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The fourth ACIIDS Conference was held in Sydney at the PARKROYAL Hotel near Darling Harbour. It featured experts in the field of complex chronic illness who spoke about ‘Rebooting Mitochondria in Complex Chronic Illness (such as ME/CFS, Mould Illness, Fibromyalgia and Neurodengerative disease)’ on Saturday 25th October and ‘Managing the Sensitive and Toxic Patient’ on Sunday 26th October. 

Program

FRIDAY 24th OCTOBER: Clinician Workshop (BARKERS Restaurant)
7:00pm-8.30 pm Dr Ashley Berry The Mel Sydney-Smith Nutritional Physical Exam Method [FULLY BOOKED]
SATURDAY 25th OCTOBER: Rebooting Mitochondria In Complex Chronic Illness
8:00 am TEA & COFFEE
9:00 am MC/Dr Ashley Berry Introduction to the ACIIDS 2025 Conference
9:10 am Karl Landers Kingsway Compounding
9:25 am Prof Ann Liebert Photobiomodulation: Targeting Mitochondria in Chronic Pain and Neurological Disorders
10:20 am Dr Sanjeev Sharma Mitochondrial Resuscitation in Mental Health
11:15 am MORNING TEA
11:30 am Ian Tracton InterClinical
11:50 am Dr Christabelle Yeoh Mitochondrial Bioenergetics: The Connection With Dysbiosis
12:40 pm Prof Liebert, Drs Sharma, Yeoh Q&A Panel
1:00 pm LUNCH
2:00 pm Dr Sandeep Gupta Environmental Toxicants and Their Effects on Mitochondria
3:00 pm Dr Nicole Bijlsma Electromagnetic Fields and the Cell Danger Response
4:00 pm AFTERNOON TEA
4:20 pm Drs Gupta, Bijlsma Q&A Panel
4:40 pm MC Day One Closing Remarks
4:45 pm Day One End
5:00 pm Dr Finn Jenk ART Workshop (BARKERS Restaurant)
6:00 pm Workshop End
SUNDAY 26th OCTOBER: Managing the Sensitive & Toxic Patient
8:00 am TEA & COFFEE
9:00 am MC Introducing Day Two
9:05 am Dr Michelle Clark FxMed
9:20 am Dr Nicole Bijlsma The Perfect Storm: Identifying Environmental Exposures
10:10 am Dr Nicholas Morgan A Therapeutic Order for Biotoxin Illness
11:00 am MORNING TEA
11:15 am Michael Shenoda Bob Harrison TerryWhite Chemmart
11:30 am Prof Robyn Cosford Autism: What Is Happening, Why, and What Can We Do About It?
12:15 pm Dr Anjana Arunachalam / Dr Sandeep Gupta Oxalates and Sulphation in Complex Chronic Illness
1:00 pm LUNCH
2:00 pm Lisa McDonald A Naturopathic Approach to the Sensitive Patient
2:45 pm All Sunday Speakers Q&A Panel
3:05 pm MC/Dr Berry Conference Closing Remarks
3:15 pm AFTERNOON TEA
3:30 pm Conference End

SPEAKERS

FRIDAY EVENING 25th OCTOBER

Dr Ashley Berry, MBBS, Grad Dip (Nutrition)

Evening workshop. Very limited spaces for clinicians only!

Dr Berry will show attendees how to do a physical exam as originally taught by Professor Mel Sydney-Smith.

Professor Mel Sydney-Smith, MBBS, PhD, GradDipClinNutrit, FACNEM

Dr (retired) Sydney-Smith has been heavily involved in the postgraduate education of medical and paramedical health practitioners in Australia and Asia, focusing on the clinical application of nutrition in the remediation of disease and maintenance of health.

He composed, developed and taught the Graduate Diploma in Health Science (Nutrition Medicine) award, originally offered by the University of New England, Armidale, NSW, in a joint venture contract with the Australian College of Holistic Medicine (ACNEM). This graduate diploma program then relocated to RMIT University, Melbourne, and launched in 2005 as an integral part of the Master of Nutrition Medicine degree.

