Our People

Meet the team leading our research, who are united by a common purpose- to improve symptoms and promote respiratory health in Australia and worldwide.

  • Natasha is a respiratory physician at the Alfred Hospital, Head of the Chronic Respiratory Disease Research group at the Central Clinical School (Monash University) and principal research fellow at Monash University. Natasha has clinical and research interests in caring for people with advanced respiratory illnesses particularly managing challenging symptoms such as severe breathlessness. She established and led the Advanced Lung Disease Service at the Royal Melbourne Hospital and now leads the Breathlessness & Advanced Respiratory Disease Clinic at the Alfred Hospital (Melbourne). Learn more about Natasha here.

A/Prof Natasha Smallwood

  • Lena is the Head of Department of General Practice, Director of Teaching and Learning, and co-lead of the Children and Young People's Research Stream at the University of Melbourne. She was also a Research Program Leader in the Young and Well Cooperative Research Centre (2011-2016) which researched the potential of technology to improve the mental health and clinical service system for youth. She has been a CI on 5 RCTs of health service interventions in primary care, including leading a large randomised trial in general practice of an intervention re-orientating primary care toward a young person-centred, preventive care model, using evidence based strategies for learning and change in practice-systems and clinical practice. Lena is a GP and expert advisor to the Victorian Government on the GPs in secondary schools program. Learn more about Lena here.

Prof Lena Sanci

  • Jennifer is the Chair of Palliative Medicine, University of Melbourne, St. Vincent’s Hospital and the Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Centre Alliance. Jenny is a palliative care physician, researcher and teacher whose particular areas of interest include improving the ways supportive and palliative care are delivered. Her work is focused upon building research capability and ensuring all care provided to people with advanced disease is informed by evidence and delivered by people who are well-trained, supported and passionate about what they do. Learn more about Jennifer here.

Prof Jennifer Philip

  • Anna is the Lead Consultant for the Cambridge Breathlessness Intervention Service at the Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and a Lecturer (Honorary Consultant) in Palliative and End of Life Care at the University of Cambridge. She is co-leading the sister Primary Breathe program at Cambridge University, UK. Anna’s research focuses on brief, community-based complex interventions for the management of intractable fatigue and breathlessness in chronic disease. She is developing and evaluating conceptual models that describe vicious cycles of emotional and behavioural responses to breathlessness and fatigue; the models can explain symptom perpetuation and facilitate intervention. Learn more about Anna here.

A/Prof Anna Spathis

  • Grant is a general practitioner and health services researcher. He is the Professor of Primary Care Research and Director of the Southern Academic Primary Care Research Unit (SAPCRU) within the Department of General Practice at Monash University. His research program is directed towards understanding and measuring the impact of primary care reform on patients, clinicians and general practices. While in Canada he received a President's Award from the North American Primary Care Research Group for leadership in several national investigations of research capacity in primary care. Learn more about Grant here.

Prof Grant Russell

  • Jonathan is Professor of Primary Care Research within the Department of Public Health & Primary Care at the University of Cambridge, and is co-leading the sister Primary Breathe program at Cambridge University, UK. He is an honorary consultant for the Office for Health Improvement & Disparities and for the Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. His research focuses on cardiovascular disease in community settings, with particular interests in stroke prevention and long-term care in community settings, atrial fibrillation, hypertension and heart failure. He is an NIHR Senior Investigator (Emeritus) and a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences. Learn more about Jonathan here.

Prof Jonathan Mant

  • Anne is Professor of Physiotherapy and Head of Respiratory Research at Monash University and Alfred Health in Melbourne. She is an NHMRC Leadership Fellow (2021-2025). Anne is a Chief Investigator for the NHMRC Centre of Research Excellence in Pulmonary Fibrosis and the NHMRC Centre of Research Excellence in Treatable Traits. Anne has published over 380 peer reviewed journal articles and her research underpins recommendations in more than 30 clinical guidelines from 18 countries for chronic lung disease, pulmonary rehabilitation and physiotherapy. Her contributions to respiratory research have been recognised in the award of the Society Medal, Thoracic Society of Australia and New Zealand (2021), and the European Respiratory Society Gold Medal for Allied Health Professionals (2022). Anne is President of the Thoracic Society of Australia and New Zealand. Learn more about Anne here.

