All shortlisted nominations are assessed by an independent, multidisciplinary panel.
We introduce them below.
Oosha Forster
Mum to 9 year old son living with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia (ALL)
Oosha is mum to two gorgeous boys aged 12 and 9 and teaches children’s yoga part time. When her youngest son was diagnosed with Leukaemia at the age of 7, her entire world changed. To help her cope and better understand what her son’s treatment would entail, Oosha aimed to learn as much as she could about her son’s condition and how best to help him and their family as a whole through this life changing journey. Documenting almost every moment along the way, especially during the most intensive phases of treatment, helped her to keep track of everything through the fog.
Oosha knows first hand what it means to care for a child with cancer, from the emotional roller coaster that it is, to the logistics and practicality of what is required each day.
Shaun Fleming
Clinical and Laboratory Haematologist, Alfred Hospital
Shaun is a clinical and laboratory haematologist in Melbourne, Australia. He works at the Alfred Hospital where he has a particular interest in the management of acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, transplantation and immunotherapies and a research interest in measurable residual disease (MRD) and in machine learning applications in haematology.
He is the lead investigator on the national ALLG ALL08 study in older adults with B-lineage Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia and the upcoming MrDRIVE study in elderly patients with B-ALL in addition to being an investigator on several clinical trials from phase 1 and first-in-human to randomised phase 3 studies.
Jim Siderov
Senior Pharmacist, Cancer Services - Olivia Newton-John Cancer & Wellness Centre, Austin Health
Jim commenced work in cancer pharmacy practice in 1989 soon after completing his BPharm degree. In 1998, he successfully completed the inaugural US Board of Pharmaceutical Specialties Certification in Oncology Pharmacy (BCOP), re-certifying in 2006, 2013 and 2021. In 2004, he was awarded Fellowship to the SHPA, and in 2005 completed his Masters in Clinical Pharmacy. In 2015, the Australian Pharmacy Council credentialed him as an Advanced Practice Pharmacist. In 2019, he was admitted as a Member (AM) of the Order of Australia for service to oncology pharmacy as a clinician, and to professional associations.
Jim has been an active member of many professional organisations, including the Society of Hospital Pharmacists of Australia (SHPA) Committee of Specialty Practice in Oncology and the Cancer Pharmacists Group of the Clinical Oncology Society of Australia. He has been involved in the publication of professional standards of practice for Pharmacists as well as guidelines for the safe delivery of cancer therapies. He has published widely in peer-reviewed journals, and presented at local, national and international conferences.
Vanessa Donati
Acute Leukaemia Clinical Nurse Consultant - Olivia Newton-John Cancer & Wellness Centre, Austin Health
Vanessa’s role is to counsel and guide patients through their diagnosis and treatment path following a diagnosis of acute leukaemia. Vanessa is the national coordinator of an acute leukaemia registry based at the ONJ Cancer Centre and oversees Nurse and Trial Coordinator activities for the active clinical trial program at Austin Health. Vanessa has a passion for advanced practice nursing and providing and promoting best specialised care for leukaemia patients and is the lead author on nursing guidelines developed to assist in the management of neurotoxicity associated with blinatumomab treatment.
Vanessa is an author on numerous papers and has been a speaker at recent national meetings including BLOOD 2019, ALLG Scientific Meeting 2019, 2020.
Dr Abhishek Joshi
Clinical Director of Medical Oncology at Townsville University Hospital and Consultant Medical Oncologist at ICON Cancer Care, Townsville & Mater Hospital
Dr Abhishek “Abhi” Joshi has been practising as a regional academic Medical Oncologist in North Queensland since 2008 and is also a Senior Lecturer at Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry, School of Health Sciences, James Cook University.
His practice interests include Breast Cancer, GI and GU Malignancies and Melanoma. He is an avid teacher and researcher.
His current research focuses on survivorship in cancers focusing on health systems integration with a patient centred approach using tele-health. He is the chair of North Queensland Breast Cancer Network, a focused group representing an integrated framework between Primary care physicians, specialists and allied health staff. He is also one of the members of the Townsville Tele Oncology Network and routinely uses Tele-Oncology in his practice for patients in Townsville, Mount Isa, Cairns & Mackay.