Invited Speakers
Dr Lachlan Angus is a Staff Specialist Endocrinologist at the Northern Adelaide Local Health Network and in private practice. His subspecialty interests are andrology and transgender medicine. He is currently a PhD Candidate at the Trans Health Research group at the University of Melbourne, investigating the use of anti-androgens in transgender women. Dr Angus also co-chairs the ESA Early Career Committee.
DR LACHLAN ANGUS
Austin Health and Northern Health,
Australia
Dr Angela Xun-Nan Chen is a staff specialist endocrinologist at Westmead Hospital and research fellow at the George Institute of Global Health. She completed her PhD in glucocorticoid excess and cardiometabolic risk at Flinders University, and was supported by NHMRC, Heart Foundation and Endocrine Society of Australia PhD scholarships. Her primary areas of research interest continue to be in the cardiometabolic consequences of glucocorticoid excess.
She completed her endocrinology training at Flinders Medical Centre and the Royal Adelaide Hospital. She was previously a New England Journal of Medicine Editorial Fellow and Research Fellow with the Adrenal Disease Group at The Brigham and Womens’ Hospital.
DR ANGELA XUN-NAN CHEN
Westmead Hospital,
Australia
Assoc Prof Sunita De Sousa is a Staff Specialist in Endocrinology and Genetics at the Royal Adelaide Hospital. Her PhD on the genetics and clinical aspects of prolactinomas was awarded the University of Adelaide Doctoral Research Medal. She has completed an MSc at the University of London, and fellowships in pituitary endocrinology at St Vincent’s Hospital Sydney and clinical genetics in the SA Clinical Genetics Service. With ongoing research funding from the Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF), Royal Australasian College of Physicians, Endocrine Society of Australia and Royal Adelaide Hospital, her postdoctoral research includes monogenic diabetes, hereditary pancreatitis and endocrine tumours. She is a member of Council for the Endocrine Society of Australia, and the founding member of EndoGen – a national network of endocrine genetic centres, which has led to Australia’s first national endocrine genetics MDT meeting. She is a PhD supervisor and reviewer for several journals. She also serves on the eviQ Cancer Genetics Committee and the US Endocrine Society Steering Committee for Endocrine Cancers Special Interest Group, and she was a co-author of the recent Australian hyperparathyroidism guidelines.
A/PROF SUNITA DE SOUSA
Royal Adelaide Hospital,
Australia
Dr Annabelle Hayes is an Endocrinologist with an interest in pituitary and adrenal disorders. She undertook her training in Endocrinology at the Royal Adelaide Hospital and Flinders Medical Centre before her Pituitary Fellowship at St Vincent’s Hospital in Sydney, where she has since commenced her PhD in Pituitary medicine. She has presented her work both nationally and internationally, and received Outstanding Oral Case Presentation Prize at the Pituitary Society Preceptorship Course earlier this year.
DR ANNABELLE HAYES
St Vincent’s Hospital Sydney, Australia
David Torpy is a Consultant Endocrinologist at the Royal Adelaide Hospital.
His research interests predominantly involve studies of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and stress. Recent specific areas have included corticosteroid-binding globulin (CBG) genetic variants and their effect on the stress response, immune-HPA interactions involving CBG and cortisol delivery in inflammatory states, adrenal function in septic shock, maternal cortisolaemia in complicated pregnancies, inherited forms of adrenal dysfunction causing Cushing’s and cortisone dosing and well-being in Addison’s disease and studies of adrenal crisis.
PROF DAVID TORPY
Royal Adelaide Hospital, Australia
John is one of the Paediatric Endocrinologists at the Women’s and Children’s Hospital in Adelaide. A part of his role is managing and supporting children, adolescents, young adults and their families in the Gender Diversity Clinic. This is an area of medicine that he is passionate about. He has worked in gender clinics at multiple centres throughout his career. He did a fellowship and then consultant work at the British Columbia Children’s Hospital, Vancouver. He worked with Dr Dan Metzger in their Gender Diversity Clinic, caring for children and adolescents. After Vancouver he worked at Monash Medical Centre, Melbourne. While there he worked in the Monash Gender Clinic caring for adolescents and young adults.
DR JOHN WELCH
Women’s and Children’s Hospital, Australia
Gary Wittert is Professor of Medicine and Director of the Freemasons Centre for Male Health and Wellbeing, University of Adelaide and South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI), Senior Consultant Endocrinologist Royal Adelaide Hospital, and Senior Principal Research Fellow at SAHMRI. He is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences. His research relates to obesity including appetite regulation, complications, and management. Work on associated chronic disorders focuses on their relationship to changes in testosterone, sexual function, lower urinary tract symptoms, depression, and implications for the use of health services. This work funded by NH&MRC, ARC, NHF, Diabetes Australia, MRFF, and the Freemasons Foundation has generated has over 460 research publications. He is Editor in Chief of the Journal Obesity Research and Clinical Practice, a member of the World Obesity Clinical Committee and on the Scientific Advisory Committees of Healthy Male and the Ten to Men study.
PROF GARY WITTERT
University of Adelaide, Australia
Studying for MPil/PhD in Nursing programme at The Florence Nightingale School of Nursing, Midwifery and Palliative Care, King’s College London UK
I started my nursing career at at The National Hospital for Neurosurgery and Neurology in Queen Square London UK then went to work as a research charge nurse at Endocrine unit at St Bartholomew’s Hospital in London. In 2001, I went to set up an Endocrine and Diabetes service at The London Clinic, which is an independent hospital as well as a charity in the central of London.
Over the years, I have been working with patient support group such as Addison’s Self Help and became their Trustees from 2016-2019 and was awarded Alfred Potter Prize in 2012. I was nurse committee members for European Society for Endocrinology ESE and Society for Endocrinology. I currently sit on the working group of competency framework for Society for Endocrinology. I am the co-authors of Society for Endocrinology Competency Framework for Adult Endocrine Nursing (version I & II) and the Advanced Practice in Endocrine Nursing Textbook.
I am a Consultant Nurse in Endocrinology working full time and currently studying for my PhD at Kings College London. My clinical interests are in adrenal diseases, endocrine cancer, pituitary diseases, endocrine cancer and especially looking at the development of specialist nurse knowledge and skills in endocrinology.
I am recipients of Betsy Love McClung Research & Development Award by Endocrine Nurse Society 2022. I am currently the President Elect of Federation of International Nurses in Endocrinology F.I.N.E. My current research is looking at people’s experiences of living with adrenocortical carcinoma.
PHILLIP YEOH
King's College London, UK