The official opening and welcome will include:
Welcome to country - Uncle Dougie
Lived experience welcome - Colin Howell
Convener welcome - Seana Gall
President’s welcome - Tim Kleinig
Monique Kilkenny - Shortlisted for Consumer Award
This workshop is for researchers and people with lived experience seeking clarity and confidence in co-design.
Participants will explore what co-design is (and isn’t), how to choose suitable methods, and how to apply them in real-world research.
The session will offer practical frameworks, case studies, and tools to support meaningful engagement and stronger research partnerships.
Facilitated by: Assoc Professor Elizabeth Lynch, Dr Natalie Fini and Dr Emily Ramage
Panel: Brooke Parsons, Adrian O'Malley, Saran Chamberlain
Title: Telemedicine across the stroke pathway – before, during and after the hospital setting.
Telemedicine is transforming stroke care across the entire continuum. From rapid response in the field to hospital-based treatment and long-term recovery. Over lunch, you will hear from leading experts, who will explore how digital health is being integrated into stroke pathways to enhance access, equity, and outcomes. From real-time decision-making in acute stroke to hospital-based tele-neurorehabilitation, this session will explore the transformative potential of telemedicine across every stage of stroke care as well as the role of hospital executives in Telehealth. The organisers will be distributing a ANZSOC 2025 branded drink bottle featuring the work of a local artist—celebrating community and innovation in healthcare.
Speakers:
Professor Christopher Bladin, Director, Victorian Stroke Telemedicine
Dr Anna Balabanski, Neurologist and senior research fellow with the Australian Stroke Alliance
Professor Steven Faux, Professor of rehabilitation medicine at UNSW and Director of pain medicine at St Vincent's Hospital
Professor Chris Levi, Director of the John Hunter Hospital Health and Innovation Precinct
Title: Expanding access to stroke neurodiagnostics with electromagnetic sensing and imaging technology
Rapid and accurate identification of stroke and subtype is essential for time-sensitive interventions. However, timely neuroimaging access remains a major limitation, particularly in pre-hospital, rural, and resource-constrained environments. EMVision and the Australian Stroke Alliance have developed the emu™ bedside and First Responder pre-hospital brain scanners that utilise non-ionising electromagnetic signals for urgent stroke diagnosis. The emu™ bedside brain scanner recently completed a multi-centre pre-validation study in which 277 acute suspected stroke patients were successfully scanned. Following promising pre-validation results, the scanner has advanced to an international diagnostic performance validation study (currently in progress) as the cornerstone of future regulatory applications. The emu™ bedside scanner has been miniatured to a backpack-sized form factor, ready for deployment by emergency response personnel pre-hospital. This First Responder brain scanner is currently undergoing feasibility studies in road and air ambulances, including onboard the Melbourne MSU. The novel technology has the potential to revolutionize stroke systems of care and diagnostic accessibility. If validated, the technology could enable earlier treatment decisions, improved workflow efficiency, and more equitable access to neuroimaging. The technology’s principles of operation and clinical development program will be presented, alongside a demonstration of a brain scan.
Speakers: Christian Wight, Head of Regulatory Affairs, EMVision Medical Devices Ltd
Main contact: Anna Ranta
Zien Zhou - Shortlisted for Oral Award
This interactive session will explore how to embed equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) into lived experience engagement across the research process.
Participants will gain practical tools and strategies to meaningfully involve people from underrepresented communities and will leave more confident in applying inclusive practices to their own projects. The session will feature researchers and lived experience experts sharing their experiences working alongside diverse communities.
Facilitated by: Brenda Booth OAM and Adrian O'Malley, Stroke CRE Lived Experience Advisory Group Co-Chairs
Panel: Caleb Rixon, Dr Sabine Allida, Emma Beesley, Assoc Professor Sarah Wallace, Professor David Copland
Asalet Aybuke Gup - Shortlisted for Poster Award
Lilian Carvalho - Shortlisted for Poster Award
In this interactive workshop we discuss how to ensure the validity and interpretability of observational studies based on routinely collected data. We review types of studies and related biases, the use of Target Trial emulation and Directed Acyclic Graphs, and how (not) to use covariate adjustment for the appropriate analyses of such studies.
James Barker - Shortlisted for Oral Award
Sharon Kramer - Shortlisted for Consumer Award
Helen Wallace - Shortlisted for Poster Award
Connect, collaborate, and cultivate new relationships at the Welcome Reception. This is the perfect opportunity to engage with fellow attendees and exhibitors, share ideas, and expand your professional network in a relaxed and inviting atmosphere.