President: Chris Thornton

Vice President: Dr. Anthea Fursland

Secretary: Dr. Warren Ward 

Dr. Ward is the Director of the Eating Disorder Service at the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital, a Senior Lecturer at the University of Queensland and a Board Member for the Queensland Centre for Mental Health Learning.

Dr Warren Ward graduated in medicine at the University of Queensland (UQ) in 1987 and became a Fellow of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP) in 1995, later serving as a member of the Fellowships Board for the RANZCP and as Chair of the RANZCP Committee for Training. He obtained a Graduate Certificate in Management (Queensland Health) from QUT in 2001. In his current position as Director of the RBWH Eating Disorders Service, he provides leadership of the Qld Eating Disorder Outreach Service which provides state-wide education, training, consultation-liaison, tertiary assessment and treatment services, and advice on state-wide planning and service development for patients with eating disorders. He is also Chair of the Eating Disorders Sub-network of the Queensland State Mental Health Network.

[top of page] 

Treasurer: Dr. Sloane Madden

Dr Sloane Madden is co-director of The Eating Disorder Service at the Children’s Hospital at Westmead, the largest public eating disorder service in NSW and one of the two largest adolescent eating disorder services in Australia. Dr Madden’s research has three major foci, early onset eating disorders, the treatment of anorexia nervosa and the neurobiology of eating disorders
Dr Madden is a chief investigator and the clinical coordinator of a current, NHMRC funded, inpatient treatment trial of adolescent anorexia nervosa.  This study represents the first randomized controlled treatment trial of inpatient care in anorexia nervosa and when completed will be amongst the five largest treatment trials in this field.

Dr Madden was the lead investigator in an Australia wide study exploring the incidence, psychological symptoms, physical complications and treatment of eating disorders in children under the age of 13 years.  This world first study has been presented at both international and national meetings generating intense media and professional interest.  This study has been published by the Medical Journal of Australia and was the subject of an editorial review.  This study has been replicated using identical methodology in both Canada and the United Kingdom.
Dr Madden is a past chair of the neuroimaging special interest group in the Academy of Eating Disorders.  He is engaged in functional MRI research in adolescents with anorexia nervosa looking at changes in brain function in response to both food related stimuli and affective processing.  He has been invited to present a keynote address symposia and discussion panels on this subject at meetings including: the 6th Annual Conference, Australia and New Zealand Academy of Eating Disorders, Melbourne, Australia, , 2007,  the Academy of Eating Disorders, International Conference, Baltimore, 2007, Eating Disorder Research Society Annual Meeting, Port Douglas, Australia, 2006, the Academy of Eating Disorders, International Conference on Eating Disorders, Barcelona, Spain, 2006 and the 6th International Congress of Neuropsychiatry, Sydney, Australia 2006.

Dr Madden is the author of over 20 peer reviewed journal articles and book chapters on eating disorders.  He is the Co-Chair of the Scientific Committee for the Academy of Eating Disorders, International Conference, Cancun, Mexico 2009 and has been a member of the Scientific Program Committee for the 2006, 2008 and 2011 Academy of Eating Disorders, International Conferences in Barcelona, Spain and Baltimore, USA.

Dr Madden has been a member of State Government advisory panels to the including the NSW Department of Health Stimulants Committee and the NSW Department of Health Advisory Committee: Restraint, Seclusion and Transport for Patients with behavioural disturbance.  He is a member of the consortium that has been chosen to develop the Australian Government, Department of Health and Aging funded Eating Disorder Collaboration with the goal of developing a consistent, coordinated national continuum of care approach to the promotion, prevention, early intervention, treatment and management of eating disorders. Dr Madden chairs one of the five steering committees on this project. 

