Conference speakers
We are pleased to announce the 2024 AHTA Conference speakers!
Keynote speaker
Dr Nico Magni
Dr
Nico Magni (PhD) is a physiotherapist and registered hand therapist. He is the
founder of The Elbow Clinic and HandyEvidence, and he works as a Senior
Lecturer at Auckland University of Technology in New Zealand. His PhD research focused
on resistance training interventions for people with persistent upper limb
pain. Nico's main research interests include the assessment and treatment of
upper limb musculoskeletal conditions. He is interested in the development of
prediction models and artificial intelligence for precision rehabilitation.
Upper limb pathologies that Nico is investigating include lateral
epicondylalgia and hand osteoarthritis.
Invited speakers
Professor Jane Alty
Jane Alty is an Associate Professor of Neurology at the University of Tasmania and a Neurologist at the Royal Hobart Hospital. She sub-specialises in movement disorders and cognitive neurology. She is Co-Director of the ISLAND Clinic, a one-stop state-wide clinic that provides an interdisciplinary cognitive assessment and diagnosis and a lead investigator on the ISLAND Project, a 10-year public health initiative to reduce dementia risk, comprising ~14,000 participants. Her research investigates Artificial Intelligence methods to detect the preclinical stages of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease, funded through the NHMRC. She qualified from the University of Cambridge and completed general medicine and neurology training in the UK. She completed a movement disorders fellowship at Monash Medical Centre and was awarded an MD by the University of York for research evaluating computer technologies in neurodegenerative disorders. Her research contributed to a new spin out company, ClearSky Medical Diagnostics, that produces precision tools for clinical trials.
Carmel Bain
Carmel has always been interested in what makes people ‘tick.’ She started her occupational therapy career in forensic and acute psychiatry in the UK and Perth, WA, before side shifting into hand therapy at Specialised Hand Therapy Services in Perth. After further work at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital and some life experience of being a physiotherapy patient, Carmel built and developed the first hand therapy app ‘Rehab Minder’ in 2013. Rehab Minder partnered with physiotherapy exercise prescription software ‘TrackActive Pro’ in 2016 so that hand therapy specific exercises could be available to clinics on a cloud-based platform. It was through developing functionality in TrackActive Pro that the interest in patient reported outcome measures started. Since 2019, Carmel was part of the team that built ‘TrackActive Me’ which is the first musculoskeletal support app registered as a Class 1 Medical Device with the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) in the UK and CE marking for the European Union.
Vinnie Berera
Dr Vinnie Berera graduated with A Bachelor of Medicine/Bachelor of Surgery (with Honours) from Monash Medical University in 2004. He completed his radiology training at the Northern Hospital (VIC), and Royal Perth Hospital (WA).
Having a keen interest in sports, he completed his specialty training in Musculoskeletal and intervention Radiology at Royal Perth Hospital (WA), and IMED (TAS). He also completed a fellowship in breast imaging at Breast Screen WA.
While he maintains and interest in all subspecialties of medical imaging, he most enjoys musculoskeletal and spinal imaging, as well as image-guided therapeutic and diagnostic procedures.
He has held positions in RANZCR as a Member of the Work Force Committee, Co-chair of Standards of Practice and Accreditation, and Faculty of Clinical Radiology Council Representative (TAS).
During his tenure at IMED, he was director of the musculoskeletal fellowship program and lead presenter for musculoskeletal multidisciplinary imaging meetings at Calvary Hospital.
Following five years of working in corporate radiology practices, he embarked on his own venture and founded Berera Radiology in 2017 and continued his pursuit and passion for patient-centric care and independent governed radiology co-founding Rad X in 2024.
Judy Colditz
Judy Colditz, OT/L, CHT, FAOTA, relishes exploring complex topics so they seem simple. She has written numerous clinical articles, chapters, and papers on hand therapy and taught many courses/lectures in the US and internationally, including through HandLab, an educational company she founded which produced some of the first electronic hand therapy educational materials available. Free hand therapy clinical information remains available at BraceLab.com. She is currently working on retiring!
A three-time recipient of the ASHT best clinical paper award, Ms. Colditz has also served as President of the American Society of Hand Therapists and of the IFSHT. Additionally, Ms. Colditz is also known for her design of several widely recognized, manufactured hand braces.
Nicola Cook
Nicola Cook (BSc Hons) is a Physiotherapist and Accredited Hand Therapist (UK and Australia). Nicola has over 20 years of experience of clinical experience in hand therapy, working in busy public hospitals, collaborative plastic surgery and orthopaedic surgery hand clinics, large private practices, and now as a sole practitioner hand therapist in a rural setting. Nicola thrives on professional collaboration. She has developed strong relationships in the hand therapy and hand surgery world, and has been actively involved in the AHTA. She has held both State Membership and Education roles, and has served as President elect and AHTA President. Nicola has researched and written on neuropathic pain and CRPS, and published with Elsevier in “Pain: A Textbook for Health Professionals” in 2014 and in a review edition in 2023.
Helen Cooley
Dr Helen Cooley, Rheumatologist at Royal Hobart Hospital and in private practice; seeing both adults and children with musculoskeletal disorders.
Medical Director of the Ambulatory Care Service at the Royal Hobart Hospital.
