CompleMED People
Researchers and Associates
Director
Professor Alan Bensoussan
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Professor Alan Bensoussan is Professor of Chinese Medicine and Executive Director of Australia’s newly established National Institute of Complementary Medicine. He is one of Australia’s prominent researchers in complementary medicine and recently was instrumental in establishing the National Institute of Complementary Medicine. Under Alan’s leadership, CompleMED has forged a broad network of links with other national and international organisations within government and industry, and is currently involved in collaborative projects with institutions in China, Hong Kong, United States, Taiwan and the United Kingdom.
Professor Bensoussan has been in clinical practice for 25 years and is an active researcher, attracting funds from the US National Institutes of Health, the Australian National Health & Medical Research Council, AusIndustry, DEST, State governments and industry. He sits on a number of government committees both nationally and internationally, and has frequently served as consultant to the World Health Organisation. He has published two books including a review of acupuncture research and a substantial government report on the practice of traditional Chinese medicine in Australia, which contributed to the passage of the Victorian Chinese Medicine (Practitioner) Registration Act and led to similar processes in other Australian states. Professor Bensoussan’s research contributions, particularly his clinical trials and public health research in Chinese medicine, have been widely reported and recognised, and he frequently appears in the national media.
Associate Professor Dennis Chang
Program Leader: Clinical Research
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Associate Professor Dennis Chang is currently the Leader of Clincal Program at UWS CompleMED and Associate Head of School, School of Biomedical and Health Sciences. Since joining UWS, A/Prof Chang has developed a strong research agenda in complementary medicine. His research interests largely focus on clinical trials and pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamic studies of herbal medicines for the management of cardiovascular (e.g. metabolic syndrome and diabetes) and neurodegenerative diseases (e.g. vascular dementia). He has recently established a clinical laboratory specialising in assessing complementary medicine effects on cognitive and cardiovascular functions. He has attracted significant funding from various government agencies and industry to support his research.
Associate Professor Chang has also played a significant role in the strategic planning and development of the Centre for Complementary Medicine Research (CompleMED), one of the nine University Research Centres, and was Acting Director of CompleMED between March 2008 and May 2010. He has developed a number of significant research partnerships nationally and internationally with prestigious universities, research organisations and industry.
Associate Professor Caroline Smith
Associate Professor (Clinical Research)
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Associate Professor Caroline Smith joined the Centre for Complementary Medicine Research following ten years of research and clinical practice at universities in South Australia. Caroline is an experienced clinical researcher and acupuncture practitioner. She brings a wealth of expertise to CompleMED in the area of women’s health and reproductive health. Caroline has a background in evidence based research in acupuncture and other complementary therapies and the integration of Chinese medicine and biomedical research protocols, and has extensive experience in the design, conduct and analysis of randomised controlled trials.
Caroline has received funding for three project grants from the National Health and Medical Research Council. She also has a significant track record in obtaining funding from other industry and national funding agencies. Caroline has undertaken many studies in the complementary medicine field, four of which have involved large randomised controlled trials evaluating the efficacy of acupuncture in relating to women’s health. She has published over 40 publications in peer reviewed medical and complementary medicine journals, including high impact journals.
Professor Kelvin Chan
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Professor Kelvin Chan holds the position of Professor - Joint Chair in Traditional Chinese Medicine at CompleMED, UWS, and the Herbal Medicine Research & Education Centre, University of Sydney.
Professor Chan is a Charted Biologist (UK), Clinical Pharmacologist (UK and USA) and Registered Pharmacist (UK). He is a Fellow of the following academic institutes: Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain; the Society of Biology, UK; the Royal Society of Medicine, UK and the American College of Clinical Pharmacology, USA.
Formerly, he was Founding Chair Professor in Pharmacy & Pharmacology, Head and then Director of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences at University of Wolverhampton, UK (2005 to 2009); Chair Professor of Biomedical Sciences and Director of R&D at the Institute for the Advancement of Chinese Medicine, Hong Kong Baptist University (2000 - 2005) and Chair Professor of Biomedical Science and Research Director of the School of Pharmacy at the Liverpool Johns Moores University. He held Visiting Professorships at the University of Liverpool and Middlesex University in the UK; Institute of Pharmacognosy & Pharmacy, University of Vienna, Austria; Pharmaceutical University in Nanjing and Shenyang Pharmaceutical University in Shenyang in PR China. He is currently Visiting Professor at the Institute of Medicinal Plant Development in Beijing and JiNan University in Guangzhou, PR China as well as at the University of Wolverhampton, UK.
Professor Chan's has over 180 peer-reviewed full papers, and those published from the ealry 1990s are mainly related to mechanistic studies of interactions between herbal medicines and pharmaceuticals. His research directions and interests have since changed towards medicinal and pharmaceutical development of Chinese herbal medicines and natural products.
