Our Speakers

Dr Karl Cole

Topic: Primary-Care Lead Digital Informatics and Asian Health in NZ

Karl Cole's career spans 29 years in the medical field, enriched by a Fellowship with the Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners. His tenure as a General Practitioner in Papatoetoe, South Auckland, and co-ownership of a multidisciplinary Health Hub, His recognition, includes awards such as the Health Informatics Leadership from HINZ and the ProCare Clinical Leadership Award in 2021, speaks volumes about his strategic mindset and contributions to the field. He notably was one of the first in a role of Chief Clinical Informatic Officer in Aotearoa in 2018. With extensive service in the New Zealand Defence Force, including deployments with the UN and as a medical officer to the New Zealand Special Forces, he embodies strategic leadership and adaptability. As a respected figure, Dr. Cole has roles on various clinical advisory boards, advocating for strategic ICT-enabled healthcare solutions that prioritize patient-centric, efficient care. His expertise in systemic thinking and strategy is poised to offer invaluable insights into navigating complex healthcare landscapes and driving impactful change.

Dr Narun Pat (Pornpattananangkul)

Topic: Just How Smart is AI?

Dr Narun Pat is a senior lecturer (beyond the bar) at the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience Programme, University of Otago -- Dunedin. He was trained as a cognitive neuroscientist at National Institute of Mental Health (USA), National University of Singapore (Singapore) and Northwestern University (USA). With the funding from NZ Neurological Foundation and NZ Health Research Council, his laboratory is currently utilising big data and machine learning to capture biomarkers relevant to mental and neurological health.

Grace Ryu

Grace Ryu has been working with Asian and ethnic communities for the past 25 years and she has had various governance and advisory roles with central and local government, police, and community services. She has worked for the Waitematā DHB for 17 years and has led projects to deliver culturally and linguistically appropriate services to the diverse communities. She is currently Operations Manager of the Asian Health Service.

Dr Andrew To

Topic: Cardiology in the AI era

Dr Andrew To is a multimodality imaging cardiologist in North Shore and Waitakere Hospitals, where he is also Director of Echocardiography, Director of cardiovascular CT, and associate Clinical Director of Cardiology. He is ex-president of the Auckland Chinese Medical Association from 2017-2018, Cardiac Society of Australia and New Zealand (CSANZ) NZ branch executive committee and imaging working group chair from 2018-2023. He is passionate in medical teaching. He is an honorary senior lecturer in the University of Auckland. Most recently, he is the co-convenor of the CSANZ NZ Annual Scientific Meeting 2023, and is part of the teaching staff of the SCCT Heart Series for CSANZ Australasian Fellows in Training program.

Dr Yu-Min Lin

Topic: Geriatrics, Robots and AI

Dr Yu-Min Lin is a Consultant Geriatrician working at Middlemore Hospital since 2012. Originally from Taiwan, he moved to New Zealand in 1988 and therefore speaks fluent Mandarin. He obtained his medical degree from Otago University. He underwent dual specialist training in Geriatrics and Internal Medicine in the Auckland region having also spent some time in Australia. He has a broad interest in General Geriatrics with a passion for dementia in particular. He is the lead Geriatrician working with the pilot “Memory Team” in developing a regional dementia pathway at Counties Manukau Health and is a member in the CPT NZ project looking at ways to improve dementia services for Chinese New Zealanders. Since 2013 he has been involved with sessions on World TV speaking on a variety of issues including cerebrovascular disease, dementia and osteoporosis. He is the current clinical head of health of older people services at Counties Manukau Health and a committee member of the NZ division of Australia & New Zealand geriatric society.