ACIIDS Chair

Dr Ashley Berry graduated from the University of NSW, Sydney, in 1979. He worked at several Sydney hospitals before working as a medical registrar in London in 1984-85.

He has been an Integrative GP since 1997, under the mentorship of Professor Mel Sydney-Smith and did a 2-year Diploma in Health Science at the University of New England. Furthermore, has been a medical student tutor for the University of NSW since 1999.

Dr. Berry has been teaching nutritional courses in Melbourne with Mel Sydney-Smith since 2011, and Kuala Lumpur since 2015, and has been a medical advisor for Biological Therapies since 2016.

Since 2019 he has lectured at HEAT Anti-Aging Congress (Health Education & Academics Thailand).

He has been working as a GP in Sydney. His major interests are digestive disturbances, detoxification, ME/CFS, fibromyalgia, degenerative neurological disease, cancer support and other aspects of integrative medicine. He has been facilitating a monthly cancer support group for the past 10 years.

Dr Berry is keen to pass on the knowledge he has been fortunate to have gleaned from courses, colleagues, conferences and patients, and to promote integrative medicine.

In 2022, he became chairperson of The Australian Chronic Infectious and Inflammatory Disease Society (ACIIDS), after being a board member for the previous two years.

Outside of medicine, he races a Sabre dinghy every week.

Clinic

SATURDAY 25th OCTOBER

Prof Ann Liebert, PhD, Research Fellow (University of Sydney)

Professor Liebert will discuss the effects of photobiomodulation, previously referred to as low-level laser therapy (LLLT), on mitochondrial function and how it can benefit chronic neurological conditions such as chronic pain, including migraine and fibromyalgia, as well as chronic traumatic encephalopathy, myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME/CFS) cognitive decline, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases. Professor Liebert will discuss both the established mechanism of action (via cytochrome c oxidase) and newer theories such as improving impaired neuro-cortical oscillations/brain waves

Professor Liebert is a Research Fellow at the Kolling Institute at The University of Sydney and also the Coordinator of Photomolecular Research at the Sydney Adventist Hospital. In addition to completing a Bachelor of Applied Science and a Post Graduate Diploma in Manipulative Physiotherapy and Bachelor of Applied Science at Sydney University, she also completed her PhD studying the mechanisms of laser light therapy (photobiomodulation) adding to the growing body of medical evidence for the use of light to treat unresponsive chronic headache and pain conditions. After her PhD she began a lab at the Australasian Research Institute to study photobiomodulation to precondition for heart surgery and other surgeries. She currently continues research into the application of photobiomodulation to treat Parkinson’s disease and concussion with clinical trials as well as laboratory studies into kidney disease. She also continues her clinical practice at Artarmon Physiotherapy and at the Sydney Adventist Hospital, where she treats Parkinson’s disease, post-viral injury, TMJ pain, complex spinal pain and headaches in children and elders, as well as serving the physiotherapy needs of the Artarmon community as she has for the past 25 years.

