Faculty of Medicine and Health
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Michelle Barakat-Johnson Appointed as Professor of Wound Care & Skin Integrity
Dr.Michelle Barakat-Johnson has been appointed Professor of Wound Care and Skin Integrity in a joint partnership role with the Sydney Local Health District. Affiliated with the School since 2016, Michelle has brought her expertise and leadership in wound care to advance education and research in this vital field. Her vision is to establish the University and the District as a global leader in Skin Integrity and Wound Care.
In 2019, Michelle completed her PhD, employing an implementation science framework across four hospitals and five community health centres to prevent hospital-acquired pressure injuries. Her research led to a significant district-wide reduction in pressure injuries and cost savings, resulting in the adoption of statewide policy and preventive guidelines. This approach has also received international recognition, winning an award at the European Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel (EPUAP) conference in 2023. Five years on, the district remains the lowest in New South Wales for hospital-acquired pressure injuries.
Since then, Michelle has secured over $9,000,000 in funding as the Chief Investigator, led clinical trials, authored over 40 peer-reviewed publications and built collaborative research partnerships with leading scholars. Her research has driven major clinical innovations, including founding, testing, implementing the award winning Wound Care Command Centre™—a virtual hybrid model that integrates clinical expertise and technology to enhance patient outcomes and reduce healthcare costs. She has also advanced education by creating impactful opportunities for emerging researchers and clinicians and provides guidance on national and international policies for skin integrity, pressure injuries, wound care, and implementation science.
Within Sydney Local Health District, Michelle’s portfolio encompasses clinical leadership in skin and pressure injury prevention across the health district. She leads a team of skin integrity leads, working closely with multidisciplinary team of health professionals, including those in vascular care, high-risk foot clinics, allied health, and intensive care. Michelle works closely with clinical safety, risk, and governance teams, providing strategic leadership and oversight for the district’s initiatives in pressure injury, skin integrity, wound care innovation, research, and clinical advancement. She is also the Chair of the Statewide Pressure Injury Prevention Care Plan Development Advisory Group and the Chair of the Wound Care Group for Single Digital Patient record.
Michelle’s immediate focus will be launching the Tissue Repair Institute, the first of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere and modelled on two world-leading Institutes. With funding from corporate sector partners, the Institutes key pillars include innovation and real-time implementation, education and global collaboration. Additionally, Michelle will be continuing the design of new world-class, evidence-based skin integrity and wound care courses whilst growing her global collaborations with the world’s leading scholars and institutions to continue advancing clinical transformation.
Michelle’s current team who work at the school includes
Dr Michelle Lai
Dr Katja Heuer
Mr Willoughby Hay
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Dr Michelle Lai, Program Manager
Michelle is the Program Manager of the Digital Wound Model of Care and the Tissue Repair Institute. She works across the Nursing School and Sydney Local Health District (SLHD), managing a number of projects including the implementation of a digital wound model of care at SLHD and several partner organisations and settings across NSW. She has been working at the University since 2010 in the areas of family medicine, cancer, aged care, dementia, and wound care, implementing and evaluating best practice in healthcare in community, acute, and aged care settings across regional, rural, and metropolitan areas in Australia. She completed her PhD in 2020 which examined how people with young-onset dementia in the community and their family members planned for the future, under the supervision of Professor Yun-Hee Jeon and Associate Professor Heather McKenzie at the Nursing School. In her spare time she enjoys reformer pilates and running, and is an avid foodie.
