DIABETES across the LIFECOURSE – Northern Australia Partnership

The Partnership is led by Professor Louise-Maple Brown from Menzies, with expertise provided by a range of Chief Investigators and Associate Investigators according to each project within the Partnership. The Steering Committee meets once a quarter to provide oversight on the direction of the Partnership’s program of work and research activities. The Steering Committee includes academics, investigators and representatives of key partners in each region including Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations and the Northern Territory peak body, Aboriginal Medical Services Alliance Northern Territory (AMSANT).

The Diabetes across the Lifecourse: Northern Australia Partnership’s – Indigenous Reference Group (IRG) was established in 2017 to provide an independent Indigenous perspective on the management and conduct of the Partnership. Currently the IRG is NT based but we hope to work with partner organisations to broaden representation across Northern Australia. The IRG plays an important advisory role between individuals and communities participating in the various projects within the Partnership and the Partnerships’ Lead Investigator, Steering Committee and higher degree research students.

Regions also have Clinical Reference Groups and Working Groups made up of key stakeholders from partner organisations and communities who provide input and guidance on the key elements of each project.

Principal Chief Investigator

Professor Louise Maple-Brown MBBS FRACP PhD

Deputy Director Research and Principal Chief Investigator

Louise Maple-Brown is a Senior Endocrinologist at the Royal Darwin Hospital (NT, Australia), Deputy Director Research (April 2023) and Senior Principal Research Fellow at Menzies.

Louise established and leads the Diabetes across the Lifecourse: Northern Australian Partnership. The partnership includes several large NHMRC-funded projects, including the Youth Type 2 Diabetes Models of Care, Northern Territory and Far North Queensland Diabetes in Pregnancy Partnership and The PANDORA (Pregnancy And Neonatal Diabetes Outcomes in Remote Australia) Cohort Study.

After completing the majority of her physician and endocrinology training at St Vincent’s Hospital Sydney, Louise moved to Darwin in 2002 to pursue her passion of working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and communities to improve health outcomes. Louise was Head of Department of Endocrinology at Royal Darwin Hospital (2012-2022) and founded the NT Diabetes Network in 2018 (inaugural Chair 2018 -2022). She was a member of the Australian Diabetes Society Council (2014-2022) and the Council of the Australasian Diabetes in Pregnancy Society (2011-2014). Louise has been providing clinical diabetes services to urban and remote NT communities for over 20 years. She is a current member of the NT Clinical Senate.

In 2020 Louise was awarded the Australian Diabetes Society Ranji and Amara Wikramanayake clinical Diabetes Mid-Career Research award and in 2021, Louise was elected as a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences. 

Norlisha Bartlett

Executive Assistant

Research Staff

PANDORA

Dr Elizabeth Barr (BPod, GradDipPod, MPH, PhD)

Research Fellow & CRISP Lead 

Dr Anna Wood (PhD)

Senior Research Fellow & PANDORA and Coronary Artery Calcium (CAC) Lead 

Alison Simmonds

PANDORA Project Officer 

DIABETES IN PREGNANCY

Tara Dias (Masters Public Health, Master Public Policy)

Senior Research Officer

Dr Matt Hare (PhD, MBBS (Hons), BmedSc (Hons) FRACP)

Senior Research Officer 

Isabella Marovich-Tadic (BSc, GCPH)

Clinical Register Project Coordinator, Top End 

Kim Martin

Project Coordinator, Central Australia

YOUTH DIABETES

Associate Professor Renae Kirkham (PhD)

Deputy Lead, Darwin

Dr Stefanie Puszka (PhD)

Research Fellow, Darwin

Anthony Gunther

Project Manager, Darwin

Dr Angela Titmuss (PhD, B Sci Med Hon,s MBBS Hons, MPH, FRACP)

Senior Research Fellow, Paediatric Endocrinologist and General Paediatrician, Darwin

Natasha Freeman

Evaluator, Darwin

Emma Weaver

Evaluator, Alice Springs

Marylin Cariño

Project Coordinator (Top End)

Peggy Tom

Community Liaison Officer (Top End)

Jade Morris

Community Liaison Officer (Top End)

Kim Martin

Project Coordinator (Central Australia)

Shiree Mack

Community Liaison Officer (Central Australia)

Damian Kukulies

Project Coordinator (Far North Queensland)

Susan Piggot

Project Coordinator (Western Australia)

Sheryl Carter

Community Liaison Officer (Western Australia)

Students

Students

Students

Dr Anna McLean, PhD Candidate - MBBS, FRACP

” Improving outcomes for women with diabetes in pregnancy in Far North Queensland”

Dr Diana MacKay, PhD Candidate - BA, MBBS, MPH, FRACP

“Supporting a more inclusive model of care: Incorporating the voices of women and their families in care during and after a pregnancy complicated by diabetes”

Dr Mary Wicks, PhD Candidate - BTh (Philosophy), BHSc, MPHC (Indig Health), MBBS(Hon 1), GradCert Clin Ultrasound, FRACP

PANDORA Wave 2, Diabetes and Pancreatitis in central Australia (DAPINCA) & Diabetes Phenotypes

Dr Emily Papadimos, PhD Candidate - MBBS

“The influence of in-utero diabetes exposure on growth outcomes and cardio-metabolic risk in early childhood: follow-up of the PANDORA cohort”

Investigators

Ethics

All components of the Partnership have current approval from the relevant Human Research Ethics Committee.

You can contact the Human Research Ethics Committee regarding any complaints or concerns about any of the Partnership projects:

Central Australia – Ph (08) 8951 4700 or cahrec@flinders.edu.au

Top End – Ph (08) 8946 8687 or ethics@menzies.edu.au

Funding

Thank you to National Health and Medical Research Council, the Global Alliance of Chronic Diseases, Diabetes Australia Research Program, Channel 7 Children Research Foundation, Australian Government Department of Health, Central Australia Academic Health Science Network and Donations from Ian Albrey and Edwina Menzies.

Reference Groups

The Partnership have 2 groups that meet throughout the year. These groups are the Clinical Reference Group and the Indigenous Reference Group.

Clinical Reference Group

The Clinical Reference group was established in 2012 by Cherie Whitbread, with the main aim of providing advice to the management group regarding integration with clinical services and project issues of clinical relevance.

The group meets annually and membership includes members from primary and hospital sectors, both government and Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services, across all NT.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Advisory Group

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Advisory Group (ATSIAG)

*Previously known as the Indigenous Reference Group (IRG)

First setup by Sian Graham in 2017, the ATSIAG has been successfully engaging Aboriginal members of the community to help guide our research and pave the way for positive, respectful, mutually fulfilling engagement.

ATSIAG meetings are held three times a year, and every year one meeting is scheduled to combine with the Partnerships symposium. The symposium offers ATSIAG members, some of whom are not from the health sector, an opportunity to hear the latest diabetes research, engage with researchers and get a sense of how far reaching our research is. Several members attended and contributed to a discussion panel in both the 2018 & 2019 Symposium and advised on strategies to commence youth engagement and health coaches’ program. Importantly the Symposiums have provided ATSIAG members the opportunity to talk with researchers directly and this facilitated knowledge exchange.

Future aims of the ATSIAG include improving engagement with community members, feeding back study results, developing resources to help the community learn more about diabetes and preventing diabetes and obesity in children and strengthening our Aboriginal workforce.

Stay up to date

For program updates, newsletters and upcoming events in each area, please visit the Menzies website.