CLINICAL RESEARCH IN EMERGENCY MEDICINE
Professor Daniel Fatovich, Emergency physician and clinical researcher
Royal Perth Hospital Emergency Department &
Head of the Centre for Clinical Research in Emergency Medicine (CCREM)
Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research &
Clinical Professor, UWA Medical School, Emergency Medicine
University of Western Australia, Western Australia
RESEARCHER PROFILE
Filmed in Perth, Australia | September 2025
Professor Daniel Fatovich is a senior emergency physician and clinical researcher at Royal Perth Hospital Emergency Department (ED), with over 30 years’ experience in the design and conduct of clinical research in Emergency Medicine. He is also Head of the Centre for Clinical Research in Emergency Medicine (CCREM) within the Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research.
He is Professor of Emergency Medicine, University of Western Australia; Director of Research for East Metropolitan Health Service (EMHS), providing strategic advice and leadership; Board Member of the Royal Perth Hospital Research Foundation; Chair of the EMHS Research Advisory Committee.
Professor Fatovich was an inaugural executive member of the Australasian College for Emergency Medicine (ACEM) Research Committee (2019-2024) and the Clinical Trials Network (2018-2024) and has received over $33m in competitive grant funding.
In 2020 and 2023, he was Ministerial adviser for the passage of the Guardianship and Administration (Medical Research) Act Western Australia. In 2017-18, he was deputy chair of the WA Methamphetamine Taskforce. He is chief investigator for the Emerging Drugs Network of Australia (EDNA), which he describes as the most fabulous project of his career. This is best exemplified by a famous quote from Victor Hugo: there is nothing so powerful as an idea whose time has come. EDNA is a national toxico-surveillance system for detecting illicit, emerging and novel psychoactive substances, in presentations to sentinel Emergency Departments. In 2024, EDNA won a WA Health Excellence Award for Excellence in Research and Innovation, and the 2024 UWA Vice-Chancellor’s Award in Research Impact and Innovation.
Expertscape ranks him in the top 1% globally for expertise in Emergency Medicine. He loves to challenge doctors to think, and to think differently.
Source: Supplied
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Iodine in pregnancy on baby brain and nervous system development
Dr Karen Best is Senior Research Fellow in the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI) Women and Kids Theme. She is a Registered Midwife with a unique breadth of experience in clinical project management, academic skills and knowledge translation and is committed to better understanding the essential role that modifiable exposures in pregnancy play in setting the foundations for a healthy start to life.
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Next Generation Condom Contraception, Dr David Shepherd
Dr David Shepherd is a Lead Production Engineer and Materials Specialist at Eudaemon Technologies. His journey began at the University of Wollongong, where he pursued advanced studies and eventually obtained a PhD under the guidance of a distinguished professor. His research initially focused on actuating materials and artificial muscles, particularly centred around hydrogel materials. These early explorations have seamlessly evolved into his current focus on utilising hydrogels in the realm of sexual reproductive health, with a specific emphasis on developing innovative hydrogel condoms.
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Muscle Cell Communication and Repair
Dr. William Roman is a Group Leader at the Australian Regenerative Medicine Institute (ARMI) at Monash University. He obtained his PhD from Paris Descartes University and Freie University of Berlin, focusing on nuclear positioning during skeletal muscle development. Dr. Roman’s research journey has taken him across the globe, including postdoctoral work in Barcelona, tissue engineering in Lisbon, and a brief stint at Stanford University.
At ARMI, Dr. Roman leads innovative research on intercellular communication within muscle organs. His work involves growing human muscles on chips to understand how skeletal muscle cells interact with neurons and tendons. This research aims to develop better models for studying muscle diseases, drug screening, and even applications in cellular agriculture and biorobotics.
