Our board and team

Chair and ACEM Board nominee: Professor Hugh Grantham ASM MBBS, FRACGP

Born and educated in England, Professor Hugh Grantham has interests in prehospital and emergency medicine, medical education and clinical governance.

After relocating, Hugh commenced general practice in Mildura, and was recruited to lead the clinical development of the Ambulance Service in Adelaide. He was Medical Director of the Ambulance Service until 2011, and inaugural professor of paramedics at Flinders University until 2019. Involved in postgraduate medical emergency education since 1990, Hugh developed the paramedic course, and the postgraduate paramedic courses. He is the senior educator for the National Advanced Life Support program as well as teaching for the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners and the College of Sports Physicians. Hugh holds the humanitarian services medal for leading overseas aid teams in disasters, and the Ambulance Service Medal. He was a member of the EMF Research Evaluation Panel and a current member of the Research Committee. A passionate sailor, he is Chair of the One and All Tall Ship Board.

Director (ACEM Board nominee): Dr Kim Hansen MBBS (Hons I) MBA, FACEM, GAICD, AFRACMA

Dr Kim Hansen is the Director of Virtual Emergency Department in Metro North and the Director of Critical Care, Women’s and Children’s Health at Redcliffe Hospital. She was previously the Director of St Andrew’s War Memorial Hospital Emergency Department as well as holding a public role at The Prince Charles Hospital for more than a decade. Born and bred in Brisbane, Kim is a University of Queensland graduate who has worked in a variety of settings throughout Queensland, Victoria, England and Chile.

Kim is passionate about high quality care being accessible for patients and streamlined for clinicians. She is Chair of AMAQ’s Ramping Roundtable, Chair of the Board of Emergency Medicine Foundation, ACEM’s Queensland Faculty Chair and is the inaugural Chair of Advancing Women in Emergency. Kim has published and presented on a broad range of topics including ED Crowding, Incident Reporting, Cognitive Bias and Gender Equity and enjoys discussing this work over a cup of tea or glass of wine.

Other than work, Kim is a married Mum of 3 school-aged girls and a Cobberdog. She has recently resurrected a long-lost dream of a career in sport, so currently plays and coaches basketball each week.

Director: Dr Andrew Gosbell BAppSC, PhD, GAICD

Dr Andrew Gosbell is an Advisor to the associations and charities sector, providing consultancy services to for-purpose organisations. This includes advice, support and mentoring to senior executives, boards and professional teams on strategy, governance, planning, organisational structure, advocacy and policy development. Andrew holds a PhD in vision science and has an enduring passion for research and its translation to improving healthcare outcomes.

With broad experience in health, research, education, project management, communications, advocacy and corporate governance in the private, university and not-for-profit sectors, Andrew’s previous executive experience includes as the CEO of General Practice Registrars Australia and as Executive Director of Policy & Research and Deputy CEO at the Australasian College for Emergency Medicine. He also has more than eight years’ of governance experience on Boards and committees in the NFP and tertiary-education sectors.

Director (Queensland Health Board nominee): Professor Julie White,

Professor Julie White, as the Executive Director, Office of Research and Innovation in the Clinical Planning and Service Strategy Division of Queensland Health, is responsible for matching Queensland research capabilities – in hospitals, universities, research institutes and businesses – with partners, and translating research into improved health outcomes for patients.

Julie leads the strategic direction of medical research, including ethics and governance for clinical trials, at all Queensland public hospitals. She oversees the Australian Teletrial Program which is making clinical trials more accessible for patients in remote regions of Australia. She also leads the Department of Health’s international business development activities.

Prior to joining Queensland Health, Julie was the Director of Health, Research and Enterprise Development at Deakin University. She has held Chief Executive roles at companies and research centres in Australia and Europe.

Julie has recently been awarded an Adjunct Professorship with the Queensland University of Technology, and holds a PhD in Psychopharmacology from Kings College (London).

