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Xavier Symons is Director of the Plunkett Centre for Ethics at ACU and an Adjunct Lecturer in the Institute for Ethics and Society, UNDA. He is an affiliate of the Human Flourishing Program at Harvard University and was a Fulbright Postdoctoral Research Scholar at the Kennedy Institute of Ethics at Georgetown University. He is the author of Why Conscience Matters: A Defense of Conscientious Objection in Healthcare (Routledge, 2022).
Bernadette Tobin is an Associate Professor within the Plunkett Centre for Ethics at St Vincent's Hospital, Sydney, and Reader in Philosophy at Australian Catholic University. She previously taught philosophy at Mercy Teachers' College in Melbourne and English at Tottenham Technical School in Melbourne. She has been the recipient of an Australian Post-Doctoral Research Scholarship. She was the founding director of the Plunkett Centre.
Steve Matthews is Senior Research Fellow at the Plunkett Centre for Ethics. He has previously worked at Macquarie University, Charles Sturt University, and Monash University, where he wrote his doctorate in philosophy on the metaphysics of personal identity and its implications for ethics.
Dr Marija Kirjanenko is a Lecturer in Philosophical Bioethics at the Plunkett Centre for Ethics. She works as an emergency physician in Melbourne.
Marija's interests include ethical issues at the beginning and end of life, women's health ethics, moral injury, ethics and neurodiversity, AI and 'teaching ethics on the go'. She has taught professional and ethical practice for several years at the University of Melbourne Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences, and helps clinicians to navigate acute ethical issues. Marija is focused on translating academic knowledge into practical applications in the day-to-day clinical practice.
Email: makirjanenko@acu.edu.au
Dr Samuel Birch MBBS(Hons), FRACP is a consultant cardiologist and physician with an interest in all areas of general cardiology and subspecialty interests in cardiac imaging, cardio-oncology, and integrative cardiology. He completed his cardiology training at St Vincent's Hospital, Sydney, and is an adjunct lecturer with the University of Notre Australia's School of Medicine, Sydney. His published research includes peer-reviewed papers in the fields of cardiac imaging and a peer-reviewed paper on transplant bioethics. He has provided pro-life talks to several parish and young adults groups.
Dr Owen Bradfield MBBS(Hons), BMedSc(Hons), LLB, MBA, FRACGP is a dual-qualified medical practitioner and health lawyer, and currently the Chief Medical Officer of the Medical Indemnity Protection Society. He has 15 years' experience in the medical indemnity insurance industry, where he has advised and represented doctors in a range of medico-legal disputes, including civil claims, regulatory complaints, employment disputes, Coronial inquests and Medicare investigations. Owen is also a health law researcher at the University of Melbourne, where his research into the intersection between doctors' health and legal claims has been awarded a 2020 Fulbright Scholarship, a 2022 Premier's Award in Health and Medical Research and a 2024 University of Melbourne Dean's Award for Excellence in the PhD Thesis. He is also the Deputy Chairperson of the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare Ethics Committee, and the immediate past-Chairperson of Victoria's Patient Review Panel into Assisted Reproductive Treatment services.
Dr Stephen Parnis MBBS, DipSurgAnat, FACEM, FAICD, FAMA is a consultant emergency physician at St Vincent's Hospital and the Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital. He is a Fellow of the Australian Medical Association, and has held senior positions in the AMA, including as President of AMA Victoria 2012-14, and Vice President of the Federal AMA from 2014-2016. Dr Parnis is a respected contributor to public health, ethical and professional matters, and in 2017 led the campaign against the parliamentary bill which subsequently legalised assisted suicide and euthanasia in the State of Victoria.
A/Prof Natasha Michael (MBChB, FRACP FAChPM MSc, PhD) is a Senior Palliative Care Consultant and academic who has trained and worked internationally in Palliative Care. She is a graduate from the University of Leeds and was awarded a MSc from King's College London and a PhD from University of Notre Dame Australia. A/Prof Michael is an Associate Professor at the Institute of Health Research, University of Notre Dame Australia and an Adjunct Professor at Monash University. She has led the development of palliative care services in the public and private sectors across metropolitan and regional settings and held senior teaching and research roles. Her research interests are in the areas of cancer pain and communication, individual values in decision making and psycho-existential aspects of palliative care.
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