Speakers
Professor Tony McMichael, The Australian National University, Australia
Professor Tony McMichael is the Director of the National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health at the Australian National University, Canberra. His research interests include environmental health risks, global environmental change and changing patterns of infectious disease. Dr. McMichael has contributed significantly to the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s assessments of the health risks associated with climate change (1993 to 2007) and has been an advisor to WHO, the United Nations Environment Program, the World Bank and numerous other national and international organizations. Dr. McMichael will give a keynote speech on climate change and human health.
Professor John Mackenzie, Curtin University of Technology, Australia
Professor John Mackenzie is a scientist with an outstanding international reputation in the field of microbiology and its impacts on public health. He was awarded an Order of Australia in 2002 for service to microbiology research. Professor Mackenzie is a recipient of the Western Australian Premier’s Research Fellowship which aims to attract excellent researchers to WA from overseas or interstate to conduct research that is internationally competitive. His research at Curtin is in the area of international health within the Division of Health Sciences. Professor John Mackenzie’s research interests extend across the spectrum of infectious disease emergence, and especially the areas of zoonotic and vector-borne viral diseases, and the establishment of national and international surveillance systems to detect, monitor and verify such disease outbreaks.
Professor Malcolm King, University Of Alberta, Canada
Professor Malcolm King is a professor in the Pulmonary Medicine Division of the Department of Medicine at the University of Alberta (U of A) and a member of the Mississaugas of the New Credit First Nation. He was recently appointed as the Scientific Director of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research’s Institute of Aboriginal Peoples’ Health, effective January 1, 2009. Dr. King is also the Principal Investigator of the Alberta ACADRE Network for Aboriginal health research training. His areas of research interest include respiratory health issues among Aboriginal peoples, health service delivery to vulnerable populations, the interaction of education and health, airborne disease transmission and chronic obstructive lung diseases. Dr. King will give a keynote speak on environmental health concerns of indigenous peoples.
Professor Alison Jones, University of Newcastle, Australia
Professor Jones is Head of the Discipline of Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology at the University of Newcastle. She has worked as an independent toxicologist in health surveillance strategy and risk communication around lead pollution in Esperance WA. She is the toxicology advisor to NSW Health, and has provided clinical toxicology advice to the Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing, FSANZ and other government agencies. She is an active clinician, involved in the management of poisoned and general medical patients at the Calvary Mater Hospital in Newcastle. She frequently presents in International toxicology meetings, predominantly in the USA. Her active research interests are in clinical toxicology (including antidotes), pharmacology, risk assessment and risk communication. She has also worked on behalf of WHO International Programme on Chemical Safety and the EU on chemical incident/monitoring/ toxicosurveillance. She sits on the NHMRC expert advisory group for lead. Professor Jones is a Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians and is a Director of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute.
Professor Bruce Lanphear, Adjunct Professor of Pediatrics and Environmental Health, Cincinnati Children's Environmental Health Center
Bruce P. Lanphear, M.D., M.P.H. is the Sloan Professor of Children's Environmental Health and Professor of Pediatrics at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center and the University of Cincinnati. Dr. Lanphear is director of the Cincinnati Children's Environmental Health Center located at Cincinnati Children's. He is a member of the U.S. EPA's Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee Lead Review Panel and a Member of the National Children's Study Steering Committee. Dr. Lanphear is currently principal investigator for a study examining fetal and early childhood exposures to prevalent environmental neurotoxins including lead, pesticides, mercury, alcohol, PCB's and environmental tobacco smoke. A component of the study is the investigation of the contribution of residential hazards and residential injuries to children's health. Photo © Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center
Emeritus Professor Malcolm Nairn AM
Veterinary pathologist Mal Nairn was commissioned by the Federal Government in 1996 to lead a team to review Australian Quarantine. From 1997-2001 he chaired the Quarantine and Exports Advisory Council set up to monitor the review recommendations which had been accepted by the Government. Nairn is currently chairman of the Board of the Australian Biosecurity Cooperative Research Centre on Emerging Infectious Disease and a member of the Eminent Scientists Group appointed to review Biosecurity Australia’s response to stakeholder comments on each Import Risk Analysis.
Professor Brian Gulson Professorial Fellow (Retired), Graduate School of Environment, Macquarie University and CSIRO Honorary Fellow, Australia
Professor Gulson's research interests include:
Application of earth science expertise, especially isotope geochemistry, to environment and environmental health projects. Principal Investigator (PI) of the Biokinetics of Lead in Human Pregnancy project, a 10 year multi-disciplinary project funded by the US National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences [NIEHS] (1990-2000). Instigator and PI of ARC/US EPA/CSIRO/Macquarie University funded project on Metal Emissions from Petrol (2001-2007). Instigator and PI of CSIRO Collaborative Flagship project (Are modern sunscreens safe?) using innovative approach of incorporating a stable metal isotope into the sunscreen. Consultancies with U.S. EPA and IARC. Head of Technical Advisory Board of LEAD (Lead Education and Abatement Design) Group.
Dr. Jenny Pronczuk de Garbino, World Health Organisation
Jenny Pronczuk de Garbino is a Medical Officer leading the technical activities on children’s environmental health in the Department of Public Health and Environment at the WHO. She trained as a Physician and was appointed Head Professor of Clinical Toxicology and Director of the National Poisons Center before joining WHO in 1991 to work on chemical safety, global toxic outbreak alert and response, until dealing with the environmental health of vulnerable population groups, especially children.
Professor Jochen Mueller, National Centre for Environmental Toxicology, The University of Queensland, Australia
The research of Jochen and his team aims at a better understanding of the sources, fate, environmental and human exposure to trace organic pollutants. His team has initially focussed on persistent organic pollutants such as dioxin-like chemicals and made contributions to various National Programs such as the human blood and milk studies for the National Dioxin Programs. More recently his team has found that in contrast to most traditional POPs, the Australian population shows relatively high body burden for many of the emerging pollutants.
Professor Philip Weinstein, Professor of Public and Environmental Health, School of Population Health, University of Queensland
Philip Weinstein is Professor of Public and Environmental Health at the University of Queensland, where he also leads an environmental health research group. He holds dual qualifications in public health medicine (FAFPHM) and in ecology (PhD), a background that has allowed him to become a leader in research on the relationship between human health and ecosystem health. He has over 150 publications on the environmental determinants of water-borne and mosquito-borne disease, and recently also led a major research programme on air quality and respiratory health through the Cooperative Research Centre for Asthma and Airways. Phil was a member of the Board of Review Editors for the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, is Co-Chair of the International Medical Geology Association, and remains an enthusiastic teacher.
Dr. Jane Heyworth, University of Western Australia
Dr Heyworth is currently Sub-Dean Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences, The University of Western Australia. Her research interests relate to an environment epidemiolog . Dr Heyworth has undertaken a number of studies on tank rainwater quality and gastroenteritis and assisted non-government agencies in Sri Lanka, India, Hawaii and Brazil in assessing the risk associated with rainwater consumption. Dr Heyworth has also provided advice to the WHO South East Asia Regional Office on a guidance document on water safety and health aspects of rainwater harvesting and storage. In 2008 Dr Heyworth led a field trip for 24 UWA public health students in rural India to work on water contamination issues in the Bagapelli regions, Karnataka.
Dr. Kathleen McCarty, Yale University, USA
Dr. Mc Carty is an assistant professor with a joint appointment from the Yale University School of Medicine and the Graduate School of Art & Sciences. She is an environmental health scientist with training in molecular epidemiology. Her research interest relates arsenic exposure, and to host factors which influence susceptibility to disease risk and biomarker response.
