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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Infections and other lung diseases using models of human lung tissue grown from stem cells
Dr Rhiannon Werder is a Team Leader at Murdoch Children’s Research Institute leading a multidisciplinary team, combining expertise in stem cell biology and immunology, to develop new therapies for lung diseases. Her research centres around induced pluripotent stem cells to investigate respiratory diseases, spanning acute respiratory infections to chronic lung diseases. Using stem cells, Dr Werder’s team creates models of human lung tissue. With these models, Dr Werder is investigating how human-specific pathogens infect different regions of the lung, the ensuing immune responses, and how the lung repairs itself after infections, especially in people with preexisting lung diseases.
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Unnecessary tests and treatments in low value critical care
Dr Gerben Keijzers is a Senior Staff Specialist Emergency Physician at the Gold Coast University Hospital Emergency Department. His research focus includes low-value care, which is in the area of unnecessary tests and treatments with minimal benefits. Dr Keijzers has contributed to over 100 publications and more than 20 grant applications. Through his involvement in multi-site collaborative research projects, he encourages critical thinking and curiosity among clinical staff, striving to enhance both patient care and the efficiency of healthcare resources.
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Clinical guidelines for diagnostics and early intervention in Primary Aldosteronism
Primary Aldosteronism (PA), or Conn Syndrome, is the most commonly under-diagnosed cause of high blood pressure affecting millions of people. Associate Professor Jun Yang’s goal is to facilitate the diagnosis of every case of PA and make treatment widely available to all communities including the disadvantaged.
