DR. LAWRENCE ALFRIN
MAST CELL ACTIVATION DISEASES
CURRENT CONCEPTS
Saturday 1st April 2023
8.00am-5.00pm
Rydges Hotel South Bank
LIVE STREAM OPTION
Presenters:
Dr Lawrence Afrin
Senior consultant in Hematology/Oncology
Introduction to Mast Cell Activation Diseases and patient history taking to aid in the diagnosis of MCAS/ MCAD
Treatment of Mast Cell Activation Diseases and
challenges faced by treating physicians
Professor Pete Smith
Clinical Allergist Professor Clinical Medicine Griffith and Bond Universities
Mast Cell Activation Diseases, Chronic fatigue and long COVID. What next?
Dr Kevin Lee
Specialist Physician – Endocrinology, Diabetes and Nuclear Medicine
The Endocrine System in Mast Cell Disorders
Dr Eva Nagy
Breast Oncoplastic Surgeon
MCAS and the Breast Implant Illness (BII) patient
Dr Mark Westaway
General practitioner
MCAS The Australian experience
Dr Graham Exelby
General practitioner
Introduction to POTS (Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome) including the crossover between
POTS, MCAS, and implications for long COVID.
Dr Valerio Vittone
PhD Medicine (SYD 2008) BSc Hons (UNSW):
Topic: Virology and Molecular Biology
Introduction to DNA mutations unpinning MCAS, POTS and long COVID
Sharon Hennessey
Physiotherapist, Not Just Bendy Hypermobility services.
Hypermobility & MCAS - physiotherapist's perspective; including identification and management strategies
George Sondergeld
Specialists compounding
pharmacist
Your Solution Compounding Pharmacy
Compounded medication options in the treatment of MCAS
Representative from Medisca Australia
NOTE: The livestream ticket is a one day watch live only. This will not include
any recording to watch later.
MAST CELL ACTIVATION DISEASES
CURRENT CONCEPTS
GENERAL PUBLIC
Sunday 2nd April 2023
8.30am-3.45pm
Rydges Hotel South Bank
LIVE STREAM OPTION
Presenters:
Dr Lawrence Afrin
Senior consultant in Hematology/Oncology
Introduction to Mast Cell Activation Diseases including testing overview and how this condition can affect a patients wellbeing
Professor Pete Smith
Clinical Allergist Professor Clinical Medicine Griffith and Bond Universities
Mast Cell Activation Diseases, Chronic fatigue and long COVID. What next?
Dr Eva Nagy
Breast Oncoplastic Surgeon
MCAS and the Breast
Implant Illness (BII) patient
Dr Mark Westaway
General practitioner
MCAS The Australian experience
Dr Graham Exelby
General practitioner
Introduction to POTS (Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome)
including the crossover between POTS, MCAS, and implications for long COVID for the General public
Dr Valerio Vittone
PhD Medicine (SYD 2008) BSc Hons (UNSW):
Topic: Virology and Molecular Biology
Introduction
to DNA mutations unpinning MCAS, POTS and long COVID for the General public
Sharon Hennessey
Physiotherapist, Not Just Bendy Hypermobility services.
Hypermobility & MCAS - physiotherapist's perspective; including identification
and management strategies
George Sondergeld
Specialists compounding pharmacist
Your Solution Compounding Pharmacy
Compounded medication options in the treatment of MCAS
Representative from Medisca Australia
NOTE:
The livestream ticket is a one day watch live only. This will not include any recording to watch later.
HEALTH PRACTITIONER INFORMATION EVENING
INTRODUCTION TO MAST CELL ACTIVATION DISEASES 101
Monday 27th March 2023
6.00-9.00pm
Mercure Hotel North Melbourne
Presenters:
Dr Lawrence Afrin
Senior consultant in Hematology/Oncology
Introduction to Mast Cell Activation Diseases 101
Dr Jeremy McComish
Allergist / Immunologist
Biologics in Mast Cell Disorders
Dr Mark
Westaway
General practitioner
MCAS The Australian experience
George Sondergeld
Specialists compounding pharmacist.