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Dr Katja Heuer, Senior Research & Administrative Officer
Katja is a Senior Research Officer on the NHMRC partnership project “Improving patient outcomes and reducing the hidden burden of chronic wounds: a digitally enabled Wound Model of Care (The ENABLE Study)” with the University of Sydney, with a mission to deliver a new Digital Wound Model of Care across Australia. Katja has assisted clinicians and the project lead team in establishing this revolutionary model of care across the Sydney Local Health District from the Wound Care Command CentreTM, based at RPA Virtual Hospital. She has a keen interest in implementation science and was previously the Research Officer at RPA Hospital for the Translation Research Grant funded multicentre statewide to prevent incontinence-associated dermatitis. Katja trained as a research Biochemist at the University of Sydney and Berlin, looking into the structure-function relationships of immune proteins in the design of immunotherapy treatments and has enjoyed applying the skills learnt here to clinical practice.
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Willoughby Hay, Research Officer
Willoughby is a Research Officer at Sydney Nursing School. He has participated in various research projects, including the IMBED study (Implementing Best Available Evidence into Practice for Incontinence-Associated Dermatitis) and the Vatican study (Virtual Wound Care Command Centre). Recently, he assisted in providing support to the Clinical Decision Support Working group for an innovative wound management application. He holds a Bachelor of Medical Science from the University of Sydney and will pursue his Honours in Applied Medical Science next year. Willoughby has a keen interest in digital transformation and pressure injury prevention.
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Introducing the 2025 Sydney University Nursing Society Executive Team
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Congratulations to the new members of the SUNS Executive team. Sydney Nursing School looks forward to continuing a valuable and productive relationship in 2025.
2025 SUNS Executive Team:
- President: Janine Ramos
- Vice President (Advocacy): Joanna Owusu, Stefan Smoleniec
- Vice President (Events): Talia Ali
- Secretary: Bethany Scott
- Treasurer: Darcie O’Connell
- Engagement and Events Leads: Leila Miski, Celine Najem
- Education Leads: Aylin Rezaei, Stefan Smoleniec
- Social Media Leads: Christian Peregrina, Jessica Ip
- Interfaculty Competition & Sports Leads: Vincent Lai, Damian Poulos
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MND Students At TAFE Cooking Labs
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First year Master of Nutrition and Dietetics Year 1 students attending TAFE cooking labs were caught in action by Dr Priya Iyer. during her site visit. The students' passion and dedication to promote safe, healthy and sustainable foods shone.
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Postgraduate Research Scholarship in Dementia and Aged Care
This scholarship supports students undertaking research in the implementation of a dementia model of care. The proposed PhD Study will focus on improving the functional and social independence of older people with cognitive impairment in residential care homes. Please find more about the scholarship and how to apply here. The scholarship is part of the Interdisciplinary Home-bAsed Reablement Program (I-HARP) led by Professor Yun-Hee Jeon.
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9th International Nurse Education (NETNEP) Conference
From the 28 th to the 30 th of October, Professors Jacqueline Bloomfield and Tamara Power, represented Sydney Nursing School at the 9 th International Nurse Education (NETNEP) Conference. Jacqueline presented a poster on Navigating nursing stereotypes as a legacy of the COVID-19 pandemic: Implications for nursing education, and Tamara gave an oral presentation called Ostomies and empathy: Evaluating an immersive point-of-view simulation, receiving a highly commended mention at the conference conclusion. The conference was attended by over 700 delegates from 40 countries.
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Creating space for connection, creativity and sharing of culture for nursing students and colleagues in Sydney Nursing School
Second year Bachelor of Nursing Students (enrolled in NURS2008 First Nations Health and Care) and Sydney Nursing School Colleagues attended a Smoking Ceremony and arts activity with local Aboriginal woman and knowledge holder Rowena Welsh at the Susan Wakil Health Building in late October. An annual event that started in Semester 2, 2023 by Professor Tamara Power and Louise Sheehy - this Unit of Study, always finishes a little differently from the other units of study offered at Sydney Nursing School.
