Our Speakers - PPA 2025 Conference
Dr. Orelly Thyna is a highly experienced paediatrician and the Chief Paediatrician at Vila Central Hospital in Vanuatu. She holds a Master of Medicine in Child Health from the University of Papua New Guinea and has dedicated her career to improving child healthcare. Dr. Thyna has held various leadership roles, including Chairperson of the Overseas Referral Committee and Chief Paediatrician. She also plays a key role in infectious disease management, having been part of the HIV Medical Team and the Emergency Operating Command for Vila Central Hospital. Passionate about paediatric care and medical leadership, Dr. Thyna continues to advocate for the health and well-being of children in the Pacific region.
Dr Orelly Thyna
Dr. Ashvini is a dedicated paediatrician with extensive experience in inpatient and outpatient care across Fiji. She is the National Coordinator for the Fiji Paediatric Clinical Practice Guidelines, leading the development of paediatric and neonatal protocols. As Secretary of the Pacific Paediatric Association, she collaborates with experts to advance regional child health. She also serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Pediatric Education and Research.
A strong advocate for evidence-based medicine, Dr. Ashvini has published widely on paediatric care and is currently researching lower respiratory infections and vaccine strategies to improve child health in the Pacific.
Dr Ashvini Krishna
Dr Kelerayani Namudu is a Snr Paediatric Registrar at CWM Hospital since 2009 - with a keen interest in Developmental Paediatrics. She has taken the clinical lead (locally) in assessing children who have specific developmental concerns or need Developmental assessments from 2012, and also conducts a weekly Developmental Clinic at Suva's CWM Hospital with assistance from Paediatric mentors in both Sydney and Queensland.
She is currently completing a Masters in Medicine in Paediatrics at the Fiji National University - with her research project titled "Knowledge Attitudes & Practices around Developmental Surveillance amongst Healthcare Workers in the Suva Medical Sub-Division”. Dr Namudu will be providing an update at this year’s PPA conference on developing a Cerebral Palsy Register for Fiji. Dr Namudu is married with 2 sons aged 11 and 4 yrs.
Dr Kelerayani Namudu
Professor Colleen Lau is a clinician and infectious disease epidemiologist at The University of Queensland and leads UQ’s program on Operational Research and Decision Support for Infectious Diseases. Prof Lau is internationally recognised for her expertise in vaccine preventable diseases, emerging infectious diseases, and neglected tropical diseases. Special interests include environmental drivers of infectious disease transmission, disease surveillance, disease mapping, and decision support tools. Her research projects focus on answering practical questions in clinical management of infectious diseases and operational questions on improving strategies to solve public health problems, particularly in the Asia-Pacific region. She has collaborated with multiple Pacific Island Countries and Territories including Samoa, American Samoa, Tonga, Fiji, Vanuatu, Palau, New Caledonia and French Polynesia.
Professor Colleen Lau
Dr Penny Larcombe
Dr Penny Larcombe is a Senior Staff Specialist in Paediatrics and Adolescent Young Adult Medicine at Gold Coast University Hospital since 2017. Dr Larcombe has been a leader and advocate for the development and recognition of AYA services in Queensland resulting in the commencement of the dedicated AYA service at the Gold Coast in 2022.
Dr Larcombe continues her advocacy for young people through her representation and advocacy at state and national levels. She is the chair for the Supporting Advocacy for Youth Collaborative, represents on the AYA Subnetwork for the Queensland Child and Youth Clinical Network, and the Queensland Women and Girls’ Health Promotion Program Strategic Advisory Committee.
Dr Robin Erickson
Dr Robin Erickson is the clinical lead of the pediatric kidney service at Starship Children’s Hospital where he has worked since 2019. He received is PhD in Physiology from the University of Michigan in Ann, Arbor, USA, and his MD from the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada. He completed his pediatrics residency at the Alberta Children’s Hospital in Calgary, Canada and his pediatric nephrology fellowship at the The Children’s Hospital of Winnipeg in Winnipeg, Canada.