Dr Derek Luo

Topic: Chronic Hepatitis B: When to Treat

Derek is a Kiwi-born New Zealand trained Gastroenterologist of Taiwanese descent who practices at Te Whatu Ora Counties Manukau and Greenlane Medical Specialists. He is passionate about the needs of Chinese New Zealanders and co-founded the Chinese Health Awareness Initiative New Zealand and has served on the AMCA committee between 2010-2018 (Past President 2015-2016). He also has an interest medical education having previously been an Honorary Senior Lecturer, teaching medical students, and serving on the RACP training committee between 2015-2022 (Chair 2021-2022). In 2017 he established Greenlane Medical Specialists as a multi-lingual multi-speciality specialist centre. In 2021 he founded the Miracle Tree Charitable Trust which aims to help New Zealanders in areas of Poverty, Psychosocial support and Health Awareness which so far has contributed a grant to the University of Auckland and Tearfund.

Dr Ole Schmiedel

Topic: Continuous Glucose Monitoring Devices

Dr. Ole Schmiedel is a consultant in Endocrinology, Diabetes, and General Internal Medicine at Auckland District Health Board. He also is the Service Clinical Director of Auckland Diabetes Centre. He has been working as physician and endocrinologist in New Zealand since 2009. His areas of expertise includes all areas of diabetes management, with particular interests in type 2 diabetes, obesity and medical weight management He specializes in all areas of endocrinology including thyroid, adrenal, PCOS, bone health, male and female hormones.

Dr King Yee Yong

Topic: Mental Health Care in the Tech and AI Age

Dr King Yee Yong is a General Adult Psychiatrist. His special interests are in Transcultural Psychiatry, Spirituality & Mental Health, CBT, and Rehabilitation Psychiatry. He can consult patients fluently in English and Chinese. He is working privately at Joyful Consultancy Clinic in Royal Oak.

Dr Maggie Chapman-Ow

Topic: Engaging our Asian Communities in Bowel Screening - One Size Does Not Fit All

Maggie is a NZ-trained, highly experienced gastroenterologist and endoscopist, with a special interest in polyp conditions, bowel cancer, and familial syndromes. She divides her time between Auckland City Hospital and private practice at Mercy Endoscopy and is accredited by the National Bowel Screening Programme to perform screening colonoscopy. Maggie has extensive expertise in diagnostic and therapeutic colonoscopy including bowel screening, polyp removal, and diagnosis of bowel cancer.

Ms Katarzyna Mackenzie

Topic: Scar and Keloid Management in Asian People

Katarzyna is a New Zealand fully trained plastic, reconstructive and hand surgeon. She was awarded a PhD in Skin Cancer by the University of Otago and has completed prestigious fellowships in the UK. She specializes in skin cancer surgery, hand surgery, as well as functional plastic surgery such as breast reduction, secondary revision breast surgery, upper eyelid surgery, labiaplasty and abdominal muscle separation. She regularly teaches general practitioners at Skin Cancer Symposiums and was an invited speaker on common hand conditions at Goodfellow Symposium.

Mr Vincent Chan

Topic: Aim for the Trifecta: Managing the Side Effects of Prostate Cancer Treatment

Dr Vincent A. Chan is a NZ-born, Auckland based, USANZ trained consultant Urologist. He is Aotearoa's only Urologist with a subspecialty Fellowship in Andrology, Male Infertility, Microsurgery, and Prosthetics, and is employed at Te Whatu Ora Waitemata (North Shore & Waitakere Hospitals), The Urology Institute, Epsom, and maintains a unique trans-Tasman visiting Urologist role at Men's Health Melbourne, Australia.

Mr Ali Bayan

Topic: The Knee Joint, a GP Perspective in the Age of AI

Mr Bayan is a specialist orthopaedic surgeon with 20 years experience in Hip, Knee, Foot & Ankle surgery. He practices in both public and private sector. He has been part of the pioneer group of surgeons using computer assisted and robotic surgery in NZ.

Mr Michael Chu

Topic: The Future of AI in General Surgery - Is it Really Coming?

Michael is a New Zealand and internationally trained General Surgeon with subspecialty training in liver, pancreas, biliary surgery and renal transplant surgery. Michael is the only surgeon in New Zealand that has completed formal post-Fellowship subspecialisation training in both HPB and renal transplant surgery. Michael is passionate about his work and am committed to delivering compassionate and quality surgical care to patients.

