IMPACCT team

Professor Meera Agar, IMPACCT Director, CST Chair and Professor of Palliative Medicine

Professor Meera Agar is a palliative medicine physician with particular interests in delirium, supportive care needs of people with brain tumours and geriatric oncology. 

Research expertise: palliative care; delirium; dementia; brain tumours; clinical trials; health service evaluation; geriatric oncology

Available to supervise research students: yes

EA to Professor Meera Agar: Lili Sanacore

Professor Debra Anderson, Dean, Faculty of Health

Professor Debra Anderson is recognised for being a visionary, supportive, and inclusive leader who engages teams in strategic goals, empowers leaders to take accountability, and brings measurable success leading to transformation.

Research expertise:  Risk behaviours in women; wellness and healthy behaviours

Available to supervisor research students: Yes

Professor Deborah Parker, Professor of Aged Palliative Nursing

Professor Deborah Parker is the Professor of Aged Care (Dementia) in the Faculty of Health. Her primary areas of research are palliative care for older people, dementia and health services evaluation in aged care. 

Research expertise: palliative care for older people; aged care; dementia; health workforce (aged care); knowledge translation

Available to supervise research students: yes

Professor Sally Inglis, Senior Research Fellow, Cardiovascular Nursing

Professor Sally Inglis is a research leader and expert in nurse-led and remotely delivered models of cardiovascular care, telehealth, telemonitoring, and digital patient education. 

Research expertise: peripheral arterial disease; chronic heart failure; cardiovascular disease; nurse management; telemonitoring; telephone support; post-discharge management of chronic cardiovascular disease; seasonal variation 

Available to supervise research students: yes

Associate Professor David Lim

Associate Professor David Lim is experienced in health policy development and evaluation, health service planning, and workforce development to deliver inclusive, responsive, and sustainable primary and community health services for vulnerable populations.

Research expertise: research translation; implementation science; increasing the uptake
of evidence into routine clinical and health practice.

Available to supervise research students: yes

Associate Professor Michelle DiGiacomo, Associate Professor (Research)

Associate Professor Michelle DiGiacomo has a background in psychology and her research centres on the ways that people adjust to living with chronic conditions. 

Research expertise: reducing health and social disparities; access and appropriateness of health services; caregivers; vulnerable populations living with chronic conditions; qualitative research; mixed methods research; gendered approach to health

Available to supervise research students: yes

​Dr Sungwon Chang, Senior Lecturer

Dr Sungwon Chang is a Senior Postdoctoral Research Fellow (Biostatistics) and a Senior Lecturer. She has strong theoretical training in statistics and extensive experience in the application of epidemiology and biostatistics in public health and health services research.

Research expertise: biostatistics; epidemiology; health service research; data linkage

Available to supervise research students: yes

Dr Tim Luckett, Senior Lecturer (Research)

Dr Tim Luckett's research aims to learn from people with life-limiting illness about the best ways to support self-management of symptoms such as breathlessness and pain. 

Research expertise: systematic reviews; complex interventions; implementation research; outcome measurement; qualitative research; clinical trials; symptom and self-management in chronic and life-limiting illness; health service evaluation

Available to supervise research students: yes

Dr Domenica Disalvo

Dr Domenica Disalvo's research focus is palliative, aged, and chronic care. She has a strong interest in optimising the quality use of medicines (QUM) and medication management for people with dementia, bolstering interdisciplinary collaboration, as well as shared communication and decision-making.

Domenica has extensive experience with working in multidisciplinary teams and industry partners to improve care provision for people with chronic life-limiting illnesses. 

Dr Serra Ivynian

Dr Serra Ivynian is a Research Fellow at IMPACCT. Serra was awarded a Bachelor of Medical Science with first class honours in 2013 and PhD in health in 2018 from the University of Technology Sydney.

Serra's PhD thesis investigated care-seeking behaviour in patients with heart failure, with inferences for patient-provider communication, improving health literacy and coping responses for people with chronic illness.

Dr Rayan Saleh Moussa

Dr Rayan Saleh Moussa is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Cancer Symptom Trials (CST) team. Rayan was awarded her doctorate in cancer therapeutics in 2017 by the University of Sydney. 

Rayan's postdoctoral research is focused on improving the preclinical to clinical pipeline through multidisciplinary translational research in cancer symptom therapeutics and interventions.

Dr Mariana Sousa

Dr Mariana Sousa is a Chancellor's Postdoctoral Research Fellow based at the Palliative Care Clinical Studies Collaborative (PaCCSC) team.

Mariana is a physician and researcher with clinical and research interests in cancer-associated symptoms, including treatment-related harms and the impact of health on quality of life. 

Kim Campbell

Kim Campbell has a strong research background in paediatric psycho-oncology and neuropsychology. She has also worked clinically, in support roles in Out of Home Care settings, and in private psychology practice settings.

Kim is currently involved in the MRFF National COVID bereavement project led by Professor Liz Lobb, investigating the mental health effects and support needs of Australians bereaved during and following COVID-19. Her research interests are in mental health, CALD and ATSI groups, and public health.

Kim Offner

Kim Offner is Project Manager for the National Palliative Care in Prisons Project. As a Registered Nurse and clinical educator with 30 years' experience in Australia and the UK, Kim has worked in palliative care across both acute hospital and community settings.

Kim has postgraduate qualifications in public health, health education and critical care nursing. She is committed to improving access to end-of-life resources. She has developed education resources and adapted models of palliative care for the those providing end-of-life care across a variety of settings

Sara Roberts

Sara Roberts is a Research Assistant with a background in behavioural science. Sara’s research interests focus on improving the psychosocial wellbeing of vulnerable populations, which was shaped through her research endeavours within paediatric palliative care.

Sara is currently working on the MRFF National Bereavement during COVID-19 study.

Isabelle Schaefer

Isabelle Schaefer has a background in medical science and a Master of Science in Medicine (Infection and Immunity). She is currently undertaking her doctorate as part of the National Palliative Care in Prisons Project, focusing on a gap analysis of palliative care in NSW prisons. Isabelle has worked on the Cancer Pain Assessment Study, a National Audit of Brain Cancer Care in Australia, the development of survivorship care pathways for men with prostate cancer, and an evaluation of a virtual survivorship care program for men with prostate cancer.