Prof Anne Holland

  • Patty is a biostatistician specialising in primary care and health services research. She is the lead biostatistician within the Primary Care Trials Unit based at the Department of General Practice and Primary Care, at the University of Melbourne. In her role she provides statistical leadership and expertise to support the department’s research programs, including grants and publications, and to advance the methodological and statistical skills and capacity of researchers and research higher degree students. Her research interests include the design and analysis of randomised controlled trials, particularly cluster randomised and stepped wedge designs. Learn more about Patty here.

A/Prof Patty Chondros

  • Sinthia is a medical researcher and respiratory pharmacist internationally recognised as an expert in respiratory medicines use. She is founder and Head of the Quality Use of Respiratory Medicines Group at the Woolcock Institute of Medical Research and The University of Sydney. Sinthia’s research has led to the development of the ‘gold standards’ in the use of inhalers, impacting on national and international treatment guidelines for asthma, COPD and allergic rhinitis. Her research with different patient populations, health care professionals and health care settings is key to our understanding of how to optimise the use of respiratory medicines to improve health outcomes. Learn more about Sinthia here.

Prof Sinthia Bosnic-Antecevich

A/Prof Jo-Anne Manski-Nankervis

  • Jo-Anne is an academic general practitioner at LKC Medicine, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore and an honorary associate professor at the Department of General Practice and Primary Care at the University of Melbourne. She conducts research into the development and implementation of technology to inform decision making in general practice and the use of data to describe general practice activity. Jo-Anne has a special interest in chronic disease management and in development of research opportunities in general practice. Learn more about Jo-Anne here.

  • Daniel is a Respiratory Physician at the Royal Melbourne Hospital, and Principal Research Fellow at the University of Melbourne. He is an emerging national and international leader in interventional pulmonology and has been an expert in pioneering the use of and developing novel applications of new interventional technologies. He has authored over 140 medical articles on lung cancer and respiratory disease, with his particular field of expertise being Interventional Pulmonology. He has led multiple international research collaborations in diagnosis & staging of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and has been Principal Investigator for multiple First-In-Human studies of bronchoscopic ablation techniques for NSCLC and other illnesses. Learn more about Daniel here.

Prof Daniel Steinfort

  • Yet is a respiratory physician and an emerging research leader. In addition to dual clinical training in respiratory and sleep medicine, she completed a NHMRC-funded PhD in interstitial lung disease (ILD) and oxygen therapy at the University of Melbourne in 2019, and a post-doctoral fellowship at the University of British Columbia funded by an Australian Endeavour Leadership Award. Currently, she is an NHMRC Emerging Leadership fellow who leads investigator-initiated ILD research programs, as well as the Lead for Austin Health Oxygen Service and a specialist at the Austin and Alfred Health ILD Services. Learn more about Yet here.

A/Prof Yet Khor

  • Christian is a physiotherapist with broad interests in the field of chronic lung disease and rehabilitation. His research focuses on the use of evidence to inform the design and delivery of personalised medicine in order to optimise health outcomes for people affected by diseases such as COPD and asthma. He is Director of Research Strategy for the School of Primary and Allied Health Care at Monash University and is the founding head of ResPTlab – a laboratory of clinician-researchers dedicated to clinically important research in the field of respiratory physiotherapy and medicine. Learn more about Christian here.

