Meet the team

Leadership team

The Endocrinology and Diabetes Service at PCH is comprised of a specialist multidisciplinary team that provides care to all children in Western Australia.

The clinical team consists of specialist endocrinologists, diabetes nurse educators, specialist nurses, dietitians, social worker and psychologists.

Dr Fran Gehrmann
Fellow

Dr Kate Lomax
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Dr Mercedes Burnside
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Dr Radhika James
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Dr Sarah Black
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Dr Michael Hancock
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Dr Eadaoin Hayes
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		Professor Liz Davis MBBS, FRACP, PhD Head of Department, Endocrinology and Diabetes Head of Chronic and Severe Diseases Research Theme, The Kids Research Institute Australia Co-Director of Children’s Diabetes Centre, The Kids Research Institute Australia Professor Elizabeth Davis is a paediatric endocrinologist and Australian clinical researcher in paediatric diabetes. Professor Davis is the Head of the Department of Endocrinology and Diabetes at Perth Children’s Hospital, a state-wide service responsible for the care of all children with diabetes and endocrine disorders in Western Australia. Professor Davis co-directs the Children’s Diabetes Centre at The Kids Research Institute Australia, an integrated Clinical and Research centre. Her research interest is clinical research which improves the lives of children with diabetes. She is a past president of the professional society, Australasian Paediatric Endocrine Group. Professor Davis is also a Clinical Professor at the University of Western Australia.

		Dr Jacqueline Curran BSc, MBChB, FRACP Paediatric Endocrinologist Clinical Lead of Healthy Weight Service Senior Lecturer, University of Western Australia Dr Jacqui Curran is a paediatric endocrinologist who studied medicine in the UK at St Andrews and Manchester Universities and undertook her fellowship training in Australia and Canada. She is Head of Service for the Healthy Weight Service and clinical lead of Type 2 Diabetes at Perth Children’s Hospital. Jacqui undertakes research in the areas of novel new obesity treatments (RCT of intragastric balloons) and technology use including CGM use in type 2 diabetes, resting energy expenditure testing in treatment resistant obesity and in home monitoring of endocrine conditions. She has incorporated several of these technologies into routine clinical practice. Jacqui is currently local PI for several type 2 diabetes clinical trials, diabetes distress in type 2 diabetes and leads the health care providers childhood obesity education project.

		Dr Craig Taplin, FRACP Paediatric Endocrinologist Clinical Lead of Diabetes Clinical Associate Professor, University of Western Australia Honorary Research Associate, The Kids Research Institute Australia Dr Craig Taplin studied medicine at the University of NSW and trained in paediatrics and paediatric endocrinology at The Children’s Hospital, Westmead in Sydney, before completing a clinical and research fellowship at The Children’s Hospital, Colorado and The Barbara Davis Centre for Childhood Diabetes in Colorado, USA. After 10 years as a staff paediatric endocrinologist at Seattle Children’s Hospital and The University of Washington in Seattle, USA he returned to Australia and Perth Children’s Hospital in 2019. He is the Clinical Lead for Diabetes at Perth Children’s Hospital and an Investigator at The Centre for Child Health Research at The Kids Research Institute Australia with interests including the clinical implementation of diabetes technology, the impact of exercise on glycaemic control, and improving youth and parental mental health outcomes in Type 1 Diabetes.

		Dr Kiranjit Joshi, MBBS, DCH, MD, FRACP Paediatric Endocrinologist Clinical Lead of Endocrinology Dr Kiranjit Joshi did her Bachelor's Medical Degree followed by a residency in Paediatrics in India. She did her Endocrinology training in Australia and is a fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians for Paediatric Endocrinology and General Paediatrics. She has more than 20 years of experience of working with children. She is currently working as a consultant Paediatric Endocrinologist at Perth Children’s Hospital and provides outpatients service at Fiona Stanley Hospital. She is a supervisor of training for junior medical doctors. She provides service in all areas of Endocrinology and diabetes. Her areas of interest are bone and mineral metabolism and exercise and musculoskeletal health. She is involved in clinical research in children with various bone conditions. Her main interest in research is osteoporosis in children. She is pursuing her PhD with UWA in Osteogenesis imperfecta in children.