Mr Andrew Cho

Topic: The Future of Robotic Surgery in Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery: A New Frontier

Mr Andrew Cho is a NZ trained Otolaryngologist, Head and Neck Surgeon. After completing his surgical training, Andrew completed a Paediatric ENT Fellowship at Starship Hospital and a Facial Plastic Surgical Fellowship in Brazil. After that, he went to UC Davis in California for a Head and Neck Oncological and Reconstructive Fellowship. This is where he learnt the Robotic Surgical skills to complete New Zealand’s first Transoral Robotic Surgery in 2016.

Dr Jacky Lam

Topic: Technology in Dentistry

Dr. Jacky Lam JP graduated from the University of Otago in 1995 and completed his MBA in 2022. His special interests include Dental Implantology, Invisalign, and Oral surgery. He is the founder of the largest Asian dental group in New Zealand, Smile Dental. One of their recent achievements was winning the 2022 Westpac Auckland Central Business Award for "Excellence in Customer Service Delivery". Dr. Lam is fluent in Mandarin and Cantonese and is actively involved in the community through volunteering with St. John and providing JP services.

Rachel Li

Topic: Capsule Endoscopy, Fibroscan and Dietetics

Xiaocong (Rachel) Li, works as a clinical nurse specialist in Middlemore Hospital since 2022, specializing in liver and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) care. She provides a compassionate approach to ensure patients receive the highest quality of care possible. Her role includes managing patients on biologic drugs, conducting comprehensive patient assessments, developing individualized care plans, and monitoring treatment progress. She also collaborates with multidisciplinary teams to ensure coordinated and effective patient care, educates patients and their families about disease management, medications, lifestyle modifications, and self-care techniques.

Elaine Chong

Topic: Capsule Endoscopy, Fibroscan and Dietetics

Elaine Chong is a private dietitian and Health coach practicing at Greenlane Medical Specialists. She has over 20 years of experience in metabolic and gut health. Her special interests are personalized nutrition and coaching her clients to form lasting habits.

Kelly Feng

Topic: The Future of Asian Health: Leveraging Technology and AI for Enhanced Wellbeing in Aotearoa

Since becoming Chief Executive of Asian Family Services (AFS) in July 2022, and previously serving as National Director since October 2016, Kelly has leveraged her unique background as a medical doctor and registered social worker in New Zealand to make significant contributions to the mental health and addiction sector. Her leadership in establishing the Asian Wellbeing Services social enterprise model and numerous Asian-focused research projects has been instrumental in addressing the mental health needs of the Asian community in Aotearoa. Her dedication was recognized when she was awarded the Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to health and Asian communities in 2021.

Ivan Yeo

Topic: The Future of Asian Health: Leveraging Technology and AI for Enhanced Wellbeing in Aotearoa

Ivan Yeo, Deputy Director at Asian Family Services since 2018, has dedicated over 20 years to the mental health sector in New Zealand, with a focus on health promotion and cultural sensitivity. His work includes launching a Chinese media initiative, contributing to suicide prevention efforts, and developing culturally diverse programs. Drawing on his experiences as a migrant from Malaysia, Ivan aims to shed light on the interplay between culture and mental health, offering insights for those navigating life in a new cultural context.

Denzel Chung

Topic: Experiences of Chinese Users of Mental Health Care in NZ

Raised in Kuala Lumpur and Palmerston North, Denzel is a fifth-year medical student at the University of Otago based in the rural town of Dannevirke. He is concurrently completing a PhD on the experiences of ethnic Chinese using mental health services in Aotearoa/New Zealand. His work has been published in The Economist, the New Zealand Medical Journal, and NZ media outlets.

