Physicians of the Future Conference

Professor Asiata Dr. Satupaitea Viali is the current Vice Chancellor and President of OUM Samoa, serving since 2024. Prof Satu is a Cardiologist and Specialist Physician in Samoa. From 2002 to 2008, he was OUM’s Professor and Dean, and in 2007, he was on hand to congratulate OUM’s first graduates. He rejoined OUM as Interim Dean of Samoa and the Asia Pacific and Professor of Medicine in May 2023.

In addition to his roles at OUM, Professor Viali is a Professor Adjunct of Epidemiology at the Yale School of Public Health, Yale University; Professor Honorary in the Department of Molecular Medicine & Pathology, Faculty of Medicine & Health Science at the University of Auckland; and Professor of Medicine at the National University of Samoa School of Medicine and School of Nursing. He is also a Cardiologist and Specialist Physician at the Medical Specialist Cardiology Clinic in Tuloto, Togafuafua, Apia, Samoa, and serves as a Visiting Cardiologist and Specialist Physician to the Ministry of Health and the National Hospital in the National Rheumatic Fever and Rheumatic Heart Disease Program. His primary area of expertise is echocardiographic screening in schools, having performed over 30,000 screening echocardiograms since 2008, with ongoing research into the regression and management of rheumatic heart disease over the past 18 years.

Professor Viali has published extensively in peer-reviewed journals on rheumatic fever, rheumatic heart disease, non-communicable diseases, diabetes, metabolic syndrome, and related topics. He earned his Bachelor of Human Biology and MBChB from the University of Auckland Medical School and his Master of Public Health from the University of New South Wales. He is a Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians (FRACP), the Cardiac Society of Australia and New Zealand (FCSANZ), the European Society of Cardiology (FESC), and the American College of Cardiology (FACC), and was recently inducted as a Fellow of the Pacific Academy of Sciences. His current collaborative research includes studies on the ghrelin hormone and cardiovascular health, Parkinson’s disease genetics, lipidomics, metabolic health, and lymphatic filariasis, in partnership with institutions including Yale University, the University of Auckland, the University of Otago, the University of Pittsburgh, Brown University, Variant Bio, and the University of Queensland. He also serves as Co-Director of the Yale University Fogarty Global Health International Centre in Samoa and is a member of the Olaga Research Group.

Professor Viali has taught medical students across the Pacific, New Zealand, Australia, French Polynesia, and the United States, and has worked clinically in Samoa, New Zealand, Australia, Tahiti, and the Cook Islands. He is currently Chair of the Samoa Medical Council, Chair of the Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC), and Founding and Senior Pastor of Cornerstone Church Samoa since 2014.

Dinesh was the first quadriplegic medical intern in Queensland. Dinesh is a doctor, lawyer, disability advocate, and researcher. While in medical school, he was involved in a car accident that caused a spinal cord injury. Dinesh was born in Sri Lanka, moving to Australia at the age of ten during the civil war.

Dinesh works in the emergency department at the Gold Coast University Hospital. He is a researcher and senior lecturer at Griffith University and assistant professor at Bond University. Dinesh is a researcher in spinal cord injury, co-leading the BioSpine research team.

He is a doctor for the Gold Coast Titans physical disability rugby team. Dinesh was a senior advisor to the Disability Royal Commission. He is an advisory board member to HealthyLife, a Woolworths company. Dinesh is a John Monash Scholar. He is an independent non-executive director of George Steuart & Co, one of the oldest companies in the world.

Dinesh was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia in 2019. He was the third Australian to be awarded a Henry Viscardi Achievement Award. He was the 2021 Griffith University Young Alumnus of the Year. Dinesh was the Queensland Australian of the Year for 2021. His autobiography, Stronger, was published by Pan Macmillan in 2022.

Ian Winson was born in 1964 in Harare, Zimbabwe (then Salisbury, Rhodesia), and later moved to South Africa, where he completed his schooling, military service, and a Civil Engineering degree. He began his career working in township development and wastewater services before immigrating to New Zealand in 1998, where he held engineering roles with Watercare Services. A lifelong athlete, Ian was deeply involved in competitive sport from a young age, including premier league hockey, endurance events, and Ironman competitions, and played a key role in establishing The Lydiard Legend Marathon.

In 2011, Ian’s life changed dramatically following a devastating workplace accident that resulted in bilateral above-knee amputations and multiple serious injuries. After months of hospitalization and rehabilitation, he returned home determined to rebuild his independence and redefine what was possible. Drawing on resilience, discipline, and the training philosophies he had long embraced, Ian relearned to walk, swim, and live fully, while remaining actively involved in his family life.

Since his accident, Ian has become a powerful example of perseverance and adaptability. He has retrained as a personal fitness trainer and swimming coach, completed multiple marathons using prosthetics and adaptive equipment, earned a gold medal at the World Masters Games, and now competes nationally in para rowing. Today, he continues to push boundaries, including competing alongside his son in New Zealand’s Inclusion rowing category, embodying a message of resilience, purpose, and the enduring pursuit of possibility.

Alycia Inglis is an award-winning mortgage broker and the Director of Medipath Finance, with over 20 years’ experience helping people navigate property and finance with confidence. She specialises in working with medical professionals at every stage of their career, from interns through to specialists and understands the unique challenges and opportunities that come with being a medico.

Through her Medipath platform, Alycia focuses on educating and supporting doctors to make smart, considered decisions around buying their first home and building long-term wealth. Her sessions are known for being practical, relatable, and easy to understand — cutting through the noise to give clear guidance that doctors can actually use.