Research

Sophie Cunneen is a senior leader in clean energy and infrastructure strategy, currently leading energy strategy for Infrastructure WA. She is a qualified lawyer and a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, known for her strategic thinking and collaborative approach.

With over 20 years’ global experience across legal, commercial, and sustainability roles—including leadership positions at Fortescue, Shell, and Centrica—Sophie brings deep expertise in corporate law, energy transition and green industry development. Sophie is passionate about accelerating Australia’s shift to net zero and enabling innovation across the energy sector to benefit local communities. Her work bridges government, industry, and community to deliver impactful, future-focused outcomes.

Sophie is a non-executive director of Solaris Cancer Care. Having had close family and friends impacted by cancer and seen firsthand the impact of Solaris’ work, she is a big supporter. Sophie brings her diverse corporate background to help guide Solaris in its delivery of life-changing services to patients and families.

Caroline is health professional with over 25 year’s experience in the public and private sectors including clinical, executive and management roles at state and national level.

Caroline holds a Bachelor of Science (Physiotherapy), post graduate certifications in management and leadership, is a Fellow of the Australian College of Health Service Managers and Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.  Caroline brings her expertise in health strategy, planning, funding models and clinical governance to the Board.

Caroline comes to Solaris Cancer Care Board with a passion for person centred, holistic health care and a desire to support a cancer model beyond acute hospital treatment for all patients and their families experiencing a cancer diagnosis in WA.

Associate Professor Geri McDonald is the Director of Patient Experience & Wellbeing at Peter Mac Cancer Centre and Chair of the COSA Integrative Oncology & Wellbeing Group, Geri brings a wealth of experience and expertise in patient care, cancer support, and wellbeing initiatives. With an extensive career spanning across government, health services, corporate, not-for-profit, and medical research sectors, Geri has become a pivotal advocate for improving patient experiences in cancer care.

In 2017, Geri was awarded a Churchill Fellowship, which enabled her to explore patient navigation models in cancer care through travels to the USA and UK. Her findings from this research have been shared at national and international conferences and continue to shape the landscape of cancer care in Australia.

In addition to her work at Peter Mac Cancer Centre, Geri has been instrumental in raising awareness about integrative oncology and wellbeing services. In 2019, she was nominated in the Australian Financial Review’s 100 Women of Influence, and she was also a recipient of the Pro Bono Australia Impact 25 Award in 2020, recognising her as one of the top 25 people of influence in the social sector.

Geri’s leadership extends beyond her direct roles in cancer care, as she is a member of the NACCHO expert cancer working group and contributes to the COSA Council. Her work has been central in the development of the Inaugural White Paper on Integrative Oncology and Wellness Centres in Cancer Care, and she continues to provide guidance and expertise to both national and international organisations focused on cancer wellbeing centres. Geri also holds an Honorary adjunct Associate Professorship role at the University of Melbourne Melbourne School of Population and Global Health Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences

Brad is a CPA qualified
Accountant with over 20 years’ experience in Public Practice.

He is a seasoned business
finance executive with a long-proven track record of developing communities and maximising clients’ potential.

Testament to Brad’s commitment to both business and community, he has been awarded a Life Membership to the Rockingham Kwinana Chamber of Commerce and awarded the Paul Harris Award by the Rotary Club of Palm Beach.

As Director of Ward and Ilsley Partners, Brad has added valuable community service to his portfolio in
the roles of:

• Director of Variety Australia for 3 years; Director of Variety WA for 6 years, serving as
  Finance Director, Deputy Chairperson and Chairperson.
• Director of the Peel Thunder Football Club for over 9 years, serving as Finance Director,
  Vice-President and currently President
• Director and current Chairperson of Community Recycling WA
• Director and Treasurer of the Rockingham & Kwinana Chamber of Commerce for over 15 years
• Director of Bridging the Gap
• CPA-WA Public Practice committee member

Brad comes to Solaris Cancer Care with a strong desire to support the work they do in Western Australia improving the lives of people diagnosed with cancer.

Chris was born in Manchester and studied at Cambridge before coming to the Australian National University in 1970 to undertake his PhD. He has worked in academia, the public sector, and the private sector, principally in the areas of geology, environmental management, and transport and logistics. Among the positions he has held are Commissioner of Fair Trading (WA), Director General of Transport (WA), and Managing Director of the Melbourne Port Corporation.

He has held professorships at Curtin University, RMIT University and Inha University (South Korea). At RMIT he was in charge of the Business school with over 20,000 onshore and overseas students. He has delivered courses overseas on behalf of the World Health Organisation, the UN Development Program and the UN Environment Program.

Chris has extensive experience as a Board Member including the Medical Board of WA, the WA Legal Aid Commission, and as Deputy Chairman of the WA Environmental Protection Authority. He was Chairperson of the Uniting Church Homes Board (now known as Juniper) from 1989 to 1996.

During his time working in the public sector Chris was President of the WA Division of the Institute of Public Administration (Australia), and was the National Vice President.

He first learned about Solaris through his wife, who has been a volunteer for several years, and was delighted to be asked to join the Solaris Board. 

Carl Titchmarsh is the Vice President Asia Pacific for Kent. Carl is an advocate for women’s equity and an implementation leader for CEOs for Gender Equity and the Champions of Change. He has lobbied government to take diversity into consideration as part of their procurement processes, championed programs that will accelerate female progression into leadership roles and is a mentor for the National Association of Women In Construction.

Carl has overseen the development and implementation of strategies that have successfully diversified Clough’s project portfolio and grown the orderbook from $500m to $4bn+ whilst also supporting Aboriginal-owned business with strategy and business case development. He is responsible for setting the strategy and shape of the business and identifying and targeting projects consistent with the purpose and mission across diverse sectors and regions to create consistent and sustainable earnings.

Carl served as an Officer in the Royal Engineers of the British Army completing tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. He has more than 20 years’ experience managing projects, large teams and business units across many industries and facilities, such as rail, mines, roads, schools, shopping centres, government buildings and accommodation, airports, bulk fuel and water facilities and workshops. He has managed complex projects including high profile, multiple site enhancement projects which were multi-disciplined with high public interest. Carl has held roles in engineering, construction, consultant, and government companies.

Carl is a Fellow of the CEO Institute, an Association of Project Management Professional and a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. He also currently sits on the Executive Committee of the Chamber of Minerals and Energy and the AmCham Energy and Resources Committee and the Construction Contractors Association of WA.

Carl is a non-executive director of Solaris Cancer Care. Having lost his mother to cancer, he is a big supporter of Solaris and brings his diverse background to assist in delivering valuable services to our patients, carers, and families.

Tony Hume is an experienced Chief Executive officer who has led many organisations working with children, homeless and health sectors in Western Australia.

Tony has also held senior leadership roles within the Higher education sector, specialising in supporting medical research.

He is a former finalist in the WA Business News 40 under 40 awards, a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors
and has a GBQ (Leadership and Management) from Curtin University.

Tony is passionate about the impact that Solaris Cancer Care has in the community with people (and their families) during their cancer journey and the power of Integrative Oncology care.

Graduating from UWA in 1983 with a Bachelor of Medicine and a Bachelor of Surgery, Dr Joske, was a Clinical Haematologist and Medical Co-Director at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital has dedicated his career to cancer care and helping those with the disease.

In 2001 he established Solaris Cancer Care, a dedicated service offering support to cancer patients and in 2016 was named EY’s (WA) Social Entrepreneur award for this work. He is currently Chairman.

Professor David Joske was Head of Haematology at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital from 1994 to 2012 and remained very active in clinical practice and research. Dr David Joske was a Clinical Professor of Medicine at the University of Western Australia and senior Haematologist at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital. His research and clinical work focused on the role of supportive care in the management of cancer.

Dr Joske is a leading expert in the field of integrative cancer care, influencing its mainstream development across Australia. He is dedicated to exploring the value of complementary integrated therapies in counteracting adverse side effects experienced by people living with cancer. His clinical and research interests included the treatment of lymphomas, palliative care in Haematology, and supportive care in cancer.

