Content development team
Writing Team
Health& uses a talented and diverse team of medical writers, editors, allied health professionals, illustrators, animators and doctors who collectively create the information on the website.
Dr Joanne Van der Velden PhD, BSc (Hons)
As Medical Content Director, Joanne led the team responsible for the research, production, quality control, maintenance and regular review of both general and personalised health information content.
Joanne Van der Velden holds a PhD from the University of Melbourne and is the author of numerous peer reviewed academic publications.
Dr Bow Tauro PhD, BSc (Hons)
Bow has completed a wide range of medical content for Health&.
Bow holds a PhD in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from The University of Melbourne. He has published numerous cancer research journal articles and received 1500+ citations for his work.
Dr Idan Ben-Barak PhD, MSc, BSc (Med)
Idan is an award winning author and medical content writer with impeccable attention to detail. He has published "The invisible kingdom: From the tips of our toes to the tops of our trash, inside the curious world of microbes" (2009), "Why aren't we dead yet?: The survivor's guide to the immune system" (2014) and "Do not lick this book" (2018).
Idan holds a Bachelor of Science in Medical Science, a Masters Degree in Microbiology and a PhD on the history and philosophy of science.
Dr Nikki Wallis PhD, BSc
Nikki holds a PhD in Molecular Neuropharmacology.
Nikki has worked as a research officer at the University of Melbourne and Assistant Lecturer at Monash University.
Dr Piraveen Pirakalathanan MBBS (Hons), BMedSc, PGDip.(Anatomy)
Piraveen is a medical doctor with experience as a Chief Medical Officer. He has held Registrar roles in surgery and medical administration.
He gained his Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery(MBBS) Honors at the University of Melbourne and completed a Masters Degree of Public Health at Monash University.
Lauren Donley BSc (Hons)
Lauren has a wide range of experience in writing medical content. As Assistant Director of Individualized Medical Content at Health&, Lauren's specialty is in the preparation of "personalised" medical content.
Lauren has a Bachelor of Science (Honors) in Physiology/Pharmacology with First-class honors (H1) from the University of Melbourne and received the Dean's Honours Award (Department of Medicine).
Jonathan Meddings BMedLabSc (Hons)
Jonathan is an experienced science and medical writer. He has co-authored biology textbooks and authored over a hundred medical fact-sheets.
Jonathan holds a degree in Medical Laboratory Science with Honors in Microbiology and Immunology.
Karen McCloskey BHSc
Karen is an experienced wordsmith who specialises in crafting highly readable, unique and accurate content for both consumer and technical audiences. Karen is fully versed in all stages of content creation and strategy, researching topics, finding gaps in the content, engaging with subject matter experts and industry stakeholders, reviewing and updating web content.
Karen has a Bachelor of Health Science and a Post Graduate Diploma in Digital Marketing.
Dr Livia Naharnowicz BDSc, AAICD
Livia attained her Bachelor of Dental Science from the University of Melbourne in 1994. She has over 20 years experience in private practice, and is proficient in all aspects of general dentistry.
Livia enjoys making a positive difference to her patients’ smiles and health and finds this the most rewarding aspect of dentistry. With a keen interest in continuing education, Livia also teaches clinical dentistry at Melbourne University and enjoys learning about new and innovative advances in health care.
Kellie Heywood BSc (Optom), Dip.PW&E
Kellie has always had a passion for writing and has over seven years experience in the editing and writing of medical articles for the web.
Kellie holds both a Bachelor of Science in Optometry and a Postgraduate Diploma of Optometry from the University of Melbourne.