ASSBI Student Ambassadors

ASSBI has student representatives in most States of Australia as well as in New Zealand, Malasia, Scotland and South Africa.

We have both undergraduate and graduate students from a variety of universities and disciplines, Speech Pathology, Clinical Psychology, Neuropsychology, OT, Physiotherapy to name a few.

Student roles with ASSBI include a National Student Co-ordinator, Regional Team Leaders and Student Ambassadors.  

The National Student Co-ordinator is responsible for supporting ASSBI's student team leaders and ambassadors across Australia and NZ. The student Co-ordinator is supported by the student liaison officer and liases with the executive committee regarding student events and provides updates to students about opportunities for students.

Team Leaders & student ambassadors are responsible for coordinating and organising events to promote ASSBI in their region throughout the year.

All student representatives receive free ASSBI membership for one year, while Team Leaders and the National Student Co-ordinator also receive a complementary ASSBI conference registration during their tenure.

DR DANA WONG
Student Liaison Officer

MS ANNE HUANG
National Student Co-ordinator 2018-2020

Anne is a current Doctor of Philosophy candidate at Griffith University, under the supervision of Dr Samantha Siyambalapitiya and A/Prof Petrea Cornwell. Her doctoral research is investigating how speech pathologists and interpreters work together to manage culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) patients with acquired neurogenic communication disorders. Since completing her Master of Speech Pathology Studies at the University of Queensland, Anne has worked with patients with a range of acquired communication disorders resulting from brain impairments. Her current research aims to combine her experience as a speech pathologist with her background in medical anthropology, which she gained through her Master of Culture, Health and Medicine at the Australian National University. Anne is passionate about improving the quality of life of those with brain impairments through her research and clinical work.

 TEAM ADELAIDE

tia hardie

Team Leader 2018-2020
Physiotherapy, Flinders University

Tia is going into her third year of a Health Sciences (Principles of Physiotherapy)/Masters of Physiotherapy degree at Flinders University. During her degree thus far, she has been engaged in topics related to neurology and principles of learning, along with experiences working with children living with a disability. These experiences have ignited her drive to one day specialise in neuro-rehabilitation, and as a student ambassador for the ASSBI, she is excited for the amazing opportunity to further her passion for neurological physiotherapy.

zoe Lee

Zoe is commencing her third year in the Bachelor of Health Sciences (Principles of Physiotherapy)/Master of Physiotherapy. Her passion for brain impairment stems from her exposure through volunteer work which involved working with patients of varying conditions. Zoe is particularly interested in neurorehabilitation and its ability to improve peoples’ quality of life; the functional capacity of people living with brain impairments; and the journey to patient recovery.

demi martin

Demi is commencing her fourth year in the Bachelor of Disability and Developmental Education (Honours) program at Flinders University. She has experience working alongside individuals with intellectual disabilities, autism, and Motor Neurone Disease in Australia, Brunei, and Canada. These experiences have sparked her interest in brain development and neuro-rehabilitation.

charlotte mai hood

Team Leader 2018-2019
Speech Pathology, The University of Queensland

samantha carman

Student Ambassador 2018
Occupational Therapy, University of Queensland

Samantha is currently completing her fourth year of Bachelor of Occupational Therapy (Honours) at the University of Queensland. She has a particular interest working with children with learning difficulties to discover and learn new skills to further their development.  Samantha is looking forward to further developing her knowledge and skills in this area during her placements this year in Brisbane and East Timor.

julia layer

Student Ambassador 2018
Physiotherapy, University of Queensland

Julia is a current 4th year Physiotherapy (Honours) student at the University of Queensland. Julia has a keen interest in how physiotherapy can help with the re-education of key movement patterns for disorders originating within the body’s nervous and neuromuscular system. Julia has seen first-hand how physical rehabilitation can be rewarding for people with Parkinsons disease and Stroke and wants to specialise in neurology upon graduation. This year Julia has placements around Brisbane including a Neurology placement at The Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital. 

CAITLIN PERRIER

Caitlin is currently completing her fourth year of bachelor of physiotherapy (honours) at the University of Queensland. Her key interest involves the management of cerebral palsy, and how the varying presentations of this condition impacts the child during the important developmental stages of their life. Additionally, Caitlin is passionate about the pathway of rehabilitation in all neurological impairments formed by a multidisciplinary team. Caitlin looks forward to her neurological physiotherapy placement later this year where she will further expand her knowledge and develop key skills in this area.

 TEAM PERTH

natalie castalanelli

Team Leader 2018-2020
Neuropsychology, University of Western Australia

Natalie is a current Doctor of Psychology (Clinical Neuropsychology) candidate at the University of Western Australia. Under the supervision of A/Prof. Michael Weinborn (UWA) and Dr Belinda Brown (Murdoch University), Natalie’s doctoral research examines the interrelationships between physical activity (high vs. moderate intensity), cardiorespiratory fitness, cognition (executive function), and related neuronal health/ plasticity in older adults. With experience across both drug and alcohol and dementia settings, Natalie has worked with individuals from diverse life stages and backgrounds in both clinical and research capacities.

RACHAEL MUMME

Student Ambassador 2018
Psychology, University of Western Australia

Rachael is currently completing a combined masters/doctorate program in Clinical Neuropsychology at the University of Western Australia. Along with a supervisory team of Dr Michael Weinborn, Dr Stephanie Rainey-Smith and Dr Romola Bucks, her doctoral research begins to investigate how cognitive variability within an individual is related to Alzheimer’s disease. Rachael has practical experience with individuals with both acquired brain injury and dementia from a number of hands on volunteering roles.

