In response to our member questions and feedback we have put together a panel of experts to answer your questions about COVID-19 and to provide strategies to help manage anxiety during this challenging time.

Register in advance for this webinar here: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZIkdu6gqjssGdZ6t4VgVN0HF7_KO56aJKrO 

Professor Kathryn Nicholson Perry, Chair of Discipline for Psychological Science at the Australian College of Applied Professions, will offer strategies and coping mechanisms for managing anxiety, mental health, emotions and balancing risks. Professor Perry will focus on topics such as how to accept things outside of your control and those things you can’t change and how to identify if you need help and where to find support if you need it.

This webinar will also focus on addressing live IDFA member questions.

Our panel of experts includes:
• Dr Luke Droney, Clinical Immunologist, Allergist and Immunopathologist at the Princess Alexandra Hospital as well as the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital;
• Dr Melanie Wong, Paediatric Allergist and Immunologist and senior staff specialist and head of the Department of Allergy and Immunology at the Children’s Hospital at Westmead;
• Professor Kathryn Nicholson Perry, Chair of Discipline for Psychological Science at the Australian College of Applied Professions;
• Carolyn Dews, CEO IDFA;
• IDFA member advocates.

Please note, that while we will do our best to address as many questions as we can, we may not be able to answer every one. These resources aim to provide general guidance and answer general questions only. We are unable to answer any individual, specific medical questions. Members are responsible for seeking own professional medical advice.

Please refer to IDFA’s Frequently Asked Questions document here for further COVID-19 information.

PLEASE NOTE: This webinar will not be recorded.

All event times are in AEDT. If you live in a different time zone please check the time for your region.

MORE ABOUT OUR EXPERTS

Dr Luke Droney, Clinical Immunologist, Allergist and Immunopathologist at the Princess Alexandra Hospital as well as the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital.

Dr Luke Droney is a Clinical Immunologist, Allergist and Immunopathologist at the Princess Alexandra Hospital as well as the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital. This role encompasses clinical experience in primary immunodeficiencies (PID’s), autoimmune diseases, autoinflammatory disorders and allergy. Luke has an invested professional interest in PID’s and hopes to develop further clinical and diagnostic services in the areas of both PID’s and immunogenetics.

Luke is an associate member of the Australasian Society of Clinical Immunology and Allergy (ASCIA).

Dr Melanie Wong, Paediatric Allergist and Immunologist and senior staff specialist and head of the Department of Allergy and Immunology at the Children’s Hospital at Westmead.

Dr Melanie Wong is a Paediatric Allergist and Immunologist and is a senior staff specialist and head of the Department of Allergy and Immunology at the Children’s Hospital at Westmead. Melanie is currently chair of the IDFA Medical Advisory Committee, Chair of the Board of Allergy and Immunology Foundation of Australia (AIFA), Chief Examiner for the Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia (RCPA) Immunopathology training program, Chair of the RACP Paediatric and Child Health Written exam committee and ASCIA’s representative on the Royal Australasian College of Physicians (RACP) council. She is also a past President of the Australasian Society of Clinical Immunology and Allergy (ASCIA).

Melanie has a strong interest in primary immunodeficiencies with much of her clinical and research interests focused on newborn screening, genetic testing and transplantation.

Image courtesy of: https://www.allergy.org.au/

Professor Kathryn Nicholson Perry, Chair of Discipline for Psychological Science at the Australian College of Applied Professions.

Kathryn is the Chair of Discipline for Psychological Science at the Australian College of Applied Professions (ACAP). She joined ACAP in 2014 when she was primarily involved with the Professional Psychology programs. She was previously a Senior Lecturer at the University of Western Sydney where she had particular responsibility for placements of students undertaking the Master of Psychology program.

Kathryn completed her undergraduate studies in applied psychology at the University of Wales, College of Cardiff and her clinical psychology training at the Institute of Psychiatry in London. She completed her PhD in the Faculty of Medicine, University Sydney on the utility of the biopsychosocial model in spinal cord injury (SCI) pain and its management. She has worked in both clinical and research roles in the area of clinical health psychology in both the UK and Australia. Kathryn has also been the NSW State Chair and National Deputy Chair of the Australian Psychological Society College of Clinical Psychologists, and is currently the National Education Liaison representative on the College National Committee.

Kathryn’s primary research interests lie in health, disability and rehabilitation. She is particularly interested in pain, particularly the prevention and treatment of chronic pain, and finding new ways to deliver such treatments. In addition, she is interested in topics related to the training of psychologists, including assessment of provisional psychologists undertaking placements.