Conference Program Abstract Booklet
The 7th Pacific Rim Conference was held at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre from 2nd to 5th July, 2025. This multidisciplinary conference brought together delegates from ASSBI, the International Neuropsychological Society, and the Australian Psychological Society’s College of Clinical Neuropsychologists (CCN) on the lands of the Turrbal and Jagera people. The multidisciplinary conference was the result of many months of preparation by the conference co-conveners who represented all three organisations (Kerryn Pike, Vince Oxenham, Jody Kamminga and Jenny Fleming) and the student body (Nicole Feast).
The conference theme was “Intersectionality & Brain Health”, recognising the imperative to ensure equitable access to brain health resources to promote cognitive and emotional well-being across all populations. The theme aimed to expand our understanding of brain health beyond clinical disorders and consider its social determinants and the diverse contexts and cultures of the individuals we work with. As such, the conference highlighted the importance of integrating insights from a range of disciplines and stakeholders to promote brain health. Central to this mission was the call for translational research co-designed with consumers to not only inform our practices but empower communities to prioritize brain health. A total of 637 delegates attended the conference with 81 participating online. We had attendees join us from all around Australia and 23 other countries including Canada, the UK, the USA, Brazil, Japan, India, South Africa, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Mexico to name a few. It truly was an international conference.
On the Wednesday, six pre-conference workshops included diverse topics and were all well-attended. They included a workshop by international keynote speaker Prof Vonetta Dobson on ‘Intersectionality in Aging’. Prof Jon Evans led a workshop on ‘Cross Cultural Neuropsychological Assessment’ and the clinical team from the ABI Transitional Rehabilitation Service presented a ‘Supporting Close Others in ABI rehabilitation workshop’. A very popular workshop on ‘Treating Functional Neurological Disorder using a Interdisciplinary Approach’ was delivered by Dr Harvey Jones and his team from Epworth. In the morning A/Prof Dana Wong and Prof Jenny Fleming ran a ‘Cognitive Rehabilitation Introductory Workshop’ followed by an ‘Advanced Workshop’ in the afternoon, both of which attracted an engaged multidisciplinary audience.
The first day wrapped up with the ASSBI Presidential Address from A/Prof Barbara Zupan which focussed on brain health equity in rural and remote locations. This was followed by a presentation from Mr Scott McLean who shared his inspiring story of living with a traumatic brain injury sustained while working as a stuntman on a filmset in Thailand. The Welcome Reception which followed was a great opportunity to catch up with old friends and expand professional networks, as well as mix with the wonderful conference sponsors Including major partners UNSW and NIISQ, and community partners, Strive, Brightwater, MAIC, Carehero, and Zinzino.
Day 1 of the main conference began on Thursday with three concurrent Masterclasses in the breakfast timeslot. These were a popular new initiative which provided more opportunities to attend ‘How To’ sessions focussed on clinical skill development. Other concurrent sessions in the program focussed on a core theme and included a combination of oral and datablitz presentations, as well as additional “How To” sessions. In total, there were 89 oral presentations, 61 datablitz, 20 ‘How To’ sessions, and 95 posters over the three days. Attendees were spoilt for choice with concurrent sessions including topics such as ‘challenging dominant discourse,’ paediatrics, co-design approaches, psychosocial practice guidelines, ageing and dementia, families, adolescence, movement disorders, ABI in the community, stroke, epilepsy, mental health in TBI, communication, post-concussion, telehealth, cognitive rehabilitation, and ‘advancing neurohealth equity’. Each day, the conference program also offered opportunities for attendees to engage with poster presentations which covered a wide range of topics.
The Opening Ceremony for the conference on Thursday began with a touching Welcome to Country generously offered by Songwoman Maroochy in the spirit of reconciliation. After opening remarks from the conference co-convenors, we were officially welcomed by the Presidents and Chairs of ASSBI (Dana Wong for Barbara Zupan), INS (Natalia Ojeda del Pozo) and CCN (Kelly Gough). This was followed by a Lived Experience Panel of three traumatic brain injury survivors moderated by Dr Vince Oxenham. Our panellists, Nina Carr, Jason Driscoll and Scott McLean enlightened us with an insider perspective on recovery and rehabilitation after brain injury showing their incredible resilience and giving the audience food for thought. After a day packed with interesting presentations, Day 1 of the conference concluded with our international keynote speaker from the USA, Vanessa Dobson who gave an intriguing talk on ‘Movement and Stillness as Brain Medicine’.