KELSEY SEWELL

Student Ambassador 2018
Psychology, Murdoch University

Kelsey is currently in her third year of her Bachelor of Science, majoring in Psychology, at Murdoch University. Her major interest is in neuroscience, and she is currently working towards her first publication, which is a systematic review investigating the relationship between multilingualism and Alzheimer’s Disease. Kelsey plans to go on to complete Honours and Postgraduate studies in the hope of becoming a clinician, researcher or academic.

 TEAM SYDNEY

AN Truong

An is a PhD candidate at the Regenerative Neuroscience Group (Brain Mind Centre, University of Sydney). Her research interests focus on brain neurogenesis and regeneration in neurodegenerative disorders, in particular Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. An’s current project aims to elucidate the underlying cellular and molecular mechanisms of skin-derived neural precursors as a novel source of autologous stem cells for regenerative therapies. An was recently awarded a Travel Scholarship to present her work at the 2016 International Society of Stem Cell Research Meeting in San Francisco, USA. An is also the 2017 recipient of the Leslie Rich Scholarship for Dementia Research. Outside her academic interests, An is passionate about promoting neuroscience to the wider community and regularly participates in professional activities such as the annual Brain Awareness Program by the Australian Neuroscience Society and the Scientists in Schools Program by the CSIRO. An hopes to bring this enthusiasm and a young researcher’s perspectives to ASSBI and assists in promoting the organisation’s influence and objectives both within Australia and internationally.

SAMANTHA ALLEN

Student Ambassador 2018
Psychology, University of Technology, Sydney

Samantha is a Master of Clinical Psychology student at the University of Technology, Sydney. Samantha’s master's thesis is a systematic review into the predictors and correlates of a fear of falling in adults following stroke; supervised by Prof. Ian Kneebone and Prof. Roshan das Nair. Samantha has also had experience working alongside individuals with neurodevelopmental disorders, traumatic brain injury, intellectual disability and chronic pain, within research and community contexts. These experiences inspired Samantha to want to help improve the mental health outcomes for individuals with neurological disorders and their families.

 Team Far North Queensland 

Claire McMillan

Team Leader 2018-2019
Neuropsychology, James Cook University

Claire McMillan is a current Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) (Neuropsychology) candidate at James Cook University, Townsville. Her PhD research involves the development of a Positive Health framework to better understand long-term recovery after chronic subdural haematoma, under the supervision of Dr Maria Hennessy, A/Prof Laurence Marshman, Prof Heidi Zeeman & A/Prof Nerina Caltabiano. Claire has a key interest in improving services for patients with acquired brain injury and currently holds a position as a Clinical Research Coordinator in the Townsville Hospital, conducting research into the mental health outcomes of TBI patients.

AMANDA PASCALL

Student Ambassador 2018
Speech Pathology, James Cook University

Amanda is entering the fourth year of her Speech Pathology (Honours) degree in 2018, and is looking forward to completing adult and paediatric placements this year. Amanda is particularly interested in working in the adult acute setting with patients requiring speech and language intervention following a brain injury. Amanda’s Honours project is aiming to describe the current speech pathology referral practices and processes in place for mechanically ventilated/tracheostomised patients in Australian ICUs, and the service that speech pathologists provide to these patients

 Team Melbourne 

JONATHAN REYES

Team Leader 2018-2019
Clinical Neuropsychology, Monash University

Jonathan is a current Doctor of Psychology (Clinical Neuropsychology) candidate at Monash University. His doctoral research project is investigating the management and detection of sports concussion in elite and amateur Australian football players, under the supervision of Dr. Catherine Willmott and Dr. Andrew McIntosh. Jonathan is currently working as a research assistant at the Melbourne Institute of Applied Economics and Social Science. Before he commenced his Doctorate, Jonathan completed a Bachelor of Science (Honours in Psychology) at the University of Melbourne and his undergraduate Bachelor of Science at Swinburne University with a major in Psychology and a co-major in Psychophysiology.

HARRIET CLAYTON

Student Ambassador 2018
Occupational Therapy, Monash University

Harriet is currently studying a Masters of Occupational Therapy at Monash University after completing a Bachelor of Cognitive Neuroscience in South Australia. She has a keen interest in acquired and traumatic brain injury and Neurological rehabilitation. Harriet has acquired experience with children on the spectrum however she hopes to gain more experience within the neurological rehabilitation field whilst undertaking placement and once graduated. 

laura jolliffe

Student Ambassador 2018
Occupational Therapy, La Trobe University

Laura is an occupational therapist and research fellow in the Acquired Brain Injury Rehabilitation Research Program at Alfred Health. She currently holds an NHMRC post-graduate scholarship to complete her PhD at La Trobe University under the supervision of A/Prof. Natasha Lannin and Prof. Tammy Hoffmann. Laura’s program of research investigates the science of knowledge translation in brain injury rehabilitation.

lachlan miller

Student Ambassador 2018
Occupational Therapy, La Trobe University

Lachlan is currently completing the final year of his Bachelor of applied science Master of Occupational Therapy at La Trobe University. He is particularly interested in neurorehabilitation and more specifically in regard to stroke rehabilitation. Lachlan has become increasingly interested in this area after learning about and seeing the improvements that can be made with therapy. Lachlan is eager to improve his knowledge and understanding in the area so that he is able to help people recover to their full potential.

 Team Newcastle

WINIFRED ASARE-DOKU

Team Leader 2018-2020
Psychiatry, University of Newcastle

Winifred is a current Doctor of Philosophy (Psychiatry) candidate at The University of Newcastle. Her doctoral research is investigating mental health of the mining industry in Ghana and Australia under the supervision of Dr Jane Rich, A/Prof Carole James, Prof Brian Kelly and Dr Kwasi Amponsah-Tawiah. Winifred is a Clinical Psychologist by training and has experience working with individuals with mental health challenges including children and adults with brain impairments affecting their cognitive functions.

pauline eldridge