A/Prof Christian Osadnik

  • Rebecca is a Senior Research Fellow, supported by an ARC DECRA fellowship, awarded to address end-stage chronic disease care across rural Australia. Her research focus is on advanced and end-stage chronic disease, including: improving models of health service delivery; supportive, palliative and end-stage care; and addressing influences on health behaviours. Rebecca also recently received the Early Career Achievement Award from the American Thoracic Society. Prior to moving into academia, Rebecca worked as Respiratory Specialist Nurse at Westminster Primary Care Trust, London; Nurse Unit Manager of the Acute Respiratory and HDU wards at St Mary’s Hospital, London; and trained in intensive care at Royal Melbourne Hospital in Melbourne. Learn more about Rebecca here.

A/Prof Rebecca Disler

  • Kerry is a general practitioner with over 25 years experience in clinical practice, with most of that time as a principal of a self established practice in the outer southern suburbs of Adelaide. For at least the last two and half decades she has had a special interest in general practice based respiratory medicine and has been actively involved in advocacy, guideline development and dissemination and research activities. Kerry is currently Chair RACGP Respiratory Medicine Specific Interests Group; Chair Lung Foundation Australia (LFA) Primary Care Clinical Council; member LFA Clinical and Research Council and COPD Clinical Advisory Committee; Honorary Fellow Allergy and Lung Health Unit Melbourne School of Population and Global Health The University of Melbourne. Learn more about Kerry here.

Dr Kerry Hancock

  • Andrew is a GP Research Fellow at the Department of General Practice and Primary Care, Melbourne Medical School, University of Melbourne. He is a medical graduate with a Master of Epidemiology degree and is a Fellow of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners. Andrew is a member of the department’s Data Driven Quality Improvement team, focusing on supporting evidence-based clinical decision making in primary care. Using innovative information technologies, data from practice-based electronic medical records are used to inform optimisation of health care using links to current clinical guidelines, consumer resources and quality improvement activities. He has been a GP for over 35 years and continues to work part-time in clinical practice in regional Victoria. Learn more about Andrew here.

Dr Andrew Donald

Dr Amy Pascoe

  • Amy is an Early Career Researcher with the Chronic Respiratory Disease Research Group at Monash University and Alfred Health in Melbourne, and Project Manager for Primary Breathe Aus. In her current role she manages clinical trials targeting symptom relief and quality of life in chronic respiratory disease. Her other research interests include health service delivery and healthcare inequity in chronic respiratory disease.

  • Catherine is a Respiratory and Sleep Nurse Consultant with extensive clinical experience having worked at Alfred Health for over 20 years. She has a postgraduate diploma in advanced nursing critical care and master of nursing science. Catherine is a research assistant and PhD candidate in A/Prof Smallwood’s research team. She provides holistic biopsychosocial, person-centred management to improve outcomes. She is the co-convenor Respiratory Nurse special interest group and a member of the Professional Standards committee of the Thoracic Society of Australia and New Zealand.

Ms Catherine Buchan

Dr Adrian Laughlin

  • Adrian is a Biostatistician with a background in Psychology. He is part of the Primary Care Trials Unit within the Department of General Practice and Primary Care (DGPPC) at the University of Melbourne. Adrian’s role involves advising research teams regarding optimisation of trial design and data collection methods, conducting analyses for randomised controlled trials, and supporting students conducting research projects within the DGPPC. His areas of interest and expertise include randomised controlled trials, observational studies, causal inference, hierarchical models, and electronic medical record data.

Dr Latasha Abeynaike

  • Latasha is a postdoctoral research assistant for Primary Breathe Australia, working in A/Prof Natasha Smallwood’s research team based at Monash University, based at the Alfred Hospital, Melbourne. She has a background in respiratory research and has worked as a respiratory scientist.

  • Esther is an advanced physician trainee at Alfred Health. She completed her Doctor of Medicine degree at the University of Melbourne in 2019. Esther started her journey of respiratory research with A/Prof Smallwood when she was a medical student, with a focus on breathlessness management in patients with advanced lung disease. She is commencing her PhD which aims to optimise and implement a comprehensive model of care for COPD patients.

Dr Esther Chen