onTrac@PeterMac Clinical Team

• Dr David Thomas

  Medical Director

  Dr Thomas was appointed onTrac@PeterMac's Program Director in April 2005. He is currently an NHMRC RD Wright Research Fellow in the Ian Potter Foundation Centre for Cancer Genomics and Predictive Medicine at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre.

  Following PhD studies at the University of Melbourne he became a Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians (Medical Oncology) in 1997. He undertook post-doctoral research studies at Harvard Medical School, between 1998-2001.

  Since 2003, he holds positions as the Head of the Sarcoma Genetics Laboratory at Peter Mac and is a consultant medical oncologist to the Peter Mac Sarcoma Service and St Vincent's Hospital. His research interests focus on bone cancer, a disease of young people. Dr Thomas has held major grants with the Cancer Council of Victoria, the NHMRC and the US-based Concern Foundation. He supervises or has supervised students both at Harvard Medical School and the University of Melbourne, where he has an academic appointment. Dr Thomas has reviewed grants for the NHMRC, state Cancer Councils, and the foreign granting bodies; he currently serves on the NHMRC panel for oncology. He reviews regularly for national and international journals, and has recently been invited onto the Editorial Board of the Journal of Orthopaedic Science.

  Dr Thomas has received several prestigious awards and Fellowships, including most recently a Neil Hamilton-Fairley NHMRC Fellowship (1998-2002), the John Taplin Fellowship (Harvard Medical School, 2000), the Arnott Fellowship (RACP, 2002), and the Puzey Fellowship (University of Melbourne, 2003). Dr Thomas is co-ordinating a national research programme through the Australian Sarcoma Group, including clinical trials. Dr Thomas' career demonstrates a commitment to basic, translational and clinical research in cancers that affect young people.

• Kate Thompson

  Manager, onTrac@PeterMac

  Kate trained as a social worker and has specialised in the area of oncology for the last eight years. She has a particular interest in the needs of young people and families following a cancer diagnosis. Kate commenced her position as the onTrac@PeterMac Manager in August 2007 after working as the team leader for three years prior.

  Kate has a particular interest in the overall development of targeted services for the Adolescent & Young Adult cancer population and thus is working with a number of key Victorian agencies and government departments to enhance the services currently available.

  Kate has a particular interest in training & education, providing lectures and professional development sessions to healthcare and community professionals. She is currently undertaking her Masters at Melbourne University research the experience of AYA as they transition from active therapy into follow up care.

  
  Email: Kate.Thompson@petermac.org

• Dr Lisa Orme

  Adolescent and Young Adult Oncologist

  Dr Lisa Orme was appointed as an adolescent and young adult oncologist to both onTrac@peterMac and The Peter Mac Sarcoma Service in November 2007. In addition, she is currently a consultant Paediatric Haematologist Oncologist in the Children's Cancer Centre at the Royal Children's Hospital. She completed her medical degree at the University of Melbourne in 1991 and basic paediatric training at the Royal Children's Hospital in 1995. From 1997 to 2000, she completed a Fellowship in Paediatric Haematology/Oncology at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Centre, including the position of chief fellow in her senior year. This period included two years of translational research in the Developmental Haematopoeisis at the Rockefeller Research Laboratories under Malcolm Moore. In 2003 she became a fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians and was appointed to consult in the Childrens Cancer Centre at the Royal Children's Hospital in the same year.

  Dr Orme's work focuses on the translational, clinical and psychosocial aspects of paediatric and AYA oncology. She is the medical representative on the CCC Research committee and CCC education committee. She chairs the Children's Cancer Centre Combined Therapy Clinic (tumour board). She is the medical liaison for the CCC "Comfort First" procedural pain programme which seeks to minimise procedural pain and distress in young people with cancer.

  Increasingly, Dr. Orme's interest and involvement lies in the area of adolescents and young adults with cancer, and the sarcomas. Joint appointments across the paediatric and adult oncology services provide an exciting opportunity for collaborative clinical research and cohesive approaches to care for young people with cancer

• Gayle Jones

  Pain and Palliative Care Nurse

  Gayle has an extensive oncology and palliative care nursing background and is currently coordinating a Department of Health and Ageing Project to improve palliative care services for adolescents and young adults with cancer.