		Luise Russell Department Manager pch.endodepartmentalmanager@health.wa.gov.au

Consultants

		Professor Tim Jones MB BS, DCH, MD, FRACP Paediatric Endocrinologist Director of Research, Child and Adolescent Health Service Co-Director Children’s Diabetes Centre, The Kids Research Institute Australia Areas of research expertise: Diabetes Mellitus, youth, hypoglycaemia, metabolism As well as Co-Director of Children’s Diabetes Centre at The Kids Research Institute Australia, Professor Jones is a Clinical Professor at The University of Western Australia and Director of Research at Child and Adolescent Health Service. Professor Jones received his paediatric training in Australia and the UK and his post-doctoral training at Yale University, USA. Professor Jones is internationally recognised for clinical investigation in childhood diabetes, in particular in hypoglycaemia and diabetes treatments and technologies; and leads a research team based at The Kids Research Institute Australia and Perth Children’s Hospital.
		Dr Aris Siafarikas, MD, FRACP Paediatric Endocrinologist Clinical Associate Professor, University of Western Australia Clinical A/Professor Aris Siafarikas is a Consultant Paediatric Endocrinologist at Perth Children’s Hospital (PCH) with European and Australian specialist qualifications. Dr Siafarikas is a collaborative clinician researcher, who specialises in bone and mineral metabolism. He holds adjunct positions with the University of Western Australia (UWA) and The Kids Research Institute Australia and also is a Clinical Professor at the University of Notre Dame Australia (UNDA) and Edith Cowan University (ECU). Dr Siafarikas is a co-founding member and clinical lead of the Western Australian Bone Research Collaboration (WABRC): a cross-institutional and multidisciplinary team of researchers and clinicians investigating bone health over the life span. His main research areas and interests are Prevention of Osteoporosis, Exercise and Bone Health, Growth and Paediatric Medicine.
		Professor Cathy Choong, MBBS, MD, FRACP Paediatric Endocrinologist Dr Choong is a consultant Paediatric Endocrinologist at Perth Children’s Hospital and Clinical Professor in the Division of Paediatrics, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Western Australia. She has been past President of the Australasian Paediatric Endocrine Group, the Paediatric and Child Health Division of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians and member of the Executive Council of the Endocrine Society of Australia. She is a current member of the Growth Hormone Research Society Executive Committee and contributes to international perspectives on growth hormone therapy in children. Dr Choong is the lead endocrinologist for the Childhood Cancer Survivorship Programme at Perth Children’s Hospital. Her research includes investigation of the aetiology and effects of treatment of paediatric endocrine patients with conditions affecting growth, and the endocrine and metabolic effects of cancer therapy in survivors. She has a specific interest in thyroid and neuroendocrine tumours.
		Dr Mary Abraham, MBBS, DCH, MD Paediatrics, FRACP, PhD Paediatric Endocrinologist Senior Researcher, The Kids Research Institute Australia Associate Clinical Professor, University of Western Australia Dr Abraham is a clinician trained in paediatrics from Mumbai, India. She did her paediatric endocrinology training in Perth and is now a consultant in the department. She is a clinical researcher with the Children’s Diabetes Centre at The Kids Research Institute Australia and leads the technology research theme. She is an academician and also holds an adjunct lecturer position with the University of Western Australia. She completed her PhD from UWA in the prevention of hypoglycaemia with technology in type 1 diabetes. She has been involved with multicentre technology trials in type 1 diabetes and conducted various in-clinic and home studies.
		Dr Fiona Frazer, MBBS, FRACP Paediatric Endocrinologist Director Postgraduate Medical Education, Perth Children’s Hospital Dr Frazer is a Paediatrician with specialty training in Paediatric Endocrinology and Diabetes completed at Princess Margaret Hospital, Perth, and Great Ormond Street Hospital, London. Fiona currently works as a consultant at Perth Children's Hospital in adolescent diabetes, fast track endocrinology and provides an endocrine clinic for children and adolescents with Down Syndrome, part of a multidisciplinary service at PCH. Fiona is the Director of Postgraduate Medical Education at PCH, co-ordinating education and training for doctors in training. Fiona is a member of the Royal Australian College of Physicians (RACP) National Examining Panel for Paediatrics, WA State representative for RACP Paediatric Policy and Advocacy Committee and Paediatric Clinical Examination Committee. Other interests include membership of the National Paediatric Improvement Collaboration, a group providing standardised clinical practice guidelines across Australia for paediatric clinical care.
		Dr Holly Hester MRCPCH (Hons), FRACP, MRCPCH Paediatric Endocrinologist Dr Holly Hester studied medicine and completed paediatric and subspeciality endocrinology training in the United Kingdom. She worked as a diabetes consultant in the Leeds Children's Hospital, who have been leaders in advocating for government funded access to technology in diabetes. She is passionate about psychosocial wellbeing in chronic illness and has trained in psychological therapies. Her interests include lifestyle intervention and patient engagement alongside specialist clinical areas which include late effects, differences in sex differentiation and calcium, bone metabolism.
		Associate Professor Rae-Chi Huang, MBBS, FRACP, PhD, DCH General Paediatrician Associate Professor, The Kids Research Institute Australia Associate Professor Huang is a paediatric physician and leading clinical researcher in early antecedents of cardiometabolic disease. Her work investigates pathogenesis of cardiovascular and related metabolic disease, with emphasis on their origins in pregnancy and early childhood. She completed her PhD in 2010, investigating the role of early life precursors on adolescent cardio-metabolic risk. She holds an associate professorship at Edith Cowan University. She currently leads the Australian arm of the EU “Early-life stressors and LifeCycle health” and led the NHMRC project "A two generation population study of obesity epigenetics". Dr Huang's research focuses on understanding the early origins of human disease particularly in reference to obesity and related cardiovascular risk factors. A/Professor Huang has had financial support in the role of chief investigator from the NHMRC since 2011 amounting to over $3.5 million to date. She has worked as a paediatric consultant in the paediatric obesity clinic in the department of Endocrinology at Princess Margaret Hospital, now Perth Children’s hospital since 2010.
		Dr Glynis Price Paediatric Endocrinologist
		Dr Vinutha Shetty, MBBS, DCH, DNB, MD, FRACP, PhD Paediatric Endocrinologist Researcher, The Kids Research Institute Australia Senior Lecturer, University of Western Australia Dr Vinutha Shetty is an Endocrinology consultant at Perth Children’s Hospital (PCH), researcher at The Kids Research Institute Australia and Senior Lecturer at UWA. She leads the adolescent diabetes service within Endocrinology Department and is passionate about holistic care in medical practice. Her interests are in integrative health focusing on creating ecological solutions for the complex health challenges to promote personal, environmental, economic and societal health. Dr Shetty has a strong passion in reducing the carbon footprint in the health care sector and is actively involved in CAHS Earth Ambassadors Network. She leads the exercise research theme at the Children’s Diabetes Centre, a clinical research team based at PCH and The Kids Research Institute Australia. Being spiritual and active in scientific research, her other goal is to integrate science and spirituality and ultimately to create a conscious planet.
Image coming soon		Dr Uma Ganti, MBBS, DCH, FRACP Paediatric Endocrinologist Senior Clinical Lecturer, University of Western Australia Dr Ganti is a Paediatric Endocrinologist who obtained her qualifications in Australia and India. She is passionate about delivering the best possible health care for children and adolescents in all aspects of Paediatric Diabetes and Endocrinology.