Clinic

Other

Select Research

  • Bicknell, B., Liebert, A., & Herkes, G. (2024). Parkinson’s Disease and Photobiomodulation: Potential for Treatment. Journal of personalized medicine, 14(1), 112. PMC10819946
  • Bicknell, B., Liebert, A., Borody, T., Herkes, G., McLachlan, C., & Kiat, H. (2023). Neurodegenerative and Neurodevelopmental Diseases and the Gut-Brain Axis: The Potential of Therapeutic Targeting of the Microbiome. International journal of molecular sciences, 24(11), 9577. PMC10253993
  • Liebert, A., Capon, W., Pang, V., Vila, D., Bicknell, B., McLachlan, C., & Kiat, H. (2023). Photophysical Mechanisms of Photobiomodulation Therapy as Precision Medicine. Biomedicines, 11(2), 237. PMC9953702
  • Hamblin, M. R., & Liebert, A. (2022). Photobiomodulation Therapy Mechanisms Beyond Cytochrome c Oxidase. Photobiomodulation, photomedicine, and laser surgery, 40(2), 75–77. https://doi.org/10.1089/photob.2021.0119
  • Bian, J., Liebert, A., Bicknell, B., Chen, X. M., Huang, C., & Pollock, C. A. (2022). Therapeutic Potential of Photobiomodulation for Chronic Kidney Disease. International journal of molecular sciences, 23(14), 8043. PMC9320354
  • Liebert, A., Bicknell, B., Johnstone, D. M., Gordon, L. C., Kiat, H., & Hamblin, M. R. (2019). “Photobiomics”: Can Light, Including Photobiomodulation, Alter the Microbiome?. Photobiomodulation, photomedicine, and laser surgery, 37(11), 681–693. PMC6859693
  • Liebert A. (2018). Emerging Applications of Photobiomodulation Therapy: The Interaction Between Metabolomics and the Microbiome. Photomedicine and laser surgery, 36(10), 515–517. https://doi.org/10.1089/pho.2018.4527
  • Researchgate

Dr Sanjeev Sharma, MBBS, MD (Psychiatry), FRANZCP, FACNEM, FAChAM, Master’s in Clinical Nutrition (SAHAMM)

Integrative Psychiatrist Dr Sanjeev Sharma will talk on how mitochondria, vital for energy and neuronal function, are implicated in disorders like depression, anxiety and other mental health conditions, when dysfunctional. He will explore how mitochondrial impairment disrupts brain signaling and worsens inflammation, and how mitochondrial health can be restored through nutrition, supplements and lifestyle changes.

At the forefront of Integrative and Functional Medicine in Australia, Dr Sharma is a practising Integrative Psychiatrist with a deep interest in healing using holistic modalities. His emphasises lifestyle, dietary and tailored treatment plans to help people overcome addiction, depression, ADHD, bipolar disorder and other mental health illnesses.

Dr Sharma’s goal is to bring new hope and life to individuals and families who normally would have given up as the ability to cope dwindled in their lives. This approach is also being used around the world in other disciplines of medicine very successfully.

His early training was in India, before working at the Central Institute of Psychiatry (CIP), Ranchie, and the National Institute of Health & Neurosciences (NIMHANS), Bangalore.

Dr Sharma has been settled in Perth for nearly two decades. His treatment philosophy combineds Eastern and Western medicine, beliving that each individual is unique and should be treated as such. He has worked in various capacities in Public Hospitals in Perth, and is now practising Integrative Psychiatry at Abbotsford Hospital in Leederville, Perth.

He regulary speaks at Professional and Public forms highlighting the importance of lifestyle concepts in well-being.

“Nutrition creates fertile ground on which seeds of psychology will sow” — Dr Sanjeev Sharma

Clinic/Meditation

Dr Christabelle Yeoh, MBBS, MRCP(UK), MSc (Nutrition), FACNEM

Mitochondrial biology and biophysics is well understood to be the mainstay of fatigue, metabolic disorders and chronic inflammation — but what about gut health? Dr Yeoh posits that every patient tested in the clinic has degrees of altered microbiota profiles. Integrative medicine has progressed through decades of treating the gastrointestinal tract from candida, strep, parasites, bacterial overgrowth, SIBO, SIFO, IMO, sulfur issues, oxalate issues, histamine, and more, perspectives. Using a mitochondrial lens Dr Yeoh will go beyond diet and antimicrobials in considering how else to manage patients with dysbiosis.

Dr Christabelle Yeoh, with over 20 years in clinical care, focuses on root causes of chronic disease, optimising patients’ biophysical, mitochondrial, digestive, and brain health. She uses nutritional and environmental medicine, plus selective rehab to support neuroplasticity, to correct dysfunctions, emphasising circadian biology. Through biophysics, biochemistry, and functional medicine, she provides lifestyle and nutrient advice to enhance energy and metabolism. Dr Yeoh specialises in chronic disease, neurological, gastrointestinal, and metabolic health and helps patients with complex conditions by addressing lifestyle, nutrition, and environmental factors.