  Gayle's philosophy of palliative care focuses on supporting the young person to live well, within the constraints of a life threatening illness. The project enables the Pain and Palliative Care Team to work along with the young person's Oncology team to ensure any symptoms associated with cancer or treatment are managed quickly and effectively to minimise their impact on the young person's quality of life.

  
  Email: Gayle.Jones@petermac.org

• Dr Susan Palmer

  Senior Psychologist

  Susan is a psychologist who has specialised in the area of adolescent oncology and adolescent development for a number of years. She has a PhD investigating the impact of a traumatic experience on adolescent development. Susan is the Senior Psychologist within the onTrac@PeterMac team providing direct clinical care and engaging in evidence based research. Susan also has a particular interest in the development of specialist Education & Training Programs for Healthcare Professionals working with this population group. In 2007 Susan received a prestigious Churchill Fellowship and undertook a benchmarking exercise in Europe and The United States looking at the provision of cancer services to the adolescent & young adult group. Susan currently sits on the Cancer Australia National Reference Group providing her expertise in the development of a national framework for AYA cancer care.

  
  Email: Susan.Palmer@petermac.org

• Dr Giselle Withers

  Adolescent and Young Adult Psychologist

  Giselle is a clinical psychologist with specialist skills in adolescent and young adult (AYA) oncology. She has extensive experience helping young people manage chronic illness, depression, anxiety, sleep problems, fatigue and a range other health problems. She has a Doctorate in Clinical Child Adolescent and Family Psychology and postgraduate training in Health Psychology, and has undertaken research in the areas of adolescent health and chronic illness. Giselle is committed to working with young people, parents and other family members to help them cope with the challenges of a cancer diagnosis. Outside her time at onTrac@PeterMac she works in Private Practice.

• Dr Brendan Spence

  Consultant Psychiatrist

  Brendan is a Psychiatrist who has sub-specialised in psychiatry in the setting of medical illness. He has worked in a number of different settings with a number of different units and patient groups including Neurology, Hepatitis C and HIV, Oncology, Palliative Care, Trauma and Gastroenterology. Outside his time at onTrac@PeterMac he works at St Vincent's Hospital as a Consultation Liaison Psychiatrist attached to the Neurosciences Department, and at Calvary Bethlehem Healthcare working in Palliative care and with patients who have chronic neurological conditions. He has a particular interest in adolescent and young adult health and liaison psychiatry. He is helping onTrac@PeterMac further develop their statewide services.

• Nicole Bremner

  Education Program Coordinator, Back on Track, onTrac@Peter Mac & RCH Education Institute

  Nicole has worked for ten years at the RCH Education Institute to support children and adolescents, with chronic health conditions, remain connected to school. She has worked in the area of oncology for the past three years at the RCH and as part of onTrac@Peter Mac.

  Nicole's background is in special education and she has a particular interest in supporting AYA to complete VCE.

  
  Email: Nicole.Bremner@rch.org.au

• Pip Barry

  Redkite Music Therapist

  Pip Barry is a Registered Music Therapist (RMT) with the Australian Music Therapy Association (AMTA), and has an honours degree in Music Therapy. She has conducted music therapy clinical practice and research at Peter Mac for the past few years in collaboration with the National Music Therapy Research Unit (NaMTRU), The University of Melbourne. As part of the OnTrac@PeterMac team, Pip provides opportunities for adolescents and young adults to have greater access to music and to experience a range of music therapy methods.

• Kerryn Fulton

  Redkite Social Worker

  A the onTrac@PeterMac social worker, Kerryn provides practical and emotional support to adolescents, young adults and their families as well as working with the OnTrac team to help build the profile of the specific needs of AYA patients in the oncology arena. She graduated with a Bachelor of Social Work with Honours from La Trobe University in 2002. She has many years experience working with young people and families. She was a case worker with Berry Street in one of their foster care programs, and has worked for the City of Edinburgh as a case manager in the Specialist Foster Care Team.

• Gavin Dyson, BSc (Hons)

  Research Assistant

  Gavin completed undergraduate studies of Psychology and Physiology, and an Honours degree in Psychology at Monash University.

  He has been part of the onTrac@PeterMac team since October 2007, and is involved in the onTrac@PeterMac research activities and general data management. He is committed to conducting cutting edge research that will educate and inform people about the key issues in AYA cancer.

  
  Email: Gavin.Dyson@petermac.org

To contact individual clinicians, please phone onTrac@PeterMac office on + 61 3 9656 1744