Dr Olayide Ogunsiji is a Senior Lecturer at the School of Nursing and Midwifery, Western Sydney University (WSU). Originally from Nigeria, she migrated to Australia in 1999 and joined the academics at WSU in 2008. Her passion for Women and Family Health is evident in her research work in raising awareness on elimination of female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C). Founder of African Women’s Health and Support Organisation (AWHASO), a not-for-profit support group for women’s health issues, Olayide is a mentor and leader in the community. She received finalist and highly commended awards at the 2019 Blacktown City Council International Women’s Day; and Blacktown City Council Woman of the Year at the NSW woman of the year award. Dr Ogunsiji is published in high impact journals and has presented at local, national and international conferences.
Dr Olivia Lesslar is a medical doctor with a background in International Relations majoring in French and Diplomacy. At the 2009 inaugural Festival of Dangerous Ideas, she was shortlisted to speak in the Sydney Opera House for her soapbox competition speech "The Culturally Accepted Brutality of Male Infant Circumcision." She was praised for her presentation by judges Annabelle Crabb and David Marr who described her as "terrifying". In 2019, Dr Olivia worked as the functional medicine practitioner for the Neuroimmunology Associates of New York under the world-renowned neurologist Dr Jay Lombard. Her current appointments are: Medical Consultant with LA celebrity concierge company Lifespan Medicine, Resident Medical Consultant for CFS Health, and Medical Director for Scott Laidler Fitness. She has served on the Medical Rescue Charity Foundation’s board of directors and is currently on the board of directors for Doctors for Refugees. Dr Olivia was nominated for Excellence in Practice at the 2019 Bioceuticals Integrative Medicine Awards, and in 2020 was nominated for a Natural Medicine Entrepreneur X-Factor Award for innovation in Functional Medicine. She is passionate about patient autonomy and has always argued that medical arguments for and against male circumcision aside, a person deserves bodily integrity especially with regards to non-medically necessary surgery inflicted on minors. Bodily integrity being the inviolability of the physical body, emphasizing the importance of personal autonomy, self-ownership, and self-determination of human beings over their own bodies.
Professor Pete Smith (MBBS, BMedSci, FRACP PhD, Allergist and Immunologist) is a leading allergist and immunologist in Australia. Pete commenced his medical studies at the University of Tasmania and went on to specialise in paediatrics in Adelaide, before completing his PhD in molecular immunology with Flinders University. He has worked as an allergy specialist at the Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children in London, and was a Senior Lecturer at the Institute of Child Health, University College London. In 2002, Pete set up Queensland Allergy Services in Southport, on the Gold Coast. Here he provides patients the highest level of quality medical care in the diagnosis and treatment of allergies. Pete is a Professor in Clinical Medicine at Griffith University and Bond University. He currently conducts research studies into the molecular aspects of pain in allergic conditions. Pete is also doing studies in genetic profiling in rhinitis and is part of an international study that is attempting to treat peanut allergy.
Travis Wisdom is a PhD candidate at the University of Adelaide. He completed a BA in Women’s Studies from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (USA), MA in Human Rights, Globalisation and Justice at Keele University (UK), and a LLM in International Law and Human Rights at the University of Birmingham (UK). His research interests relate to human rights and the socio-legal regulation of human bodies, including genital cutting of children with typical sex characteristics, interventions on intersex children, and gender affirmation procedures for transgender children.
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