Dr Yeoh graduated from medicine at the University of London in 1999 and obtained her membership with the Royal College of Physicians (UK). She has a Masters degree in Nutrition from King’s College London. After practicing hospital medicine, she worked as a general physician with an interest in Nutritional and Environmental Medicine. She was a director and past president at the Australasian College of Nutritional and Environmental Medicine (ACNEM) and is active on the teaching faculty.

Clinic

Dr Leibert, Dr Yeoh, Dr Sharma

Doctors Liebert, Sharma and Yeoh will take questions from the audience in regards to the multiple roles of mitochondria, and ways to improve mitochondrial health, in complex chronic illness and mental health disorders.

Dr Sandeep Gupta, MBBS, MA, FRACGP, FACNEM

Via a case study Dr Gupta will explain how environmental toxins can negatively impact NAD+ and mitochondrial function by inducing oxidative stress, damaging mitochondrial DNA, disrupting the electron transport chain, and affecting mitochondrial dynamics and mitophagy, ultimately leading to reduced energy production and cell dysfunction.

ACIIDS Co-secretary

Dr Gupta is a vocationally registered general practitioner who runs an integrative medicine clinic on the Sunshine Coast. His main passion relates to finding the underlying causes and innovated approaches to managing chronic illness. Dr Gupta graduated from medical school at the University of Queensland 1999. He has received specialized training in integrative medicine, and was awarded a Fellowship of the Australasian College of Nutritional and Environmental Medicine in 2008 and a Fellowship of the Australian College of General Practitioners in 2010.

He also has a physician training certification with Dr Ritchie Shoemaker in biotoxin illness and Masters of Nutrition with Dr Gabriel Cousens in diabetes and living food nutrition.

Dr Gupta has a broad range of interests including environmental medicine, management of cardiology and cancer cases, mast cell activation syndrome, multiple chemical sensitivity,  and management of chronic infections.

Websites

Social Media

Research

  • Ealy, H., McEvoy, M., Chong, D., Nowicki, J., Sava, M., Gupta, S., White, D., Jordan, J., Simon, D., & Anderson, P. (2020). COVID-19 Data Collection, Comorbidity & Federal Law: A Historical Retrospective. Science, Public Health Policy, and The Law, 2, 2019-2024, 4-22. Link.
  • Ealy, H., McEvoy, M., Chong, D., Sava, M., Gupta, S., White, D., Jordan, J., Braham, E., Fieberg, C., Anderson, P. & White, D. (2020). COVID-19…Have You Heard? There Is Good News! Key Findings For Data Through July 5th. July 2020. ResearchGate.
  • Gupta, S. (2014). Surviving Mould Down Under. SurvivingMold.com. Link.
  • Berndtson, K., McMahon, S., Ackerley, M., Rapaport, S., Gupta, S. & Shoemaker, R.C. (2015). Medically sound investigation and remediation of water-damaged buildings in cases of CIRS-WDB – Consensus statement – Pt 1. SurvivingMold.com. Full text

Dr Nicole Bijlsma, PhD, ND, BHScAc (Hons), Grad Dip OHS, Adv Dip Building Biology

Dr Bijlsma will showcase her recent RCT study that showed radiofrequency-EMFs, via the use of 2.45 GHz baby monitors, significantly reduced sleep quality in healthy adults. She will discuss some of the potential mechanisms of action, including how EMFs increase oxidative stress/ROS and the subsequent impact on mitochondria — and some simple ways for patients to mitigate them.