He was a UWA Clinical Professor of Medicine; has published 91 peer-reviewed publications plus three book chapters. He is a member of the National Blood Cancer Taskforce and the COSA (Clinical Oncology Society of Australia) Integrative Oncology Executive. He was awarded the John Curtin Medal in 2005 and has been a finalist four times for Western Australian of the Year. He plays guitar in a blues band, sometimes busks for Solaris Cancer Care and is a member of the Menagerie Community Choir.

Dr Joske retired from clinical practice in October 2023.

Professor Anne Williams is a nurse researcher with nearly 30 years’ experience researching healthcare issues within Western Australia (WA). Anne is the Professor of Health Research and Graduate Research Director in the Discipline of Nursing, College of Science, Health, Engineering and Education, at Murdoch University. Anne maintain links with the acute care hospital setting currently consulting to the Centre for Nursing Research Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital and Solaris Cancer Care. Anne has an extensive research portfolio in the area of nursing in the acute care hospital setting. Her main interests are patient experience (especially in relation to chronic health conditions), nursing staff wellbeing, psychosocial care, pain management, end-of-life-care, and evidence translation.

Dr Kellie Bennett (PhD, MPsych, GradDipEd, MAPS) is in the Division of Psychiatry at The University of Western Australia where she undertakes research, teaching, manages staff and supervises students. Dr Bennett’s current research interests include: mental well-being, psycho-oncology and medical education. Dr Bennett also provides statistical support to a range of research projects in the area of substance use. In addition to a wide range of publications in peer-reviewed journals, Dr Bennett has co-authored a statistical textbook for health research entitled “SPSS Statistics: A Practical Guide” which is currently in its 5th edition and has sold over 14,500 copies to local and international health researchers and universities.

Associate Professor Caroline Bulsara is an academic qualitative researcher in the Institute for Health Research and is postgraduate by research coordinator for the School of Nursing & Midwifery at the University of Notre Dame.Caroline works across WA universities and hospitals to build health research capacity in a number of health related areas. She was inaugural research centre manager for a large WA based not for profit organisation for a period of 3 years and has a strong interest in community and consumer participatory research. This includes expertise in working with disadvantaged and marginalised populations by working on several consumer and community directed studies. She is strongly committed to the giving a ‘voice to’ and enabling the wellbeing of all community members through research and also works with a number of community organisations. She completed her PhD in the area of cancer patient empowerment at the University of Western Australia in 2008. The study included the development of Patient Empowerment Scale using Rasch Modelling which is being used in a number of studies both in Australia and overseas. She is currently the Patient Reported Outcomes Measures (PROMS) qualitative investigator with the Continuous Improvement in Care Cancer (CiCC) program funded by the Cancer Research Trust for a five year period. This program seeks improve outcomes for patients through creating better information sharing mechanisms about what is important to cancer patients and their caregivers.

Céline is a Health Research Officer in the Discipline of Nursing at Murdoch University. She is responsible for carrying out research under the direction of the Professor of Health Research, including the day to day management of the Solaris Collaborative Research Team (CRT).
Her background includes a Post Graduate Diploma in Primary Health Care and a Master of Medical Sciences looking at various biopsychosocial aspects of the lives of a group of Hodgkin’s disease survivors in Western Australia. She has extensive qualitative and quantitative research experience, particularly in psychosocial research with cancer and palliative care patients & their carers. She has worked at local, national and international levels. She is a Consumer Editor with the Cochrane Haematological Malignancies Group.

Bonnie is an early-career (ECR) teaching and research academic within the School of Human Sciences at The University of Western Australia (UWA). In addition to her academic role, she also maintains a clinical service role as an Accredited Exercise Physiologist (AEP) at Fremantle Hospital Mental Health Service and director of not-for-profit Thriving – “Building Strong and Healthy Young People through Exercise”. She is heavily involved in the teaching and training of postgraduate students working towards attainment of accreditation as Exercise Physiologists (allied health), and course coordinator of the Masters of Clinical Exercise Physiology at UWA. Broadly, Bonnie’s research and clinical work to date has provided novel contributions to the role and implementation of exercise for physiological and/or psychological outcomes in populations with unique needs including children and youth, cancer, and mental health disorders. In addition to peer reviewed publications, Bonnie is highly active in the translation and dissemination of research into practice including regular presentations at research, service and community forums, and the management and delivery of community-based exercise services for ‘at-risk’ and/or under serviced groups. Alongside her role in tertiary education, including supervision of doctoral and research students, she is active in professional education including national and international delivery of professional development courses, and her role as an educator for both standard and youth Mental Health First Aid. Her commitment to service delivery, translation and dissemination of research into practice is further evidence by her long-standing roles with ESSA including Chair of the national Exercise Physiology Advisory Group and Children’s Pre-Exercise Screening Committee, and a member of the Clinical Exercise Education Group.

