Associates

Professor Gwynnyth Llewellyn PhD, MEd, BA, Grad Dip ContEd, Dip OT

Professor and Dean, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Sydney

Professor Llewellyn is Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Sydney and Director of the Australian Family and Disability Studies Research Collaboration. Her research areas are in family and disability studies and in the ageing field. Her work is funded by the Australian Research Council and the National Health and Medical Research Council and by state and federal government departments. She has published widely in international and national journals and contributed book chapters and consumer resources in the field of parental disability and families with children with disabilities. She continues to supervise research candidates from many disciplines in these areas. She is currently Consulting Editor for the Scandinavian Journal of Disability Research and is an editorial board member of several international journals including the Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities. Gwynnyth serves as a ministerial appointee to the NSW Children’s Court Advisory Committee and is a Director of the Royal Rehabilitation Centre Sydney.

Associate Professor Susan Balandin PhD, MA, Dip RCSLT

Susan Balandin is an Associate Professor at University College Molde in Norway and an honorary associate professor in the Discipline of Speech Pathology at The University of Sydney. She is a past NHMRC Senior Research Fellow. She has many years clinical experience in the field of lifelong disability and people with complex communication needs. Her research program includes ageing with a life long disability and complex communication needs, health care interactions, including those of older Indigenous people, vocabulary selection, and student learning. She has research links with several universities in Europe and the USA, and ongoing involvement with the Indian Institute of Cerebral Palsy. She supervises postgraduate and honours students with research interests in lifelong disability, complex communication needs and augmentative and alternative communication (AAC). She is an associate editor for the Journal of Intellectual and Developmental Disability, The International Journal of Speech Language Pathology, and Evidence-based Communication Assessment and Intervention, and a consulting editor on several international journals. She is a past president of the International Society for Augmentative and Alternative Communication and a past chairperson of the Australian Group on Severe Communication Impairment. She has published extensively in the area of lifelong disability and complex communication needs.

Dr Anne Poulos PhD, BA (Hons), Dip Radiography (UK)

Dr Ann Poulos is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Medical Radiation Sciences, University of Sydney and has nurtured a vision in radiography research and education since 1984. Her radiography experience, an Honours degree in Psychology and Sociology, a Diploma of Education and a PhD have provided an excellent background for her vision to develop and enhance the research profile of radiography generally and mammographic practice specifically. She has developed a long association with the State Coordination Unit of BreastScreen NSW and is currently a member of the State Accreditation and Quality Assurance Committee. Ann’s research focus is mammography within the context of breast screening programs. Her PhD awarded in 2001 is regarded as the first in Australia to be concerned with radiographic practice rather than radiography education. The outcomes of her PhD have been built on and extended by international researchers and gained externally funded government research grants. She is currently developing mammography research in two new areas: image interpretation and disability.

Spastic Centre

The Spastic Centre has a mission to build futures for people with cerebral palsy and their families. The centre has more than 70 services across New South Wales and provides both clinical and research opportunities to students and staff within the Disability Initiative. Our organizations hold a shared vision for the enhancement of allied health practices in New South Wales through collaborative research, training and education. Together we have developed a mutually beneficial relationship to enhance research and clinical practice in the area of cerebral palsy and the health sciences.

The Australian Family and Disability Studies Research Collaboration (AFDSRC)

The AFDSRC is part of the School of Occupation and Leisure Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Sydney.

The AFDSRC Team is made up of a number of professionals from a range of disciplines - occupational therapy, psychology, social work - all of whom are committed to identifying, promoting and addressing the issues faced by families where a parent or child has a disability.

AFDSRC’s broad aim is to actively promote the full participation of these families in the life of their respective communities.

For further information visit the AFDSRC website.

The Centre for Developmental Disability Studies (CDDS)

The Centre for Developmental Disability Studies is a non-profit organisation that began operating in April 1997.
CDDS aims to create and disseminate knowledge that can improve the lives of people with developmental disabilities. It does this by designing and developing research, and by teaching and clinical practice to inform policy and practice which have an impact on people who have developmental disabilities.

The Foundation Chair of Developmental Disabilities in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Sydney is currently held by CDDS director Professor Trevor R. Parmenter. This provides the opportunity for direct input into the teaching of medical and allied health professionals.

For further information visit the CDDS website.