Meet the Team

Elizabeth Elliott is Professor of Paediatrics, University of Sydney and Director, NSW FASD Assessment Service, Sydney Children’s Hospital Network. She developed the Australian Guide to FASD Diagnosis, leads FASD Hub and FASD Register, contributed to NHMRC/WHO guidelines on alcohol use in pregnancy, and played a key role in the National FASD Action Plan.

Sharon Medlow is a Principal Research Fellow in the Specialty of Child and Adolescent Health at the University of Sydney. Sharon is Manager, FASD Research Australia NHMRC Centre of Research Excellence Research in Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder. She works across all research streams, developing partnerships and collaborations, and mentoring early and mid-career researchers.

Professor Alexandra Martiniuk is the Professor of Hospital Transformation and Future Health Systems at the International Centre for Future Health Systems, University of New South Wales. Professor Martiniuk is also an Honorary Professor in the Faculty of Medicine and Health at the University of Sydney (School of Public Health and Daffodil Centre) and Adjunct Professor at the University of Toronto. She was previously a Senior Research Fellow at the George Institute for Global Health. Trained in medical sciences and psychology, she completed her graduate studies in community health and epidemiology in Canada. Her work focuses on improving child health through implementation and health services research to close treatment gaps. She is a former NHMRC Investigator, NHMRC Translating Research into Practice (TRIP) Fellow and Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Fellow. Earlier in her career, she was part of the multidisciplinary paediatric oncology team at the Children’s Hospital of Western Ontario, Canada. Professor Martiniuk’s expertise spans epidemiology, health systems and services research, implementation science, digital health, and Indigenous and global child health.

Dr Louise Mewton is an Associate Professor and public health researcher with a focus on the epidemiology, assessment, prevention, and treatment of alcohol use and related disorders across the lifespan. She is Program Lead in Lifespan and Brain Health Research at the Matilda Centre, University of Sydney and Deputy Director of the FASD CRE.

Associate Professor Heather Shepherd is an internationally recognised implementation scientist whose research is transforming how evidence is translated into routine practice. As Co-Lead of the Implementation Science Academy, Sydney Health Partners and Principal Research Fellow at the Sydney Health Literacy Lab she advances implementation science, health literacy, shared decision-making, and FASD research to improve healthcare quality, equity, and outcomes through impactful partnerships, capacity building, and clinical innovation.

Associate Professor Scott is the Head of Modelling and Biostatistics at the Burnet Institute and an Adjunct Associate Professor at Monash University. He is internationally recognised in economic modelling and works across a number of public health problems and infectious diseases, including maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health.

Delyse Hutchinson is a Clinical Psychologist and Professor in the Deakin Lifespan Institute, School of Psychology, at Deakin University, Melbourne. Her research program investigates the developmental origins and prevention of mental health and behavioural disorders across the lifecourse. Combining clinical expertise in perinatal, child, and adolescent mental health with longitudinal research, she examines how early-life mental health and substance use exposures influence developmental trajectories to inform prevention, early intervention, policy, and clinical practice.

Lauren Rice is a Research Fellow at the Children’s Hospital Westmead Clinical School, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney. Based in the remote Kimberley region of Western Australia, she is committed to addressing inequities across remote and regional Australia through place-based, community-led systems change.

Kirsten Black is an academic gynaecologist in the Sydney Local Health district and Professor of Sexual and Reproductive Health at the University of Sydney. She chairs the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetrician and Gynaecologists Sexual and Reproductive Health Committee and combines clinical work in preconception care, contraception and menopause with research and teaching.

Dr Fiona Robards is a Senior Lecturer and Senior Research Fellow at The University of Sydney specialising in public health and adolescent health. Fiona leads policy and prevention-focused advocacy and research projects as Chief Investigator for FASD Research Australia. In international advocacy, Fiona is Chair of the WFPHA Policy Committee.

Dr. Svetlana (Lana) Popova, MD, PhDs, MPH, is a Senior Scientist at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) and a Professor at the University of Toronto, Canada. Her research focuses on the epidemiology, prevention, intervention, economic burden, and evidence-based policy related to maternal substance use and child outcomes, with a particular emphasis on prenatal alcohol exposure and fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD). She has led numerous national and international studies examining the prevalence and burden of FASD and advancing approaches to its prevention, surveillance, and policy.