Nicole is a researcher, building biologist, bestselling author (Healthy Home Healthy Family), and CEO of the Australian College of Environmental Studies (est. 1999). She is the founder of the Healthy Home (Building Biology) movement in Australia which was created to educate people about the health hazards in the built environment. Nicole has lectured at tertiary institutions for more than 30 years, has published in peer reviewed journals and is regularly consulted by the media to discuss mould, electromagnetic fields and toxic chemicals, and lectures in Australia and abroad about environmental health issues. Nicole was a committee member for the first Australian Standard for mould (2025). Her research explored the impact of environmental chemicals and wireless technologies on human health and their ramifications for general medical practice.

Website

Research

  • Bijlsma, N., Conduit, R., Kennedy, G., & Cohen, M. (2024). Does radiofrequency radiation impact sleep? A double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled, crossover pilot study. Frontiers in public health, 12, 1481537. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2024.1481537 PMC11554657
  • Bijlsma, N., & Cohen, M. M. (2018). Expert clinician’s perspectives on environmental medicine and toxicant assessment in clinical practice. Environmental health and preventive medicine, 23(1), 19. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12199-018-0709-0 PMC5956903
  • Bijlsma, N., & Cohen, M. M. (2016). Environmental Chemical Assessment in Clinical Practice: Unveiling the Elephant in the Room. International journal of environmental research and public health, 13(2), 181. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph13020181 PMC4772201

Dr Bijlsma, Dr Gupta

Doctors Gupta and Bijlsma will take questions from the audience about how environmental toxins and EMFs impact chronic illness, especially their impact on mitochondria, NAD and oxidative stress.

SUNDAY 26th OCTOBER

Dr Nicole Bijlsma, PhD, ND, BHScAc (Hons), Grad Dip OHS, Adv Dip Building Biology

Dr Bijlsma will take attendees through the steps of taking an exposure history to identify patients who are likely impacted by environmental toxins, such as mould/bacteria from water-damaged buildings, and other toxins and toxicants found in buildings or coming from the outside, plus electromagnetic field (EMF) exposures.

Dr Nicholas Morgan, MBBS, Dip TM&H, FRACGP, FACNEM

Dr Morgan will guide you through his framework for sensitive patients suffering from mould and other toxins from water-damaged buildings. He will outline steps such as pre-tox, “tame the flame”, system supports, “beat the bugs,” detox/detox plus, hormone support, rebuilding lines of defence and mitchondrial rebooting.

ACIIDS Board Member

Dr Nick Morgan is an Integrative Medical Practitioner committed to the ever-evolving study of environmental drivers to inflammatory illness. After graduating medical school in 2014, he went on to obtain a Diploma of Tropical Medicine & Hygiene in Liverpool, UK in 2018, then a RACGP GP Fellowship. Following this, personal health circumstances motivated him to delve into the multiple imbalances that can ensue in the setting of myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS). Further study in mast cell immunology/mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS), chronic infections including Tick-borne Illnesses and Long COVID, gut microbiome, and bioidentical hormones all proved essential in providing the tools necessary to address the chronic inflammatory effects of ME/CFS and other chronic inflammatory illnesses.

Dr Nick is a fellow of The Australian College of Nutrition and Environmental Medicine (ACNEM), a Board Member of The Australian Chronic Infectious and Inflammatory Diseases Society (ACIIDS), and also a member of the International Society of Environmentally Acquired Illness (ISEAI).

Clinics

Prof Robyn Cosford, MBBS (Hons), FACNEM, Professor of Nutritional & Environmental Medicine

Children’s neurodevelopmental disorders (ASD, ADHD, OCD) have increased in incidence dramatically over the past 40 years as has adult ME/CFS. These are overlapping syndromes, with various features in common and a commonality in underlying pathophysiology. Hence there is also a commonality in successful intervention modalities. Professor Cosford will present an overview of these concepts and modalities.

