About Us - New - Diabetes Feet Australia

We are the peak national clinical and research body for diabetes-related foot health and disease

Diabetes Feet Australia (DFA) was established in 2015 with the goal of ending avoidable amputations within a generation in Australia. As a key initiative of the Wound Management Innovation CRC, we engaged the expertise of multiple partner organisations across Australia to create a national diabetes-related foot disease (DFD) body for Australia. On the 1st July 2018, we joined the Australian Diabetes Society's (ADS) stable of national diabetes clinical and research programs. In December 2020, DFA took the important step of re-branding the organisation from Diabetic Foot Australia to Diabetes Feet Australia.

DFA is led by a national steering committee, combining expertise from multiple disciplines. The committee is comprised of a broad range of clinical, research and industry experts from disciplines such as endocrinology, vascular surgery, podiatry, nursing, epidemiology, clinical research and biochemical research. Members also bring a wealth of experience by being representatives on international, national and state diabetic foot groups, including the ‘International Working Group on the Diabetic Foot’ and former national diabetic foot ulcer group the ‘Australian Diabetic Foot Network’.

DR BYRON PERRIN

DFA CHAIR

Byron is a podiatrist and currently a Senior Lecturer within the La Trobe University’s Rural Health School after holding the position of Head of the Rural Department of Community Health within the school for the past six years. Prior to that Byron developed and led one the first multi-disciplinary high-risk foot clinics in regional Australia in the early to mid-2000’s before moving to La Trobe University to develop a regionally-based podiatry course in Bendigo, Victoria and commence an academic career.

Byron's research focus is diabetes-related lower limb amputation prevention and is involved in research projects that include the epidemiology of diabetic foot disease in Australia, psychobehavioural aspects of diabetes-related foot morbidity and models of care for Charcot neuro-osteoarthropathy. He is also involved in the supervision of Master, Phd and Professional Doctorate students.

PROFESSOR JON GOLLEDGE

DFA VICE CHAIR

Jonathan is Professor of Vascular Surgery at The Townsville University Hospital and James Cook University. He works as a vascular surgeon at the hospital and senior academic at the university. In his clinical position, he has noted the substantial increase in the burden of foot disease during his tenure at a regional vascular center. He directs a collaborative research group, named the Queensland Research Centre for Peripheral Vascular Disease, that focuses on improving understanding and management of vascular diseases, including diabetes-associated foot disease. The research has contributed to over 400 publications including laboratory and clinical research. He currently holds an NHMRC Practitioner Fellowship.

DR EMMA HAMILTON

DFA STEERING COMMITTEE MEMBER

Dr Emma Hamilton is an Endocrinologist at Fiona Stanley and Fremantle Hospitals, Clinical Senior Lecturer at UWA and Clinical Lead of the Multidisciplinary Diabetes Foot Unit at Fiona Stanley Hospital, an NADC accredited Centre of Excellence High Risk Foot Service. Emma completed her Endocrinology training in Western Australia before moving to Melbourne to complete a PhD “Control of Musculoskeletal Function and Body Composition by Androgens in Males” under the supervision of Professor Jeffrey Zajac and Dr Mathis Grossmann at the University of Melbourne, Austin Health. Since returning to WA, Emma continues to pursue her clinical and research interests in androgens, diabetes, osteoporosis and diabetes-related foot complications as well as a long term research collaboration with Professor Tim Davis and the Fremantle Diabetes Study team. Aligning her research priorities with her clinical work, Emma was awarded a Raine Clinician Research Fellowship to further her research in diabetes-related foot disease, with the aim of improving outcomes for people living with diabetes and foot complications. Emma serves on a number of national diabetes-related foot disease projects and committees including the NADC Diabetic Foot Network working party, NADC interdisciplinary High Risk Foot Service accreditation committee, the Foot Forward Executive Advisory team, the DFA Australian Research Priorities project, DFA Australian guidelines Wound Classification group and is also a member of the IWGDF Wound Classification guideline group.

