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KEYNOTE SPEAKER

DR KATE ACKERMAN
MD, MPH, FACSM
Kathryn (Kate) Ackerman, MD, MPH, FACSM is the Founder and Director of the Female Athlete Program and Biennial International Female Athlete Conference at Boston Children’s Hospital, the Associate Director of the Sports Endocrine Research Lab at Massachusetts General Hospital, and an Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. She earned her BA from Cornell University, MD from the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, MPH from the Harvard School of Public Health, and completed her residency in internal medicine at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. She completed her sports medicine fellowship at Boston Children’s Hospital and endocrinology fellowship at Brigham and Women’s Hospital.
She chairs the US Rowing medical committee, is a member of the World Rowing medical commission, and is a Deputy Editor of the British Journal of Sports Medicine. Her research focuses on female athlete health and the various aspects of Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (RED-S). She has authored/co-authored over 100 articles and book chapters related to sports medicine, endocrinology, rowing, bone health, and female athletes, including position statements with the International Olympic Committee. Athletically, Dr. Ackerman represented the US as a lightweight rower at the World Championships, having taken up rowing as a walk-on at Cornell. She has multiple National Championships titles and still competes with her teammates for life as a masters athlete. Most recently, she has become a Member of the National Leadership Council for the Wu Tsai Human Performance Alliance, a $220mill initiative to improve health and performance globally. Dr. Ackerman is leading the Alliance’s focus on scientific advancements for women.
INVITED SPEAKERS

PROFESSOR LOUISE BURKE OAM
Australian Catholic University; Chair in Sports Nutrition, Mary MacKillop Institute of Health Research; Australian Olympic Team Sports Dietician, 1996-2012.

ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR DEIRDRE MCGHEE
University of Wollongong; Director, Breast Research Australia; Sports Physiotherapist

PROFESSOR KATE HENNE
Australian National University; Director, RegNet School or Regulation and Global Governance; Professor Justice and Technoscience Lab (JusTech)
Professor Kathryn (Kate) Henne is the Director of RegNet, the Australian National University’s School of Regulation and Global Governance. Her research focuses on how gender, science and technology contribute to wider governance agendas to support more equitable regulatory approaches and outcomes. Over the last 15 years, she has carried out research on data governance, gender-specific rules, health and inclusion initiatives, mega-events, performance enhancement and sport for development programming. She is currently leading an Australian Research Council-funded project that aims to understand why, despite gains in women's sport participation, inclusion efforts in Australian sport have not yet led to gender parity in leadership roles or broad accessibility for marginalised groups.
DR EMMA BECKMAN
University of Queensland; Head of Para Sport, Sporting Wheelies and Disabled Association; International Classifier, Para Athletics

MS JODIE DAKIC
Monash University; Senior Lecturer; Sports Physiotherapist; PhD Candidate, University of Melbourne
Jodie Dakic is a Lecturer in the School of Primary and Allied Health Care at Monash University. She is a practising physiotherapist in sports medicine and women’s health. Jodie has a Bachelor of Physiotherapy (Honours) and Post-Graduate Certificate in Pelvic Floor Physiotherapy from the University of Melbourne, Australia. She has worked with the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA); including Director of Athlete Medical Services and a full-time travelling position. Jodie acts as a Research Consultant to the WTA, publishing and presenting on injury epidemiology and prevention in professional female tennis. She is currently completing her PhD investigating pelvic floor disorders in exercising women/female athletes at The University of Melbourne.
PROFESSOR KAY CROSSLEY
La Trobe University, Director, La Trobe Sport and Exercise Medicine Research Centre; Director, HerSport Latrobe; Physiotherapist

DR RACHEL HARRIS
Sport & Exercise Medicine Physician; Project Lead, Australian Institute of Sport Female Performance & Health Initiative; Chief Medical Officer Paralympics Australia

DR PIP INGE
Sport & Exercise Physician; Chief Medical Officer Australian Women’s Cricket Team
Pip is a Sport and Exercise Medicine Physician based in Melbourne at the Victorian Institute of Sport. Pip has a strong interest in female athlete health working as the team doctor for the Australian Womens' Cricket Team and the AFL as medical lead for the AFLW. In addition to these roles, she is the chief medical officer for the W/BBL cricket leagues and the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup.
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR CLARE MINAHAN
Griffith University; Accredited Sports Scientist; Australian Institute of Sport Female Performance & Health Initiative Research Lead

DR MELANIE HAYMAN
Central Queensland University; Co-author, 2020 Australian Exercise during Pregnancy Guidelines