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The Early Career Investigator Committee (ECIC)
Definition of an Early Career InvestigatorCurrent higher degree or current researcher within 10 years from the award of a higher degree (e.g. PhD/Masters). |
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Mission
The mission of the Early Career Investigator Committee (ECIC), formed in February 2017, is to help shape the future of bone and mineral research in Australia and New Zealand by fostering active engagement of early career investigators within the Australia & New Zealand Bone and Mineral Society (ANZBMS), supporting professional development of early career investigators and facilitating interactions between junior and senior members of all disciplines.
Objectives
- To act in collaboration with the ANZBMS senior committee and foster active engagement of early career investigators within the ANZBMS.
- To promote activities that engage early career investigators and senior members in open dialogue and collaborative initiatives.
- To increase early career investigator awareness of research trends and application of new technologies in bone and mineral research.
- To increase engagement of clinical trainees and improve training in bone and mineral metabolism.
- Involvement in scientific and social programs at the ANZBMS Annual Scientific Meeting.
- To foster science communication and engagement with the public.
- To facilitate translation of scientific findings to industry and government.
MEET THE 2024 COMMITTEE
Bridie Cassandra Madhuni Kara Jason Amy Abadi Angela Eugenie Micaela Mícheál Shejil
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Co-Chairs |
Madhuni Herath, Kara Anderson |
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Career Development Representatives |
Abadi Gebre, Angela Sheu, Micaela Quinn |
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Clinical Training Representatives |
Shejil Kumar, Madhuni Herath, Cassandra Smith |
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Communications Representatives |
Kara Anderson, Mícheál Ó Breasail, Eugenie MacFarlane |
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Events Representatives |
Jason Talevski, Amy Harding, Eugenie MacFarlane |
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ECIC representative to ANZBMS POC |
Bridie Mulholland |
Dr Cassandra Smith
ECIC Co-Chair, Clinical Training
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Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Nutrition & Health Innovation Research Institute (NHIRI), Edith Cowan University, Perth WA
Twitter/X: @csmithAEP
Dr Cassandra Smith is a highly passionate clinician-researcher, an Accredited Exercise Physiologist (>10 years’ clinical experience) and Postdoctoral Research Fellow within the Nutrition & Health Innovation Research Institute, Edith Cowan University. Cassandra received her PhD from Victoria University (2022) which gave her a deep understanding on how the skeleton is regulated across the lifespan. Her current research now focusses on understanding why as we age, we lose bone, yet it accumulates in our blood vessels. She has a specific interest in understanding the role of menopause on this relationship, and whether this may potentially explain the sex disparity in cardiovascular disease.
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Dr Madhuni Herath
ECIC Co-Chair, Clinical Training
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PhD Candidate, Hudson Institute of Medical Research and Monash University, Melbourne, VIC
Consultant Endocrinologist, Monash Health, Melbourne, VIC
Twitter/X: @MadhuniH
Dr Madhuni Herath is a Consultant Endocrinologist at Monash Health and a visiting specialist at Western Health, in Victoria, Australia. She is also a PhD candidate at the Hudson Institute of Medical Research and Monash University. Her research focuses on optimising the management of fracture in younger adults.
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Dr Bridie Mulholland
ECIC representative to the ANZBMS POC
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Assistant Professor, First Nations Health, Faculty of Health Sciences & Medicine, Bond University, Gold Coast QLD
Twitter/X: @bridiem123
Dr Bridie Mulholland is a bone biologist at heart, completing her PhD through Griffith University and in collaboration with the Garvan Institute of Medical Research. Bridie’s PhD explored the relationship between osteoporosis and bone metastatic breast cancer. Bridie is now an Assistant Professor (Senior Lecturer) of First Nations Health at Bond University, where she ensures First Nations health is embedded in the curriculum of all health programs within the Faculty of Health Science and Medicine.
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Dr Kara Anderson
Communications
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Associate Research Fellow, Epi-Centre for Healthy Ageing, IMPACT, Deakin University, Geelong, VIC
Twitter/X: @KaraAnderson94
Dr Kara Anderson is an associate research fellow at the Institute for Mental and Physical Health and Clinical Translation (IMPACT), Deakin University. Her research focus has centered around epidemiology of fractures, and in particular has involved the assessment of recent technologies for assessing bone health and fracture risk. She is currently working on the Geelong Osteoporosis Study, a longitudinal cohort study of musculoskeletal health.
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Dr Jason Talevski
Events
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Postdoctoral Researcher Fellow, Institute for Physical Activity and Nutrition (IPAN), School of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences, Deakin University, Melbourne, VIC
Twitter/X: @jason_talevski
Jason began his research career as a Research Assistant at Monash University (2012-2017). In 2018, he received an NHMRC Scholarship and began his PhD at the University of Melbourne (conferred in 2021). His PhD established healthcare pathways that optimize quality of life recovery following fragility fracture. Jason is currently undertaking his Postdoctoral Research Fellowship at Deakin University which aims to co-design a care pathway for the primary care setting to improve rates of osteoporosis diagnosis and initiation of fracture prevention strategies in older adults. His research interests include Osteoporosis, Falls/Fracture Prevention, Health Services Research, Health Literacy and Social Epidemiology.