Distinguished Awards
1995 Life Fellow, Travel awarded by the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust, UK on a fact finding mission: "Critical Assessment of Traditional Chinese Medicine" in the Far East
1988 Distinguish Outstanding Services to Teaching & Research of Pharmacology, American Bibliographical Institute.
1983 British Pharmaceutical Conference Sciences Awards, RPSGB, UK
Dr Cheang Khoo
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Dr Cheang Khoo is a senior analytical chemist in the School of 
Biomedical and Health Sciences. His main fields of interest are analytical chemistry, residue, drug and natural product analysis, with a focus on herbal analysis. Dr Khoo also has considerable expertise in phytoremediation research and water quality studies. Key studies that he is currently working on involve the development of analytical methods for chemical residue analysis (parts per billion levels) in biological matrices like foods and animal tissue. The chemical residues investigated include residual hormones (in animal tissue), pesticides (in foodstuff) and biologically active components (in herbs). The studies normally involve extraction, clean-up and instrumental analysis of the extract using LC-PDA, LC-MS and GC-MS. Solid phase extraction methods of extraction and clean up is employed if possible. The methods developed are often simultaneous multi residue techniques and the work is often difficult due to the low levels of the components measured and the complex nature of the matrix. Furthermore, the methods developed need to comply with the needs of regulatory authorities for it to be applicable. Dr Khoo supervises several students in herbal analysis, investigating herbal medicines for use in endometriosis and irritable bowel syndrome.
Dr Samiuela Lee
Manager, Herbal Analytical Laboratory
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Dr Sam Lee is an analytical chemist in the CompleMED laboratory. His Main fields of interest are analytical chemistry, drug and natural product analysis, with a focus on herbal analysis. Dr Lee also has considerable expertise in the method validation of complex herbal mixtures. The studies normally involve extraction, clean-up and instrumental analysis of the extract using LC-PDA, LC-MS/MS and GC-MS. Solid phase extraction methods of extraction and clean-up is employed if possible. Furthermore, the methods developed need to comply with the needs of regulatory authorities for it to be applicable. Dr Lee has also had experience in carrying out internal audits ready for any regulatory inspection as well as managing various commercial projects for external clients.
Dr Bojiang Shen
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
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Dr Bojiang Shen joing the CompleMED Pharmacology laboratory in 2010 as a postdoctoral reseach fellow following over 20 years of research in Australia and overseas. She received Bachelor and then Master of Pharmacy degrees from Shandong University, China. In 1991 she went to Karolinska Institute in Sweeden as a visiting scholar and then to University of Wurzburg, Germany where she obtained her PhD in molecular and cell biology in 1996. Subsequently she has held multiple research positions in Australia including 2 years at University of Queensland, 6 years at Royal North Shore Hospital and 5 years at University of NSW.
Dr Valentina Naumovski
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
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Dr Valentina Naumovski currently works across 2 Universities; the 
Centre for Complementary Medicine Research (CompleMED), University of Western Sydney and teh Faculaty of Pharmacy, University of Sydney. The position plays an integral role in developing the JCTCM Program. Tina is responsible for initiating new research activities adn supportin ght eresearch program under the guidance of the Joint Chair. This includes preparing grant application, HDR research directions, preparing manuscripts for publicatins, assisting with administration of the projects whilst maintaining efficiency of research work at the 2 campuses. The projects range from quality control analytical chemistry, in vitro mechanism studies, in vivo pharmacokinetics to clinical studies on a Chinese quality of life questionnaire.
Dr Anthony Good
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
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Dr Anthony Good has a degree In Psychology and a PhD in Behavioural Neuroscience with his thesis on the postulated inhibitory nature of the neural connections between the amygdala and the ventral striatum with respect to learning and memory. Anthony has held clinical research positions at Pfizer Australia and Pfizer Global, UK over 16 years and brings an enormous wealth of clinical trials experience to CompleMED. Anthony also heads up GoodScience Pty Ltd, a global clinical trial consultancy business that has conducted clinical research studies in over 40 countries world-wide. Anthony has a firm commitment to the application of clinical scientific method in the area of complementary medicine and believes that a strong evidence base will encourage broader acceptance.
Research Centre Associates
Associate Professor Andrew Shalliker
School of Science and Health
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Dr David Briggs (Adjunct Professor)
Professor Daniel Chan (Adjunct Professor)
Head of Aged Care & Rehabilitation, Bankstown Hospital
Professor Hosen Kiat
MB BS FRACP FACP FCCP FCSANZ FASNC DDU
Medical Director, Cardiac Health Institute, Sydney.
Conjoint Professor of Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Western Sydney and Professor of Cardiology, School of Advanced Medicine, Macquarie University.
Professor Kiat graduated from Monash University and undertook cardiology training at the Alfred and Austin Hospitals, Melbourne, and Westmead Hospital, Sydney.
From 1986-1996 he was in Los Angeles and as staff cardiologist and Director of Cardiac Imaging Research at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Centre, UCLA School of Medicine. He is a Diplomate of four American Boards: Internal Medicine, Cardiovascular Disease, Nuclear Medicine, and Cardiovascular Disease - Subspecialty Cardiac CT.
Professor Kiat has published more than 100 peer-reviewed papers in the cardiology.
Professor Kiat is Professor of Medicine, UWS School of Medicine; Foundation Professor of Cardiology, Macquarie University School of Advanced Medicine; and Adjunct Professor at the School of Dentistry and Health Sciences, Charles Sturt University.
Associate Professor Gerald Meunch
Associate Professor of Pharmacology
School of Medicine
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Dr Xiaoshu Zhu
Lecturer, Chinese Medicine
School of Biomedicial and Health Sciences
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Administration and Research Support
Ms Ros Priest
Research Program Coordinator
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Mrs Natalie McCarthy
Centre Co-ordinator
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Mrs Narelle Quinn
Project Officer
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Mrs Micki Macdonald
Administrative Officer
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Miss Suzannah Bourchier
Research Officer
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Ms Sarah Fogarty
Clinical Trials Co-ordinator
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