Speakers
CANCER PRECEPTORSHIP
FOR GENERAL PRACTITIONERS
SATURDAY 22 JULY 2023
FREE FACE TO FACE EVENT
8.30am registrations 9.00am– 3.30pm
For more information about this event contact:
E: Med_Onc_Secretary@health.qld.gov.au P: (07) 3646 7983
Associate Professor Glen Kennedy
Associate Professor Glen Kennedy is a haematologist who specialises in the treatment of malignant haematological disorders including bone marrow / stem cell transplantation. A/Prof Kennedy began his specialty training in combined clinical haematology and haematology pathology in 1999 and was admitted to the Royal Australasian College of Physicians in late 2002 and the Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia in early 2003.
In 2003 A/Prof Kennedy undertook a Clinical Fellowship at the Peter McCallum Cancer Institute in Melbourne, Victoria, in areas of malignant and transplant haematology. In late 2003 A/Prof Kennedy returned to the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital, was appointed Deputy Director of the Department of Haematology in 2007 and Executive Director of Cancer Care Services in 2015. In 2004 he developed regional services in haematology at the Rockhampton Hospital and gained his academic title via the University of Queensland School of Medicine in 2010.
Glen has an active interest in education and training, as well as service planning and development and clinical research in transplant and malignant haematology. To date, A/Prof Kennedy has authored or co-authored over 90 peer reviewed publications, over 150 abstracts at national and international meetings, and developed and managed several local investigator-initiated studies in haematology and bone marrow transplantation.
Associate Professor Melissa Eastgate
Associate Professor Melissa Eastgate is the Deputy Director of Medical Oncology at the RBWH, and the acting Stream Lead for Metro North Cancer Care Services . Melissa completed her medical degree at UQ and gained her FRACP in 2004. Since then she has worked at the RBWH as a medical oncologist, with her main clinical interests being melanoma and gastrointestinal cancers, in which areas she is an active researcher.
Melissa established and chairs the Melanoma MDT at the RBWH. Melissa supervises physician trainees throughout their training and is the past Chair of the RACP Advanced Training Committee for Medical Oncology. Melissa is the current Deputy Chair of MOGA.
Melissa has a strong interest in enabling access to care for patients, having provided outreach services to Bundaberg for nine years, and currently is the medical lead of the Telechemotherapy service in Longreach. Melissa is an affiliate researcher at QIMR.
Dr Cameron Curley MBBS FRACP FRCPA
Cameron is the Acting Director of the department of Haematology and Bone Marrow Transplantation at the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital. He graduated from the University of Queensland in 1999 and completed training in Haematology at the Royal Brisbane and Princess Alexandra Hospitals in 2010 before taking up an appointment as a clinical Haematologist at the RBWH. He provides outreach Haematology services to Rockhampton. His clinical interests include allogeneic stem cell transplantation, CAR T cell therapy and the mutational landscape of myeloid malignancy.
Dr Michelle Spanevello BPhty(Hons) MBBS(Hons) FRACP FRCPA
Dr Michelle Spanevello is a Senior Staff Specialist Haematologist at the RBWH. In 2003, Dr Spanevello completed her Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) at the University of Queensland and subsequently commenced specialist clinical and laboratory haematology training in Queensland.
After obtaining her specialist qualifications, she worked as a haematopathologist at QML Pathology and clinical haematology staff specialist at the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital (RBWH). In 2016, Dr Spanevello completed an observership under Prof Terry Gernsheimer at the University of Washington Medical Center/Seattle Cancer Care Alliance to further her interest in non-malignant haematology.
Dr Spanevello maintains an active role in the supervision of trainees, leads an educational non-malignant haematology program for haematologists and is a senior lecturer at the University of Queensland’s School of Medicine. Dr Spanevello is co-chair of the RBWH Blood Management Committee and deputy co-chair of the Metro North Hospital and Health Services Blood Management Committee.
