Our team
Adaptive Health Intelligence is a medical research group based at the Telethon Kids Institute in Perth, Western Australia. We specialise in the design and implementation of innovative and pragmatic clinical studies. We aim to develop world-leading knowledge and infrastructure to support researchers to conduct adaptive trials. Adaptive trials are designed to be a more patient-friendly and flexible approach for conducting clinical research. ‘Evidence in Action’ is our motto, as adaptive designs allow researchers to analyse and use their data as it accumulates, improving efficiency and accelerating the translation of knowledge into better medical care for all.
A/Prof Tom Snelling (Head)
Tom is a paediatric infectious diseases physician and team lead of Adaptive Health Intelligence at the Telethon Kids Institute, Perth. His research aims to implement treatment and preventative strategies to reduce the burden of infectious diseases in children. He is one of Australia’s leading proponents of pragmatic and adaptive clinical trials, being the chief investigator of four competitively funded Bayesian adaptive clinical trials.
Research administration and management
Sarah Brazier (Program Manager)
Carly McCallum (Clinical Research Manager)
Nelly Newall (Clinical Research Coordinator)
Jess Ramsay (Research Support)
Parveen Fathima (Senior Research Officer)
Mitch Messer (Consumer Advisor)
Statistical members
Julie Marsh (Senior Biostatistician)
Michael Dymock (Biostatistician)
Data flow and management
Kylie Rogers
Grahame Bowland
PhD Candidates
Charlie McCleod
Gladymar Perez
Ariel Mace
Evelyn Tay
Anastasia Phillips
Hangfei He
Community ambassadors
Catherine Hughes
Cath is founder of Light for Riley and the Immunisation Foundation of Australia.
“As a healthcare consumer, adaptive clinical trials are something to get excited about! Our participation in these flexible trials not only contributes to important (and sometimes life-saving) research, but it also increases the chance of us receiving a treatment or dose that is actually beneficial. To me, it’s a more ethical and efficient way of being involved in a trial!”
Kate Spaapen
Kate is chair of the BEAT CF Community Reference Group and is also a mother of a child with CF.
“I think that the amount that we would learn from participating in these types of trials would be quite large – to see what combos of treatments that work for us & those that don’t. In turn this information could be used in the future to make someone else’s treatment better. The more knowledge we gain from finding what works during these adaptive trials will, I believe, benefit everyone in the future.”
Mitch Messer
Mitch is the BEAT CF Consumer Advisor and is living with CF.
“Adaptive clinical trials are an exciting opportunity to answer questions that have not been possible using traditional clinical trials. A feature of CF research outcomes using traditional methods has often been ‘shows promise but more evidence required’. Adaptive clinical trials will allow us to engage the population and gain answers in a more timely way.”
Sophie Longton
Sophie is chair of the BEAT CF Community Reference Group Chair and is living with CF
“Living with CF and needing IV antibiotics on a regular basis I’m often faced, along with my health professionals, to make a decision on which IV antibiotics to have. Knowing that adaptive trials, like BEAT CF, will improve the evidence to help make those decisions is really reassuring. This adaptive clinical trial is going to ensure that in the future I will have confidence that I’m on the most effective antibiotics and that I get the most out of all the effort I put into treatment.“
Clinician ambassadors
Ariel Mace
“The provision of safe, effective, evidence-based care is a priority for all clinicians and of particular importance when our patients participate in clinical trials. I believe adaptive clinical trials are a promising way to identify effective therapies earlier, and in a safe, efficient and ethical way, that may allow more patients to benefit from results and for new evidence to be incorporated into practice safely and with clinician confidence.”
Chris Blyth
Chris is an Infectious Diseases Consultant at Perth Children’s Hospital and Chief Investigator on the PATRIC trial.
“I am passionate about developing treatment and prevention guidelines and public policy based on evidence. I am frustrated that this desire is often thwarted by poor quality or complete lack of data. Adaptive clinical trials are one of a suite of critical tools required to establish the evidence-base to inform paediatric care now and into the future.”
Steve Webb
Steve is an Intensive Care Consultant and Chief Investigator for the REMAP-CAP study.
“We’re still at an early stage of understanding the value of adaptive trials but they offer a real prospect of quicker, more efficient, more relevant, more patient focused trials. There are challenges associated with design, analysis, and execution, and whether end-users will believe the results, but these all look surmountable. I believe the destination is a fusion of clinical practice, quality improvement, and clinical trials providing a framework in which the myriad of unanswered questions that are relevant to clinical practice can be answered through adaptive trials embedded in routine practice.”
What we do
We provide expertise in the following areas:
Design
Trial Simulations
COMMUNITY & STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT
ETHICS & GOVERNANCE
DATA & SAFETY MONITORING
DATA CAPTURE & STORAGE
STATISTICAL ANALYSIS
DECISION & CAUSAL MODELLING
REPORTING
Adaptive Health Intelligence
We are a not-for-profit research team specialising in pragmatic and adaptive clinical trials. Our projects focus on reducing the burden of infectious diseases by improving how routinely used medications are used in clinical practice.
Contact us
We are located at:
Telethon Kids Institute
Northern Entrance, Perth Children's Hospital
15 Hospital Ave, Nedlands 6009