An event that aims to inspire learners and colleagues to draw from Indigenous knowledges and practices by participating actively in a Smoking Ceremony (a traditional and contemporary practice used by Aboriginal peoples to connect to Country, place, and spirit) and to hear from members of community on Gadigal land. Attendees additionally collaborated in an art-making activity, which ended with lots of laughter, competition, and critique about who placed the best hand or fingerprint…
Truly an opportunity to walk and play alongside each other, to find peace and calm in the busyness of semester wind-up and hold strong, as the holiday period is fast approaching. Importantly, whilst the arts activity is fun and engaging; learners, when placing their hand on the artwork, commit to take the learnings from NURS2008 into their future nursing practice - to be advocates, change-makers and allies, to walk alongside and with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.
NURS2008 Teaching team would like to thank those who were able to attend and participate with a special thanks to Professor Tamara Power and Louise Sheehy for hosting this event in 2024 - for commencing in 2023, and supporting events like this one, into the future at Sydney Nursing School.
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SNS at International Conference for Emergency Nursing
The 21st International Conference for Emergency Nursing, hosted by the College of Emergency Nursing Australasia was held on the 16th- 18th October. Over 240 emergency nurses from across the globe gathered in Sydney to hear about the latest in emergency nursing research, with a focus on innovation to translation. The University of Sydney was the Gold sponsor.
Dr Taneal Wiseman, Belinda Clough and Tom Hicks represented Sydney Nursing School at the promotional booth throughout the conference. With approximately 300 delegates, they were kept busy with lots of enquiries regarding post-graduate studies, including HDR and Nurse Practitioner pathways.
There were ten presentations from Sydney Nursing School, including four from HDR students, Ms. Belinda Kennedy won Best Scientific Paper for her outstanding work on HIRAID® and Baylie Trostian won best presentation for her work on improving the care of women with early pregnancy bleeding in EDs.
The conference kicked off to a fantastic start with Professor Kate Curtis leading a HIRAID® instructor workshops for 23 enthusiastic participants from across Australia. Professor Curtis then delivered a keynote presentation on enabling clinicians to use evidence in their practice. More info on HIRAID®
Clinical Associate Professor Margaret Murphy, Western Sydney Local Health District and USYD, presented the outstanding results of improved patient safety that HIRAID® has had including patients feeling informed, listened to, supported when in distress and that their needs were met in WSLHD. Margaret also presented the development of an eight-step standardised emergency nursing career pathway that can be used across rural, regional and metropolitan Australia.
Dr Sarah Kourouche, post-doctoral implementation science fellow presented “Successful and sustained implementation of a behaviour change strategy for emergency nurses: A multicentre implementation evaluation.” Sarah also won the New Investigator Research Grant to fund work to identify barriers and enablers of implementing evidence-based practice in emergency departments in rural Australia.
The conference was a great success that brought together emergency nurses who are passionate about driving clinical change and positively impacting both patients and colleagues.
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| Dr Priya Iyer Invited to Be Expert Clinician Research Mentor
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Dr Priya Iyer had been invited by the Spinal Research Institute to be the expert clinician research mentor for a registered nurse in Nepal, pursuing nutrition studies. Anjita, RN in Nepal Spinal facility has now developed the research protocol for a nutrition intervention study and we are in process of applying for grants to support progression of the study. The impact has been captured in the SRI annual report Spinal Research Institute 2024 Impact Report by thesri - Issuu
Priya always has worked with and appreciated the role of nurses as part of the multidisciplinary team and has advocated for (and continues to) working collaboratively, not in silos in delivering care and training (beyond the confines of the hospital walls, including academia). This experience has given renewed appreciation of the benefit of multidisciplinary collaboration and teamwork beyond geographical boundaries.
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Dr Peter Collins Invited to NSW/ACT Thoracic Society of ANZ Annual Scientific Meeting
Dr Peter Collins invited to deliver a presentation in the plenary session of the NSW/ACT Thoracic Society of Australia and New Zealand Annual Scientific Meeting on the
topic of nutrition assessment and management of lung disease beyond pharmacotherapy . The meeting was held in November at the Concord Clinical School, Concord Hospital.
