About

About the Conference

Theme

Featuring expert international and national speakers, the meeting will focus on policy, implementation and new technology developments relevant to screening of existing and proposed chronic diseases.

The 2027 theme is: “Shaping the Future of Screening in Australia”

Sub-themes

Abstract submission topics, including but not limited to:

  • Screening across the life course and opportunities for integration of screening approaches.
  • Approaches to building evidence and the challenges of establishing new screening programs.
  • Emerging evidence - effectiveness, cost-effectiveness, technologies and approaches.
  • Improving equity in screening, enhancing reach/coverage in screening and learning from lived experience. 
  • Moving toward risk based screening and person-centred approaches - progress and challenges.  
  • Multi-cancer and multi-disease detection approaches.


Program Content and Structure

The program will run over two days, comprising of four to five plenary sessions and two to three concurrent sessions.

Plenary sessions feature expert international and national speakers, while concurrent sessions include various presentation types, e.g. 10-minute long oral presentations, 6-minute rapid fire presentations, etc.

Target Audience

The target audience are current and future leaders in population screening coming from a range of sectors including (but not limited to):​

  • Research
  • Civil society
  • Government
  • Program delivery
  • Policy
  • Consumers
  • Clinicians


Conference Objectives

The objectives of the conference are to:

  • Learn from community-led projects to improve equity of access and culturally safe screening practices across screening programs.
  • Highlight key current and future advances in screening and identify how evidence might be gathered to support implementation so as to improve outcomes.
  • Explore mechanisms to better assess emerging evidence allowing a policy response that achieves best possible health outcomes within resource constraints.

Broad Approach

There are established screening programs relevant to a range of diseases, notably breast, cervix, bowel and lung cancer, and important ongoing policy considerations in relation to risk-based approaches to breast screening and the potential for melanoma screening. Australia has a long-established Newborn Screening Program (both bloodspot and hearing) and the foundations for surveillance regarding illnesses prominent in childhood. There are several other chronic diseases where new technologies are emerging and evidence is being gathered to support organised screening, (including but not limited to diabetes, CKD & HCC surveillance) as well as cardiovascular and other integrated risk assessment for primary prevention in general practice.


Population-based criteria for screening, based on WHO criteria and the Australian Population Based Screening Framework, aim to ensure that the benefits of screening outweigh and minimise any potential harms. These criteria are well understood by those involved in established screening programs and advocates for emerging screening programs are keen to learn from experience how to compile evidence, design, implement and monitor programs, as well as ensure equitable participation. Similarly, there is much to learn from emerging programs and new technologies for those involved in established programs where adopting advances in evidence and technology can be challenging and perceived as slower.

An important aspect of the conference will be discussion on process and progress towards a current revision of the Australian Population-Based framework, which will more explicitly account for emerging considerations such as risk-based approaches and the role of genomic testing.


The plenary sessions will focus on cross-cutting themes relevant to population-based and targeted chronic-disease screening programs and concurrent sessions will enable a deeper-dive into specific programs and areas of focus. This will allow for updates on developments and progress in specific population/cohort and targeted screening programs, a focus on priority populations, or emerging evidence on the benefits and risks of new screening initiatives. The conference will provide opportunities for attendees to exchange information and learn from each other’s experience, across a range of disciplines. 


Committee

Meet our 2027 Screening Conference Advisory Comittee

Co- Chair

Megan Varlow

Professor Megan Varlow is Director of Screening and Prevention at the Cancer Institute NSW and an Honorary Professor at Deakin University.

A registered clinical and health psychologist, she is a nationally recognised leader in cancer control with extensive experience spanning clinical practice, research, policy and health system leadership. Megan leads the Cancer Institute NSW’s work supporting the delivery of Australia’s four national cancer screening programs across NSW, as well as statewide cancer prevention initiatives focused on tobacco, vaping and skin cancer prevention. Her work is driven by a commitment to improving population health outcomes through evidence-based policy, innovation and equitable access to prevention and care.


Co- Chair

Prof. Karen Canfell

Professor of Public Health and Lead, Cancer Elimination Collaboration, School of Public Health, University of Sydney.

 

Professor Karen Canfell is a cancer epidemiologist whose work has impacted cancer policy and implementation of cancer control strategies nationally and internationally. 

Her teams' work encompasses existing and emerging screening approaches, and has supported major changes to Australia's cervical and bowel screening programs, as well as a new approaches to breast screening, and has contributed to the evidence supporting the introduction of lung screening. 


Committee member

Assoc. Prof. Marianne Weber

Associate Professor Marianne Weber is a Cancer Epidemiologist in the Cancer Elimination Collaboration at the School of Public Health, At The Univeristy of Sydney.

With a background in Psychology, she is a nationally recognised expert in lung cancer screening and oversees a program of research on the health and economic benefits of lung cancer control interventions.

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Committee member

Assoc. Prof. Eleonora Feletto

Associate Professor Eleonora Feletto is a Principal Research Fellow and cancer epidemiologist in the School of Public Health at the University of Sydney, where she leads the Gastrointestinal Cancers group and is a core member of the Cancer Elimination Collaboration.

Her research integrates epidemiology, modelling, implementation science and co‑design to advance prevention, early detection and equitable access to care for colorectal and liver cancers.