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Dr Amy Harding
Events
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Research Fellow, Menzies Health Institute Queensland, Griffith University, School of Health Sciences and Social Work, Gold Coast, QLD
Twitter/X: @Amy_T_Harding
Dr Amy Harding is a clinical trialist and completed the LIFTMOR-M semi-randomised controlled trial examining the effect of HiRIT on risk factors for falls and fragility fracture in men with low bone mass as her doctoral project. LIFTMOR-M trial findings were published in the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research, Bone, and Osteoporosis International. Dr Harding was awarded the 2020 ESSA PhD Thesis Medal, the 2019 ACSM Bone and Osteoporosis Network Exchange Young Investigator Award and the 2019 ANZBMS Roger Melick Young Investigator Award. She is currently a research fellow coordinating the NHMRC MRFF-funded STOP FRACTURE! (Strength Training for Optimum Prevention of Fracture. Refocussing A Clinical paradigm That Underutilises Recognised Effective therapy) project at Griffith University.
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Dr Abadi Gebre
Career Development
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Research Fellow, Nutrition & Health Innovation Research Institute (NHIRI), School of Medical and Health Sciences, Edith Cowan University, Perth WA
Twitter/X: @abadi_kahsu21
Dr Abadi Gebre is a Pharmacist and Pharmacologist by training, currently working as a Research Fellow within ECU's Nutrition & Health Innovation Research Institute. His research focuses on disentangling how and why cardiovascular disease leads to falling and fracture using large epidemiological studies and clinical trials, with the ultimate goal of developing better ways to prevent these happening. Abadi's research has been published in leading medical journals such as the British Medical Journal, Lancet and JBMR.
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Dr Angela Sheu
Career Development
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Research officer, Garvan Institute of Medical Research, Sydney NSW
Consultant Endocrinologist, St Vincent's Hospital, Sydney NSW
Dr Angela Sheu is a consultant Endocrinologist at St Vincent's Hospital, Sydney. She is also a postdoctoral researcher at the Garvan Institute of Medical Research. Her PhD on bone health in type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndromes was awarded the Garvan Institute's Best Thesis Award and received funding from NHMRC, RACP, Osteoporosis Australia and Diabetes Australia. Her current work includes characterising skeletal health in diabetes and improving the assessment of people with skeletal fragility, particularly in those with comorbidities.
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Dr Eugenie Macfarlane
Events, Communications
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Associate Research Fellow, Bone Research Program, ANZAC Research Institute, The University of Sydney
Dr Eugenie Macfarlane is a passionate postdoctoral researcher and adjunct associate lecturer in the Bone Research Program based at the ANZAC Research Institute, The University of Sydney. She received her PhD from The University of Sydney in 2023. Her research focuses on the role of glucocorticoids in bone loss and osteoarthritis during chronic disruption of circadian rhythms (i.e., shift work and jet lag), and is funded by a NHMRC Ideas Grant (2024-2027). Eugenie is a recipient of an ASBMR Young Investigator Award (2023) and the Griffith-Hack Research Innovation Award (2020).
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Micaela Quinn
Career Development
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PhD Candidate, Bone and Joint Osteoimmunology Laboratory, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide SA
Twitter/X: @MicaelaJQuinn
Micaela is a current PhD candidate within the Bone and Joint Osteoimmunology Laboratory at The University of Adelaide. Her research aims to characterise the effects of targeted breast cancer treatments on bone metabolism and structure, and explores the potential role of the gut microbiome in influencing the skeletal outcomes associated with such treatments.
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Dr Mícheál Ó Breasail
Communications
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Research Fellow, Bone and Muscle Research Group, Monash University, Melbourne VIC
Twitter/X: @M_O_Breasail
Mícheál initially trained as a dietician (Trinity College Dublin) but an Erasmus exchange in Sweden (University of Gothenburg) ignited his interest in bone research. This led him to undertake a PhD (University of Cambridge, 2019) investigating whether pregnancy-related bone mineral changes occur in women living in the UK and The Gambia. His subsequent postdoctoral positions have involved exploring the impact of aging on bone in the Global South (MRC Nutrition and Bone Research Group), and how conditions such as Parkinson's disease impact musculoskeletal health (University of Bristol). He current works as a Research Fellow in the Bone and Muscle Research Group at Monash University. His research interests include Osteoporosis, Bone Imagine (HR-pQCT, pQCT, DXA), Nutrition and Global Health.
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Dr Shejil Kumar
Clinical Training
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Endocrinology Fellow, Royal North Shore Hospital and Westmead Hospital, Sydney NSW
PhD Candidate, University of Sydney, Sydney NSW Shejil is undergoing a PhD at the University of Sydney and is based at Royal North Shore Hospital and Westmead Hospital, Sydney. His research focuses on the interaction between skeletal loading and osteoporosis pharmacotherapy in the management of postmenopausal osteoporosis and spinal cord injury-related osteoporosis.
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