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| Dr Ling Zhang Invited to 5th Global Cardiovascular Nursing Leadership Forum (GCNLF)
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Dr. Ling Zhang was recently invited to participate in the Fifth Global Cardiovascular Nursing Leadership Forum (GCNLF) in Budapest, Hungary, a prestigious event that convenes top nursing leaders worldwide. The forum emphasized the critical role nurses and nursing organizations play on the front lines of patient education and cardiovascular prevention. Dr. Zhang joined esteemed colleagues from around the globe to discuss the challenges and opportunities in cardiovascular prevention and to explore solutions to enhance nursing practice through research, education, policy, and advocacy. Dr. Zhang’s invitation to this influential forum highlights her leadership and dedication to advancing cardiovascular nursing in Australia and beyond.
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|  | Dr Sylvia McCarthy, Professor Kate White & Dr Ednin Hamzah (Medical Director)
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Jay Balante with Palliative Care Nurses
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In October, Jay Balante and Professor Kate White travelled to Malaysia to undertake research with the team at Hospis Malaysia, and expand existing links. Hospis Malaysia is nurse led community palliative care service that provides palliative care and ongoing support to individuals diagnosed with incurable cancer and end stage respiratory disease in Kuala Lumpur. Supported by a small team of palliative care doctors, and a wonderful pharmacist, the palliative care nurses are highly skilled advanced practice nurses, with expertise in palliative care, clinical assessment and supportive care. They are all excellent in navigating their way around Kuala Lumpur traffic and finding parking, in a busy and at times chaotic city. In addition to collaborating in Jay’s PhD research, new collaborative research is being developed with the team.
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SOLVE-CHD Marks World Heart Day
To mark World Heart Day 2024, SOLVE-CHD hosted a series of impactful events across Australia, both online and in-person, to promote heart health awareness. At the University of Sydney, over 300 students and community members engaged in heart-healthy activities, CPR lessons, and fun competitions. Led by Sydney Nursing School staff who are part of the SOLVE-CHD network, this event offered heart-health tips, hands-on CPR training, exciting giveaways, and a photo competition. Attendees left with valuable knowledge about cardiovascular health and life-saving skills, making it a truly memorable day for all involved.
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Dr Gemma Saravanos Contributes to Lao Electronic Immunisation Register
In October 2024, Sydney Nursing School Academic Fellow and Lecturer Dr Gemma Saravanos travelled to Lao Peoples Democratic Republic as part of a team presenting findings from an Evaluation of the Lao Electronic Immunisation Register. The evaluation was a six-part study that engaged local government and development partners with the aim of strengthening implementation of the digital national register. The project was funded by a Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade grant, and led by Associate Professor Meru Sheel from the School of Public Health.
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Themed Group Leaders Update
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Sydney Nursing School #10 in ShanghaiRanking We’re thrilled to share the University of Sydney Susan Wakil School of Nursing and Midwifery (Sydney Nursing School) has achieved 10th globally in the 2024 ShanghaiRanking Global Ranking of Academic Subjects
Find out more about our other subject rankings: https://lnkd.in/g8wiHUwg
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Makers and Shapers Success
Congratualations to Dr Annmaree Watharow & Dr Moira Dunsmore who were recognised at the recent FMH Makers and Shapers Awards for " Outstanding leadership and advocacy for people living with dual sensory impairment (DSI) and their healthcare experience."
You can find a full list of winners here.
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Professor Kate Curtis Inducted into American Academy of Nursing
Congratulations to Professor Kate Curtis, who was part of the 2024 New Class of Fellows inducted into the American Academy of Nursing. The ceremony was recently held in Washington, D.C and you can see the full list of inductees here.