Your Solution Compounding Pharmacy
Compounded medication in MCAS
Representative from Medisca
Australia
HEALTH PRACTITIONER INFORMATION EVENING
INTRODUCTION TO MAST CELL ACTIVATION DISEASES 101
Wednesday 5th April 2023
6.00-9.00pm
Location to be advised
Presenters:
Dr Lawrence Afrin
Senior consultant in Hematology/Oncology
Introduction to Mast Cell Activation Diseases 101
Dr Eva Nagy
Breast Oncoplastic Surgeon
MCAS and the Breast Implant Illness (BII) patient
Dr Mark Westaway
General practitioner
MCAS The Australian experience
George Sondergeld
Specialists compounding pharmacist
Your Solution Compounding Pharmacy
Compounded medication in MCAS
Representative
from Medisca Australia
Q and A session
Dr. Afrin earned a B.S. in Computer Science at Clemson University in 1984 and then an M.D. at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) in 1988, where he also pursued internal medicine residency and hematology/oncology clinical and research fellowships. While on faculty at MUSC 1995-2014, he was active in undergraduate and graduate medical education, information technology and educational administration (including hematology/oncology fellowship program director for 13 years), and practice and research in hematology/oncology and medical informatics. Since the mid-’00s, his clinical work has increasingly focused in hematology, especially mast cell disease; he also directed MUSC’s myeloproliferative neoplasms clinical trials program. While at the University of Minnesota 2014-17 furthering his interests in mast cell disease, he also served as assistant hematology/oncology fellowship program director, hematology/oncology medical student education director, and IRB reviewer. In 2017 he left UMN to develop an independent institute (located in the greater New York City area) for advancing care, research, and education in mast cell disease, and he is also working to develop a global investigative network in this area. He has served on national panels on oncology education and quality care and has spoken widely in his areas of focus. He has an extensive record of peer-reviewed publications, including some of the most highly accessed articles about mast cell activation syndrome and a popular book in the field, and he serves on the editorial boards for several journals. He also has served on the medical advisory boards for various organizations in the field including The Mastocytosis Society.
Pro. Pete Smith is an allergist based in Southport Ql, having set up Queensland Allergy Services in 2002. He has PhD in molecular immunology. He is medical director of Allergy Medical - a service designed to help patients be seen, screened, safe, sorted and supported with allergies while there are large wait lists in this area He is an adjunct professor at the National Centre for Neuroimmunology and Emerging Disease at Menzies Centre of Research at Griffith Uniand a Professor in Clinical Medicine doing research in mucosal immunology at Griffith Unit He is also a Professor in Allergy at the Observational & Pragmatic Research Institute in Singapore. He has written over 120 peer review per and contributed to 5 textbooks. He is on European, Australian and GA2LEN advisory boards and working parties for anaphylaxis, food allergy and rhinitis as well being on industry advisory boards for anaphylaxis and rhinitis. He is on faculty of the European Rhinology Society and a member of Allergy Societies in Australia, the US, Europe and the world allergy organisation.
Dr. Eva Nagy is a Breast Oncoplastic Surgeon. She obtained her Medical Degree in 2006 at the University of Melbourne, completed her PhD in Biomedical Science in 2009 at the University of Melbourne, and was inducted into the the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons as a Fellow in 2016. In Oncology, Dr Nagy's research interest focuses on the safe de-escalation of treatment for breast cancer patients, particularly in the context of pre-surgery chemotherapy. Additionally, arising from her treatment of women for non-cancer breast conditions, Dr Nagy has been treating an increasingly prominent group of patients: women with breast implants who suffer from a set of unexplained symptoms (commonly referred to as Breast Implant Illness). A clear improvement in reported symptoms by these patients after implant-removal surgery has led to Dr Nagy studying more closely the possible link between Breast Implant Illness and MCAS.
Dr. Jeremy McComish is a Clinical Immunologist, Allergist and Immunopathologist, and is an ASHI Director at the Transplantation and Immunogenetics (TIS) laboratories at Australian Red Cross Lifeblood. His Clinical Immunology training was in Melbourne and Adelaide, with a post-training fellowship position at the Institute of Child Health, University College London. He has previously worked as a Clinical Immunologist at the Royal Melbourne Hospital until 2020, where he was principak investigator for a clinical trial investigating the role of omalizumab in mastocytosis, and currently has a private practice in Clinical Immunology and Allergy in Malvern. His practice covers all areas of clinical immunology and allergy, including mast cell disorders.
Dr. Kevin Lee is an Australian trained Specialist Physician in Endocrinology/Diabetes and Nuclear Medicine. He is a full time clinical endocrinologist and nuclear medicine physician with special interest in metabolic health, thyroid disorders, functional brain and GI imaging.
Dr. Mark Westaway, is a medical practitioner who graduated from the University of Queensland. He has a Diploma of Child Health from Ireland as well as a Graduate Diploma of Allergy from the University of Southampton. Dr Westaway is a member
of the Australian Association of Musculoskeletal Medicine, Australian College of Nutritional and Environmental Medicine, American Academy of Environmental Medicine, the Society of Orthopedic Medicine ,the PAN American Allergy Society
and the London College of Osteopathic Medicine.
In addition to working in Australia, Dr Westaway has worked at Breakspear Medical Centre and The Dove clinic in London, as well as a visiting consultant for the Paracelsus Klink
in Switzerland and was a research fellow at Harvard Medical School. He has co authored a number of articles, including Diagnosis of Mast Cell Activation Syndrome – A Global Consensus 2.
