Interventional Cardiology

David Brieger is an Interventional Cardiologist and Head of Coronary Care at Concord Hospital in Sydney; and Professor of Cardiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Sydney. He is on the academic staff at the ANZAC Research Institute.

Professor Brieger has research interests in clinical registries to document and improve quality of care and use of antithrombotic agents in acute coronary syndromes, coronary interventions and atrial fibrillation.

He has served on the boards of the NSW Division of the National Heart Foundation of Australia (NHFA) and the Cardiac Society of Australia and New Zealand (CSANZ) and is co-chair of the Cardiac Network of the NSW Agency for Clinical Innovation.

Most recently he has served as chairperson of the NHFA/CSANZ writing committee for the recently released Australian Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Management of Atrial Fibrillation.

Professor Brieger is the Editor-in-Chief of Cardiology Today.

Cardiology

John Atherton is Director of Cardiology at the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital; Associate Professor at the University of Queensland; Professor at the University of Sunshine Coast; Adjunct Professor at the Queensland University of Technology; Honorary Fellow at the University of Melbourne; Pre-eminent Staff Specialist at Queensland Health; and an appointed member of the Australian Government Medical Services Advisory Committee (2003-2022).

Dr Atherton sat on the Board of the Cardiac Society of Australia and New Zealand (CSANZ) (2009-2016) and previously chaired the CSANZ Professional Ethics Standards Committee, the CSANZ Heart Failure Council and the Asia-Pacific Acute Decompensated Heart Failure Registry SAC. He recently chaired the Working Group for the National Heart Foundation of Australia and CSANZ Heart Failure guidelines, previously sat on the Therapeutic Guidelines Cardiovascular Expert Group and was one of three non-European official content reviewers for the 2016 European Society of Cardiology Heart Failure guidelines. He was the chair of the Scientific Program Committee for the CSANZ 2018 Annual Scientific Meeting.

Dr Atherton chairs the Queensland Cardiac Outcomes Registry (QCOR) Heart Failure Committee and co-chairs the Statewide Heart Failure Services Steering Committee. His research interests include heart failure epidemiology, investigating methods to detect presymptomatic heart disease and cardiac genetics.

General Medicine

Louise Burrell is Director of Research in General Medicine and Head of Medical Unit 4 at the Austin Hospital in Melbourne; and Professor of Medicine at the University of Melbourne. She is a Clinician-Scientist with Specialist training in General Medicine and Endocrinology. At the University of Melbourne, she heads the Cardiovascular Research Group, a multidisciplinary team of scientists, physicians and PhD students with a research program funded by the NHMRC.

Professor Burrell has clinical and scientific expertise in heart failure, diabetes and hypertension, particularly as it relates to the renin angiotensin and natriuretic peptide systems. She has held major roles with the International Society of Hypertension, including Chair of the International Forum and Regional Advisory Groups, Vice President and Treasurer.

Professor Burrell sits on a number of editorial boards and has published more than 200 articles. Her recent publications focus on global screening for high blood pressure and the effect of climate on hospital presentations.

General Practice

Anita Sharma is a GP and Practice Principal at Platinum Medical Centre in Brisbane. She is an accredited supervisor for registrars and medical students from the University of Queensland and Griffith University, Brisbane. Her past experience includes managing emergency medicine departments and developing emergency medicine protocols.

Dr Sharma is a member of the RACGP Specific Interests Diabetes Network and Obesity Network, RACGP Queensland Education Committee and the Advisory Board for REED Education. She is also Chair of the Queensland State Advisory Committee for MDA National.

Dr Sharma’s professional interests include education of GP registrars, medical students and fellow GPs. She has developed education modules on topics including diabetes, heart failure, atrial fibrillation, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), osteoporosis, and COPD and weight loss and has presented workshops on medicolegal topics.

Dr Sharma is clinical lead for RACGP quality improvement and continuing professional development (QI&CPD) active learning modules on osteoporosis and frailty. She has also contributed to the RACGP check QI&CPD program in cardiometabolic medicine topics such as primary care management of type 2 diabetes, heart failure and PCOS and to the RACGP General practice management of type 2 diabetes handbook.

Cardiac Nursing

Phillip Newton is Professor and Director of the Nursing Research Centre at Western Sydney University and Western Sydney Local Health District. As a registered nurse with a strong academic track record, Professor Newton’s program of research demonstrates a strong interdisciplinary focus and an emphasis on the links between clinical research and translation into the health service.

Professor Newton has been elected a Fellow of the Cardiac Society of Australia and New Zealand, the American Heart Association and the European Society of Cardiology.

Professor Newton’s main research focus has been risk-factor modification and symptom management. His PhD and his early postdoctoral work investigated interventions to improve symptoms and improve self-management. He leads a team investigating the impact of frailty on people with chronic heart failure as well as people referred for solid organ transplantation. He is also a senior investigator of the Heart Failure SNAPSHOT study, the largest point prevalence study of acute heart failure and investigation of clinical variation across institutions in Australia.