We extend a very warm welcome to new staff who have joined the Flinders MD teaching team in recent months:
Tahlia Johnson, Indigenous Health Lecturer
“I am a proud Warumunga woman and have lived on Kaurna Country my whole life. I am a midwife, and my passion lies with Indigenous Health especially our Aboriginal women and families during pregnancy and postpartum. I am also involved in research and cannot wait to work alongside like-minded people.”
Dr Rachel Tan joins the MD team as an Academic Coordinator for the upcoming Australian Medical Council Accreditation process. She is a Consultant Nephrologist at Flinders Medical Centre (FMC) and lead consultant for Southern Adelaide Local Health Network’s (SALHN) safety and quality improvement projects such as improving clinical handovers and medical rostering.
She also enjoys teaching and is passionate about medical education adapting to the current landscape of medicine to produce well-rounded and resilient clinicians. In her previous role as Teaching & Education Lead within the Division of Medicine at SALHN, she was the primary coordinator for the Division of Medicine Handbook and established the Teaching & Education Committee. She is currently the FMC Renal Intern Supervisor and conducts lectures for medical students and junior doctors. She is now engaged with Flinders University as an Academic Coordinator for the upcoming Australian Medical Council Accreditation Process for the Doctor of Medicine Program.
Dr Manasi Murthy Mittinty MD, PhD (Medicine) is a physician scientist and recent graduate from the Advanced Clinical Research Fellowship Program with Harvard Medical School (Deans commendation, 2023). Dr Manasi brings her extensive experience of teaching undergraduate and postgraduate medical, health science and public health programs to Flinders, where she will begin Topic Coordination, teaching and leading assessments in the MD.
Dr Manasi is an emerging (inter)national expert in the field of pain medicine with special interest in achieving mental health equity for all Australians by developing individualized patient care programs, especially for Indigenous Australians. She works closely with (inter)national research teams (Gent University, Harvard Medical School, Stanford Medicine, West Virginia University, University of Florida) to understand meaning associated with the experience of pain from culture, and belief’s perspective. Her vision is to empower patients and families thrive and live a meaningful life despite experiencing pain. Her novel translational work has started powerful conversations around sex, gender, religion, and racial inclusivity for enhancing patient care. Dr Manasi is the recipient of the prestigious Women’s Agenda Emerging Leader in Health Award (2022) and the Australian Government Funded Endeavour Postdoctoral fellowship (2018).
Dr Nigel Gray joins the Northern Territory Medical Program (NTMP) in the role of Senior Lecturer to teach in the Doctor and Patient themes in Yrs 1 & 2 and develop the Central Australian Community Based Medical Education activities, supporting the staff, supervisors and clinics, and Central Australian medical students. Dr Gray is a General Practitioner with extensive medical education experience. He is previous Director of Training at the GP training program in the NT (NTGPE). He has worked as a GP in Alice Springs and Darwin, and provided clinical supervision to many GP registrars and supervision training to NT supervisors. Nige will co-ordinate the Yr 2 Introduction to Clinical Practice (ICP) and he will also provide regular support to the students based in Alice Springs. His is a 0.8FTE position and he will be based at the CDU campus with regular time in Alice Springs. Nige will also facilitate peer review of teaching to enhance learning and teaching capacity of the program.
Dr Thilina Sanjeewa Palihawadana also joins the NTMP as a Senior Lecturer, bringing extensive experience in teaching clinical skills, assessment, research methodology and design of learning activities. At Flinders, Thilina will be coordinating the MD Year 2 Doctor & Patient theme and will be involved with Yr 1 & 2 clinical skills teaching.
Thilina originally trained in clinical Obstetrics and Gynaecology and has previously worked in Sri Lanka and the UK in clinical and education roles. He brings a keen interest in research in areas of reproductive medicine and medical education and has published book chapters, journal articles and contributed scientific communications.