as SMS and Facebook) for health promotion and prevention interventions. She earned her PhD from the Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, Monash University in 2000 and FAFPHM from the Australasian Faculty of Public Health Medicine in 2001. In 2011, she was the Head of Hepatitis Services at the Infectious Disease Unit, Alfred Hospital, Victoria, Australia. In 2012, she was an Adjunct Professor at Monash University, DEPM. In 2013, she was an Associate Director at Burnet Institute, and in 2017, she was a Deputy Director (Programs) at Burnet Institute.
Dr. Marno Ryan trained in gastroenterology at St Vincent’s Hospital, Melbourne, before completing an MD investigating relationships between metabolic syndrome and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease at the University of Melbourne. She then spent 2.5 years at Stanford University in California, working in the laboratory of Professor Gerald Reaven and undertaking clinical research into insulin resistance and hepatic metabolism. Since being back in Melbourne, A/Prof Ryan has taken up a role as a gastroenterologist at St Vincent’s public and private hospitals. She is the clinical lead for the hepatocellular cancer service and the parenteral nutrition service. She also started the Weight Management Clinic, which is a multidisciplinary clinic for the management of obesity. She performs weekly endoscopy lists including gastroscopy and colonoscopy. Her research interests include glucose and lipid metabolism in the liver and the dietary management of obesity, type 2 diabetes, and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.
Prof. Alexander J. Thompson is a Professor-Director of Gastroenterology at St. Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne (University of Melbourne) and Director of State-wide Hepatitis Program in Victorian prisons. He is a clinician-researcher with national and international recognition for my research about hepatitis C and hepatitis B, which has focused on the development of novel therapies and, more recently, on new models of care for hepatitis C, specifically the treatment of viral hepatitis in the prison sector and in people who inject drugs. He is an Honorary Adjunct Assistant Professor of Gastroenterology at Duke University Medical Center (NC). He is the lead clinician for the state-wide hepatitis program in Victorian prisons and co-chair of the National Prisons Hepatitis Network in Australia. He is the immediate past chair of the Liver Faculty of the Gastroenterological Society of Australia (GESA), during which term he was also a board member of GESA. His research interests include models of care for hepatitis with a focus on elimination and the identification of host and viral determinants of the natural history and treatment outcomes of hepatitis B and C viruses. Thompson was involved in the discovery of IL28B polymorphism as a predictor of treatment outcome in HCV. He has published widely in journals including Nature, Gastroenterology, Hepatology, Gut, and Journal of Hepatology.
Prof. Joseph S. Doyle is a clinician-researcher and dual-trained infectious diseases and public health physician. He is an infectious and communicable diseases expert with particular interest in the epidemiology, management, and prevention of blood-borne viruses (HIV, hepatitis C, and hepatitis B). Professor Doyle specialized in infectious diseases at The Alfred where he still works clinically as a consultant physician. He completed his MPH at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, and his public health fellowship was undertaken at the Victorian Infectious Diseases Reference Laboratory and Burnet Institute. His PhD at Monash School of Population Health was focused on the effectiveness of early hepatitis C treatment. Professor Doyle is President-elect of the Australasian Society for Infectious Diseases. He is currently a Professor in the Department of Infectious Diseases at The Alfred and Monash University and is clinical lead for Alfred Health Population Health Partnership. He is jointly appointed as Deputy Director of Disease Elimination Program and Head of Infectious Diseases Clinical Research at Burnet Institute.