Member of the National Examiner Panel for the Royal Australasian College of Physicians.
Executive Member of at Australian Scleroderma Interest Group.
Previous member of the Australian Rheumatology Association Board 2020-22.
Previous Chair of the Therapeutics Committee of the ARA 2016-2023.
Laura Cowling
Laura completed her undergraduate degree in Psychology while playing college basketball in America in 2008. Upon her return to Perth she worked as a high school counsellor before completing her Master’s Degree in Occupational Therapy in 2012. Laura has over 11 years experience as a specialist hand and upper limb therapist in both the private and public sectors. She has a keen interest in the consistent collection of patient data and treatment outcomes, particularly the implementation of a routine outcome measurement system for Hand Therapy patients in Western Australia.
Thomas Eriksson
Thomas Eriksson is the Product Developer for Mediroyal, inventing the NRX soft splinting range as well as over 40 other patented designs.
His background is clinically in Prosthetics & Orthotics however his roles have advanced into several areas including technical manufacture, material science improvements and research and development. He also works closely with key hand surgeons and hand therapists in Europe to develop new clinical standards in practice. Thomas uses all of this experience to speak internationally about the developments in orthotic design and how they can improve clinical practice and patient outcomes.
Professor Simon Farnebo
Simon Farnebo (MD, PhD) is Professor of Hand Surgery in Linköping, Sweden. His main field of interest is in treatment of wrist injuries, with a special focus on motion sparing techniques, including ligament reconstruction, wrist arthroscopy procedures and wrist arthroplasty. He has extensive research experience in both basic science and clinical outcome research and has a current research focus on motion tracking through implementation of new technology in his practice. He is the past research chair for FESSH (Federation of the European hand societies), a position he held for 6 years. He is on the editorial board for both the Journal of Hand Surgery (Eur) and the Journal of Plastic Surgery and Hand Surgery.
Associate Professor Frank Kimble
Frank Kimble qualified as a Doctor 40 years ago. He has been a Consultant Plastic Surgeon for 33 years. He has worked at the Royal Hobart Hospital for 26 years where the majority of our cases involve the upper limb. He is a general Plastic Surgeon with an interest in Cleft Lip and Palate. Outside of Surgery, he is an Aikido Instructor, Member Protection Officer, avid restorer of vintage motorcycles, woodworker and photographer.
Anton Menge
Anton's Orthotic and Prosthetic journey started back in 1989. He completed his National Diploma in Medical Orthotics and Prosthetics in 1991 and went on to complete my ‘Baccalaureus-Technologiae’ Degree in Medical Orthotics and Prosthetics in 2007. Anton carries more than 35 years of international experience in Prosthetics and Orthotics. This includes places like Africa, Asia, Europe and Australia. He has undertaken work in public, private and military sectors, and joined the LOPS team in January 2020. Anton has five years of clinical and technical experience with Ottobock as a Technical Advisor and has regularly volunteered with the Service and Repair Team during the FESPIC Games for Disabled Sports. He is immensely passionate in delivering the best possible outcomes for his clients, educating and motivating individuals across geographical and cultural borders. Generating success is a key motivation for him and it is personally rewarding when his participants can walk again with a big and satisfied smile.
Dave Parsons
Dave has been an academic in the Occupational Therapy Discipline within the School of Allied Health at Curtin University for over 12 years. He is also an Accredited Hand Therapist (AHT). Dave graduated from Curtin University with a Bachelor of Occupational Therapy in 2006, completed his Master of Business Administration in 2013 and finished his PhD in 2020. He conducts research in hand and upper limb therapy, allied health in acute hospitals, and tertiary education. He supervises several PhD and honours students. Dave has published in high impact peer-review journals and authored chapters in hand and upper limb rehabilitation and occupational therapy practice. Dave is a Senior Fellow in the Higher Education Academy and is highly committed to the Scholarship of Learning and Teaching and the development of early career educators.
Meg Schibli
Meg Schibli became involved in Hand Therapy soon after graduating as an Occupational Therapist from La Trobe University in Melbourne and has been working in private practice for over 30 years. She has presented at state and national hand therapy conferences and also to local therapists on both hand therapy and hypermobility. She is a current mentor with the Australian Hand Therapy Association supporting younger therapists to achieve their accreditation. Her interest in hypermobility has developed over the past 5 years with an increasing awareness of symptoms in general clinic patients and with the generosity of patients diagnosed with EDS who have been prepared to share their stories.
Meg completed the Certified Hand Therapist (USA) exam in 2016 and is an Accredited Hand Therapist with the Australian Hand Therapy Association.
Debby Schwartz
Debby Schwartz, OTD, OTR/L, CHT is our Product and Educational Specialist at Orfit Industries. She has over 38 years of clinical experience and has written many book chapters and articles on hand therapy related topics. Debby teaches orthotic fabrication to clinicians world wide through live workshops and virtual courses. She has also been an adjunct professor at the Occupational Therapy departments of Touro University and Yeshiva University in New York City for the past 12 years. Debby and her colleague, Dr. Katherine Schofield have published a textbook on orthotic fabrication entitled: Orthotic Design and Fabrication for the Upper Extremity: A Practical Guide, published by SLACK, Inc.