Vishal Rishi

Topic: Integrated Health and Social Care Service Delivery

Vishal Rishi has driven collaborative innovations in New Zealand's ethnic communities for over 20 years. Since 2004, he has been working with the founders of The Asian Network Inc (TANI), a well-recognised a well-recognised national service provider improving health and well-being outcomes for Asians. Vishal has extensive experience in public health and health promotion and is currently the Director of TANI, a well-recognised national service provider improving health and well-being outcomes for Asians. Some of TANI's achievements under his directorship include addressing health determinants at different levels, transforming research into practice by contributing to health research centres throughout New Zealand, leading national campaigns, initiating various community development projects, collaborating with grassroots communities, and playing a significant role in keeping Asian communities safe during the COVID-19 pandemic. Vishal says, “Actual progress in the organisation comes not from a single individual but rather from recognising the value of each team member and fostering the development of all individuals within the team”.

Vishal is currently the Chair of the Ethnic Health Collective Strategic Group and played a central role in establishing it. He is also the Chair of SAMER+ Collective, a pilot initiative aimed at minimising the rapid rise in family harm cases seen in communities settled in Manukau and is a Board member of the Commonwealth Study Conferences (CSC) New Zealand chapter.

Astha Machra

Topic: Integrated Health and Social Care Service Delivery

Astha is a practice manager with Social work at TANI. Her background includes working in the sector of child protection, family violence, advocating for women, children, young people and providing general Social Work services. She uses mana enhancing strength-based approaches in her practice and will be working on implementing and developing a response system for TANI’s family violence prevention work. Astha is passionate about the ongoing training and professional development of people committed to the Asian health & wellbeing services.

Jessica Ma

Topic: Staying Connected: The Challenges and Opportunities Associated with the Aging Population in the Asian Community

Jessica Ma is the the founder of Health Shuttle Limited. Born in Beijing, China, Jessica went to study in UK for 2 years and achieved a Masters degree in Business and Management. She came to NZ in 2009 and has been working in several medical alarm companies including St John servicing the elderly population as a customer service representative. Jessica's bilingual skills were greatly utilized throughout her work and she has recognized a great need to provide a Health Shuttle service for our Asian community.

Phillippa Pitcher and Ruth Kuo

Topic: Macular Degeneration NZ – Raising Awareness and Providing Education and Support for Those Living with Macular Degeneration and their Families in our Asian Communities

Phillippa Pitcher and Ruth Kuo work as Community Educators for Macular Degeneration NZ (MDNZ), a charity raising awareness about the age-related eye disease macular degeneration (MD). Community Educators deliver free presentations about MD and its treatments; as well as latest research news, how to best manage the disease, and how to live well with macular degeneration. Ruth presents these seminars in Mandarin and Cantonese to community groups and workplaces both in person and online. Phillippa will discuss the work that MDNZ does to reduce the impact and incidence of macular degeneration in NZ. Ruth will discuss MDNZ’s Asian Language Programme and how the MDNZ website supports Asian Communities by offering free Chinese and Korean resources online. Ruth will also discuss the use of online channels to communicate and offer presentations to Asian communities.

Cindy Pak

Topic: Public Health Care and Community Partnership: The Impact of Community Health Screenings on Health Knowledge and Outcomes

SeungHee Cindy Pak is a migrant from Korea who arrived in Aotearoa as an international student at the University of Auckland in 2003. She completed her Masters and PhD studies there, with her doctoral research focusing on language learning and identity among Syrian refugee background youth in local secondary educational institutes. Presently, she serves as the Hamilton office manager of The Asian Network Inc., dedicated to promoting and advocating for the health and well-being of Asian and ethnic communities in Aotearoa, New Zealand.

This presentation offers illuminating insights from Asian individuals who participated in a community-based health screening program facilitated by nursing practice students from WINTEC and language assistant staff from The Asian Network Inc. (TANI), a pan-Asian public health & social service provider in Hamilton, NZ. The study aims to deepen our understanding of participant experiences during these screenings, assess their impact on health knowledge, explore the influence of early detection on health decisions, and investigate the role of screenings in promoting better health outcomes. Employing a mixed-method approach, data were collected from seven Chinese and three Korean participants through qualitative interviews and comparison of their first and second health screen outcomes (6 months apart). Results, both quantitative and qualitative, underscore significant health improvements and heightened awareness among participants in their new societal context. This study not only highlights program efficacy but also underscores the importance of meeting community needs and contributes to our understanding of the impact of community health screenings on health knowledge and conditions.

