MGBase

Helmut Butzkueven MD, Managing Director

Helmut Butzkueven is Professor of Neurology and Chair of Multiple Sclerosis and Neuroimmunology research in the Department of Neuroscience, Central Clinical School, Monash University. He is also appointed as Head of MS and Neuroimmunology at the Alfred Hospital and Director of the MS service at Box Hill Hospital, Melbourne, Australia.

His research and clinical interest involves the use of registry data, clinical MRI data, cognitive testing, genomics and patient self-monitoring devices and applications to evaluate treatment strategies to optimise benefit and safety of MS therapies.

Prof Butzkueven led the MSBase operations and scientific teams in an honorary capacity for nearly a decade before his role as Managing Director was formalised in 2013.

Anneke van der Walt MD, Chief Operating Officer

A/Prof Anneke van der Walt is a Neurologist specializing in the management of Multiple Sclerosis and Neuro-ophthalmology. She is appointed as the Head of MS and Neuro-ophthalmology at Alfred Health, Melbourne, Australia and her research laboratory is based in the Department of Neuroscience, Central Clinical School, Monash University.  

Her research interests include digital biomarkers and applied technology, real-world data, MS cognition and cerebellar function. She has a keen interest in Women’s Health in MS as well as symptom management in people with MS. 

A/Prof van der Walt was appointed as Chief Operating Officer in 2019, to work in partnership with the MD and lead MSBase operations.

Charlotte Sartori, BHSc, Head of Operations

Charlotte holds a Bachelor of Health Sciences from Deakin University. Charlotte has previous experience in membership management and study coordination at MSBase and now oversees operational activities whilst working with other senior staff to advance the strategic missions of the registry.

Rein More, PMP, PMI-ACP, PRINCE2 – Head of IT

Rein is an AIIM Certified Information Professional and holds certifications as a Project Management Professional (PMP), Agile Certified Practitioner, and PRINCE2 Practitioner. With extensive experience in project management within healthcare and finance IT sectors, she oversees the organization's technology ecosystem. Rein also serves as the Program Manager for Cloud modernization strategy and related initiatives.

Linda Sim , CPA, BBus– Head of Finance

Linda holds a Bachelor of Business (Accounting & Finance ) from Swinburne University and is a Certified Practicing Accountant (CPA). She has experience in a wide range of industries, specialising in the for-purpose sector. Linda’s focus is on providing expert advice to support and inform business decisions, stakeholder engagement and maintaining effective financial systems.

Pamela Farr, PhD, BMedChem, Senior Project and Data Manager

Pam holds a doctorate and Bachelor of Medicinal Chemistry from University of Wollongong. She has experience in research and clinical administration. Pam started with MSBase as Membership Officer and has recently moved into data management of MSBase studies as well as coordinating the MSOCR sub-studies.

Dusko Stupar, BCom, BBIS, Change and Support Manager 

Dusko holds a Bachelor of Business Information Systems and Bachelor of Commerce from Swinburne University. Dusko is the Change and Support Manager focusing on delivering 2nd line support to our end-users, and chiefly driving the change and adoption strategy and processes required to support the rollout of the new MSBase Cloud software.

Cynthia Tang, MHA, GradDipPsychSci, Study Coordinator and Scientific Secretary

Cynthia holds a Master of Health Administration from La Trobe University and a Graduate Diploma of Psychological Science from Deakin University. She has experience in Australian healthcare system, project process, and extensive experience in international hospitality management and customer service. Cynthia is the Safe MS Care study coordinator and Scientific Secretary for MSBase.

Alison Le, BCom and Grad. Dip, Finance Administrator

Alison graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce, specialising in accounting, and pursued additional studies by successfully obtaining a Graduate Diploma in Applied Information Systems from RMIT. Her professional background predominantly lies in Finance and Accounting, primarily in the Healthcare sector. Alison joins MSBase on a part-time basis.

Carolyn Tran, BBus (Accounting), Membership & Operations Co-Ordinator

Carolyn holds a Bachelor of Business (Accounting) from Monash University. Carolyn has experience in various business operation roles, specialising in Customer Onboarding and Technical Support. As the Membership & Operations Coordinator, Carolyn’s focus is on providing ongoing operational support to registry members.

Chao Zhu, BSc (Hons), MSc, PhD, Statistician

Dr. Zhu obtained a bachelor's degree in Computer Science (China), a bachelor's honour degree in Actuarial Mathematics (Canada), a master's degree in Statistics (Canada), and a PhD in Biostatistics (Australia). He has worked as a statistician in various fields including finance, data science, and medical research. Chao is the part-time statistician for MSBase analyses.

Tim Spelman, Associate Professor Tim Spelman, PhD, MBBS, BSc

Associate Professor Tim Spelman is a biostatistician and clinician with over 20 years of experience having worked for the Karolinska Institute, Doherty Institute, Burnet Institute, the University of Melbourne, Monash University, PBAC and the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre among others. He has interests in real world evidence generation, disease registries, pragmatic and adaptive trial design and machine learning. Tim is the primary statistician for MSBase analyses.