MEDICALLY COMPLEX PREGNANCIES
Dr Shelley Wilkinson, Project Officer
Department of Obstetric Medicine,
Mater Mothers’ Hospital &
Associate Professor and Senior Principal Research Fellow,
School of Pharmacy, University of Queensland &
Director & Principal Dietician,
Lifestyle Maternity & Lifestyle Perimenopause
Brisbane, Australia
RESEARCHER PROFILE
Filmed in Brisbane, Australia | November 2025
A/Prof Shelley Wilkinson is an Advanced Accredited Practising Dietitian, Fellow of Dietitians Australia, and a leading Australian researcher in maternal health and implementation science.
She has over 30 years of experience in the field and holds a PhD in Psychology. Her passion is in health service redesign through co-creation and combining the ‘know-what’ of nutrition with the ‘know-how’ of innovative behaviour change techniques.
Currently, she is involved in the implementation and evaluation of the Obstetric Midwifery Group Practice (“OMGP”) model of care and the “4HER” post-pregnancy cardiometabolic health clinic at Mater Mothers’ Hospitals.
She is also the Director and Principal Dietitian at Lifestyle Maternity and Lifestyle PeriMenopause. Here she delivers women-focussed, evidence-based & innovative care designed to empower women with the skills and knowledge to make informed decisions for their well-being.
Assoc Prof Wilkinson has previously held prestigious fellowships, including the NHMRC TRIP fellowship and the Queensland Government-Health Research Fellowship, which focused on improving dietetic care for women with gestational diabetes and optimising service delivery for healthy gestational weight gain.
She has been recognised for her research excellence with six awards in Evidence-Based Practice and Clinical Research.
Source: Supplied
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Digital Biomarkers and AI for Optimal Diagnosis, Treatment, and Decision-Making
Associate Professor Johan Verjans is a clinician-scientist with a strong focus on cross-disciplinary translational research. In his role as Deputy Director at the Australian Institute for Machine Learning (AIML)—one of the world’s premier machine learning institutes, with over 200 researchers—and as Group Leader of Artificial Intelligence at the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI), he integrates his expertise in molecular medicine, clinical research, and advanced imaging with machine learning applications. This unique combination enables him to drive the translation of cutting-edge AI research into practical medical applications. He works with global teams from multinationals on AI problems.
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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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Clinical pathways for acute care in Tasmanian Emergency Departments
Assoc Prof Viet Tran has built Emergency Medicine Research in Tasmania from the ground up, which has culminated in the success of a AUD$3 million Australian Government Medical Research Futures Fund grant looking into the Implementation of Clinical Pathways for Acute Care in Tasmania project. Dr Tran is also the Emergency Medicine Discipline lead within the Tasmanian School of Medicine and has key roles to play within Emergency Medicine training. He feels privileged to be able to teach and mentor across the whole spectrum of becoming a doctor, from watching students grow into junior doctors, senior registrar and as fellow medical specialists.
