10th Annual NIIM Symposium: Presenters

Founding Director of the National Institute of Integrative Medicine.

Professor Avni Sali AM is often referred to as the father of Integrative Medicine in Australia. In 1996 he was the Founding Head of the Graduate School of Integrative Medicine at the Swinburne University in Melbourne. In 2009 he established the not-for-profit, charitable National Institute of Integrative Medicine (NIIM), and became its founding Director. In the past he was also Head of the University of Melbourne Department of Surgery at Heidelberg Hospital.

Professor Sali donates his time to several positions on medical boards and associations. He is past President of the Australasian Integrative Medicine Association (AIMA) and sits on numerous medical and other boards. He is a member of the Joint Working Party of the AIMA & Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) establishing the Integrative Medicine (IM) Network which oversees GP training, continuing professional development, and standards for safe ethical practice in the field of integrative medicine. He is also a patron and ambassador for several organisations including: The Melbourne Therapy Centre, GVConnect and others.

Professor Sali’s previous appointments include: Australian and New Zealand Representative of the International Society for Digestive Surgery, and Director of Victorian Health Research and Education Committee (VPHREC). Professor Sali was a part of the Federal Government Complementary Health Care Consultative Forum and the National Scientific Advisory Committee in Complementary Medicine. More recently he has been appointed to the Australian Advisory Council on the Medical Use of Cannabis, providing an important opportunity for an ‘Integrative Medicine’ voice to be part of a national government committee. Read more.

Chief Medical Officer

Professor Kidd is a highly respected medical leader known for his significant contributions to public health and primary health care, in Australia and internationally. 

He has extensive experience as a general practitioner, primary care researcher, educator and academic and has served as president of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) and the World Organization of Family Doctors. 

Most recently, Professor Kidd has been the Professor of Global Primary Care and Future Health Systems at the University of Oxford, and Director of the International Centre for Future Health Systems at the University of New South Wales. 

Professor Kidd served as Deputy Chief Medical Officer and Principal Medical Advisor with the Department of Health and Aged Care during the COVID-19 pandemic making a significant contribution to the national primary care response. 

Integrative Psychiatrist

At the forefront of Integrative and Functional Medicine in Australia, Dr Sanjeev Sharma is a practising Integrative Psychiatrist with a deep interest in healing using holistic modalities. His emphasis is on lifestyle, dietary and tailored treatment plans to help people overcome Addiction, Depression, ADHD, Bipolar and other mental health illnesses. His goal is to bring new hope and life to individuals and families who normally would have given up as the struggle to cope dwindled in their lives. This approach is also being used around the world in other disciplines of medicine very successfully. His early training was in India, worked at the Central Institute of Psychiatry (CIP) Ranchi, National Institute of Mental Health & Neurosciences (NIMHANS), Bangalore. He has been settled in Perth for nearly two decades. His treatment philosophy combines Eastern and Western medicine and believes that each individual is unique and should be treated as such. Dr Sharma has worked in various capacities in Public Hospitals, in Perth and is now a practising Integrative Psychiatrist at Abbotsford Hospital in Leederville, Perth, Australia.
He regularly speaks on Professional/Public forums highlighting the importance of lifestyle concepts in well-being.

Integrative General Practitioner – Long-COVID and Oncology Care

Dr Alice Murkies has worked in General Practice in Melbourne for many years. She was a clinician, researcher and educator in menopausal medicine at the Jean Hailes Foundation.

Dr Murkies treats cancer patients with a mind body medicine protocol. Her approach is centred around the principles of Integrative Medicine including diet and nutrition changes, stress reduction, sleep and exercise, combined with natural supplements where needed.

Integrative General Practitioner & Joint Clinical Director of the National Institute of Integrative Medicine

Dr John Walters has been involved in the practice and promotion of integrative medicine for more than 35 years. After graduating from the University of Melbourne, he established his own general practice clinics in Melbourne, and in rural Queensland. More than 20 years of rural practice enabled John to develop a broad scope of work from obstetrics, anaesthetics and surgery, to a comprehensive allergy clinic, nutritional and lifestyle medicine and the management of skin conditions including cancers. He trained in dermatology in the UK from which has grown his large dermatology and skin cancer interests. He has trained other practitioners in allergy management in this time.