Janni Goss( B.App.Sci.Physio) is a speaker, wellbeing educator and author, having worked with both children and adults, including at Princess Margaret Hospital and the Cottage Hospice. Janni is a Laughter Yoga practitioner and Ambassador for Laughter Yoga International, trained by Dr Madan Kataria, and is known as the ‘Laughter Lady”. Janni shares stress reduction and wellbeing strategies at Conferences and health and education events and is the author of “Love Laughter and Longevity – the Art and Science of Wellbeing” (2017) Janni is the creator of the JelliTime game and author of “The Nurturing Kids Kit” (2013). Janni advocates for adding the benefits of Laughter Yoga to the Health and Ageing sector to improve the wellbeing of staff and patients. She is a member of the Australian Physiotherapy Association, Australian Association of Gerontology, Western Australian Association for Mental Health, Early Childhood Australia, and Early Childhood Intervention Australia. Janni is the president of LaughWA Inc and the advisor for Ageing, Disability and Mental Health for the National Council of Women WA (NCWWA).

A/Prof Georgia Halkett (PhD, FIR, BMedRad(Hons) Radiation Therapist, GAICD) is a Senior Research Fellow at Curtin University. Georgia currently holds a Cancer Council of WA Research Fellowship. She previously worked as a radiation therapist. Associate Professor Halkett has been successful in attracting NHMRC, NBCF, Cancer Australia, EORTC and Cancer Council Funding. She has published widely and is currently supervising 4 PhD students. Georgia’s program of research focuses on cancer patient’s psychosocial and information needs, communication between health professionals and cancer patients and research in radiation therapy.

Associate Professor Moira O’Connor is a Senior Research Fellow at Curtin University, Perth WA. Moira’s program of research focuses on psychological aspects of cancer and palliative care including: palliative care family carers’ needs, the experiences and needs of children with a parent with cancer, patient distress in hospital and community settings using the Distress Thermometer, paediatric radiation therapy, bereavement risk assessment in palliative care, interventions for complications of grief including prolonged grief disorder, the role of the interdisciplinary team, and challenges facing health professionals in oncology and palliative care settings. Moira’s work has contributed significantly to our understanding of the needs of patients and family members, particularly children, who are living with cancer or are receiving palliative care. Over the last 5 years Moira has secured over 2 million dollars of funding and has published over 70 articles in quality, high impact journals, and chapters. Moira has supervised 21 PhD student projects to completion. Moira’s community engagement includes being on the local Boards of Palliative Care WA and Huntington’s WA, and being on the national Board of Palliative Care Australia. She was academic lead for the WA Palliative Care Research Collaborative and she is currently Director of Graduate Research in the School of Psychology, Curtin University.

Associate Professor Susan Slatyer is a nurse researcher and educator in the Discipline of Nursing, College of Science, Health, Engineering and Education (SHEE) at Murdoch University and holds adjunct positions at both Curtin and Edith Cowan Universities. Susan has two main research areas: nurse wellbeing and aged care (especially in relation to dementia and family caregivers). She has been instrumental in trialling interventions to sustain cancer nurses’ physical and emotional capacity to care; and to prevent compassion fatigue in acute care nurses; and. She is currently an investigator on an NHMRC funded trial being conducted at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital to evaluate an innovative post-discharge nursing intervention designed to sustain family members of older patients in home-based caregiving. In 2016, Susan was named WA Nurse of the Year and winner of the Excellence in Research award in the WA Nursing and Midwifery Excellence Awards.