He has a long standing interest in provision of health care to populations that are underserviced. He is serving as the Co-Chair of the International Pediatric Nephrology Association (IPNA) Priorities in Low Resource Countries Committee and begins a term on the IPNA council as the Australia-New Zealand representative starting in October 2025.
Professor Pete Azzopardi
Prof Pete Azzopardi PhD FRACP leads an international program of research focusing on adolescent health and well-being. His research is informed by experience working as a paediatrician in Australia (including in youth justice, the Aboriginal Community Controlled Health sector, tertiary referral services, youth homeless services) and across health services in the Asia Pacific region.
Pete’s program of research is approached in partnership with young people. He has expertise in using data to describe adolescent health needs, and expertise in the codesign and implementation of responsive programs for adolescent and wellbeing. He leads a research group at Murdoch Children’s Research Institute where his work focuses on global adolescent health. At Telethon Kids Institute his work is in partnership with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities across Australia. Ensuring health equity is a cross cutting theme.
Pete is a Commissioner on the current Lancet Commission for Adolescent Health and Wellbeing. He co-chairs WHO’s Global Action for Measurement of Adolescent health expert group, and co-chairs the adolescent wellbeing work stream at the Partnership for Women’s, Children’s and Adolescent’s health (PMNCH). Pete has also recently joined WHO’s Strategic Technical Advisory Group of Experts (STAGE). These engagements provide an opportunity to contribute to - and learn- from best practice globally.
Professor Kim Mulholland
Professor Kim Mulholland is an Australian paediatrician, who trained at the University of Melbourne and The Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne. He completed post-graduate training in immunology, respiratory medicine and tropical medicine. Kim’s main research focus is vaccines, and he is considered an authority in his field. He has been a member of the WHO SAGE (Scientific Advisory Group of Experts) on immunization since 2020.
Kim has been a Senior Principal Research Fellow at MCRI since 2003 and leads the New Vaccines Research Group. He established leading pneumococcal microbiology and immunology laboratories at the Murdoch Children's Research Institute (MCRI), Melbourne, along with major field research programs in Vietnam, Fiji, Indonesia and Mongolia. He is the Co-Director of Global Health at MCRI.
A major area of work currently is 3 Covid Vaccine clinical trials being conducted in Australia, Indonesia and Mongolia.
Kim has been leading a programme of PCV clinical trials in Vietnam for the past decade. He also leads HPV research programs in Mongolia, Vietnam and Ethiopia. He has worked on RSV research projects for over 30 years and currently leads projects in Mongolia and Vietnam. He has co-led the typhoid research project in Fiji since 2012. He has been involved in the oversight of many vaccine trials, serving on steering committees or DSMBs for a range of vaccines including Pneumococcal, Dengue, RSV, malaria and Covid-19 vaccines.
Kim joined the Medical Research Council Laboratories, Gambia in 1989, where he developed a program of research covering all aspects of the problem of childhood pneumonia. This included studies of the aetiology, clinical signs, and treatment of pneumonia cases, with particular reference to very young infants and malnourished children. These studies helped to guide WHO policy in the field and contributed to the development of the strategy of Integrated Management of Childhood Illness (IMCI), as well as guiding oxygen and antibiotic management for hospitalized children. In Gambia, he also worked on several projects relating indoor air pollution to pneumonia. His Hib vaccine trials were the first to demonstrate the capacity of conjugate vaccines to prevent bacterial pneumonia and paved the way for Hib vaccine introduction in Africa.
After six years in the Gambia, he joined WHO HQ where he oversaw the development of standardized methods for the evaluation of pneumonia vaccines in developing countries. At WHO he was also the focal point for air pollution in the Child and Adolescent Health Department and helped design the RESPIRE study. Since leaving WHO in 2000 he has continued to work in the pneumonia field with particular emphasis on vaccines. He was one of the founders of the Global Action Plan for Pneumonia and one of the leaders of the successful Hib Initiative project that saw the introduction of Hib vaccines into the poorest countries of the world.