Integrative General Practitioner & Joint Clinical Director of the National Institute of Integrative Medicine

Dr Poonam Chuni an Integrative General Practitioner and Join Clinical Director at the National Institute of Integrative Medicine. She holds a dual Fellowship with both the Royal College of General Practitioners UK and the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners whilst also a diplomate in sexual and reproductive health and medicine. Dr Chuni is also a recognised board certified physician with the Australasian Society of Lifestyle Medicine, Australasian Academy of anti-ageing medicine A5M and was most recently awarded the 2022 award for teaching excellence with Monash University.

PhD (Cancer Immunology), B. Sc (Honors), B.H.Sc (Naturopathy), Bowen Therapist, Reiki Practitioner, HBOT Technician, ATMS member 

Shala is a highly accomplished senior scientist and integrative medicine naturopath, with a passion for herbal medicine, nutrition, and oncology support. She is particularly interested in hormonally driven cancers, specifically prostate, breast and thyroid cancers, as well as other cancers such as lung cancer, haematological cancers, and melanoma. Her approach is thorough in creating comprehensive treatment plans based on the most current research and evidence in integrative oncology. Shala also treats general naturopathy patients (i.e., non-oncology), and is very experienced in complex hormonal issues, autoimmune conditions, digestive, and cardiovascular health; Shala has been in clinical practice since 2015. 

In 2002, Shala finished her PhD in cancer immunology (melanoma cancer research, Monash University). Her research thesis focused on enhanced immunity to tumours using vaccines in animal models. After her PhD, Shala’s 10-year career as a postdoctoral fellow started with Shriners Hospital for Children (Oregon, USA) for 3.5 years, followed by St Vincent’s Hospital fellowship (Melbourne, Australia) for 4 years and Sienna Cancer diagnostics, PTY, LTD for 2.5 years. After 10 years of postdoctoral fellowship in oncology and immunology, Shala sought to start her second bachelor’s degree in health science (Naturopathy) at the Endeavour College of Natural Health. In 2018, Shala undertook a 12-month intensive training in integrative oncology in practice offered by BioCeuticals and Dr. Lise Alschler (ND, FABNO, USA).  

With respect to academic field and teaching experiences, Shala was involved in managing the practical component of the Biological Chemistry course for undergraduate students at the RMIT University for 10 years (2009-2019). Her teaching engagement with the Endeavour College of Natural Health, Melbourne campus started in Jan 2021. Shala is currently affiliated with Southern Cross University. 

Medical Doctor

Dr Tim Robinson is a medical doctor working in Southwest England. His medical degree in London University was followed by GP vocational training and MRCGP qualification in 1988. He worked as a GP in a rural practice for 30 years. During his time as a GP he combined conventional with complementary medicine – providing nutritional medicine (MSc 2014), acupuncture, homeopathy and allergy medicine within his routine GP consultations. He retired as planned at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020. At then switched careers to Long Covid. He is currently GP clinical lead of three separate Long Covid Clinics across the Southwest England. He has presented on integrative medicine in UK, Europe, India, Australia, and on Long Covid in the UK and Spain. He delivers a rolling sessional Rehabilitation Program to patients with Long Covid in Southwest UK. He is medical advisor for Hope for Community CIC that delivers remote support programs for Long Covid. He is co-investigator in a MRC funded research project in Long Covid dysautonomic breathlessness 

Clinical Nutritionist & Herbalist

Dr Brad Leech is a PhD-qualified Clinical Nutritionist and Herbalist specialising in chronic autoimmune conditions and complex gastrointestinal disorders. He provides complete and personalised care to his patients using functional nutrition, integrative medicine and holistic wellness. After entering the profession in 2008, Brad has taught and developed subjects at leading universities and conducted research on intestinal permeability, autoimmune disease management and food-based probiotics. Brad is the Lead Clinical Educator at Co-Biome by Microba where his expertise in Gastrointestinal healthcare enables him to translate the latest science on the gut microbiome into practical clinical applications. In addition to being an Adjunct Fellow at the National Centre for Naturopathic Medicine, Brad offers practitioner support through his multiple microbiome mentoring programs.

Director of Research and Adjunct Professor

A/Prof Karin Ried is Director of Research at the National Institute of Integrative Medicine. A/Prof Ried is Adjunct Professor, Torrens University, VIC, Australia, and Honorary Visiting Research Fellow at The University of Adelaide, South Australia. A/Prof Ried has more than 20 years’ experience in medical and public health research, and research interest in complementary and integrative medicine with a focus on nutritional health. Her current research projects encompass nutritional medicine, cardiovascular and brain health, chronic diseases and cancer.

