ABOUT US

Nafisa Yussf is co-founder and Director of Hepatitis B Voices Australia. She has an extensive background and expertise in public health; community engagement, social research, and advocacy and policy development working in both government and non-government sectors. She is passionate about health equity and social justice – utilising intersectional, culturally safe and community led frameworks. She is a global advocate for people living with hepatitis B utilising her lived experience to influence public health policy in relation to hepatitis B. She is also a Board member of the Australian Muslim Women’s Centre for Human Rights.

Uyen is a co-founder of Hepatitis B Voices Australia. After arriving to Australia in 2008 Uyen struggled to find hepatitis B resources and support. She joined LiverWELL (Hepatitis Victoria) in 2013 as a community volunteer providing lived experience perspectives, advice, and speeches; whilst receiving great support from the organisation and the sector. Between 2017-2018 Uyen joined LiverWELL Board. In 2018, Uyen started a Vietnamese online support group with Ms Lien Tran (another co-founder of HBVA) and friends for Vietnamese living with hepatitis B all over the world to find support; and especially, for people living with hepatitis B and the newcomers to navigate health care in Australia. The online forum has helped many Vietnamese living with hepatitis B find support in documents preparation for visa health assessment; and found a surprising number of successful stories shared. Significantly, it has been a casual platform to promote the ASHM Prescriber Map in Australia. Uyen’s wish is for all hepatitis B affected Australians, especially the affected visa holders to not feel stigmatised and achieve their life goals.

Associate Professor Thomas Tu is a molecular biologist with a particular focus on integrated Hepatitis B virus DNA and its role in disease progression. He currently leads a research group at the Westmead Institute for Medical Research in the Storr Liver Centre (Sydney, Australia), where his team focuses on persistent forms of the Hepatitis B virus (covalently closed circular DNA and integrated HBV DNA). He is particularly passionate about developing an HBV cure and mitigating the associated liver cancer, as he himself lives with chronic Hepatitis B. Due to his unique perspectives on Hepatitis B, Dr. Tu is President of the Australian Centre for Hepatitis Virology, the premier Australian society for hepatitis virus researchers. He is also board member of Hepatitis Australia, guiding the strategic direction of the peak national advocacy body for people with liver disease. Importantly, Dr. Tu is founder and Director of HepBCommunity.org (a global support network for people affected with HBV), guiding people through their HBV diagnosis and linking them with trustworthy scientific and medical information. He has won multiple awards for his research and outreach, most recently the 2022 Young Tall Poppy Science award.

Dr Kim Ngo is an Australian medical graduate with 20 years clinical experience who is currently working for NSW Health as a mental health practitioner. Kim was born in Vietnam but left with her family as boat refugees when she was 2. The family eventually settled in Australia in 1986. Kim commenced her medical training at the University of NSW and at the age of 18, after undergoing mandatory blood tests prior to commencing clinical hospital work, she discovered being affected by the Hepatitis B virus. Further testing found other family members with the condition, with a close member passing away from complications related to Hepatitis and another on active medication to control the viral load. Such personal experiences has led to an interest to become actively involved in the Hepatitis B community in order to promote more community awareness and advocacy especially in disadvantaged populations such as those suffering with mental health disorders.

Lien is a Vietnamese researcher at the WHO Collaborating Centre for Viral Hepatitis, Doherty Institute, Australia. Her research focuses on hepatitis B care delivery in primary care. She is an active advocate for people and communities affected by hepatitis at national and international level. Her advocacy is grounded on personal and professional experience with constant exposure to affected community, health professionals, researchers, and policy makers. Lien co-founded and moderates an online support group for Vietnamese living with hepatitis in Australia. She is current Regional Board Member for the World Hepatitis Alliance, representing the WHO Western Pacific Region