Professor Fiona Russell
Professor Fiona Russell (BMBS, Grad Dip(Clin Epi), Dip Paeds, MPHTM, FRACP, PhD) is a paediatrician, epidemiologist and vaccine researcher. She is Director of the Child and Adolescent Health PhD Program, Department of Paediatrics, the University of Melbourne, and is a member of the WHO Collaborating Centre for Child and Neonatal Health Research and Training; and Group Leader for Asia-Pacific Health research, MCRI. She is Chair of the Australasian Society of Infectious Diseases Vaccination Special Interest Group.
Her research provides evidence for policy decisions regarding immunisation and child health in low- and middle-income countries.. It focuses on novel vaccine impact evaluations including the first study on vaccine effectiveness against hypoxic pneumonia using the test-negative design, understanding herd immunity, prevention of mother to infant transmission of infections, and vaccine preventable disease surveillance. Her research has changed global, regional and country policy; is cited in the WHO pneumococcal conjugate vaccine Position Statements (2012, 2019); has led to a paradigm shift in the number and timing of vaccine doses used; and has led to new vaccine introduction in the region. The results from her work have been presented to WHO and Gavi.
She leads the NHMRC Centre for Research Excellence in Pneumococcal Disease Control in the Asia-Pacific region with many partners from the Asia-Pacific region. She has been a regular advisor to WHO Immunization and Vaccine Research technical advisory groups (2011, 2013, 2016, 2017, 2018) on global PCV policy and research directions. She has undertaken more than 30 international consultancies (UNICEF, WHO) to advise governments, donors (DFAT, Asia Development Bank) immunisation and child health policy (Asia, Pacific and Africa). She advises DFAT and WHO on COVID-19 vaccine use in the Asia-Pacific region.
Dr Dustin Mills
Dr Dustin Mills is a staff specialist paediatric respiratory and sleep physician working between Townsville University Hospital in North Queensland and the Queensland Children's Hospital in Brisbane. Dustin has also worked at the Starship Children's Hospital in New Zealand and completed a Fellowship in Paediatric Respiratory Medicine through Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. Dustin works with the Indigenous Respiratory Outreach Clinic (IROC) team, providing specialist respiratory care to many remote communities throughout Queensland, and has worked closely with many Indigenous communities throughout Atlantic Canada, providing education on the importance of chronic cough and lung health in Indigenous children and establishing an Indigenous spirometry training program. Dustin is completing a PhD through the University of Queensland, - Improving the understanding of prognostic factors and reversibility in paediatric bronchiectasis in children and young people under the supervision of Professor Anne Chang, a world leader in the field. He recently published the largest study confirming radiographic reversibility in paediatric bronchiectasis in the prestigious American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine (Blue Journal), has also published a book chapter in the Springer series Progress in Inflammatory research on the role of Azithromycin as an airway immunomodulator in Non-CF bronchiectasis, and has completed a recent review article for the Journal of Thoracic Disease on paediatric bronchiectasis - the importance of early diagnosis of children across the wet cough spectrum. Dustin has also completed a Bachelor of Pharmacy.
Professor Melissa Kang
(Professor) Melissa Kang is from Sydney, Australia. After training in General Practice, she worked exclusively with adolescents and young adults in hospital and community settings for 30 years. She has worked in academic adolescent health, public health and general practice for over 20 years. She is now a full time Professor of Adolescent Health and Co-Head of the General Practice Clinical School, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney. Her research focuses on access to health care, health system navigation, adolescent sexuality and sexual health. She is currently the Vice President Oceania of the International Association for Adolescent Health and a member of the IAAH Education Committee. She was the president of the Australian Association for Adolescent Health from 2015 – 2020.
Professor (Lt Col) Alok Kumar Dubey
Dr. Alok Kumar Dubey is a highly respected and accomplished paediatrician with over four and half decades of clinical, academic, and administrative experience across India, Australia, and the South Pacific. A veteran of the Indian Army Medical Corps, he has served as a paediatric specialist for over 22 years and held key leadership roles including Director of the 991-bedded Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences, Ranchi.