Prof Robyn Cosford trained in Australia, has an honours degree in medicine and  is a qualified naturopath, specialising in nutritional and environmental medicine for over 35 years. Prior to Covid, she was a researcher with the University of Newcastle into the biomedical aspects of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Autism and ADHD , lectured at international autism conferences, convened 2 Mind of a Child Conferences in Sydney in 1998 and 2002, and brought the biomedical treatment of autism into Australia. She was a senior lecturer for ACNEM. Her academic foundation thus includes a strong focus on understanding the role of lifestyle, nutrition, and environmental factors in disease prevention and treatment. Professor Cosford has been instrumental in advancing integrative medical practices in Australia, combining conventional medical approaches with evidence-based natural therapies to improve patient outcomes.

Website

Research

  • Cosford, R. (2025). Spikeotherapeutics: the Cholinergic Anti-inflammatory Pathway, the Vagus Nerve and Dysautonomia: is Nicotine an answer?. Medical Research Archives, 13(6). https://doi.org/10.18103/mra.v13i6.6530
  • Parry, P. I., Lefringhausen, A., Turni, C., Neil, C. J., Cosford, R., Hudson, N. J., & Gillespie, J. (2023). ‘Spikeopathy’: COVID-19 Spike Protein Is Pathogenic, from Both Virus and Vaccine mRNA. Biomedicines, 11(8), 2287. https://doi.org/10.3390/biomedicines11082287 PMC10452662
  • Cosford, Robyn. (2009). PANDAS (Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disease Associated with Streptococcus) in Autism?: A Case History. E-Journal of Applied Psychology. 5. 39-48.
  • Evans, C., Dunstan, R. H., Rothkirch, T., Roberts, T. K., Reichelt, K. L., Cosford, R., Deed, G., Ellis, L. B., & Sparkes, D. L. (2008). Altered amino acid excretion in children with autism. Nutritional neuroscience, 11(1), 9–17. https://doi.org/10.1179/147683008X301360

Articles

  • Cosford, R. (2006). ADHD Diet and the Brain. Journal of Complementary Medicine. PDF.

Dr Anjana Arunachalam, MBBS, BSc, FRACGP, FACNEM

Via a case study Dr Arunachalam will provide a comprehensive look at sulfur and oxalate metabolism, their interplay with gut health, and practical strategies for diagnosis and treatment.

ACIIDS Co-secretary

Dr. Arunchalam’s approach toward Medicine is based on the understanding that we are each a unique blend of our genetic, biochemical, environmental, emotional, and spiritual experiences. She aspires to collaborate with the best of the integrative, functional, and holistic medical worlds and marry them with traditional medical knowledge to provide the best outcomes for my patients. This involves the incorporation of clinical evidence-based scientific research and functional investigations with the intention of identifying the underlying disease processes.

Dr. Arunachalam has worked at a dedicated functional medical clinic focusing on complex fatigue, digestive disorders, and children for several years. This led her to grow her own Integrative practice in Balwyn, Victoria. Integrative Medicine is her passion and she aspires to live life based on these principles.

Website/Clinic

Lisa McDonald, ND

Lisa McDonald is a clinical naturopath and academic lecturer who is passionate about helping people with complex chronic health conditions, especially Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome (CIRS) or mould /biotoxin illness, having been through the CIRS journey herself.

Lisa helps people identify the underlying cause of their ill health and the potential impact of mould exposure to restore health and live a better life. Whilst there are many similarities in multi-symptom, multisystem health issues like mould illness/CIRS, she considers each patient different with their own unique genetics and history and believes there is not a one size fits all, with each patient requiring a personalised approach.

She brings together all her knowledge and experience into a unique integrated naturopathic framework blending traditional medicine with the latest science.

Website

Dr Bijlsma, Dr Morgan, Dr Cosford, Dr Arunachalam, Lisa McDonald

Doctors Bijlsma, Morgan and Arunachalam along with Professor Cosford and Lisa McDonald will take questions from the audience about how to identify and manage sensitive patients suffering from environmental toxins.

TICKETS

THE VENUE

PARKROYAL Darling Harbour Sydney
150 Day Street, Sydney, NSW 2000
Phone: +61 2 9261 1188
Email: enquiry.prsyd@parkroyalhotels.com
Website: Website

EXHIBITORS

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