Training Support Unit - HETI - Early exposure, lasting effects: Cannabis and Tobacco use in the first 2000 days

Dr Ju-Lee Oei

Royal Hospital for Women and University of NSW

Dr Ju-lee Oei is a Neonatologist at the Royal Hospital for Women, Randwick; Conjoint Professor at UNSW Sydney; and Honorary Associate Professor at the NHMRC Clinical Trials Centre, University of Sydney.  Her undergraduate and postgraduate degrees were obtained from UNSW (MBBS 1990, MD 2010) and she is a Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians (2000). She is Editor in Chief of the Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health and lead author of the NSW Substance Use in Pregnancy and Parenting Guidance 2024.

Dr Oei’s clinical specialty is in the care of the high-risk infant, including those requiring admission to a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) and children who are exposed to prenatal drugs. She has 185 research papers, 5 book chapters and an H-index of 43.

Kate Masters

Central Coast LHD

Kate Masters is a Registered Nurse and Midwife who has been practicing for over 30 years, both in Australia and the United Kingdom. Kate has always had an interest in addiction and substance use in health. After completing a graduate certificate in Drug and Alcohol Nursing at the college of Nursing, Kate commenced working in the Substance use in pregnancy and parenting program. She is now employed as the acting CNC for the SUPPS team on the central coast.

Amy Mackenzie

Ministry of Health

Amy Mackenzie is a Child and Family Health Clinical Nurse Specialist working with the Aboriginal Maternal, Child and Family Health team for the Health and Social Policy Branch at the Ministry of Health. Before coming to the Ministry Amy worked in partnership with the Malabar Midwives and the Aboriginal Child and Family Health team in SESLHD. Amy has completed her Masters of International Public Health and is passionate about addressing the social determinants of health and ensuring all children are supported to have the best possible start in life.

Sharnee Townsend

Ministry of Health

Sharnee Townsend is a proud Wailwan woman who has worked for NSW Health for the last 15 years. Sharnee is the manager of the Aboriginal Maternal, Child and Family Health team within the Health and Social Policy Branch at the Ministry of Health. Sharnee has worked as an Aboriginal Health Worker and managed the Ngiyang Aboriginal Maternal, Child and Family team in CCLHD for many years. Sharnee holds a Bachelor of Arts Sociology and Indigenous Australian Studies and a Post Graduate Certificate in Public Sector Management, Business Administration and Management.