Fellows

Nurses

		Kelly West Clinical Nurse Consultant			Annette Hart Nurse Practitioner
		Mark Shah Nurse Practitioner			Adele Connor Clinical Nurse Specialist, Diabetes in Schools
		Kath Irwine Clinical Nurse Specialist, Technology			Lara Downie Clinical Nurse Specialist, Newly Diagnosed Diabetes
		Emma Pearmain Clinical Nurse Specialist, Healthy Weight Service; Diabetes Mental Health			Mary Mitchell Clinical Nurse Specialist, Endocrinology
		Rachel Romans Clinical Nurse Specialist, Endocrinology			Sonia Mani Xavier Acting Clinical Nurse Specialist, Endocrinology
		Annie Farinosi Clinical Nurse Diabetes Educator			Anupam Sharma Clinical Nurse Diabetes Educator
		Beth Wright Clinical Nurse Diabetes Educator			Corelle Heeger Clinical Nurse Diabetes Educator
		Jayasree Subi Clinical Nurse Diabetes Educator			Katherine Nell Clinical Nurse Diabetes Educator
		Katie Nash Clinical Nurse Diabetes Educator			Lauren Haddow Clinical Nurse Diabetes Educator
		Louise Lappage Clinical Nurse Diabetes Educator			Lynn Last Clinical Nurse Diabetes Educator
		Naomi Paget Clinical Nurse Diabetes Educator			Nola Harrington Clinical Nurse Diabetes Educator
		Shay Furlonger Clinical Nurse Diabetes Educator			Bridie Watson Clinical Nurse, Healthy Weight Service and Endocrinology
		Alison Roberts Clinical Research Nurse			Julie Dart Clinical Research Nurse
		Niru Paramalingam Clinical Research Nurse

Dietitians

Psychology

Joanna White
Senior Clinical Psychologist

Social Workers

		Jasmina Brkich Senior Social Worker			Kelly O'Mara Senior Social Worker
		Kirsty Browne-Cooper Senior Social Worker			Stella Rose Senior Social Worker

Admin and Clerical Coordination

		Jane Makin Data Manager			Justine Chatterton Outpatient Clinic Clerk
		Katrina Ellis Project Officer			Lyndsey Price Coordinator