Dr. Graham Exelby is a general practitioner in his 49th year in clinical medicine, with a special interest in POTS, Long Covid and co-morbidities especially MCAS, dysautonomia, migraine and fibromyalgia. He was thrown into this complex section of medicine 15 years ago so when Covid patients started presenting with POTS and similar problems he had a background to assist with management. Journeying down the rabbithole that is Long Covid, POTS and Fibromyalgia he found things started to fit together. The subsequent decoding of the DNA in these conditions by Dr Valerio Vittone then answered many of the questions that kept popping up- how a virus (and here add trauma, mould, parasites, sustained stress) can activate threat receptors (Toll-like receptors, or TLRs) which then activate Mast Cells that are responsible for the cytokine storm that is what happens in COVID. With assistance from Prof Pete Smith, Dr Valerio Vittone and others, the crossover between mast cell activation and DNA mutations in both POTS and Long Covid has assisted in the continuing research and development of effective management protocols in these conditions.
Dr. Valerio Vittone has a PhD Medicine (SYD 2008) BSc Hons (UNSW): Topic: Virology and Molecular Biology. This incorporated cloning of HSV fragments, development of new cloning techniques in virology to overcome cloning issues that were causing problems with viral cloning. He holds international awards and has been involved in numerous international speaking engagements, and has considerable experience in health and genetic consulting. He has an in-depth knowledge of genetics, epigenetics, nutrigenomics, molecular biology & Biochemistry with a strong experience in molecular medicine, and he consults with patients regarding their DNA, epigenetic, DNA/RNA Microbiome & nutrigenomic reports (i.e. Consultations are based on a novel DNA testing system and platform that uses genotype imputation and Artificial Intelligence (AI) capable of analyzing up to 85 MILLION genetic variants). A chance meeting with Dr Graham Exelby in 2021 has seen an increasingly symbiotic development of management based on DNA findings that explain the background of both POTS and Long Covid, and many other diseases. The DNA findings particularly in the mast cells and Dao and HNMT enzymes, as well as in TLR4 has provided a springboard for a continuing improvement in management. Key Publications: Vittone V, Diefenbach E, Triffett D, Douglas MW, Cunningham AL, Diefenbach RJ. J Virol. 2005, Investigation of the Molecular Architecture of Herpes Simplex Virus Type 1 Tegument, PhD, University of Sydney Vittone V, Lee J H, Diefenbach E, Cunningham AL, Diefenbach RJ. J Virology 2008, Identification of structural protein-protein interactions of herpes simplex virus type 1.
Sharon Hennessey is the principal physiotherapist and founder of Not Just Bendy Hypermobility Services (notjustbendy.com) – a private musculoskeletal practice in Brisbane, for those with complex hypermobility and Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS). Sharon leads a team of eight physiotherapists and practices out of a custom-built practice in Eight Mile Plains on the Southside of Brisbane. She brings her 25 years of experience as a physiotherapist and diverse experience and education as well as lived experience as a client and a mother of hypermobility. Sharon is passionate about educating other health PRACTITIONERs in assessment and management of hypermobility and its associated co-morbidities. She has presented talks for the Australian Physiotherapy Association, EDS ECHO group and at a recent Rheumatology conference. Sharon is a member of the International Committee of physiotherapists tasked with developing a pathway for the diagnosis and management of upper neck instability (also known as CCI) with a recent publication in the Frontiers of Medicine Journal.
George graduated from the Queensland University of Technology with a Bachelor of Pharmacy. He is a co-owner of Your Solution Compounding and the Managing Director of the company’s Melbourne laboratory. His areas of expertise are diverse, covering both general and sterile compounding, with special interests in bio-identical hormone restoration therapy and analgesic compounding. He is an expert on integrative therapies, collaborating with some of Australia’s leading researchers and physicians to formulate cutting edge preparations. He firmly believes compounding to be the interface between pharmaceutics, pharmacology, chemistry and pharmacy practice. He enjoys routinely presenting at universities and conferences.
Medisca is a global corporation with locations throughout North America, Australia, and Europe, that contributes to healthcare by leveraging strong partnerships that deliver customised solutions with an unwavering commitment to quality and innovation that their customers can always count on. Backed by 30+ years, Medisca is committed to partnering with compounding pharmacies and allied providers to grow genuine relationships, create convenience, and define worry-free experiences. With a well-established supply chains, robust vendor qualification programs, and adherence to the most stringent global standards, Medisca ensures their customers receive best-in-class and at a competitive price. From high quality compounding products and industry-leading services, to learning opportunities through their partner LP3 Network, Medisca delivers comprehensive pharmaceutical compounding solutions that provide value, consistency, responsiveness, and loyalty. As Partners in Wellness, Medisca is here to drive the evolution of personalised medicine and to be the home to the compounding community.