PROFESSOR ROB FITRIDGE

DFA STEERING COMMITTEE MEMBER

Professor Rob Fitridge (MBBS, MS, FRACS) is Professor of Vascular Surgery at University of Adelaide (2010- current) and Head of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery at Central Adelaide Local Health Network (Royal Adelaide Hospital and The Queen Elizabeth Hospital) and Lyell McEwin Health Service in Adelaide. He is also Head of the Multi-Disciplinary Diabetic Foot Service at The Queen Elizabeth Hospital Lyell McEwin Health Service, which he co-founded in the mid-1990s.

He is most recognized for his work on predictive modelling of outcomes after endovascular aneurysm surgery (NHMRC-funded with 14 related publications). He also has extensive clinical and research experience in the management of chronic complex wounds particularly in diabetic patients. He was a member of the Baker IDI/ NHMRC working group, which developed national guidelines (“Prevention, Identification and Management of foot complications in diabetes”) for the management of the diabetic foot. He is also a member of the International Working Group for the Diabetic Foot.

NATALIE WISCHER

DFA STEERING COMMITTEE MEMBER

Natalie Wischer is the Chief Executive Officer for the National Association of Diabetes Centre (NADC). She has been working in the area of diabetes for over 20 years. She has also worked extensively in both management and clinical roles across acute, aged care and community health settings. She is involved in a number of journals and publications, sharing her in-depth knowledge through regular articles. Natalie is also regularly invited to speak on diabetes and technology at national and international meetings.

PROFESSOR ANTHONY RUSSELL

DFA STEERING COMMITTEE MEMBER

Professor Anthony Russell(MBBS PhD FRACP) has been Director of Diabetes and Endocrinology, Alfred Health, Melbourne and Professor of Medicine with the School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University since Jan 2022. Prof Russell was previously the Director of Diabetes and Endocrinology at the Princess Alexandra Hospital in Brisbane from 2005 to 2021. In Queensland, Prof Russell completed a 4 year term as Co-Chair of the Qld Statewide Diabetes Clinical Network and in this role provided advice and implemented strategies to assist in the management of patients with diabetes. Professor Russell has lead innovative projects to provide new models of care for people with diabetes. He has implemented the “Beacon” practice model, providing integrated care for patients with complex Type 2 diabetes in the community with up-skilled GPs and performed a proof-of-concept of eConsultations. He has initiated a Telehealth service, delivering diabetes services to rural and remote indigenous and non-indigenous communities across Qld.

Prof Russell has been on the advisory group for the “IDEAS” project which increased rates of retinal screening and treatment of retinopathy in indigenous people with diabetes across Qld. Professor Russell has been a Chief Investigator on two NHMRC research projects and more recently CIB on a MRFF grant. He has been Chair of the Diabetes Australia Research Trust grant review panel and previously a Sub-editor (Endocrinology) for the Internal Medicine Journal. Prof Russell was on the expert advisory group for the NHMRC guidelines on the Management of Type 1 diabetes and a member of the Expert Group for Therapeutic Guidelines.

PROFESSOR VIVIENNE CHUTER

DFA STEERING COMMITTEE MEMBER

Dr Vivienne Chuter is a Professor at Western Sydney University. She leads a clinically based research program focusing on prevention and management of diabetes-related foot disease for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and for non-Indigenous Australians. Developed as a living lab model encompassing clinical, research and education elements, Vivienne’s research focuses on macro and microvascular complications of diabetes, including improving diagnosis of peripheral artery disease through more targeted clinical testing, as well as reducing risk of foot complications through conservative therapy and physical activity interventions.

Committed to improving health and well-being for First Nations Australians, Vivienne provides academic leadership and clinical service provision to co-designed, community-led diabetes-related foot complications prevention and management services and research. This includes research relating to development and implementation of culturally safe care provision and strategies to develop cultural capability in new graduate practitioners.

PROFESSOR STEPHEN TWIGG

DFA STEERING COMMITTEE MEMBER

Professor Stephen M. Twigg, MBBS(Hons-I), PhD, FRACP, is a physician-scientist translational researcher, Kellion Professor of Endocrinology and Stan Clark Chair in Diabetes, in the Sydney Medical School, and Charles Perkins Centre, the University of Sydney; plus Head of Dept of Endocrinology and Medical Head of the Diabetes and Endocrinology Research Laboratories, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital Sydney.