Professor Sue Woolfenden is Director of Community Paediatrics and co-chair the Sydney Institute for Women, Children and their Families at Sydney Local Health District and Professor of Community Paediatrics at the University of Sydney. Her clinical, service development and research work addresses child health inequities in Australia and globally through integrated health–social care models, including hubs and social prescribing working in partnership with Priority Populations. She has > 200 publications.

Dr Katrina Prior is a Senior Research Fellow and NHMRC Emerging Leadership Fellow within the Matilda Centre at the University of Sydney. As the Program Lead of Maternal and Young Adult Mental Health, Dr Prior's research focuses on interplay between mental health and substance use disorders—particularly anxiety and alcohol use—and the development of evidence-based early intervention and treatment programs tailored for youth and mothers in the early parenting (and preconception) period.

Tracy is Director of the NSW Genetics of Learning Disability (GOLD) Service and a Conjoint Professor at University of Newcastle. Her research focuses on improving diagnostic outcomes for individuals with intellectual disability and leads the innovative MRFF-funded FaceMatch project. Professor Dudding-Byth is a co-founder of Rare Voices Australia, the national peak body representing Australians living with a rare disease. In 2024, she was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia in recognition of her significant contributions to rare disease advocacy and the rare disease community.

Evi Muggli is a Research Fellow at the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute and data custodian of the AQUA study, which has followed Melbourne mothers and their children since 2011. Her research examines how alcohol use in pregnancy affects children’s development, and she works to translate those findings into public health messaging and support for families.

Sophie brings extensive leadership experience in frontline services and senior management roles across the alcohol and other drugs, out-of-home care, and justice sectors. As the CEO of NOFASD Australia, Sophie oversees strategic initiatives, advocacy efforts, and stakeholder engagement to support individuals and families affected by FASD. Her leadership has been instrumental in coordinating the lived experience focus on key projects, including the National FASD Awareness Campaign, the FASD Diagnostic Guideline Review, and the development of sector-wide training initiatives. With lived experience of FASD, Sophie combines professional expertise with personal insight to drive impactful change within the sector.

Dr Emma Devine is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Matilda Centre for Research in Mental Health and Substance Use at the University of Sydney. Her program of work investigates the impact of prenatal substance exposure on offspring development, with a particular focus on low-levels of prenatal alcohol exposure.

Jemima Robinson Lake is a Senior Project Officer in the Deakin Lifespan Institute, School of Psychology at Deakin University, Melbourne. She coordinates the Triple B Study, a longitudinal pregnancy cohort study examining the impacts of parental substance use and mental health on child development. Jemima has a strong interest in research that informs prevention, early intervention, and support for children and families.

Carlos Nunez is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of Sydney. He joined the Australian Paediatric Surveillance Unit in 2018 and currently manages the non-infectious research portfolio, including FASD. His research interests include understanding the causes, risk factors, and burden of rare paediatric diseases to inform policy-relevant paediatric health care evidence. He also co-manages FASDAR.

Dr Kelsee Shepherd is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow and Clinical Nurse Consultant, NSW FASD Assessment Service and Senior Research Fellow, Sydney Children's Hospitals Network. Her work focuses on FASD research, service innovation, rural outreach, and improving equitable access to multidisciplinary assessment and understanding the care needs for children and families across NSW.

Dr Helen Cheng is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow and Manager of the FASD Australian Registry at The University of Sydney. She holds a concurrent appointment at Westmead Children’s Hospital as the adolescent health research fellow. Helen is a dietitian and exercise scientist with a broad interest in child and youth health spanning the areas of FASD, complex illness, chronic disease prevention and youth engagement. Through her work, Helen aims to find the best ways to help support children and young people to optimise their health going into adulthood.

Julia Riches is a Senior Research Officer at the Matilda Centre for Research in Mental Health and Substance Use at the University of Sydney. She is the Project Coordinator of Learning with FASD – a website that provides evidence-based resources to help school communities understand and support students with FASD.