Anna is an Associate Professor and leads The University of Auckland Swallowing Research Laboratory. She is a researcher, lecturer and clinician in the area of voice and swallowing disorders. Dr Miles has ~150 peer reviewed publications and 2800+ citations. Dr Anna Miles is a practising speech-language therapist with 25+ years of experience working in the acute and community setting. She is the New Zealand Speech-language Therapists’ Association Expert Adviser in Adult Dysphagia, active member of the Dysphagia Research Society and has been awarded ASHA Fellow for her contributions to research, clinical teaching and international service. 

Associate Professor Jacqueline Allen is a Laryngologist practicing in Auckland, New Zealand and Head of the Department of surgery at the University of Auckland. Dr Allen undertook Fellowship training at the Voice and Swallow Centre, University of California, Davis where she specialized in Voice and Dysphagia utilizing modern in-office techniques, endoscopy and laser surgery.  She returned to New Zealand in 2010 and established the Auckland Voice and Swallow Centre, and the Swallowing Research Lab at University of Auckland. Research interests include neurogenic dysphagia, swallowing and nutrition across the lifespan, vocal fold scar translational research, reflux disease and engineering modelling for swallow dysfunction. Dr Allen is Past President of Dysphagia Research Society, and is Section Editor of Current Opinion in Otolaryngology, Annals of Rhinology, Otology and Laryngology, and European Archives in Otolaryngology.

Professor Sebastian Doeltgen is a Dean Education at Flinders University and a Senior Fellow of the Advance Higher Education Framework. Sebastian has extensive academic governance experience, having served on Flinders University Academic Senate (2019-2021) and on the DRS Board of Directors (2017-2019). Sebastian's research aims to improve health and quality of life through novel swallowing assessments and interventions. He leads the Swallowing Neurorehabilitation Research Laboratory at the Flinders University and has published over 80 papers and 5 book chapters. His work focuses on neurological swallowing disorders, functional swallowing assessments, clinical reasoning and the lived experience with dysphagia. 

Dr Freya Smith studied and trained in the UK and New Zealand, and is a registered clinical psychologist with the Australian Health Practitioners Association, and registered to provide clinical psychology services with Medicare.

Areas of special interest: Functional Neurological Disorder, Functional Voice Disorders, Functional Gut Disorders, Functional Dizziness (PPPD); Chronic fatigue, post-viral syndromes and Long Covid; Coping with health conditions and medical issues; Health anxiety; Anxiety disorders; Perinatal and postnatal depression and anxiety; Relationship stress.

Dr Athanasiadis undertook his Otolaryngology training in South Australia and supported by the Passe Williams foundation received a PhD in wound healing. The Marjorie Hooper Travelling Scholarship from the RACS allowed him to complete a laryngology fellowship in New Zealand and visit major laryngology centres in the USA. He is codirector of the Flinders Medical Centre Voice Clinic, Senior Lecturer in laryngology at Flinders University, Director of the Flinders laryngology fellowship and formed Adelaide Voice Specialists for care of professional voice users. Theo continues his active academic interest with ongoing research into voice, dysphagia and chronic laryngeal hypersensitivity.

Stephanie Martin is an Advanced Practice Speech Pathologist with over 30 years experience within the tertiary hospital and private sector. Her areas of specialisation include  voice assessment and rehabilitation, management of upper airway and respiratory disorders, and speech pathology care of   individuals with head and neck cancer.  She  is co-director of the Flinders Medical Centre Multi-disciplinary voice clinic and lead clinician within the speech pathology led ILO clinic. She completed a Master’s degree in Clinical Science at  Adelaide University in 2013 and has Academic status with  Flinders University where she contributes to  clinical education and undergraduate research projects.

Jemma Haines MBE FRCSLT BSc (Hons) qualified with First-Class Honours in Speech and Language Sciences (Newcastle University, UK) in 2003. In her early career she worked as a voice clinician and quickly understood the significance of the larynx during respiration. Jemma is now an established Consultant with over 20 years’ experience working with upper airway respiratory disorders. Pioneering the role of speech therapy in UK respiratory healthcare, she developed and led two tertiary referral multidisciplinary complex breathlessness services and has co-authored numerous national professional respiratory guidelines. Jemma is extensively published with many peer reviewed publications relating to her clinical research work and currently holds a NIHR Manchester Biomedical Research Centre Research fellowship. 

Jemma’s current substantive post, Chief Allied Health Professional at Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, is a strategic director role with overall professional accountability for the Trust’s 2000 Allied Health Professions workforce. She is responsible for the governance and assurance of quality care and leads transformation initiatives to maximise the skills and resources of AHPs across the Trust and Greater Manchester.

In the Queen’s birthday honours list in 2021, in recognition of her national leadership within the field of upper airway disorders, Jemma was made a Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire. She is also a Fellow of the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists.