Meet The Team
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Antigone Kouris has over 30 years experience as a clinical Dietitian, researcher, author and more recently food product developer.
Her pioneering PhD was the first study to show in the 1990s that adherence to a Mediterranean Diet Pattern (MDP) in old age conferred longevity. Her research team at the time was also the first to develop a validated MDP score, enabling many researchers around the world to study the health benefits of the MDP, contributing to the huge body of evidence surrounding this diet.
She is an advocate of pulses, especially lupin, due to its remarkable nutritional composition and its potential to improve the gut microbiome, lower blood sugars, blood pressure and weight.
Additionally, she:
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is a researcher on the Mediterranean diet and lupin enriched foods
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is an author of over 50 published papers (>1300 citations, h-index of 17)
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is Co-author of 7 university text books including chapters in 3 editions of “Food & Nutrition” ed Wahlqvist ; chapters in a “A Guide to evidence based integrative medicine” ed Kotsirilos, Vitetta, Sali; and chapter in “Nutrition and Metabolism” ed Gibney.
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she is also an author of 3 of her own books, including a Mediterranean diet cook book, Drug Nutrient Herb Interactions and Food Sources of Nutrients
Antigone currently:
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runs her private practice in Murrumbeena and Beaumaris called Total Nutrition Care
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holds an adjunct position at La Trobe university since 2011 teaching into the dietetics course, supervising research students and conducting research on her functional lupin cookies (www.skinnybik.com).
Her areas of practice and interest include:
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Gut Health
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Diabetes
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Vegetarian Nutrition
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Mediterranean Diet
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Function Foods & use of evidenced based nutraceuticals to help manage health problems
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Qualifications
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PhD from the Faculty of Medicine at Monash University
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Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry/Microbiology (Melb Uni)
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Honours in Nutrition (Deakin)
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Grad Diploma in Dietetics (Deakin)
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Diploma in Botanic Medicine (Newcastle University).
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Professional membership
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Member of Dietitians Australia (DA)
Antigone Kouris APD, AN, PhD
AMNEC Advisory Team
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Rocco Di Vincenzo is a Consultant Dietitian who has a strong integrative functional nutritional and environmental medicine focus in his private practice and has formal qualifications in this area.
Rocco’s focus is on multidisciplinary, holistic, individually tailored, patient-centred nutrition intervention programs and the justifiable, evidence-based, systematic, strategic, goal-oriented use of pharmaceutical grade, practitioner only nutraceuticals to work in conjunction with GP/Specialist prescribed pharmaceuticals as a treatment adjunct in helping treat root cause of disease and alleviation of patient symptomatology.
He has worked as a Community Senior Dietitian for over a decade and was the Swinburne University Hospital Chief Dietitian, the first Integrative Hospital in the Southern Hemisphere at the time. As a result of his training and experience, Rocco is a strong advocate of community development and health promotion principles recognising that failure to invest in social infrastructure to help build healthy communities significantly encourages disease development and progression.
In an effort to improve wider nutritional understanding and empower communities, Rocco has created group nutrition education programs offering supermarket shopping tours, and presentations on a range of health topics of particular community interest enabling individuals to make informed decisions pertaining to their own health.
Rocco has a strong social and philanthropic sense and has committed to pro bono consultations for those in need, particularly children in local communities that do not have the means to be able to access evidence-based complementary healthcare assistance.
Rocco also provides consultations in fluent Italian. As a result of his expertise and interests, Rocco appears on radio, lectures to health professionals and the public on a wide variety of topics involving nutrition and from time to time writes articles for both scientific journals and health oriented magazines
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His areas of practice and interest include:
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Gastrointestinal and Liver dysfunction and disorders (including Non Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease)
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Neurological disorders such as depression/anxiety,
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Neuropsychiatric disorders including Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
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Autoimmune disorders
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Metabolic syndrome
Qualifications
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Bachelor of Science (Monash University)
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Masters in Human Nutrition and Dietetics (Deakin University)
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Postgraduate Diploma in Nutritional and Environmental Medicine at the Graduate School of Integrative Medicine (GSIM - Swinburne University)
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Post Graduate Diploma in Botanical Medicine at Newcastle University
Professional membership
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Member of Dietitians Australia (DA)
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Member of Complementary Medicine Australia (CMA)
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Member of Australasian College of Nutritional and Environmental Medicine (ACNEM)
Rocco Di Vincenzo APD, AN
AMNEC Advisory Team
Michael Hann APD AN
AMNEC Advisory Team
Michael is a Consultant Paediatric Dietitian who operates a national telehealth practice of APDs for children with severe feeding and eating disorders who have complicated co-occurring neuropsychiatric diagnoses such as Autism, ADHD, anxiety, OCD, Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA), Oppositional Defiance Disorder (ODD), sensory processing disorders and intellectual disability.
