Our Team

Senior Staff Specialist (Sleep Medicine) and Conjoint Professor, The Children’s Hospital at Westmead and The University of Sydney (MBBS, FRACP, PhD, GCCM).

Karen is a Paediatrician who has combined her clinical work at the Children’s Hospital with her research in SIDS for over 25 years. She is Head of Sleep Medicine at The Children’s Hospital at Westmead and also heads the SIDS and Sleep Apnoea Research Group at that hospital.

Research Interests:

• Sudden Unexpected Death in Infancy. Karen is currently leading a team who are working to identify biochemical defects that underlie some infants’ vulnerability to sudden death and hopes to turn those findings into a method for population screening.
• Management of sleep problems in children with neurodisability: Karen is a lead investigator on a Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF & NHMRC) funded study that aims to better understand the sleep problems in children with syndromes and developmental issues, as well as developing tailored treatment strategies to manage these problems
• Behavioural and cognitive consequences of obstructive sleep apnoea in children: Karen is the Lead Investigator on an NHMRC-funded randomised trial to study how obstructive apnoea in the preschool years can influence behaviour, sleep and learning.

Karen’s career in research has led to over 200 peer-reviewed publications and National (NHMRC) and international (NIH) funding. She began her research into Sudden infant death during her PhD and post-doctoral studies. Her work has included clinical studies of infant sleep, use of animal models, and studies of the Neuropathology of SIDS at the University of Sydney. Her recent work has been predominantly supported by Philanthropic support provided by families affected by a SIDS event.

Karen worked with Government agencies on public health advice when Safe Sleep Guidelines were being introduced and collaborated with the Coroner’s department for a number of years for her research into SIDS.

Regarding children with disabilities, Karen has served on the Board of EnableNSW and helped develop guidelines for the provision of publicly-funded Respiratory Equipment for children with breathing disorders. She heads the Home Ventilation Program at The Children’s Hospital at Westmead. Karen continues to work as a member of working groups for The Australian Sleep Association and Thoracic Society of Australia and New Zealand. Her roles there include such tasks as Developing Guidelines for the management of children being ventilated in the home and for Activity and Movement guidelines for Children.

Andrew Hutchins in an experienced CFO with 30 years of experience in financial and corporate services, having worked across a number of industries and in both the corporate and not-for-profit sectors.

Andrew commenced with Red Nose in April 2018 and is responsible for stewarding our financial resources to secure our long-term sustainability.

Rachel Ficinus is a registered psychologist with 16 years’ experience working in mental health, youth and family counselling, and paediatric palliative care in the public health and not-for-profit sectors.

Rachel commenced at Red Nose in May 2020 and is responsible for clinical management of Red Nose’s Bereavement Services, ensuring we continue to provide high quality and evidence-based bereavement support to all Red Nose families.

Assoc Prof Fran Boyle is a social scientist at The University of Queensland’s Institute for Social Science Research and Co-lead of the Care after Stillbirth Program at the Centre of Research Excellence in Stillbirth (Stillbirth CRE).

Fran has a background in psychology and public health and is engaged in health services research and evaluation in a range of hospital and community settings. She is strongly committed to ensuring that care is informed by the latest best-practice evidence. Fran’s work is also driven by the firm belief that consumer perspectives and understanding of people’s lived experiences of health and their health care systems are essential to developing responsive and effective policy and practice.

Fran is passionate about improving perinatal bereavement care and ensuring that all parents receive the best possible care when a baby dies. She co-led the development of the 2019 Perinatal Society of Australia and New Zealand/Stillbirth CRE Clinical Practice Guideline for Respectful and Supportive Perinatal Bereavement Care.

Like many who are drawn to research and practice in this area, Fran’s involvement began with her own lived experience of the loss of a baby soon after birth. Her PhD looked at the psychosocial consequences of stillbirth, neonatal death and SIDS on families over time and she has since published numerous articles on the topic of perinatal bereavement care.

Fran has a deep understanding of the widely varying needs of parents following pregnancy loss and the essential role of parent-focused organisations such as Red Nose in helping to address those needs.

Sérgio Brodsky is a leading brand and foresight strategist, founder of Surge Advisory. He is also the inaugural Chair at The Marketing Academy Australia, alumni, and an Agenda Collaborator at the World Economic Forum. Sérgio began his career as an IP lawyer in his native Brazil and transitioned as a strategic consultant for a high-tech military company in Israel before pivoting towards the marketing communications industry in the UK and Australia, to then finally land on the discipline of Strategic Foresight.

Sérgio is a widely recognised thought-leader having been published and featured on high-profile stages worldwide. He is a co-author of The Routledge Companion to Marketing Research, where he wrote the Foresight in Marketing and Marketing Research chapter, and the creator of the radically innovative Urban Brand-Utility model, reframing brand communications from conspicuous consumption into a regenerative force in the economy of cities.

Professor Paul Colditz is the foundation Professor of Perinatal Medicine at the University of Queensland and Director of the Perinatal Research Centre. He is a practicing clinician in neonatology as well as holding a Masters in Biomedical Engineering from the University of NSW and a Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Oxford, UK.

Paul leads a multidisciplinary research team from diverse backgrounds including medicine, science, nursing, psychology, physiotherapy, other allied health, signal processing and biomedical engineering to focus on improving health outcomes for mothers and babies through clinical and translational research. He is a member of the Qld Health’s Maternal and Perinatal Quality Council and a panel member of the Qld Child Death Case Review Panel (DeptCommunities, Child Safety and Disability Services).

Paul is a Board member of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians and Chair, College Research Committee. He is President-elect of the Paediatrics and Child Health Division, RACP.

Lyndy is a Lactation Consultant working closely with the Aboriginal community of Tasmania, and holds several other roles including with PSANZ (Perinatal Society of Australia & New Zealand) Consumer Advisory Panel and the PSANZ Perinatal Palliative Care Special Interest Group.

Lyndy joined the Red Nose Board in November 2020 following the merger of Red Nose and Sands.

Based in Hobart, Lyndy has a long history with Sands and the bereaved parent community. After her son Thomas’ death in 1997, Lyndy became involved as a peer supporter and held a number of governance roles within Sands Tasmania. In 2014 she was appointed Chair of Sands Australia until its national unification in 2018.

Melanie Robinson has worked in diverse roles in nursing over the past 30 years, including clinical practice, education, and policy.

Mel who has cultural connections to the Gidja and Ngarinyin people of the Kimberley in Western Australia, is also passionate about supporting young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

Having grown up on Gibb River Station on Ngallagunda community before moving to Derby as a young girl, she has a connection with the particular health challenges faced by rural and remote communities.

Mel has a deep personal understanding of the impacts of colonisation, including having family members affected by Stolen Generation policies.

Through her professional and own family’s experiences, Mel has seen many examples of institutional and interpersonal racism contributing to poor health outcomes and inequitable access to healthcare.

During her career, Mel has worked at hospitals in Derby, Fitzroy Crossing, and Perth, as well as aged care services in Derby and Dublin, Ireland. Mel has also worked as a nurse educator at Marr Mooditj Training, and in policy in the Western Australian Department of Health.

Recently Mel was CEO at CATSINaM from Feb 2019 to June 2020 and is now Director, Aboriginal Health at Child and Adolecent Health Service in WA. She has also completed a Masters in Nursing Research at the University of Notre Dame Australia in 2018.