Associate Professor of Medicine, UMass Chan Medical School Dr. Azar joined the UMass Memorial Diabetes Center of Excellence care team in 2022 and is an associate professor of medicine in the Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism at UMass Chan Medical School. She is interested in increasing awareness for metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASH) and implemented a screening process for people with diabetes and prediabetes to determine the risk of liver fibrosis. She is also on the Diabetes in Pregnancy Program care team.
Professor of Accounting & Business Information Systems, The University of Melbourne Professor Michael Davern, FCPA, holds the Chair of Accounting and Business Information Systems at The University of Melbourne. For over 30 years, in Australia and overseas, he has led industry-engaged research examining decision-making Business Analytics, Risk Management and Financial Reporting. Michael’s research is informed by his substantial board-level experience with for-purpose and privately held entities. A neurodiverse boundary spanner with eclectic interests his background includes academic and professional experience in accounting, finance, computer science and decision sciences.
Senior Lecturer, Department of Human Nutrition, University of Otago Meredith Peddie has a BPhEd (Hons) in Sports Science, a BSc and MSc in Nutrition, and graduated with her PhD from the University of Otago in 2012. Between 2012 and 2020 Meredith worked in the Department in research positions funded by the National Heart Foundation of New Zealand. She joined the Department permanently as a Senior Lecturer in February 2020. Meredith's main area of research focuses on the postprandial metabolic effects of interrupting sitting time with short bouts of physical activity, but she is also interested in how moving more and sitting less impacts health in a broader sense. Meredith's other research interests include the impact of nutrition, sedentary behaviour and physical activity on cardiometabolic risk.
University Teacher, School of Journalism, Media and Communication, University of Sheffield Michelle Rawlins is the MA Journalism Course Leader at the University of Sheffield. She joined the School of Journalism, Media & Communication in 2019. In conjunction with Women's Aid & IDAS, she is currently carrying out research with funding support from the University of Sheffield about the portrayal of domestic abuse in media, and how journalism educators can equip trainee journalists with the skills to report on domestic abuse in an ethical, positive and impactful manner. She is an award-winning journalist, author, ghostwriter and copywriter with over 25 years' experience working for national newspapers, magazines and online publications.
Postdoctoral Research Associate, The Institute of Palliative Care, Lund University I'm a clinical psychologist and a researcher. My focus is communication, compassion as well as psycho-therapeutic interventions in palliative care.
Ph.D. Candidate in Cognitive Neuroscience, Colorado State University Melissa Hansen is a graduate student at Colorado State University. She is interested in studying the underlying mechanisms that contribute to the relationship between socioeconomic inequality and neurobiological and cognitive development in children. Melissa received her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Baylor University and holds a Master’s degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling.