Committee member

Charissa Feng

Charissa Feng is the Senior Manager, Liver Cancer at Cancer Council Victoria, leading work to reduce the burden of liver cancer through prevention and earlier detection. Previously, she worked across Cancer Council Victoria’s cervical and bowel cancer screening programs, bringing a strong equity and strategy lens to screening programs.

 

Currently, Charissa’s work focuses on preventing liver cancer by improving hepatitis B diagnosis & linking people with chronic hepatitis B to ongoing care. She is overseeing a place-based hepatitis B micro-elimination project in Melbourne’s west, working with communities, general practice, hospitals, and researchers to strengthen testing, navigation and clinical pathways.

Committee member

Dr. Sibel Saya

Dr Sibel Saya is a senior research fellow, academic genetic counsellor and interim co-lead of the Cancer in Primary Care research group at the Department of General Practice and Primary Care and Collaborative Centre for Cancer Genomic Medicine at the University of Melbourne.

Dr Saya is also Victorian Cancer Agency Early Career Fellow. Her research focusses on genomic predisposition to cancer and how risk prediction can be used to target population cancer screening, in particular within a primary care setting.

Committee member

Prof. Garry Jennings

Professor Garry Jennings AO is an Australian cardiologist, the Chief Medical Advisor for the Heart Foundation, and a former Director and CEO of the Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute. He is also a Professor of Medicine at the University of Sydney and Monash University.

Committee member

Natalie Raffoul

Senior Manager of Healthcare Programs and Clinical Strategy at the National Heart Foundation of Australia. She is a clinical cardiology pharmacist dedicated to preventing and managing chronic diseases. Her public health initiatives focus on improving early detection, assessment, and management of cardiovascular disease (CVD) across Australia

Committee member

A/Prof. Kylie Vuong

General practitioner and clinician-researcher at the Department of General Practice and Primary Care, University of Melbourne. Her work focuses on translating cancer research into primary care, with expertise in melanoma, keratinocyte cancers, and prevention and early detection strategies.

Committee member

Dr. Dorota Pawlak

Dr Dorota Pawlak, PhD, serves as the Chief Scientific Officer (CSO) at Breakthrough T1D Australia (formerly known as JDRF Australia).

She is a member of the organization's Executive Team and an established leader in type 1 diabetes (T1D) medical research, with over 15 years of experience in the field

Committee member

Dr Divya Muthiah

Dr Divya Muthiah serves as acting Director of the Newborn Bloodspot Screening Condition Assessment Section within the Australian Government Department of Health, Disability and Ageing.

In this role, she helps manage national policy and condition assessments for infant heel-prick screening programs across Australia.

Committee member

Dr Kristen Nowak

Dr Kristen Nowak, PhD is Director, Office of Population Health and Genomics, Western Australian (WA) Department of Health, and has a health genomics and rare disease research background.

Her policy office aids translation of evidence-based genomic and screening technology and knowledge into health systems.

Committee member

Mel Parker

Mel Parker re-joined PHAA team in March 2026, as part of the Policy team.

Prevoiusly part of the PHAA team in 2021 -2023.



Committee member

Ms. Tamara Mok

Ms Tamara Mok joined the PHAA team in November 2025.

​

Tamara Lee Mok is an experienced event professional with over 8 years in the events industry. She has delivered outdoor events, galas, award ceremonies, conferences, and celebrations, blending creative vision and styling with operational precision to create inclusive, memorable experiences.


Committee member

Ms. Anke Brandt

Ms Anke Brandt joined the PHAA team in February 2025.

Anke has over 20 years of experience in customer service and event management roles. She is passionate about delivering impactful events and endeavours to provide the best possible conference experience to all.

Committee member

Prof. Terry Slevin

CEO of the Public Health Association of Australia as of May 2018.


He is Adjunct Professor in the National Drug Research Institute at Curtin University, and Adjunct Professor in the College of Health and Medicine at the Australian National University. 

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Your Host

The Public Health Association of Australia (PHAA) is recognised as the principal non-government organisation for public health in Australia and works to promote the health and well-being of all Australians. The Association seeks better population health outcomes based on prevention, the social determinants of health and equity principles.

PHAA is a national organisation comprising around 2,000 individual members and representing over 40 professional groups concerned with the promotion of health at a population level. The Public Health Association of Australia provides forums for the discussion of public health in Australia and a voice of a wide variety of professional public health workers.

The Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health (ANZJPH), PHAA provides Australia’s basic public health infrastructure that links those undertaking research in public health and those undertaking policy, program development and implementation.

Via our conferences, workshops, forums and other member events, we bring together those seeking to debate scientific evidence, policy and program evaluation and options for the further and better development of public health in Australia.

The Policy Statements that are developed within PHAA are provided to the public to help educate Australians about the scientific evidence and policy options around public health. They are also the primary resource for our advocacy efforts efforts that underlie bringing policy alternatives to the attention of governments and bureaucrats.

For more information or to become a member, visit our website. 


PHAA
Location

Hotel Grand Chancellor Adelaide

65 Hindley Street, Adelaide, South Australia

2-3 March 2027
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PHAA Events #Screening2027