Following the success of the SIDS and Kids Pathology Workshop in 2004 the Board of the National SIDS Council of Australia has formed a National Scientific Advisory Group to provide advice on research initiatives and gaps in policy in relation to SIDS and Kids issues.

Members of the group, who have no conflict of interest, will also be responsible for providing advice to SIDS and Kids on the projects that best fall within SIDS and Kids’ research funding protocol.

The National Scientific Advisory Group membership consists of:

• Associate Professor (Adjunct) Jeanine Young, Nursing Director Research, Royal Children’s Hospital and Health Service District, Queensland.

• Dr Edouard Tursan d’Espaignet, Service Director, Surveillance and Performance, Hunter Population Health, Newcastle;

• Dr Susan Beal, Paediatrician and SIDS researcher, Adelaide;

• Professor Roger Byard, Special Forensic Pathologist and Clinical Professor of Paediatrics and Pathology, University of Adelaide;

• Dr Ian Cameron, Chief Executive Officer, NSW Rural Doctors Network, Newcastle;

• Professor Gay Edgecombe, Professor and Clinical Chair, Community Child Health Nursing, RMIT, Melbourne;

• Ms Vicki Flenady, Clinical Director, Centre for Clinical Studies, Mater Health Services, Brisbane;

• Professor Caroline Homer, Professor of Midwifery, Centre for Midwifery and Family Health, Faculty of Nursing, University of Technology, Sydney;

• Associate Professor Heather Jeffery, Head of Royal Prince Alfred Hospital Newborn Care, Sydney;

• Associate Professor Yee Khong, Department of Histopathology, Women's and Children's Hospital, Adelaide;

Ms Leanne Raven, CEO SIDS and Kids National, Melbourne;

• Dr Jacqueline Scurlock, Paediatrician, Perth;

Dr Janet Vaughan, Doctor, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Sydney.

The National Scientific Advisory Group meets 4 times yearly either face-to-face or via teleconference.

There is a constant flow of information sharing between the members of the group and SIDS and Kids in the periods between these meetings.