On Day 2, we opened with two stellar keynotes, the first being Prof Jon Evans from the UK who presented ‘A deep dive into the rehabilitation of memory after brain injury’, followed by national keynote speaker, Dr Samantha Siyambalapitiya with her interesting presentation titled ‘Navigating culturally responsive healthcare for people with acquired communication disability: What hinders and what helps?’ Later in the day, we were treated to plenary presentations from the INS including the INS Presidential Address by Prof Natalia Ojeda del Pozo on ‘Evidenced Based
Neuropsychological Treatments Options for Patients with Parkinson´s Disease’ followed by presentations from two INS award winners. These were INS Lifetime Achievement Award winner, Prof Leanne Togher who presented ‘Managing cognitive communication disorders following acquired brain injury’ and INS Distinguished Career Award winner, Prof Jennie Ponsford who presented ‘Creating evidence-based rehabilitation to improve outcome after TBI’. Congratulations to Leanne and Jennie on these well-deserved career awards. Celebrations all round followed at the Conference Dinner at the Plough Inn which involved much fun and of course dancing.
Saturday, the final day of the conference, kicked off with national keynote speaker, Prof Pip Logan sharing her expertise on falls prevention and management for people with dementia and stroke. This was followed by a profession-specific CCN Address by the Chair, Prof Kelly Gough, titled ‘From Foundations to Frontier: The Evolution and Enduring Challenges of Australian Neuropsychology.’ At the end of the day, the conference closed with the Awards Ceremony presented by Christian Salas and Dana Wong who presented 21 awards (and a printer) in a most informative and amusing way:
INS Awards
Post-Doctoral Award: Rachael Rietdijk
Early Career Award: Luis Medina
Mid-Career Award: Lucette Cysique
Lifetime Achievement Award: Leanne Togher
Mentoring Award: Jacinta Douglas
Distinguished Career Award: Jennie Ponsford
INS Program Awards
Graduate Student Research Award – Alyxandra Cazanis
Pediatric Research Award – Marnie Drake
Memory and Memory Disorders Research Award – Sallie Baxendale
Student Liaison Committee Awards
Tamrim Barta
Micholas Cheng
Hannah McGlashan
Jai Carmichel
Leila Nategh
INS Travel Awards
Akshata Sheth
Nawal Mohamad
Wendy Longley won the Printer and donated it to Heather-Ann Briker-Bell
ASSBI
Skye McDonald is now a Member of the Order of Australia
Lived Experience Award – Hannah Grandt, Ty Welsh and Marley Titasey
Douglas Tate Award – Neil Drew, Meaghan McAllister, Juli Coffin, Melanie Robinson, Judith Katzenellenbogen and Elizabeth Armstrong
Brightwater and Mindlink Award for Best Interdisciplinary Presentation – Carolina Bottari
Travel Award – Rachel Munyard
Best Student Presentation Award – Danielle Sansonetti
CCN announced that they are in the process of renovating their awards
A distinguishing feature of this conference was the large number of student attendees who brought energy and enthusiasm to the event. A range of events for students and early career researchers were co-ordinated by Nicole Feast, our student representative on the conference organising team. This included a Student and Early Career Networking Evening on Thursday evening at a nearby pub, and a Panel session for students on Dementia and Risk Factors with invited panellists, Prof Pip Logan and A/Prof Kerryn Pike. Early and mid-career delegates were also well-represented at a lunchtime forum on ‘How to review a manuscript for a journal’ provided by the Co-Editors of Brain Impairment, Prof Grahame Simpson and Prof Jenny Fleming.
An amazing team of student volunteers were vital in keeping each session running as planned and we always on hand to help out without whatever needed doing. We extend a big thank you to [list names] for making the conference a success. Thank you also the members of the Scientific Committee who reviewed a very large number of conference abstracts. And of course, the conference would not have been possible without the expertise and tireless efforts of conference organisers extraordinaire, Margaret Eagers and Matt Eagers! Finally, thank you to all the invited speakers, presenters and attendees for making the 7th Pacific Rim Conference a resounding success.
Jenny Fleming, Kerryn Pike, Vince Oxenham and Jody Kaminga,
Co-Convenors
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