An alumnus of the Armed Forces Medical College, Pune, Dr. Dubey holds an MD in Paediatrics, an M.Phil in Health & Hospital Systems Management (BITS Pilani), and multiple international qualifications including certifications from Harvard, Johns Hopkins, and the Medical University of Vienna. His qualifications have also been recognised by the Royal Australasian College of Physicians.
Currently serving as Professor of Paediatrics and Consultant at the Fiji School of Medicine, Dr. Dubey has been instrumental in launching the Master of Medicine (Paediatrics) program there. He has authored over 30 peer-reviewed publications and is a referee for several prestigious journals, including the Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health (Australia & New Zealand) and the Medical Journal Armed Forces India
Dr Iris Ciba
Dr. Iris Ciba is a consultant pediatrician at Uppsala University Children`s Hospital in Uppsala, Sweden, and part of a research group with focus on childhood obesity and youth type 2 diabetes. Dr. Iris Ciba is a member of the board for the ULSCO (Uppsala Longitudinal Study of Childhood Obesity) pediatric cohort, and of the Swedish ECHO (Ending Childhood Obesity)-zone project. The ULSCO research group is also part of the European Beta-JUDO (Beta-cell function in Juvenile Diabetes and Obesity) consortium and has been involved in a childhood obesity project in Negombo, Sri Lanka. Besides her activities within the field of pediatric obesity,
Dr. Iris Ciba is also engaged in public health as the responsible pediatrician for the Swedish Child Health Services (CHS) program in the Uppsala region, and as the responsible pediatrician for the school health unit in the municipality of Uppsala. The combination of these activities has led to Dr. Iris Ciba`s interest in connecting initiatives targeted at childhood obesity and type 2 diabetes to improved prevention and early identification of children at risk. Dr. Iris Ciba is since August 2024 based in Nadi, Fiji, and together with the ULSCO board at Uppsala University and the Pacific Research Center for the Prevention of Obesity and Non-communicable Diseases (C-POND) at the College of Medicine Nursing and Health Sciences, Fiji National University (FNU), involved in the planning of a proposed project for the prevention of childhood obesity in the Pacific region.
Ms Ana Waqairawaqa
A passionate Registered Nurse with 40 years of experience across Fiji, New Zealand, and Australia, specializing in child development and culturally responsive care. Holds a Master's in Health Practice (2010), Postgrad Dip in Health Sc (2007), Postgrad Cert in Speciality Care Pacific Health and Certificate in Tertiary teaching. Dedicated to mentoring future nurses and supporting Pasifika healthcare professionals. Former Bachelor of Nursing lecturer at Waiariki Institute of Technology, NZ (2008–2017) and part-time lecturer at James Cook University (2020–2022). Currently serves as Chairperson for the Australian College of Nursing in Northwest Queensland, advocating for nursing education, leadership, and cultural competence. I remain deeply committed to making a lasting impact in child health and nursing education.
Currently working as Nurse Navigator -Child Development Service in North West QLD since 2021.
Dr Manish Kaushal Kumar
Dr Manish Kaushal Kumar is originally from Labasa and graduated with a Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) from the College of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences at Fiji National University in 2022. He was awarded the Dean's Honours and Excellence award, the RANZCOG Women’s Health Award, and the ASA and NZSA Award for Highest Academic Achievement of a Medical Student in Anaesthesia.
He recently completed his medical internship (2023–2024) and is currently a Medical Officer awaiting posting.
Dr Kumar has a strong research interest and was awarded the top Medical Internship Research Award by the Fiji Human Health Research and Ethics Committee for his study: Maternal Syphilis and its Associated Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes (APOs): A One-Year Retrospective Study at Colonial War Memorial Hospital.
His clinical interests include critical care, public health, and paediatrics.
Dr Rob Smith and Ms Janis Brown
Janis Brown is a Clinical Nurse Consultant paediatric neurology based in Newcastle NSW. She has a major interest in Epilepsy. She has been working in this role for 17 years. Her passion in the field of paediatric epilepsy is centred around inclusion, by teaching schools and community about seizures and epilepsy with the aim of reducing stigma and promoting quality of life for children with epilepsy.
She completed her high school education in Fiji and has maintained strong links with the country since her return to Australia. She was instrumental in setting up this collaboration and enthusiastically encouraged Dr Rob Smith to join.
Rob Smith is an Australian Paediatric Neurologist based in Newcastle NSW. He trained in the UK before emigration to Australia. He had additional postgraduate training in Sydney, Australia and Sickkids Hospital Toronto, Canada.
He is a general neurologist and has been visiting Fiji since 2013 with Janis. They have also made recent visits to Tonga and Solomon Isles.
The ongoing collaboration in the Pacific is aimed at fostering the neurological care of children in the hospital, the community and at school. In Fiji, teaching clinics take place in Suva, Labasa and Lautoka. These are supplemented by talks and tutorials for Medical and Nursing staff. More recently Janis has been able to offer education for school teachers.
This has been a joyful journey which we hope has benefits for all of us
Ms Tuliana Cua
Tuliana Cua is a Research Nurse at Cure Kids Fiji with extensive experience in children’s health research and community health programs. She holds a Postgraduate Certificate in Nursing Science (Cardiac Nursing) from James Cook University, Australia, as well as a Postgraduate Certificate in Public Health and a Diploma in General & Obstetrical Nursing from the Fiji School of Nursing in Suva. Tuliana currently serves as the Community Surveillance Coordinator for the SAVAC Study in the Northern Division, a role she has held since November 2024. She previously worked as a Clinical Trainer for the World Scabies Program (March–September 2024) and as a Study Nurse for the FAST Study in Suva and Nasinu from May 2018 to August 2020. Fluent in both English and Fijian, she brings strong community engagement skills and a deep commitment to improving health outcomes for children in Fiji, with a particular interest in strengthening early detection and care for childhood cardiac conditions. Tuliana can be reached at tulianacua@gmail.com or on +679 9269570.
Ms Erini Phyllis Kala
Erini Phyllis Kala is the co-founder and manager of Heart Heroes Fiji (HHF), the first patient-led organisation in Fiji and Pacific supporting people living with Rheumatic Heart Disease (RHD). Erini's journey from a concerned parent to a community leader has made a meaningful difference in the lives of many Fijian families affected by RHD. Through Heart Heroes Fiji, she continues to foster connections, provide resources, and offer hope to those navigating the challenges of RHD.
Ms Litiana Saunivalu Golea Tuvuki Volavola
Litiana Saunivalu Golea Tuvuki Volavola is a highly experienced Fiji Registered Nurse currently serving as the National Program Officer for the Expanded Program on Immunisation (EPI) and Supply Chain Manager within Fiji’s Ministry of Health. With a distinguished career spanning over 26 years in public health, Mrs. Volavola has contributed extensively to child health, burns care, and obstetric and gynecological nursing.
She has played a pivotal role in leading and coordinating national immunisation campaigns, including responses to measles, H1N1, meningococcal disease, and COVID-19. Her expertise extends to policy development, training, and regional collaboration, having served as an EPI Consultant to Samoa and as Fiji’s Vaccine Procurement and Supplies Officer.
Mrs. Volavola holds a Postgraduate Diploma in Public Health, a Postgraduate Certificate in Health Service Management, a Postgraduate Diploma in Business Management, and a Bachelor’s Degree in Nursing. She is actively involved in multiple national and regional health committees, including the Fiji Vaccine Preventable Disease Committee, the Pacific Immunisation Strengthening Programme (PIPS), and the COVID-19 Taskforce.
Her leadership and dedication continue to shape the development and implementation of immunisation strategies across Fiji and the broader Pacific region.