Jiarong Yap

Topic: Public Health Care and Community Partnership: The Impact of Community Health Screenings on Health Knowledge and Outcomes

JiaRong Yap is the clinic operations and research coordinator at Te Kotahi Oranga | Health and Wellness Centre, Wintec. In this position, she conducts research, designs programmes for students’ clinical placement activities, and evaluates the outcomes and student experiences. She also facilitates the centre’s services. Her research interests include interprofessional education, primary healthcare, multiliteracies pedagogy, and literacy education.

Dulani Abeyasinghe

Topic: eCALD Overview for Health Practitioners

Dulani Abeyasinghe is a registered social worker with Masters in Applied Social Work (Massey University) and BSc (Honours) major in Psychology (University of Auckland). She also recently completed a Postgraduate Diploma in Professional Supervision at the University of Auckland. Dulani has extensive experience working in Auckland and Melbourne in mental health, refugee and family harm sectors before taking the role of eCALD Educator, Consumer Engagement and Co-Design Lead at Health New Zealand – Te Whatu Ora early this year.

Stephanie Zhang

Topic: Insulin Pump Therapy and Continuous Glucose Monitoring

Stephanie Zhang is a clinical nurse specialist in diabetes at Middlemore Hospital, Counties Manukau District, Te Whatu Ora – Health New Zealand. She is the nurse lead for insulin pump management. She participated in the Ministry of Health-funded project of the patient-focused model of care for insulin pump management in 2021. Stephanie has interests in Type 1 diabetes, complex type 2 diabetes and diabetes technology.

Dr Janine Bycroft

Topic: How We can Use Apps and Digital Solutions to Improve the Health of Our Patients

Janine is a specialist GP and the Founder, CEO and Clinical Director for Health Navigator Charitable Trust responsible for the Healthify website and the NZ Health App Library. She has a strong interest in digital health, self-management support, quality improvement, long-term conditions, and patient/whanau-centred care. In 2022 she was awarded a distinguished Fellowship from the RNZCGP for contributions in digital health and primary care and 2023 received a Fellowship from Health Informatics NZ.

Sandra Ponen

Topic: How We can Use Apps and Digital Solutions to Improve the Health of Our Patients

Sandra Ponen is a pharmacist who also has an interest in digital health in the consumer space. She is a content writer and app library manager for the Healthify He Puna Waiora website. As manager of the app library Sandra is involved in the review of consumer facing health apps and has overseen the growth of the app library which currently has about 280 apps reviews, covering over 100 categories. Sandra also been involved in developing the digital health accreditation pathway (DHAP) to provide national standards and guidance for developers, clinicians and the public to identify safe and effective apps /digital solutions we can safely recommend to patients/clients and whānau.

Sam Jacobs

Topic: From Diagnosis to Treatment: Leveraging Technology and AI in Modern Healthcare Practices

Sam is a pharmacist with 25 years expertise in creating data & software enterprises. He has established various companies in healthcare, logistics, and aviation technology. Sam’s career in health care has included pharmacy ownership, CEO of an Independent Practitioner Association (IPA) and establishing a PHO, Comprehensive Health. He is a Board Member for Te Puna Haora o Tamariki.

Puneet Saini

Topic: Technology Advancement in Primary Care - Are We on the Verge of Turning a Corner?

Puneet is a NZ registered pharmacist with pharmacy qualifications completed in both India and NZ. While Puneet started his career in NZ as a trainee pharmacy technician 15 years ago his experience now includes a wide range, most recently co-founding NZ's newest pharmacy management platform - Script Sense. Script Sense's founding principle is to remove pharmacists from the data-entry and data collation tasks by utilising leading-edge technologies such as cloud-computing, Machine Learning and open-API connectivity, so they can go back to being highly qualified clinicians spending their time with the patients rather than being data-entry experts.