Dr. Daam Settachan, Chulabhorn Research Institute, Thailand
Dr. Daam Settachan completed his Ph.D. in Environmental Toxicology from Texas Tech University. He is currently a research scientist at the Chulabhorn Research Institute (CRI) and has been involved with the assessment of exposure to carcinogenic air pollutants in populations with increased susceptibility either due to life-styles or occupations that necessitate relatively high levels of exposures to polluted air, or through dietary, genetic or physiological factors. He also oversees work carried out in the rodent inhalation toxicology facility at CRI, which conducts a number of experimental inhalation exposure studies of air pollutants and resultant health effects.
Dr. Thomas D. Bucheli, Agroscope Reckenholz-Tänikon, Switzerland
Dr. Thomas D. Bucheli received his Ph.D. in Environmental Organic and Analytical Chemistry at EAWAG Dübendorf in 1997. Thereafter, he conducted Postdocs at the Department of Chemistry at ETH Zürich (1998-99) and at the Institute of Applied Environmental Sciences, Stockholm University (1999-2001). Since 2001, he leads the Organic Trace Analysis Group at Agroscope Reckenholz-Tänikon ART. His research focuses on the occurrence, fate and behavior of organic chemicals in the agro-environment. His group performs and combines field and laboratory studies, covers compounds from persistent organic pollutants to natural toxins, and compartments such as water, soil and recycling fertilizers.
Dr. Tom Beer, CSIRO, Australia
Dr Tom Beer leads the Transport Bio-fuels Stream within the CSIRO Energy Transformed Flagship. He founded the Risk Special Interest Group of the Clean Air Society of Australia and New Zealand specifically to examine issues related to air quality and health. He is an international expert on environmental risk management, including greenhouse gas and air quality issues and particularly their application to transport and to health. He has published over 130 peer reviewed papers and 12 books or monographs and was a lead author for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which was awarded the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize.
Dr. Zhang Xinying, Guangxi Teachers Education University, China
Dr. Zhang Xinying is a Professor at the Faculty of Resource and Environmental Science at Guangxi Teachers Education University. Dr. Zhang got her doctor degree of environmental science major at Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences. She also experienced the study and co-research at the University of Tokyo, Japan as a reseach fellow for one year. Her research interestes are focused on health risk from environmental exposures in the mining areas in Guangxi.
Dr. Kyoung-Woong Kim, Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology, Korea
Dr. Kyoung-Woong Kim completed his Ph.D. at Center for Environmental Technology from Imperial College in London and is the currently the professor of environmental geochemistry at the Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology, Korea. He is the former director of the International Environment Research Center (UNU-GIST Joint Program).
Dr. Kim is the recipient of numerous awards including the Prime Minister Commendation for Scientific Achievement in the Republic of Korea; the Award for Academic Achievement from Korean Society for Geosystem Engineering; the Best Paper Award from Korea Environment Institute; the Excellent Paper Award from the Korean Federation of Science and Technology Societies; and the Government Award for Scientific Achievement from the Korean Ministry of Science and Technology.
Dr. Kim is the author of more than 95 peer-reviewed articles in international journals and many more in Korean journals as well as one book and several book chapters. He is an editorial board member of several journals including Environmental Geochemistry & Health, Journal of Environmental Sciences and Geochemical Journal.
Professor Jon Øyvind Odland, University of Tromsø
Deputy Secretary, Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme; Professor, Centre for International Health (CIH), University of Tromsø; President of The Norwegian Forum for Global Health Research; Scientific editor, International Journal of Circumpolar Health (IJCH). 60 peer reviewed publications, mostly on environmental, reproductive, and epidemiologic topics. Appr. 100 presentations in international conferences; 20 publications in Russian medical journals, including dr. thesis; co-editor of procedure books in obstetrics and gynaecology in North-West Russia. Ongoing projects in all Arctic countries through the AMAP, with special projects in Russia, Vietnam, South Africa, and Brazil on reproductive health and persistent toxic substances (PTS); responsible for development of a birth registry for the Russian Federation. Partner in a recently initiated PTS-project in Western Australia in cooperation with the ECU and UWA.