Dr Alexandra Cussen, FRACP | Specialist contractor

Alexandra is a general paediatrician and advanced trainee in adolescent and young adult medicine. Her primary clinical interests and expertise are in the interplay of physical and mental health, in particular the management of young people with eating disorders and medically unexplained symptoms.

She holds a Master in Public Health from the University of London with a focus on health economics and medical humanities. Her non-clinical employment experience includes position development for hospital medical officers, clinical practice guideline development, university tutoring, and medical rostering.

Professor Simon Denny, FRACP | Chair

Simon is an adolescent and young adult physician and the Director of the Mater Young Adult Health Centre. He trained as a paediatrician in Aotearoa New Zealand and completed a Fellowship in Adolescent and Young Adult Medicine at the University of Minnesota in 2002. Simon has published extensively on youth health issues in Aotearoa New Zealand and has served as the chair of both the Adolescent Health Research Group and the Society of Youth Health Professionals Aotearoa New Zealand.

His work brings a clinical and epidemiological focus to youth health, particularly concerning risk-taking behaviours, wellbeing, and the provision of youth-appropriate health services.

Dr Emma Anderson

Emma is an adolescent and young adult medicine and general paediatric advanced trainee at the Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne. During her advanced training, she has held roles as an Adolescent Medicine Fellow and in outpatient child and youth mental health. She has a keen interest in education, currently mentoring new paediatric trainees and assisting RACP clinical exam candidates in their preparation.

Emma is excited to contribute a current trainee’s perspective to redesign the curriculum for future adolescent physicians. She is currently completing her advanced training project, which involves evaluating the Chronic Illness Peer Support (ChIPS) program at RCH. Outside of work, you’ll find her exploring Melbourne’s food scene, playing netball, or hanging out with her Bernedoodle, Billie.

Dr Hae-Young Connie Chong, FRACP

Connie is an adolescent medicine consultant at the Royal Children's Hospital in Melbourne and an Addiction Medicine Fellow at St Vincent's Hospital Melbourne. She coordinates the Adolescent and Young Adult Addiction Medicine ECHO (Extending Community Healthcare Outcomes), an innovative, evidence-based model of building capacity in addiction medicine amongst paediatric, GP, nursing and allied health colleagues in metropolitan, rural and regional areas.

Dr Hsu Chung, FRACP

Hsu is a consultant paediatrician with the Department of Adolescent Medicine at the Royal Children's Hospital in Melbourne. She also works in private practice as a general and developmental paediatrician, with specialised interests in developmental/behavioural paediatrics as well as adolescent medicine. She is passionate about working with vulnerable children and adolescents and has a comprehensive understanding of the unique needs of patients facing complex medical, mental health, and psychosocial challenges.

Dr Bridget Farrant, FRACP

Bridget is an adolescent physician working in Counties Manukau in Aotearoa New Zealand. She is the Clinical Lead of the Kidz First Centre for Youth Health, working as part of a multidisciplinary team supporting young people with a range of health needs. She is also involved in education through the University of Auckland postgraduate programme in youth health, supporting undergraduate teaching, and supervising registrars and fellows.

Her research interests include workforce development and improving health services for young people, particularly those with chronic health conditions. Bridget has been involved in several College committees over time, including the development of the AYAM training pathway. She remains passionate about ensuring the development of a well-trained, skilled workforce to help young people achieve their best outcomes.

Dr Mushira Che Mokhtar

Mushira completed a Bachelor of Biomedical Science at the University of Melbourne in 2009 and graduated from the Australian National University with a Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery in 2013. She undertook general training in Canberra before pursuing training in general paediatrics and adolescent and young adult medicine in Queensland and New South Wales.

Dr Marilyn Paull, FRACP

Marilyn is a PCH/AYAM physician. Her primary clinical area of practice is chronic illness, though she has also worked in eating disorders and gender health. She has been the Director of Physician Training and Advanced Training Director for the NSW Western Network for 10 years and is the current Network Head of Adolescent Medicine at Sydney Children's Hospitals Network.

Dr Colette Revely, FRACP

Colette is a general paediatrician and adolescent physician working at the Royal Children's Hospital in Melbourne. She is the Chair of the Advanced Training Committee in AYAM, a member of AYAMC, and a member of the Paediatric Division Education Committee at the College.

Professor Susan Sawyer, FRACP

Susan holds the Chair of Adolescent Health at the University of Melbourne and is Director of the Centre for Adolescent Health at the Royal Children’s Hospital, a World Health Organization collaborating centre for adolescent health. Susan has been a member (2002 to 2008) of the College's divisional committee for Paediatrics & Child Health and was the inaugural chairman of the Adolescent Health Committee (2003 to 2008), which established the framework for specialist training in adolescent and young adult medicine (AYAM). She was a member (2011 to 2021) of the Advanced Training Committee for AYAM, which she chaired from 2019 to 2021.

Susan leads an NHMRC Centre for Research Excellence on Driving Global Investment in Adolescent Health which follows leadership of two Lancet series on adolescent health and the 2016 Lancet Commission on Adolescent Health and Wellbeing. Highly published (H-Index 89), her research interests primarily relate to quality health care for adolescents. In 2015, she led the development of a free Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) on Global Adolescent Health to enhance global access to basic education about adolescent health and development. She also leads a postgraduate program in adolescent health through the University of Melbourne.

Susan is the immediate past president of the International Association for Adolescent Health and co-leads the adolescent medicine specialist advisory group for the International Paediatric Association. She has a particular interest at the interface of health and education, and from 2018 has worked with WHO and UNESCO to develop the first global standards for health-promoting schools.

Dr Michele Yeo, FRACP

Michele has been a paediatrician and adolescent physician at the Centre for Adolescent Health and Department of Adolescent Medicine, Royal Children's Hospital since 2002. Her interests include eating disorders, chronic illness, and medical education. Michele is currently the medical lead for the RCH Eating Disorders Service and finds great satisfaction in the collaborative teamwork involved in caring for adolescent patients.