Michael is also currently working on a PhD research project to evaluate the impact of the gut microbiome on the progression of Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID) in young children 3-12yo with ASD and anxiety. The double-blind cross-over clinical trial will assess the impact of selected probiotics and prebiotic fibres on gut microbial composition, metabolomics and ARFID outcomes.
Since graduating in the Masters Degree of Nutrition & Dietetics at the University of Sydney, Michael has worked at the Royal Children’s Hospital (Queensland) and as a consultant in more than 40 other hospitals and health services across several dozen countries.
His areas of practice and interest include:
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Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID) in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), anxiety and ADHD
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The nutrition-gut microbiome-brain axis in ARFID, ASD, anxiety and ADHD
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Advanced nutrition biochemistry and microbiome testing
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Advance micronutrient therapies for complex clinical problems
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Functional foods and evidence-based nutraceuticals
Qualifications
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PhD candidate at the Centre for Microbiome Research, Translational Research Institute (TRI) and Queensland University of Technology, with Prof. Gene Tyson
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Masters of Nutrition & Dietetics (University of Sydney)
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Bachelor of Science, Biochemistry/Microbiology (Australian National University)
Professional memberships
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Member of Dietitians Australia (DA)
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Member of Australian Association of Clinical Biochemists (AACB)
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Member of Australia & New Zealand Academy of Eating Disorders (ANZAED)
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Member of the Academy of Eating Disorders (AED)
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Member of European Society of Neuro-Gastroenterology & Motility (ESNM)
Outside the world of nutrition, Michael is often out pre-dawn surfing a (very) longboard on the points at Noosa or can be sometimes found playing classical and jazz piano, along with a son who plays cello and daughter on the violin. He is also a conflict mediator and facilitator of group dialogue in complex community settings around the world where powerful interests violently collide around land ownership, agriculture, conservation, food sovereignty and public nutrition.
Sally Marchini APD, AN
AMNEC Advisory Team
Sally Marchini has almost ten years’ experience as a clinical dietitian, and more than forty years’ experience living with chronic disease.
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Sally is recognised as a leader in Early Life Nutrition. Sally trains other dietitians on the topics of avoiding gestational diabetes, pregnancy in T1DM and pregnancy and coeliac disease. Sally also studies and works with couples with thyroid conditions, PCOS, all types of diabetes, on minimising risk of gestational diabetes, endometriosis and gastrointestinal issues including IBD, IBS, and coeliac disease. She does have a special interest in all cases of T1DM, coeliac disease and other women’s health issues due to her own personal experience.
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Sally currently:
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runs her private practice in Belmont NSW called Marchini Nutrition
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is a member of Nutrition Plus, an umbrella organisation of leading dietitians worldwide working in the field of women’s health and early life nutrition
Sally’s areas of practice and interest include:
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Gastrointestinal conditions including IBD, IBS, food intolerances and coeliac disease
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Metabolic conditions including diabetes and PCOS
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Fertility and pregnancy
Qualifications
Bachelor of Nutrition and Dietetics (University of Newcastle)
Professional memberships
Member of Dietitians Australia (DA)
Australasian Diabetes in Pregnancy Society (ADIPS)
Gerald Quigley BPhar Med Herbalist
AMNEC Advisory Team
Gerald is a Pharmacist and Master Herbalist based in Melbourne. He is a media health commentator heard each week on many radio stations across Australia.
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He is a regular weekly guest with on Australia Overnight, heard across the Nine Radio network and syndicated stations each Thursday morning. This group includes 4CA, 4BC, 2UE, 5aa, 3AW and regional networks. He speaks on 6PR Perth on Saturday evenings.
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Additionally, he is co-host of a health and wellness program heard each Sunday on the Nine Radio Network live across Australia.
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Gerald is a regular guest on House of Wellness TV seen on the Seven Network across Australia each week.
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He has lectured in Drug & Integrative Pharmacology to 3rd Year students at the Southern School of Natural Therapies, part of the Torrens University Group, in Melbourne.
Gerald has also published a textbook on the benefits of Olive Leaf Extract.
Gerald is a Fellow of the Naturopaths and Herbalists Association of Australia and Fellow of the Australian Natural Therapists Association.
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Gerald consults to a number of companies within the health and wellness network within Australia, lectures at Wellness conferences and regularly speaks to a variety of Community groups and communities about physical and emotional health. He sees patients by appointment at Botanica in Malvern Victoria.
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His passion is to empower each person to make sensible health decisions, and to continually maintain and improve their quality of life, especially as they age.
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Gerald reinforces our rediscovering of the ability to understand wellness, the role of food choices, and aging well – all of which are aspects of vitality fundamental to our future.