Professor Penelope Abbott
Peter Brennan Chair of General Practice
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Penny (MBBS Hons, PhD, MPH, CF, GAICD, RACGP) is the Peter Brennan Chair of General Practice. She has career long teaching, research, clinical and professional interests in high quality accessible primary care, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health, the health of justice involved people and health equity. After a career in full time general practice, Abbott commenced in a half time academic appointment at Western Sydney University in 2010. She is a successful clinician-researcher and has been awarded research grant funding of over $14 million since starting at WSU. Her PhD was a multiple methods study examining healthcare access for justice-involved women. She was awarded a Churchill fellowship in 2019 to travel to the US and Canada to study transformational primary care models which promote inclusion of people leaving prison and people with substance use disorders. Penny has been a long-term visiting GP in Justice Health NSW and worked in the Aboriginal community-controlled health sector in western Sydney as a GP and researcher for over 20 years. Her strong professional activities include membership of the General Practice Advisory Group, Agency for Clinical Innovation NSW, the GP leaders’ group and the Clinical Council at the Western Sydney Primary Health Network, and a Board member at Justice Health NSW.
Dr Miriam Brooks
Senior Lecturer, General Practice
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Dr Miriam Brooks is a General Practitioner from the Blue Mountains. Miriam trained as a GP in rural NSW, then worked for seven years in Aboriginal community controlled health organisations in Western Sydney and Canberra, and now works in a refugee health clinic and at a Women’s Health Centre in the Blue Mountains. Miriam has developed an interest in community based evaluation research, exploring innovative and people centred models of health care that promote health equity. Her masters project was an evaluation of the service for young people at Katoomba Women’s health centre, a weekly drop in afternoon program including a facilitated visual art group alongside GP, nurse and counsellor services. Her current evaluation project is with NSW Refugee Health service, an evaluation of their multidisciplinary Asylum Seeker Advocacy Clinical team (ASACT) and their partnerships with community organisations supporting people seeking asylum with the social determinants of health.
Dr Winston Lo
Senior Lecturer, General Practice
Contact Dr Winston LoSince joining WSU in 2017, Winston has been involved in the design and delivery of teaching activities to WSU medical students across the 5-year program. He previously worked with medical schools at UNSW, University of Sydney and University of Newcastle. Winston has also worked in academic roles with RACGP NSW/ACT Faculty, GP Synergy and the Black Dog Institute. He has experience in teaching undergraduate students in the disciplines of primary care and public health, and re-designed curriculum and blended learning activities. Winston has provided clinical supervision and training for students enrolled in medicine, nursing and allied health; junior medical officers and GP registrars. He was awarded 2 teaching prizes by UNSW - UNSW Medicine Learning & Teaching Award for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning; SPHCM Alan Hodgkinson Prize for Outstanding Contribution to Teaching and Student Learning.
Winston’s research interests include refugee health, Aboriginal health, primary care, mental health, medical education, the health of doctors and medical students. Winston was awarded the 2009 RACGP/Centre of National Research on Disability and Rehabilitation Medicine Research (CONROD) Fellowship. Winston’s current clinical work focuses on vulnerable populations, including refugees and asylum seekers, prison inmates, and post-natal parents. Outside of work, Winston enjoys family time with his wife and 2 young children, the creative arts, and singing in a band.
Dr Yasin Shahab
Senior Lecturer, General Practice
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Dr Yasin Shahab is a general practitioner working in Campsie since 2017. Having completed his medical school in the University of Adelaide, he returned home to Sydney where he did his post graduate training in various hospitals and regional areas of NSW. He joined the WSU department of general practice as a senior lecturer in 2021, having been an academic registrar 5 years previously with the department. He is passionate about teaching both medical students and GP registrars as well as the experiencing the breadth of medicine that one gets in general practice. He takes responsibility for the year 1 and year 2 GP placements and their various education programs and will be onsite on campus on Tuesdays and Fridays. In his down time, he enjoys exercising and following his beloved Sydney Swans and Canterbury Bulldogs.
Dr Phyllis Lau
Senior Lecturer, General Practice
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Phyllis is Senior Lecturer and Research Lead at the Department of General Practice, Western Sydney University. Her areas of research interest include Indigenous health, chronic disease management, interprofessional collaborative care and healthcare communication. and health service delivery for the purpose of informing primary health care policy reform, particularly related to culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) and disadvantaged population groups.
She has been awarded several research grants over the years including National health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) project grants and fellowship grants and Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) awards. She is or has been a Chief Investigator in 15 funded projects (including 2 NHMRC project grants) and the primary investigator in 9. She has also been a Chief investigator in 5 government agency-tendered or commissioned projects, and a Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) funded project.
Phyllis’ expertise is in mixed-methods research. She has experience in various study designs including randomised controlled trials, descriptive quantitative studies, qualitative studies (predominantly phenomenological design), interviews, focus groups, quantitative/qualitative/mixed-methods surveys including Delphi consensus surveys for management pathway development and case studies.
Phyllis has joint appointments at the University of Melbourne – Honorary Associate Professor at the Melbourne Dental School and Senior Lecturer at the Department of General Practice. Phyllis is also research adviser for Hong Kong Tuen Mun Hospital Family Medicine Department, and a visiting academic at the University of Malaya. She holds active national advocacy and leadership roles. She is the President of the Australasian Association for Academic Primary Care (AAAPC) that advocates for high quality primary care research, education and practice. She is also a founding member of the Pharmacy Oral Health Alliance that advocates on a politically challenging platform for accessible oral health care through non-dental health professionals.