She is a fellow of both the Royal Australasian College of Physicians (FRACP) and the Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia (FRCPA). Dr Spanevello has a particular interest in thrombosis and has subsequently become the clinical lead in non-malignant haematology at RBWH.
Dr Michelle Nottage
Dr Nottage is a graduate of Otago University and completed specialist training in Medical Oncology in Brisbane in 2000. She undertook a fellowship in Medical Oncology new drug development at the Princess Margaret Hospital in Toronto before returning to a staff specialist position at the RBWH in 2003.
She is a member of MOGA, ASCO, Breast Cancer Trials. Cancer Alliance Queensland breast cancer sub-committee member.
Dr Nottage’s special interests are Breast Cancer and Head and Neck Cancers.
Assoc Prof. David Wyld
Associate Professor David Wyld is the Director of Medical Oncology at RBWH. He completed his Oncology training in Brisbane followed by a fellowship in the United Kingdom, before returning to take up a position at RBWH in 1997. He also provided Outreach Services to Rockhampton for 20 years.
David has experience managing a wide variety of tumour types – his main clinical interests currently being gastrointestinal and neuroendocrine tumours. David established Queensland’s first neuroendocrine tumour multidisciplinary meeting and clinical service at RBWH and has chaired this MDM for more than 15 years. David was a co-founder of the Queensland Collaborative for Cancer Survivorship Research and is currently the Co-Chair of this group. David has a specific research interest in neuroendocrine tumours, and qualitative patient focused research, and an ongoing involvement in education and training. David has also been actively involved in broader Cancer Services planning and development, both within Metro North and across Queensland more broadly
Dr Michelle Grogan MBBS, FRANZCR
Dr Michelle Grogan MBBS, FRANZCR is a Senior Radiation Oncologist with special interests in breast cancer, genitourinary cancer, gastrointestinal tract cancer and gynaecological cancers.
After obtaining her fellowship in 1996, she undertook further training in breast, genitourinary and gynaecologic malignancies at the Breast Cancer Institute in Sydney and the Toronto Sunnybrook Hospital in Toronto, Canada. On returning to Australia in 1999, Dr Grogan worked at the Prince of Wales Hospital, Sydney moving to Brisbane in 2007 to work at the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital.
Dr Grogan has experience in treating with new technologies such as IMRT, VMAT, Tomotherapy and stereotactic radiotherapy and in the use of brachytherapy for management of genitourinary, gynaecologic and GI tract tumours.
Having published in peer review journals, Dr Grogan is committed to clinical research and has an active role in the education of trainees.
Dr Darshit A Thaker FRACP, DipGeriOnc, ClinDipPallMed, MD, MBBS
Medical Oncologist and Palliative Medicine Physician
Senior Staff Specialist, Medical Oncology, RBWH
Senior Lecturer, University of Queensland
Dr Darshit Arunbhai Thaker is a Medical Oncologist and Palliative Medicine Physician. He is working with Queensland Health as Consultant for ten years. Darshit provides effective and personalised care to his patients during their journey from diagnosis to active management to palliation.
He is currently providing Oncology services at RBWH, North Lakes Cancer Centre (NLCCS) and Caboolture Hospital (CBH). He also provides services at Caboolture Private Hospital. His main areas of interest are Gastrointestinal and breast malignancies.
He completed his oncology training in RBWH in 2012, won the prestigious Unicorn Foundation Award to expand his knowledge in neuroendocrine tumours. He did extensive research on Tele oncology, which took him to national and international conferences for oral and poster presentations. He has multiple publications in field of Oncology and Palliative Care in various peer-reviewed journals.
Darshit has done Diploma in Geriatric Oncology and currently leading GeriOnc project at NLCCS and CBH. He has presented service outcome results in SIOG annual conference, Geneva 2019, and published paper in Journal of Geriatric Oncology in 2021. He is currently principal investigator in Quality-of-Life Study of older patients with cancer.
