Lia is a nurse practitioner with significant experience in primary, hospital and palliative care. She currently practises in the cardiology service at Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora – Te Pae Hauora o Ruahine o Tararua | MidCentral, where she is responsible for the assessment, diagnosis, planning, implementation, coordination and evaluation of care for people with cardiac disorders. Her role includes facilitating care for patients and their whānau across the care continuum, including improving access to primary, secondary and palliative services. She also supports those providing health services by mentoring registered nurses who are on a pathway to undertake or complete postgraduate study. Lia, who has a Master of Nursing from Massey University, is passionate about improving health outcomes for people and has a particular interest in supporting equity and access to health services for Māori. Lia’s approach to nursing is influenced by both her worked and lived experience as a Māori accessing health services. She has a strong commitment to quality and service improvement. She is the current co-lead of the National Cardiac Clinical Network, Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora. She is the current palliative care interface cardiology representative and is involved with the integration of cardiology specialist services within primary care.

Ararso Olani recently completed his PhD at Monash University’s School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, where he currently works as a Research Fellow. His doctoral research examined prehospital delays, emergency medical services use, and care pathways for acute coronary syndrome among culturally and linguistically diverse immigrant populations in Australia. Ararso's research interests include cardiovascular emergencies, prehospital care, and health equity. He has authored and co-authored more than 30 peer-reviewed publications.

Dr Katherine (Kat) Riley is a Senior Lecturer in Nursing at the University of Wollongong, Australia. She is an experienced rural emergency nurse whose clinical work has shaped her research program focused on improving resuscitation care in rural health settings. Using qualitative and mixed-methods approaches, her research examines the challenges rural clinicians face when managing time-critical emergencies, with particular attention to workforce preparedness, clinical decision-making, and organisational factors influencing resuscitation care. Her current research investigates the use of telehealth during resuscitations in rural NSW emergency departments and the conditions that enable its safe and effective integration into clinical practice. She has published widely in international nursing and emergency care journals and collaborates with clinical and policy partners to strengthen rural emergency care systems and support the rural health workforce.

Gemma is a current PhD Candidate exploring the prevalence of Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS) in the emergency department, with the aim of improving diagnostic and treatment pathways for this complex condition. Her PhD is also looking at the impact of multidisciplinary care on symptom burden and quality of life in this population, and the prevalence of autonomic dysfunction in those with post concussive syndrome. Gemma also works clinically in the area of autonomic dysfunction, having previously worked for many years as a cardiac nurse. Gemma is excited to be working in a team that is passionate about improving outcomes for those with POTS.

Dr Nicola Straiton is a nurse and Senior Research Fellow in Implementation Science at the Nursing Research Institute, a collaboration between St Vincent’s Health Network Sydney, St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne, and Australian Catholic University. Her research focuses on valvular heart disease, frailty, implementation science, and digital health. In the three years since completing her PhD, Dr Straiton has secured over $27.5 million in competitive research funding across 13 grants, including five as Chief Investigator. She has delivered 19 invited national and international presentations and received five awards recognising research excellence and leadership. Dr Straiton is committed to advancing evidence translation into clinical practice and building research capacity among clinician researchers.

Katie is a registered nurse with over a decade of clinical experience in rural and regional South Australia. Her experience delivering healthcare in these settings has informed a research career focused on addressing the systemic disparities faced by populations residing outside metropolitan areas, especially those recovering from cardiovascular disease and stroke. Her research encompasses original and high-quality contributions to cardiovascular secondary prevention and management, with an emphasis on collaborative and innovative methodologies. She adopts a person-centred and evidence-based framework to explore both primary and secondary prevention strategies across diverse population groups and life stages. Guided by the principles of inclusivity and long-term wellbeing, her work seeks to enhance recovery experiences following cardiovascular and stroke events, with particular attention to instilling hope and supporting enduring prevention efforts.

Rochelle Wynne is a clinical academic nurse leader specialising in cardiovascular health, patient-centred outcomes, and health services research. She leads nationally and internationally recognised programs that integrate research into practice, strengthen workforce capability, and advance equity in care, with a focus on improving outcomes for people living with cardiovascular disease.

Mr Zecchin is the Nursing Unit Manager – Cardiac Rehabilitation for Western Sydney Local Health District (WSLHD), and an Adjunct Senior Lecturer, School of Nursing, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney. He is a clinician-researcher and has been a collaborator on many multidisciplinary research projects. He has published 3 book chapters and > 30 peer-reviewed journal papers in leading cardiology and nursing journals including Lancet, European Heart Journal, European Journal of Preventative Cardiology, Australian Nursing Journal, American Journal of Cardiology, Circulation-Arrhythmia Electrophysiology, Heart, Lung and Circulation, Heart and Lung, Trials and Journal of Women’s Health. He has presented his research regularly and is invited to present his work at prestigious international and national conferences including the American Heart Association, the Cardiac Society of Australia and New Zealand (CSANZ) and the Australian Cardiovascular Health and Rehabilitation Association (ACRA). He is the President of ACRA (NSW/ACT). His expertise in the field of cardiac rehabilitation is recognised in Australia by being awarded the ACRA Alan Goble Distinguished Service Award in 2021. He has also contributed to the development of CSANZ standards for exercise stress testing nationally. He is a member of the National Cardiac Rehabilitation Measurement Taskforce and Chair of the NSW CR Data Working Group.