Dr. Deborah Kirk, DNP, FNP-BC, NP- C, AOCN, FAANP – Associate Dean and Associate Professor in the School of Nursing and Midwifery at Edith Cowan University, Western Australia. She received her BSN in 1995 and MSN in 1999 from Troy University and her Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) from the University of South Alabama in 2007. She has practiced for more than 20 years as an oncology nurse practitioner in various inpatient and outpatient settings. Her current work is expanding cancer/palliative nursing and nurse practitioner education in Western Australia and in parts of sub-Saharan Africa. Additionally, she has developed and expanded a mobile application for cancer resources for community resources locally in Alabama, USA to help fill a gap identified in the clinical setting. Dr. Kirk has published her work in various journals including the Clinical Journal of Oncology Nursing and the Journal of Pediatric Nursing, as well as chapters in the Clinical Manual for the Oncology Advanced Practice Nurse, Core Curriculum for Oncology Nursing (5th ed.) and Diseases of the Breast (5th ed.) medical text book. Dr. Kirk is a recognised leader among the oncology community both locally, nationally and internationally. She is the immediate past president of the Oncology Nursing Society Foundation (2016-17) and served on the Oncology Nursing Society Board of Directors as Director at Large (2012-15). Her recent awards include the 2015-16 American Association of Colleges of Nursing Excellence and Innovation in Teaching; the 2016 American Cancer Society Lane Adams Quality of Life Award; and in 2017 she was inducted into the American Association of Nurse Practitioners as a Fellow (FAANP).

Carol is a Lecturer and researcher in Nursing within the School of Nursing and Midwifery at Edith Cowan University. She completed her PhD at Edith Cowan University in (2017), a narrative inquiry into the motivation, learning experience, and future career planning of Chinese nursing students at Australian universities. She holds a Master of Nursing from Curtin University of Technology, and a Bachelor of Nursing from Edith Cowan University. In China, she studied Psychological Consultation and Health, and a Diploma of Nursing.

Carol is a Registered Nurse (RN) in China, Singapore and Australia, and has over 26 years’ nursing experience. She is also learning to become a Registered Acupuncturist in Australia. Carol’s career began in China where she worked as a RN for eight years, followed by a further eight years at the National Kidney Foundation and Gleneagles Hospital in Singapore. She moved to Perth and held positions at St John of God, Royal Perth and Sir Charles Gairdner Hospitals as a Registered Nurse, Staff Development Nurse, Diabetic Educator, and Clinical Nurse before beginning her lecturing career at West Coast Institute and finally at ECU.

Her research areas and interests include: Acupuncture/Moxibustion/Cupping therapy clinical trials, Alternative therapy/Natural therapy research, Cancer care, International education, Culture diversity and nursing practice.

She is a Member of the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia, the Australian Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine Association (AACMA), Sigma Psi Alpha at-Large Chapter, STTI The Honor Society of Nursing as well as the ECU Early and Middle Career Researcher Network (EMCRN) Committee. Board Member of the Western Australian Chinese Scientists Association (WACSA). President of the Australian Holistic Nurses Association (AHNA) and Australia Chapter Leader of the American Holistic Nurses Association.

Patricia Williams has been in the medical field since 1977. She has a Bachelors of Nursing and currently works as a Registered Nurse at Royal Perth Hospital. Patricia was the Director for Pranic Healing in the UK, Ireland and Western Australia. She is a Senior International Instructor, Director for Pranic Energy Healing WA, and the Vice President for the Pranic Healers Association of Western Australia. Patricia also has a diploma in Yoga.

Patricia’s extensive experience in orthodox medicine encompasses burns, plastics and surgical nursing, renal, respiratory, acute medical, neurology, oncology, and palliative care.

Patricia has been a volunteer therapist and member of the research committee at Solaris Cancer Care since February 2002. She is currently the Quality Assurance and Carers Course Manager for the foundation. Patricia wrote the Solaris Cancer Care Mentoring Program and co-authored the Volunteer Orientation Guidelines, Standards and Protocols for Therapists and the Carers Course Training Manual.

Patricia brings a broad knowledge base of orthodox and complementary therapies to Solaris Cancer Care and is an advocate for complementary, integrative therapy provided by qualified therapists in a safe and nurturing environment.