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Wound Care Command Centre wins NSW Health Award
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The Wound Care Command Centre™, founded and developed by Professor Michelle Barakat-Johnson, has won the 2024 NSW Health Award for Transforming Patient Experience. Originally a concept tested in a 2019 clinical trial funded by MRFF and Sydney Health Partners RART, the Centre has now become a reality, revolutionising wound care. This AI-driven, nurse-led service empowers patients to manage their wounds with real-time specialist support, drastically reducing wait times from 13.4 days to 2 hours. By involving patients and families in shared decision-making, the Centre fosters autonomy and confidence, delivering holistic, patient-centred care across geographic boundaries. Prof Barakat-Johnson has been awarded an NHMRC Partnership Grant to expand on this model across Australia co -investigators for the SNS include Professor Mel Baysari, Dr Astrid Frotjold and Professor Kate White.
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Margaret-Ann Tait Awarded Best Student Poster
Maragret-Ann Tait, PhD candidate – Awarded Best Student Poster Presentation in recognition of Superior Achievement in Quality of Life research at the International Society for Quality of Life research (ISOQOL) annual conference, october 2024 for her presentation titled “ The association of cannabinoid combinations with patient-reported pain improvements in patients with chronic pain prescribed medicinal cannabis”
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PhD Alumni and NP Student Recognised by Haematology Society
The Haematology Society of Australia and New Zealand recognised Clinical Associate Professor Tracy King Haematology Leadership Award at recent national Blood Conference. Tracy’s award is recognition for the significant contribution she has made to the field of multiple myeloma, from clinical care, research, education and patient support.
She has worked tirelessly in the field of Myeloma, not only within Australia but globally to enhance the care received by patients. Since coming to Australia Tracy has been an active member of a range of national and international professional working groups including those of the Cancer Institute NSW; Myeloma and Related Disease Registry (MRDR), is Chair of the HSANZ Myeloma Special Practice Network (M-SPN) and Past President and co-founder of the HSANZ Nurses Group. Tracy is an invited member of the IMF Nurse Leadership Board (NLB) and leads the nurse’s and allied health symposium organising committee, during the International Myeloma Society (IMS) Annual Meeting. She was awarded the Outstanding Research Achievement Nursing & Midwifery Award, 2019 by Sydney Local Health Network (SLHD) for her leadership and research in better understanding the experiences of those affected by myeloma and the role of patient reported outcome measures (PROM). Tracy was awarded her PhD with Sydney University for the development and evaluation of a PROM to measure the impact of steroids associated with therapy for myeloma.
She is an inspiration to not only junior and senior nurses but also medical and allied health colleagues. Her national and international reputation as a clinical expert in Myeloma care should be acknowledged by the HSANZ as a source of pride.
Tracy demonstrates an unparalleled drive to further research and care delivery for Myeloma patients and through her work and has delivered many improvements for nursing care in the field
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Grant Success for the Dual Sensory Impairment Project (DUAL-SIP)
The Dual Sensory Impairment Project, led by Dr Moira Dunsmore, was recently awarded $25000 from the Australian Association of Gerontology's Hal Kendig Resarch Development Grant.
This project is part of a larger program of work developed to address multiple and interrelated aspects of DSI in older persons - the Dual Sensory Impairment project (DUAL-SIP) based at the University of Sydney. The broader DUAL-SIP co-design project addresses critical gaps in care for those living with DSI (including family members), aiming to build social capacity and DSI expertise across three key domains.
Domain 1 of the overall DUAL-SIP project is the focus of this current grant. Family carers and care networks are critical to building awareness and support for older Australians living with DSI; additionally, the role of family in the everyday life of older adults with DSI and their involvement in rehabilitation/support increases awareness, receptiveness and potential motivation of persons with DSI to participate and engage socially.
This mixed-methods project tests the concept of the Conscious Caring Model (CCM) to meet contemporary needs of older adults living with DSI, and their family carers (FC).
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Dr Dion Candelaria has been awarded the National Heart Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship
Congratulations to Dr Dion Candelaria who was recently awarded the National Heart Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship 2025 to 2026. The Fellowship awards total funding of $151 200. Further details on the fellowship and a full list of recipients can be found here.