Mr Stanley Loo

Workshop: Minor Surgery

Stanley Loo is a fully trained and qualified Plastic Reconstructive and Cosmetic Surgeon who has extensive experience in a wide variety in plastic surgical procedures. Originally from Auckland, Stanley graduated from the Auckland School of Medicine in 1995. His early training in Plastic Surgery occured in Auckland, Hamilton and Wellington, gaining his Royal Australasian Fellowship of Surgery (FRACS) in 2007. Stanley continued onto postgraduate training with world renowned leaders, in New Zealand, Malaysia, Taiwan, South Korea and Japan, in the fields of burns, cleft lip and palate surgery, microsurgery, microtia surgery and Asian cosmetic surgery. Returning to New Zealand in 2008, Stanley was appointed as a Consultant Plastic Surgeon at Middlemore Hospital where he has subspecialty interests in Cleft Lip and Palate, Microvascular Surgery, Microtia Surgery and has been instrumental in the setting up of the Middlemore Head and Neck Service and the Melanoma Unit. Stanley is also involved in teaching of our future plastic surgeons. Stanley has presented and published a number of papers and invited to participate in a number of international meetings. Stanley ran New Zealand's only microvascular surgical skills course at Middlemore Hospital. He has also been the Scientific Convenor of the New Zealand Plastic Surgical Scientific meetings. Stanley has also been appointed as an Honorary Senior Lecturer in the Department of Surgery within the Faculty of Medical and Health Science at the University of Auckland. Stanley is now in full time private practice consulting out of Ormiston Specialist Centre.

Mr Simon Chong

Workshop: Minor Surgery

Simon Chong is a NZ/Australia trained FRACS Plastic Reconstructive Surgeon, recently transitioned to full time private practice after 8 years of public service at Waikato Hospital. During that time, he held tenures as Head of Department, Supervisor of Training, and Deputy Chair of the New Zealand Board of Plastic Reconstructive Surgery. He consults in Hamilton, Coromandel and South Auckland, focused on general reconstructive and hand surgery. He has a special interest in lymphoedema microsurgery, and is currently setting up a new pathway to treat patients with cancer-related secondary lymphoedema.

Vicky Chan

Workshop: Vaccinations and the Asian Community

Graduated in 2004, from the "Guinea Pig" Class of School of Pharmacy from the University of Auckland. Vicky is a Community Pharmacist and co-owns Unichem Pakuranga Pharmacy. Passionate about pioneering and driving clinical services at a community pharmacy setting, Vicky strives to collaborate widely across the health and NGO sector. Vicky has an equity-based approach to supporting the most vulnerable people within not only her local community but far afield.

Chris Leung

Workshop: Vaccinations and the Asian Community

Chris Leung is an outreach community pharmacist who is enthusiastic in preventative healthcare. Chris is an accomplished childhood vaccinator and Point-Of-Care advocator, and enjoys using his skills learned to contribute to the exciting work places of Unichem Pakuranga and Health NZ - Te Whatu Ora. Chris graduated from the University Of Auckland as the inaugural class of 2003 in Pharmacy and has practiced in the UK.

Lisa Ye

Workshop: Phlebotomy and IV Luers; Wound Care and Sterilizer Education

Lisa Ye trained as a registered nurse both in China and New Zealand. After years of experience in both hospital healthcare systems, she has advanced her studies to become a registered anesthetic technician and theatre nurse. She is currently working at North Shore Hospital.

Cindy Fang

Workshop: Phlebotomy and IV Luers; Wound Care and Sterilizer Education

Cindy Fang has been working in primary care in various settings for 15 years. She is currently a clinical nurse manager. She recently has taken on another important role as UnityCare Asian Community Health Manager in the Asian Community Nurse initiation project.