Collaborators

AUSNMD was chiefly built in Parkville, Melbourne, Australia. We acknowledge and pay our respects to the Ancestors, Elders and families of the Boonwurrung and Wurundjeri peoples of the Kulin nation, who are the traditional owners of this land.

AUSNMD was developed as a collaboration between healthcare professionals based at major tertiary hospitals in Australia. The AUSNMD website was drafted from the DMD Hub UK website. Fullstack development was by RedAnt Solutions UK. We are extremely grateful to the DMD Hub for permitting us to use their website structure, and for RedAnt Solutions for their vital technological support.

STEERING COMMITTEE

Ian Woodcock

Dr Ian Woodcock is the Executive officer of AUSNMD. He completed his paediatric training including paediatric neurology terms at the Leeds Children’s Hospital in the United Kingdom before moving to Melbourne, Australia and completing a three and a half year fellowship training programme in paediatric neurology at the Royal Children’s Hospital. This fellowship included a double term as the neuromuscular fellow. Ian has extensive research interests within the field of paediatric neurology and in particular in neuromuscular disorders. Ian has experience as principle investigator in investigator initiated clinical trials including one in Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy and another for young people with facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD). Ian has extensive experience as an investigator in multiple large-scale international industry-sponsored drug trials, including breakthrough drug trials in Spinal Muscular Atrophy.

Justine Adams

Justine Adams is the Public Relations and Marketing officer of AUSNMD. She is a physiotherapist who works within the neuromuscular research team as a clinical evaluator on international pharmaceutical research trials for neuromuscular disorders such as DMD and SMA. She also represents physiotherapy at the weekly neuromuscular outpatient clinic at the Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne. Prior to this, Justine has provided physiotherapy services to children of all ages in a variety of other settings including: RCH, Britain’s NHS, special developmental schools, community outreach programs and private practice. Earlier in her career, she worked with adults at the Austin hospital, focusing on acute chronic disease management.

Katy de Valle

Katy de Valle is the Operations officer of AUSNMD. She started work in the Department of Physiotherapy at The Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne in 1998. She began her career working with children suffering acute and chronic neurological and respiratory conditions. Katy moved to her current neuromuscular clinical research role in the Department of Neurology in 2005. She works within the Neuromuscular Research Team as a clinical evaluator on large international pharmaceutical research trials and natural history studies neuromuscular disorders such as DMD, SMA, CMT and FSHD. She has also been involved in the design and implementation of local site specific research projects and is enrolled in a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) through The University of Melbourne. She has presented much of her work both nationally and internationally. She is passionate about supporting children with neuromuscular diseases and their families in their bid to achieve a brighter future.

Zoe Davidson

Dr Zoe Davidson is the Communications officer of AUSNMD. She is an Advanced Accredited Practising Dietitian specialising in paediatric nutrition a. Her doctoral research focused on advancing the evidence base for the nutritional management of boys with Duchenne muscular dystrophy. A key component of this research was a randomised control trial investigating the use on nutriceuticals in Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). In her postdoctoral research, Zoe has focused on managing obesity in DMD, energy expenditure and body composition in children with neuromuscular disorders and documenting best practice in allied health and nursing in DMD.

Vanessa Crossman

Vanessa Crossman is the Technology officer of AUSNMD. Vanessa completed a Bachelor of Science (Genetics) First Class Honours in 2021, and previously completed a Bachelor of Biomedical Science at Monash University. Vanessa is involved in researching the pathophysiology of neuromuscular conditions such as Duchenne muscular dystrophy, nemaline myopathy, and collagen-VI related disorders.

AUSNMD Sites

• The Women's and Children's Hospital, Adelaide
• Queensland Children's Hospital, Brisbane
• Melbourne Children's Campus, Melbourne (Includes the Royal Children's Hospital and Murdoch Children's Research Institute)
• Perth Children's Hospital
• Sydney Children's Hospital, Randwick
• The Children's Hospital at Westmead

Working in Partnership

AUSNMD works with health professionals from major tertiary hospitals across Australia, including the Royal Children's Hospital, Sydney Children's Hospital Randwick, the Children's Hospital at Westmead, Queensland Children's Hospital, Perth Children's Hospital, the Women's and Children's Hospital, and the Murdoch Children's Research Institute.

Funding

Seed funding for AUSNMD comes from the Save Our Sons Duchenne Foundation.