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Sydney Nursing School Features at the Alumni Festival
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| Nursing Healthcare Showcase at the Alumni Festival
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Professor Kate Curtis is leading the talk "Nursing healthcare showcase - Frontline innovation and positive change" from 2:15pm to 3:15pm, register for the Alumni Festival and add this talk to your scheule here.
Discover the groundbreaking work of our nursing PhD students and practicing clinicians who are transforming the healthcare system. Sydney Nursing School is at the forefront of innovation, listening to what patients want and responding to their needs with unparalleled insight and care. Our nurses’ dedication and expertise are driving positive changes that enhance patient experiences and recovery outcomes.
From pioneering research to practical applications, learn how these healthcare heroes are making a real difference in the future of healthcare.
Don’t miss this opportunity to be inspired by the stories and achievements of those on the frontline of healthcare innovation.
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Shannon Philp Featured on The Project
Shannon Philp, Senior Lecturer and Course Coordinator for Cancer and Haematology Nursing was featured on The Project to discuss the causes, symptoms, and implications of molar pregnancies. You can view Shannon's appearance here.
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Sydney Nursing Students Feature on Channel 10 News
Nursing students at the University of Sydney are practising saving lives with virtual reality headsets, transforming a classroom into an emergency department and better preparing future frontline workers for life on the ward. Please see the full video here.
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Dr Georgia Chaseling in New England Journal of Medicine
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Jones, R.,Jackson, D.., Ranse, J., Arena, A., Clegg, L., Sutton, C., Gayed, A., Rice, K. and Usher, K. (2024), A Scoping Review of Trauma, Mental Health and First Responders in Australia. Int J Mental Health Nurs, 33: 1817-1839. https://doi.org/10.1111/inm.13397
Ozturk, A, Chan,M, Khan, JR, Hu,N, McMullan, B, Britton, PN, Bartlett, A, Kandasamy, R, Saravanos, GL, Prentice, B, Shi, T, Jaffe, A, Owens, L, Homaira, N. Clinical characteristics and in-hospital outcomes associated with RSV-ALRI compared to other viral ALRI in hospitalised children under two years old, The Journal of Infectious Diseases, 2024;, jiae543, https://doi.org/10.1093/infdis/jiae543
Zhang, L, Ghisi, GLDM, Shi, W, Pakosh, M, Main, E, Gallagher, R. Patient education in ethnic minority and migrant patients with heart disease: A scoping review, Patient Education and Counseling,Volume 130,
2025,108480,ISSN 0738-3991, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pec.2024.108480.
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Sydney Nursing School Green Team Update
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SNS Green Team is excited to introduce our Student Sustainability Champions as part of a new initiative which aims to contribute to advancing planetary health and sustainability in the school, while providing student health professionals with opportunities to influence action.
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The Student Sustainability Champions represent disciplines across the school; Pritika Prahatheesan is a third year Bachelor of Science/Master of Nutrition and Dietetics student, with a passion for human and planetary health, especially from a food and nutrition perspective. Darcie O’Connell and Michelle Levy are both second year Bachelor of Nursing (Advanced Studies) students who recognise the important role of the nursing profession to lead the way in promoting planetary health alongside delivering high-quality, sustainable healthcare.
The students are currently working on a submission to the Planetary Health Report Card, a student-led, metric-based initiative for evaluating and improving planetary health content in health professional schools. This activity provides students with the opportunity to develop real-world skills, while contributing to an established international collaborative. The work will also provide benefits across the School by supporting the identification of strengths, as well as areas where improvement can be made to our curriculum and ways of working.
Gemma Saravanos (Nursing) & Virginia Chan (Nutrition and Dietetics)
Co-Leads of the SNS Student Sustainability Champions Program
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Please send any newsletter items to sns.schoolmanager@sydney.edu.au.
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