Stephen also continues as medical Chair of the NSW DoH Agency for Clinical Innovation in Diabetes/Endocrinology (2011+), and as inaugural Editor-in-Chief of the educational journal, Endocrinology Today, plus an editorial Board member on the scientific Journal of Cell Communication and Signaling, and the Journal of Diabetes and its Complications. He is member of 4 national Pharma advisory boards in diabetes. Internationally, he has served on JDRFI Diabetes Research Complications Grant Panel in NY 2003-2010, and is 1 of 6 Australian Delegates to the International Diabetes Federation General Assembly (2011-present).

DR LAURENS MANNING

DFA STEERING COMMITTEE MEMBER

Laurens Manning (BSc, MBChB, DTM&H (London), FRACP, PhD) is an infectious disease physician and clinical researcher at Fiona Stanley Hospital (FSH), University of Western Australia and Telethon Kids Institute. An active ‘foot’ physician, he has developed the MDFU in-patient and outpatient services at FSH. He has a diverse research portfolio that includes design and implementation of clinical trials in diabetic foot infections, penicillin reformulation for rheumatic heart disease, peri-prosthetic joint infections and epidemiological studies of lower leg cellulitis in Australia. Elsewhere he leads clinical trials, observational and pharmacological studies in young PNG children with malaria and severe infections. In addition to a strong track record in research activities, he has extensive links with global health community, in particular as a researcher, teacher, external examiner and clinician in PNG. His role as an opinion leader is evidenced by his role in formulating national guidelines, drawing directly on his own research as in the case of writing the PNG Standard Adult Treatment Guidelines and in distilling and interpreting the literature for Therapeutic Guidelines Expert Writing Groups (Antibiotics/Dermatology). He has been appointed to the ASID Clinical Research Network steering group to facilitate collaborative studies in infectious diseases across Australia and New Zealand and the TGA advisory committee for biologicals which is creating the regulatory framework for faecal transplantation.

He has published a total of 90 papers in the past 10 years and 8 book chapters, supervises 4 PhD students and been the recipient of >$5M in tier 1 grants in the last 5 years including an MRFF Emerging Leadership Fellowship (2021-25).

HAYLEY RYAN

DFA STEERING COMMITTEE MEMBER

Hayley has almost 20 years experience in nursing and has worked in wound care over this time. Hayley has a passion for healing wounds as a Clinical Nurse Consultant across Australia and New Zealand in private practice with her own company WoundRescue.

Hayley has a wide range of postgraduate experience in wound management, while also completing a Master of Business Admin (MBA). Hayley is currently completing her PhD.

Hayley has presented at national and international conferences and has a proven track record of providing advanced wound care and aged care education. Hayley also lectures at Universities and has been appointed as an adjunct fellow at the University of technology Sydney.

Hayley is also chair of the board for Wounds Australia.

A/PROFESSOR PETE LAZZARINI

DFA STEERING COMMITTEE MEMBER

A/Professor Pete Lazzarini (PhD, BAppSci) is a conjoint Research Fellow with Queensland University of Technology and Queensland Health in Brisbane, Australia. He leads Australia’s first Foot Disease research program and is a podiatrist by clinical background.

Pete has an emerging international track record in the field of diabetic foot disease research. He has delivered >120 publications (manuscripts, abstracts, reports or book chapters), >110 (inter)national conference presentations and attracted >$3.5 million in grant funding.

He serves on multiple diabetic foot disease committees, including Chair of Diabetes Feet Australia and Secretary of the International Working Group on the Diabetic Foot Offloading Guideline. And he currently holds a National Health and Medical Research Council Early Career Fellowship.

Pete is particularly motivated by nurturing the next generation of researchers to develop policy, practices and pathways to ending avoidable amputations within a generation in Australia.

Our primary objectives

OPTIMISE

national diabetes-related foot disease evidence-based clinical practice

STIMULATE

national diabetes-related foot disease research

REDUCE

Australia's diabetes-related amputation rate

EMPOWER

Australia to become a leading nation in diabetes-related foot disease management