SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE

Co-Chairs

Dr Liza Lau

Liza is a Geriatrician with appointments at Austin Health and Eastern Health, and she is a consultant for the Continence Clinics in both health services. Liza has a substantial role with the Austin Residential InReach team, helping to deliver acute medical care to residents living in aged care facilities.

Liza is a Geriatrician in the Urology clinic at Box hill hospital, collaborating with surgeons to provide comprehensive care to older adults. Liza has a special interest is neurourology and has expertise in performing urodynamics, which has helped guide treatment choices for countless patients.

A/Prof Irmina Nahon

Irmina graduated as a physiotherapist from the University of Sydney in 1991. After working in Australia and the UK as a musc physio, she returned to study to become a continence physiotherapist. She completed her PhD on the assessment and management of Male Urinary Incontinence in 2011. She then took up a new challenge as Associate Professor and the professional practice convenor at The University of Canberra, Australia in 2012.


She is an active member of the International Continence Society, the Continence Foundation of Australia, and the Australian Physiotherapy Association's Continence and Women's Health group. Irmina is still active clinically as well as doing research. Her research areas are all things pelvic floor and continence as well as clinical education. She is also an internationally recognised pelvic health educator.

Committee

Celia Bolton

Celia Bolton has been working as a continence and pelvic health physiotherapist since 1996. She is the founding Director of the multidisciplinary private practice Inner strength Healthcare in Geelong. Celia has been a member of Continence Health Australia since 1999 and served on the CFA Physiotherapy Group (Victoria) committee for eight years. Her interest in neuroscience, trauma and teaching meditation informs and broadens her outlook on continence prevention and management.

Wendy Bower

Celia Bolton has been working as a continence and pelvic health physiotherapist since 1996. She is the founding Director of the multidisciplinary private practice Inner strength Healthcare in Geelong. Celia has been a member of Continence Health Australia since 1999 and served on the CFA Physiotherapy Group (Victoria) committee for eight years. Her interest in neuroscience, trauma and teaching meditation informs and broadens her outlook on continence prevention and management.

Aniruddh Deshpande

A fulltime practising paediatric urologist with clinical appointment as the Head, department of Surgery at the Children’s Hospital at Westmead in Sydney along with academic affiliations with the University of Sydney and the University of Newcastle, Australia. I hold a PhD on bladder dysfunction in children at the University of Sydney. My clinical interests are management of functional lower urinary tract disorders in children, management of urinary incontinence, urethral strictures and chronic UTIs in addition to hypospadias surgery. I have more than 90 peer reviewed publications and approximately 2 million $ in research funding. I have contributed as a leader to the development of clinical and research programs in the management of paediatric incontinence.

Caroline Dowling

A/Prof Caroline Dowling is a urologist with a subspecialty interest in FPMRS. She has held leadership roles as a Clinical Director of Urology at Eastern Health and now is the Co-Director of the Medical Student Programs for Monash and Deakin universities. She has a career interest in both simple and video urodynamic studies and diagnosis and the surgical management of incontinence and prolapse. She is passionate about shared decision making in the treatment of prolapse and incontinence. She is active in teaching at all career levels, and as a Palawa woman is a member of AIDA and a keen supporter of indigenous medical students and junior doctors in the career development. She is active in clinical research and editorial review and the development of the urological specialty through advocacy, publication and peer support. She has private practice in the east of Melbourne.

Vicki Patton

Vicki Patton has a background in stomaltherapy and continence nursing and has an interest in the management of defaecatory disorders. She is a mid-career researcher and currently holds a joint appointment as Associate Professor with Curtin University and Royal Perth Bentley Group in WA. Vicki was awarded her PhD in 2018. Her current projects include working with researchers in University of Sydney and the UK on the Polaris trial which is identifying the pathway of low anterior resection syndrome after surgery.

Mark Weatherall

Mark works as a consultant geriatrician for Capital and Coast Health DHB with special interest in ortho-geriatrics, urinary incontinence and the rehabilitation of older adults. He also has particular expertise in applied statistics including meta-analysis of health care interventions. Mark is also the 4th year convenor for undergraduate teaching in the Department of Medicine.

Julie Westaway

Julie is a passionate advocate for women’s health care, providing innovative models of care in rural & regional Australia.

Julie was recognised as a trailblazer as a finalist for the Australian Health Minister’s Award for Trailblazers & Women’s Healthcare Medal of Distinction in 2021.Julie received a coveted Churchill Fellowship in 2024 enabling her to travel to Kings College UK, to observe advanced training for continence & urogynaecology nurses. She aims to develop novice to advanced educational programs to enhance nurse led care.