Day: 18 November 2025

We are delighted to welcome Dr Freda Werdiger to the AUSiMED Medical Science Review Board (MSRB). The MSRB supports AUSiMED’s mission by providing expert scientific reviews of funding applications and monitoring the progress of AUSiMED-funded projects.

Freda is a Physicist and Biostatistician with a diverse research career spanning basic, pre-clinical, and clinical sciences. Her expertise includes X-Ray Physics, Medical Imaging, Artificial Intelligence in Medicine, and Clinical Trials.

Dr Freda Werdiger, member of the AUSiMED Medical Science Review Board

After joining the Laboratory of Dynamic Imaging at Monash University in 2016, Freda developed innovative lung function imaging technologies and methods to quantify lung disease from imaging data. In 2019, she moved to the Melbourne Brain Centre at the Royal Melbourne Hospital, where she developed AI tools to diagnose brain disease before turning her focus to biostatistics—advancing statistical methods and providing expert advice on clinical trial design and analysis.

We look forward to Freda’s invaluable contribution to the MSRB, helping to ensure that AUSiMED continues to support only the highest-quality medical research projects.

In this 2025 interview, Dr Nir Samuel, Head of the Paediatric Trauma Service at Schneider Children’s Medical Center of Israel (SCMCI) discusses his work in trauma medicine with Reverend Mark Leach, co-founder of Never Again is Now. Nir recounts how his journey began with early medical training in Israel, time spent at The Alfred in Melbourne through an AUSiMED fellowship, and then returning to establish Israel’s first dedicated paediatric trauma service at SCMCI.

The interview highlights:

The specialised nature of trauma care for children
Inclusivity of the Israeli healthcare system
The human-centred bond between Israeli and Australian trauma clinicians — forged through shared values and a desire to build bridges amidst global antisemitism.

AUSiMED is proud to share the achievements of Dr Gleb Kornev, who completed an intensive Melanoma Fellowship at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre in October 2025. The fellowship — supported by AUSiMED — is a key step in preparing Dr Kornev to establish a new Melanoma and Skin Cancer Unit at Shaare Zedek Medical Center (SZMC) in Jerusalem. The new Melanoma clinic will contribute to strengthening melanoma services nationally.

A Transformative Training Experience

At Peter Mac, Dr Kornev was immersed in high-volume melanoma clinics, multidisciplinary tumour boards, and clinical research meetings. He worked closely with world-leading clinicians, including Profs Shahneen Sandhu and Grant McArthur, and Dr Lavinia Spain, gaining exposure to the latest advances in melanoma treatment and clinical decision-making.

A significant focus of his clinical development involved the management of immune-related adverse events. Dr Kornev gained deep insights into monitoring, early intervention, and the role of multidisciplinary supportive care in ensuring patient safety.

Contributing to Research and Innovation

In addition to clinical training, Dr Kornev participated in research projects examining treatment approaches for melanoma patients with brain metastases and evaluating the safety and efficacy of immunotherapy in elderly patients. This strengthened his skills in clinical research and further deepened his commitment to evidence-based, translational practice.

Strengthening Melanoma Care for Israel’s Future

Dr Kornev reported,

“This fellowship has significantly accelerated my clinical expertise and shaped my vision for advancing melanoma care in Israel. Exposure to a large and diverse patient cohort at Peter Mac provided learning opportunities that would have taken years to gain locally.”

Acknowledgement

AUSiMED is grateful to our donor community that made this fellowship possible and to Professor Shahneen Sandhu and her colleagues at Peter Mac who generously provided this training opportunity.

Dr Nir Samuel, Head of the Paediatric Trauma Service at Schneider Children’s Medical Center of Israel (SCMCI), returned home in May 2023 after a year of advanced major trauma training with The Alfred Trauma Service (ATS), supported by AUSiMED. On his return, he began building a dedicated paediatric trauma service at SCMCI.

However, everything changed in October 2023. Nir and his colleagues suddenly found themselves treating large numbers of severely injured children and adults — both civilian and military. Since October 7, severe injury has become one of Israel’s major medical challenges, demanding a widening circle of critical care doctors trained in trauma procedures and producing rapid innovation in mass casualty management.

Nir’s strong professional ties with his Australian team at the ATS evolved into an exciting partnership with AUSiMED. The ‘Seconds Save Lives’ initiative, a two-way exchange program designed to strengthen trauma care in both countries, originally planned for September 2025, was postponed due to the security situation Israel and is now set to go ahead in early 2026.

AUSiMED is delighted to welcome Dr Naama Pines-Shwartz, an outstanding Israeli senior paediatric emergency medicine physician, to Australia to undertake a critically needed Fellowship in Medical Toxicology.

During her 12-month AUSiMED Fellowship, Naama will participate in the International Medical Toxicology Fellowship at the Austin Hospital, gaining hands-on experience in the care of poisoned patients under the guidance of leading medical toxicologists and specialist pharmacists from the Victorian Poisons Information Centre.

With the potential for mass-casualty incidents involving chemical exposure and a rise in deliberate self-poisoning linked to mental-health distress, medical toxicology has become an increasingly vital area of medicine for Israel. Yet with only a handful of toxicology specialists and no local training pathways, there is an urgent need to strengthen national capacity in this field.

Upon returning Hadassah Medical Center, Naama will establish and develop a much-needed toxicology service, helping to address this critical workforce gap in Israel.

This Fellowship, made possible through the generous support of the Lowy Foundation and Hadassah Australia, represents a meaningful investment in Israel’s medical resilience and future safety.

We wish Naama a rewarding and productive year in Australia and look forward to the positive impact her expertise will bring to patients and communities across Israel.