Committee Member: Dr. Simon Wilksch

Simon recently completed his PhD (Clinical Psychology) at Flinders University in the field of eating disorder prevention.  He currently works as a lecturer and psychologist.  At present, he is involved in two research trials evaluating treatments for anorexia nervosa and post-traumatic stress disorder with co-morbid major depression.  He also works in a community mental health setting, where his main focus is the treatment of eating disorders.

[top of page]  

Committee Member: Dr Roger Mysliwiec

Dr. Mysliwiec has been the Clinical Director of the Auckland Eating Disorders Service, for the past seven years.   Prior to coming to New Zealand he has trained and worked in Germany as a specialist in psychotherapeutic and psychosomatic medicine.   He is particularly interested in the development of models of service delivery for eating disorder treatment and the translation of research findings into clinical practice.

[top of page]  

Committee Member:  Christine Martin 

[top of page]

Committee Member: Adrienne Alexander

Adrienne has been the Unit Manager of the Wesley Eating Disorders Centre, Wesley Private Hospital in Ashfield, New South Wales for over 4 years. She is a mental health nurse who has worked in the field of eating disorders for over 11 years and has extensive clinical and group therapy experience. She was one of the founding members of the Wesley Private Hospital Eating Disorder Day Program. Her special interests are nurse/patient therapeutic alliance in eating disorders and the education of nurses working in this area.

[top of page]

Committee Member: Dr. Andrew Kennedy

Dr Andrew Kennedy is a Paediatrician and Adolescent Physician. Andrew was the adolescent fellow at Westmead Hospital in Sydney for 2 years from 2002 and it was in this role that he first gained experience in managing adolescents with eating disorders, particularly those with anorexia nervosa. From February 2005 he was the Clinical Leader at the Centre for Adolescent Health at the Royal Children's Hospital in Melbourne, a large general adolescent health service that treats inpatients and outpatients with a variety of health concerns including a many with eating disorders. Early in 2009 he commenced work at the Princess Margaret Hospital (PMH) in Perth as a paediatrician and adolescent physician and is one of only 2 paediatricians working within the large PMH Eating Disorders Program.

[top of page]  

Committee Member: Shane Jeffrey

Shane is an Accredited Practising Dietitian who has specialised in the nutritional management of eating disorders for 15 years.  During this time he has held positions across both public and private services in Australia and the UK.  Shane is actively involved in the eating disorder community, and has presented numerous papers, workshops and seminars at the state and national level.  He is the current convenor of the Dietitians Association of Australia Eating Disorder Interest Group, and has a special interest in advancing the knowledge and skill base of dietitians working across the eating disorders.

[top of page]

Committee Member:  Andrew Wallis 

Andrew Wallis is a Clinical Specialist Social Worker specialising in family therapy. Andrew has worked with adolescents and their families for the last 15 years in a range of clinical settings. He has post graduate training in family therapy and child and adolescent mental health. His current role is as team leader of the Eating Disorder Family Therapy Team at The Children's Hospital and Co-Manager of the Family Therapy Research and Training Clinic run by the Department of Adolescent Medicine and the Department of Psychological Medicine. He has had a key role helping clinicians around Australia implement family based treatment for Anorexia Nervosa through training, consultation and supervision since 2003.

Qualifications:
BSW, MFamTher, GradDipMH, MAASW(acc)

[top of page]  

Committee Member: Chris Harris

Chris is a Psychologist and the Coordinator of Clinical Services at The Princess Margaret Hospital for Children Eating Disorder Program (PMH EDP) in Perth. He  was  one of the inaugural members of the PMH EDP which was established 13 years ago.  The program now offers Inpatient, Day Program, and Outpatient streams and a new initiative in 2009, a Community Outreach Service. Chris has worked in the area of eating disorders for 18 years initially managing an inpatient facility in the United Kingdom and then coordinating and developing a Cognitive Behaviour Therapy out patient program.  His special interests include family oriented approaches, co morbidity, and body image disparagement. Chris also runs a private psychology practice and consults in the area of Post Natal Depression and Anxiety.

[top of page]