The Team

Chief Investigator
Professor Richard Reed, Flinders University

Professor Richard Reed is an academic General Practitioner (GP) whose clinical and research work has focussed on improving primary health care services for people with complex illnesses. Professor Reed has substantial managerial and research project management skills including being the head of three academic primary care units in the USA, United Arab Emirates and Australia, including serving as an Acting Medical School Dean. He also works as a part-time GP.

In the past five years, Richard has been successful in attracting over $12 million in research and project funding to Flinders University. This research funding has incorporated several major projects which include developing a chronic disease training module for the Department of Veteran Affairs Coordinated Veterans Care (CVC) Program, developing health needs assessments to be used in general practices for veterans, conducting a review to determine the extent critical care coordination elements were being implemented in the CVC program, a study to examine the root causes of unplanned hospital admissions of older people with complex health care problems, and a trial of chronic disease self-management in general practice.

Chief Investigator
Professor Richard Osborne, Deakin University

Professor Richard Osborne is a recognised international leader in measurement science, health literacy and approaches to implementation. Over the past 15 years his tools have come to be used locally and globally, including the Health Education Impact Questionnaire (heiQ),Health Literacy Questionnaire (HLQ) and the Ophelia (OPtimising HEalth LIteracy and Access) process. Prior to the health literacy and related work, he worked extensively in musculoskeletal health and co-designed and implemented the OAHKS (Osteoarthritis Hip and Knee Service) reform for the Victorian government with clinicians, managers and policymakers.

Chief Investigator
Associate Professor Steve Allison, Flinders University

A/Professor Steve Allison is a Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist and academic staff member of the Discipline of General Practice at Flinders University. Steve brings complementary skills to the research team that has primarily focussed on chronic disease in adults and older people. Steve has particular strengths in the areas of child and adolescent mental health and in improving the care of young people with chronic illnesses transitioning between child and adult health services.

Chief Investigator
Associate Professor Billingsley Kaambwa, Flinders University

A/Professor Billingsley Kaambwa is a senior Health Economist within the Flinders Health Economics Unit at Flinders University. His main research interests are in the application of econometric and statistical techniques in economic evaluation, decision analytic modelling and economic evaluation of new and existing health care technologies. He has substantial expertise in the use of economic evaluation for assessing costs and benefits of health interventions. He has published in leading international peer-reviewed journals for both methodological (e.g. Value in Health, BMC series) and applied (e.g. The Lancet, European Journal of Health Economics) work.

Trial Manager
Dr Leigh Roeger, Flinders University

Dr Leigh Roeger is a Research Psychologist with over a decade of experience in designing and implementing primary care (General Practice) interventional research studies. He has strong methodological skills, including in the statistical analysis of data and an in-depth understanding of the requirements of conducting clinical trials in primary care settings.

GP Advisor
Dr Danny Byrne

Dr Danny Byrne has been a general practitioner for more than 20 years and is a long-standing partner at the Chandlers Hill Surgery. Danny is an active member of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) and the Immediate Past Chair of the RACGP SA and NT Faculty Board. He is also an accredited RACGP training supervisor, a RACGP fellowship examiner, and a medical educator and lecturer at Flinders University. Danny has been involved in GP hospital liaison and eHealth for 20 years. He has a special interest in chronic disease management, diabetes and palliative care.

Practice Consultant
Donna Von Blankensee

A deep knowledge of Medicare and how it relates to general practice, plus extensive clinic experience as a registered nurse, gives Donna a unique ability to create and implement programs for chronic disease patient management. She also develops and delivers accredited training in chronic disease management, working one-to-one with clinic staff on pro-client patient care. A passionate advocate for better health outcomes, Donna has presented her work on improving patient management at several national healthcare conferences.

Study Coordinator
Dr Heilie Kwok

Dr Heilie Kwok is a Research Pharmacologist and has worked in a clinical research setting for 8 years. She has successfully coordinated both academic and commercial clinical trials to a high standard. As the QUEST Study Coordinator she is able to apply her skills and experiences in conducting clinical trials to the primary care setting.

Senior Research Fellow – Qualitative
Dr Sara Javanparast

Dr Sara Javanparast is a Senior Research Fellow in the Discipline of General Practice, Flinders University. Sara has a medical background and had worked in the Iranian Ministry of Health and primary health care system for 8 years when she practiced as a general practitioner and was involved in the national planning and implementation of primary health care policies. She moved to Australia in 2002 and completed a Graduate Diploma in Human Nutrition and PhD in public health at Flinders University. Sara has 12 years of experience in public health and health services research with special interest in equity of access and quality of primary health care for vulnerable population groups. She has expertise in program evaluation and qualitative research methods and was involved in a number of national health services research projects that required strong engagement with communities and collaboration with primary health care stakeholders and organisations.

Research Nurse
Toni Chappel

Toni Chappel has been working as a Practice Nurse within the General Practice arena for over 10 years. Toni was recently nominated in the 2018 South Australian Nursing and Midwifery Excellence Awards for ‘Excellence in Practice’. She has vast knowledge of the workings within General Practice and the challenges that exist in the primary health care setting.

Research Fellow
Dr Lynsey Brown

Dr Lynsey Brown is a Research Fellow in the College of Medicine and Public Health at Flinders University where she is involved in knowledge exchange (as co-convener of the national Primary Health Care Research Conference) and practice-based research focusing on quality improvement in General Practice. She has a background in health psychology and public health with a particular interest in integrated care and biopsychosocial approaches to health and illness.

Senior Research Support Officer
Marnie Joyce

Marnie has been working across research support roles within Flinders University and joined the Discipline of General practice in March 2018 to complete an evaluation of the Local Area Coordination services program. From a postgraduate background, Marnie has skills in quantitative and qualitative research and an interest in Indigenous Health research support.

Research Assistant
Rhea Wadhwani

Rhea Wadhwani is a Physiotherapist currently pursuing her Masters in Clinical Rehabilitation at Flinders University. She has a special interest in client-centred, holistic and value-based healthcare.She has previously worked with Parkinson’s Disease & Movement Disorder Society and Neurology Foundation in India and was actively involved in community based rehabilitation, research studies and CSR projects related to Parkinson’s disease. As a Research Assistant, she is able to effectively contribute her critical thinking and analytical skills towards the QUEST trial.