Integrative Naturopathic Practitioner, Nutritionist, Western Herbalist, Acupuncturist

With over 24 years of experience in naturopathic medicine, Megan has dedicated her career to supporting cancer patients with a compassionate and evidence-based approach. Initially working as a generalist naturopath, Megan embraced the diversity of her practice, treating a wide range of health conditions. Her passion for mental health, auto immune disorders, sports nutrition, and cancer care guided her towards a special interest that has become her life’s work. 

Megan’s mission is to empower individuals to see themselves beyond statistics, offering hope and support through natural therapies. 

Megan believes in the power of integrative care, utilizing herbs, nutrients, and lifestyle modifications to complement conventional cancer treatments. Her focus is on improving patients’ quality of life, reducing treatment side effects, and, in some cases, extending life expectancy. Megan’s approach is deeply rooted in evidence-based practice, ensuring that her patients receive safe, effective, and ethical care. 

Health Psychologist and CEO

Dr Moira Junge is a Health Psychologist with a doctorate in Psychology and the CEO of the Sleep Health Foundation (SHF). She is also on the healthylife Health Advisory Board. Her first ten years of her health career were spent as a registered nurse at the Alfred Hospital in Melbourne. As a Health Psychologist she has focused on health challenges and health behaviour change at an individual and population level so it was a natural transition for Moira to move across from the clinical setting to the health promotion and community advocacy setting. She firmly believes that prevention is better than cure and focuses on the translation and implementation of research. She aims to reach people before chronic challenges set in. This is what underpins her advocacy and education work in the community, and why she has taken on the CEO role at the SHF. 

Neuroscientist, Exercise Physiologist & Nutritionist

A former British Royal Navy Aircrew Officer and former Adjunct Professor at the
University of San Francisco, Paul is a Neuroscientist, Exercise Physiologist and Nutritionist
who is currently completing a PhD in Applied Psychology, where he is developing and
testing resilience strategies with the Australian Defence Science Technology Group & The
University of Newcastle. He is the Director of Paul Taylor Consulting, where he delivers stress fitness (resilience 2.0), leadership and performance workshops to companies such as Oracle, SAP, PWC,
NAB, CBA, BUPA & the Australian Military

Integrative Psychologist & Leadership Coac

Peter Webb is an experienced psychologist, endorsed by the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency. He has been a member of the Australian Psychological Society for nearly 40 years. During that time, he also trained in naturopathic clinical medicine and conducted successful practices in mind-body therapies (how mindset and emotions influence health and disease) over a 15-year period.

Peter is also a leadership coach with broad experience working with leaders and top teams in medium to large enterprises and government agencies across the Asia Pacific region for the past 20 years. He is well known for his research and practice in wise decision making, including papers, conference presentations, book chapters, and workshops.

Doctor of Chinese Medicine

Dr Sonic Searle began his journey in healthcare with a Bachelor of Science at the University of Melbourne, where he majored in neuroscience and physiology, with the original intention to pursue a degree in medicine. Dealing with some health issues of his own, he derived great benefit from Chinese medicine which led him to pursue further studies in Chinese Medicine. 

In 2018, he spent time living and studying in China, immersing himself in the cultural roots of the traditional practice. The following year, he completed an internship at the Tzu Chi Hospital in Taiwan, working in their Integrative Medicine Department. This experience was transformative, as it allowed him to see how Eastern and Western medical approaches can work together to provide comprehensive care. 

Clinical Naturopath

As a clinical Naturopath, Tanya has been practicing for over 25 years.  She is the Founder and Lead Clinician at Melbourne Integrative Oncology Group (MIOG), Australia’s first Naturopath-led multidiscipline integrative oncology clinic dedicated solely to the support of patients with cancer.   

As a passionate researcher and collaborator, Tanya has visited and worked in Integrative Oncology Hospitals and Clinics in Europe and Asia to share information with other integrative practitioners and continually develop the personalised support programs offered at MIOG.  

She is currently undertaking a Higher Research Degree with Southern Cross University and will be conducting clinical trials at MIOG in the next few years. The clinical trials will focus on the benefits of mild Hyperbaric Therapy in conjunction with standard medical interventions for rare cancers.  

Tanya is an experienced lecturer at tertiary level, and taught Naturopathy and Nutrition students at Southern School and Endeavour College and Medical students at Monash Uni for over 15 years as both a Clinical Supervisor and in her specialist subject ‘Integrative Pharmacology’.  Tanya has written and presented a range of Integrative Medicine seminars for Medical, Pharmacy and Nursing Professionals. She is a contributing author to several clinical textbooks.