Dr Tran Lam
Academic GP registrar
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Dr Tran Lam is an academic and clinical general practice registrar. She graduated from WSU MBBS in 2020 and later trained at Blacktown/Mt Druitt Hospitals. Tran is currently working with the WSU Department of General Practice conducting research on ‘GPs’ experiences of managing patients in clinical trials’.
Dr Udantha Rathgamage
Visiting Academic Fellow
Dr Udantha Rathgamage
Dr Udantha Rathgamage is an Academic Visiting Fellow of the Department of General Practice. Udantha graduated with MBBS from the Colombo Medical School. He is qualified in DFM and MD in Family Medicine from the Post Graduate Institute in Medicine, Colombo.
Udantha is an experienced primary care physician with 4 years of experience in ophthalmology. He is a researcher with a special interest in diabetes distress in primary care. Udantha's current research work includes ‘Living with Diabetes Distress – a mixed method study among patients with type 2 diabetes’.
Vicki Bradley
Administrative Officer
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Vicki Bradley works as the Administrative Officer for Year 5 GP medical students, and is responsible for assessments for GP placements. Vicki provides the department with general administrative support to staff, and organises conference weeks and other events as required. Vicki has worked with the university as a casual since 2011 in various departments and schools. Vicki came to the School of Medicine in 2014 as Assessment and Student Support Officer. She has worked extensively in customer service roles in NSW public and private schools, recruitment and within the vocational training and education sector.
Sharon Lawrence
Administrative Officer
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Sharon Lawrence works as an Administrative Officer for the Department of General Practice, co-ordinating GP placements for Year 1, 2, 3 and 5 medical students. Sharon has worked with Western Sydney University since 1995 and in the School of Medicine from 2010. She has worked extensively in supporting academics and students.
George Sotirios
Administration Officer
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George Sotirios works as an Administration Officer for the Dept of GP, co-ordinating GP placements for Year 3 medical students. George's role also covers work for the Deanery and Indigenous Health. George has worked with Western Sydney University since 2011.
Dr Kam Wong
Senior Lecturer in General Practice
Bathurst Clinical School
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General Practitioner, researcher, and author. Senior Lecturer in General Practice at Bathurst Rural Clinical School, School of Medicine, Western Sydney University. PhD candidate (Faculty of Medicine & Health, University of Sydney). Medical Reviewer for Oxford University Press. Achievements include a research scholarship from Dartmouth College, USA, and a research grant from Western Sydney University. Publications include a book chapter in "Quality Improvement in Behavioral Health" by Springer International.
Dr Levi U Osuagwu
Senior Lecturer and Academic Lead, Rural Health
Bathurst Clinical School
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Levi attained a Doctor of Optometry (OD) 2000 from Abia State University, Nigeria, and a Master of Science degree in Optometry and Vision Sciences (focus on ocular health) in 2014 from Aston University Birmingham, UK, where he graduated with a distinction. Prior to moving to Australia, Levi has worked in various private and public sectors in Nigeria, Saudi Arabia. In Australia he assisted the Ophthalmologists at the Centre of Excellence, Inala and travelled with Ideas Van to provide diabetes care for Aboriginals.
Levi completed his PhD from the Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation, Faculty of Health, Queensland University of Technology (QUT) in 2017, where his worked on improving the peripheral vision of humans with emphasis on early detection and prevention of Myopia, a leading public health issue. During this time, he also served as the President of the Optical Society of America QUT Chapter as well as teaching various health courses within and outside the School of Optometry.
Since commencing at Western Sydney University in 2018 as a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow in Diabetes and Integrated Care, Levi has served in various committees both within the university and internationally. He has been involved in several large-scale studies including the roll out of the Tongan GDM Taskforce, Diabetes Care Support Service (DCSS) which is a 25 years audit of General practices across Auckland, New Zealand and the Pasifika Preventing Diabetes Programme (PPDP), an NHMRC funded lifestyle intervention programme, where he served as the Field Coordinator (2020-2022). Levi also a member of the Global Burden of Disease study group where he contributes to studies on diabetes.
Levi is the Convenor of two research groups - the African Translational Research Group (AfTreG) and the Center for Eye Care and Public Health Intervention Initiative (CEPHII), domiciled in South Africa.
Dr Christine Ahern
Senior Lecturer in General Practice
University Centre for Rural Health, Lismore
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Dr Christine Ahern is a general practitioner working in Casino, in the Northern Rivers region of NSW. She works in the teaching environment in Lismore, as an academic coordinator and senior lecturer, where she is dedicated to ensuring that students are exposed to a safe and inspiring learning environment and where they can feel both supported and challenged in equal measure.
The Northern Rivers, despite or perhaps in some ways because of, its recent disasters, has continued to provide the opportunity for rewarding work and life experiences, and a place for students to develop and grow.
Dr Natalie Lindsay
Conjoint Senior Lecturer in General Practice, WSU
University Centre for Rural Health, Lismore
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Dr Natalie Lindsay is a General Practitioner from Lennox Head in Northern NSW. Natalie trained as a GP in rural NSW, and currently works part time in Aboriginal Health performing outreach to the Cabbage Tree Island community, and part time as a senior lecturer at the University Centre for Rural Health in Lismore. Natalie's interests include chronic disease management, particularly Type II Diabetes Mellitus and ear health in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children.
Dr Rosie Hamilton
Conjoint Senior Lecturer in General Practice, WSU
University Centre for Rural Health, Lismore
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Dr Rosie Hamilton is a GP in Northern NSW in both private practice and in addiction medicine, as well as being a lecturer for UCRH in Lismore. She originally trained in Sydney before moving north 18 years ago to start GP training. Rosie has special interests in mental health, adolescent health, sexual health and addiction medicine, and she holds a Masters in Psychiatric Medicine. Outside of work, Rosie enjoys walking, travel and good food.