Darshit has maintained an active interest in teaching and clinical research as well. He is member of AGITG, ASCO, ESMO, MOGA, ANZPM and IAP. He is an accredited supervisor for advanced trainees of RACP, examiner for fellowship exams and Senior Lecturer at University of QLD.
He received prestigious ‘Hind Ratan’ (Jewel of India) award 2020 for his social welfare service to his home country India.
Dr Anna Kuchel
Dr Anna Kuchel is a medical oncology staff specialist at the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital and is actively involved in research in genitourinary cancers (particularly testicular cancer) and cancer of unknown primary. Other interests include teaching and mentoring of medical students and junior doctors.
Dr Robyn Cheuk
Senior Radiation Oncologist, Radiation Oncology, Cancer Care Services, RBWH, ROPART
Dr Robyn Cheuk is a Senior Radiation Oncologist, who works at the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital and Princess Alexandra Hospital (ROPART). She is a clinical lead for Paediatric Radiation Oncology at the Queensland Children’s Hospital works exclusively in Paediatric Radiation Oncology at ROPART.
Specialist Areas
Her work at the Royal Brisbane & Women’s Hospital includes breast, brachytherapy, and gynaecological oncology which can be combined with her paediatric work. She is involved across both sites with patients in the Adolsecent and Young Adult Group. Shis is also a Senior Lecturer with the University of Queensland. She is the lead Radiation Oncologist for IORT (Intra-operative radiotherapy) for breast cancer which commenced at RBWH in 2023, part of the RANZCR special interest group and chair for the Gynaecological Oncology Radiation Collaboration (GOROC).
Education:
Dr Cheuk graduated from the school of Medicine at Flinders University of South Australia. Her Radiation Oncology training commenced in New South Wales and was completed in Queensland. She continued her studies in France, specializing in brachytherapy.
Research:
Dr Cheuk is a co-investigator in paediatric trilas for SIPO, COG and above groups & St. Jude’s Children’s Reseach Hospital and the chair of the Safety Committee for Phase 1 & Phase 2 Paediatric clinic trials. She is also involved with the IORT breast clinical trials which was established in 2022 at RBWH.
Memberships:
Dr Cheuk is a member of the following organizations:
- Australasian Brachytherapy Group (founding member)
- Particle Therapy Working Group of RANZCR with focus on Paediatric Oncology
- Paediatric Radiation Oncology Specialist Interest Group of RANZCR
- Radiation Oncology Representative for CNS Tumour Group of ANZCHOG
- International Society of Paediatric Oncology (SIOP)
- International Children’s Oncology Group (COG)
Jenny Hanlon
Jenny Hanlon is a McGrath Breast Care Nurse at the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital. She studied and graduated from Bachelor of Nursing at Charles Darwin University in 2012 after which she completed the graduate nursing program at The Canberra Hospital and went on to work in surgical nursing for 3 years before transferring to oncology nursing.
In 2015 she moved with her family to Brisbane and commenced working at the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital on the oncology inpatient ward. She has a strong passion for breast cancer nursing and in 2019 she began working as the Breast Cancer Care Coordinator and in 2021 was successful in gaining her current position as one of the McGrath Breast Care Nurses.
Rikki Hopkins
Rikki Hopkins is a McGrath Breast Care Nurse at the Royal Brisbane and Women’s and The Prince Charles Hospitals. She completed Bachelor Nursing Sciences at James Cook University in 2003 and Graduate Nursing Program at the Townsville Hospital the following year.
Rikki has worked in various Nursing positions and locations since including surgical, paediatrics, recovery and GP Practice Nurse before arriving in Cancer Care Services at the Cairns Hospital in 2009. Rikki has enjoyed Oncology Nursing and in particular supporting Breast Cancer patients. She worked in many positions within Cancer Care including Oncology Day Unit Team Leader and Cancer Care Coordinator before completing her Graduate Certificate in Breast Cancer Nursing.
Rikki has been a McGrath Breast Care Nurse since 2017, originally in Cairns, but has since relocated to Brisbane.