Director (ACEM Board nominee): A/Prof Luke Lawton BAppSc, MBBS (Hons), MPH (Aeromedical Retrieval), FACEM

A/Prof Luke Lawton is a senior staff specialist in Emergency Medicine at Townsville University Hospital and is a Fellow of the Australasian College for Emergency Medicine (FACEM). He is an Associate Professor of Medicine at the James Cook University College of Medicine and Dentistry and a past Director of Townsville University Hospital ED, having served as ED Director for five and a half years. He currently serves on the Board Audit and Risk Committee of Townsville HHS, provides independent specialist opinions on medical matters and quality issues as an Expert Witness and Case and Quality Consultant, and is Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Luke has previously worked at Redcliffe Hospital, the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital, RPA Hospital and the Mater Misericordiae University Hospital in Dublin, as well as having held academic positions at The University of Queensland and the University of Sydney. His clinical interests are in clinician leadership trauma, retrieval medicine and medical education, as well as patient flow and health systems improvement.

Director (ACEM Board nominee): Assoc Prof Viet Tran BSc, MBBS, FACEM

Assoc Prof Viet Tran developed a passion for Emergency Medicine while training in Queensland and is now an Emergency Physician at Royal Hobart Hospital. He founded TASER (Tasmanian Emergency Medicine Research Group) where he is the Director of Emergency Medicine Research and Chair. Viet is a member of the University of Tasmania Health and Medical Human Research Ethics Committee, the Emergency Medicine Australia journal editorial board, and the Emergency Medicine Clinical Trials Network Executive. He is the Regional Censor for Tasmania, Discipline lead for Emergency Medicine at the Tasmanian School of Medicine. Viet is driven to enhance infrastructure to improve emergency medicine research capacity and fulfils advocacy roles as the Deputy Faculty Board Chair for Tasmania. He founded and moderates doctorswriting.com.

Director: Mr Jon Tyers

Mr Jon Tyers has over 20 years’ experience in Lead Internal Audit roles. He is currently General Manager, Internal Audit at MLC Life Insurance. He is a Chartered Accountant, spending many years working for KPMG in the UK and South Africa. Jon is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. He formerly served seven years as Deputy Chair of the Australian Auditing & Assurance Standards Board and is a former member of the NSW Treasury Audit & Risk Committee. Jon is Chair of the EMF Finance, Risk and Audit Committee.

General Manager and Research Manager: Dr Hong Nga (Angie) Nguyen Vu MA, PhD

As EMF General Manager, Angie leads the team and works closely with the Board to set and achieve strategic direction, organisational objectives, vision and purpose. Angie is also responsible for overseeing EMF’s research grants programs in her capacity as Research Manager. She has extensive experience in university research and research management in Germany, USA, Switzerland and Australia. Angie completed her PhD at the University of Zurich.

Company Secretary / Chief Finance Officer: Beth Chapman BBus, CPA

Beth is responsible for overseeing all aspects of financial management, company secretarial and statutory reporting obligations. Beth brings extensive experience from the private, public and not for profit sectors in Australia and the United Kingdom, with more than 25 years in senior positions. Since joining EMF in 2013, Beth has held various leadership roles focused on supporting the organisation’s growth and operations.

Grants Associate: Dr Annice Kong BSc (Hons I), PhD

Annice works closely with the General Manager (Angie) and Grants Officer (Dee) to provide comprehensive support for all aspects of EMF grant programs. Annice completed her PhD at The University of Queensland and has experience in clinical research and data management.

Communications Manager: Lauren Kippin

Lauren supports EMF by sharing the stories of its research programs through media and social media activities, publications, marketing collateral, the EMF website and events. Lauren has extensive experience working in journalism, communications and marketing roles for a number of not-for-profit organisations in Queensland.

Grants Officer: Dee Tierney

Dee is the first point of call for EMF grant recipients. Her position entails the comprehensive administration of all EMF awarded research grants.

Office Administrator: Jody Tregidgo

Jody plays an integral role in the daily operations of EMF. Her extraordinarily broad remit makes her indispensable to the entire team.