Best care for tiny babies
- September 15 - 17, 2026
- Brisbane, Australia
Objectives
IPOKRaTES seminars provide high quality postgraduate education which enables professionals to keep abreast of the most recent developments and offer participants the opportunity to discuss clinical problems or scientific issues personally with international experts.
This seminar is to share knowledge, to understand the latest advances and to develop collaborations and networks to provide the best care for tiny babies, their families and their communities.
Faculty
Pita Birch
Mater Mothers’ Hospital, Meanjin Brisbane, Australia
Barbara Cormack
Starship Child Health, Auckland, New Zealand
Peter Dargaville
Royal Hobart Hospital, Hobart TAS, Australia
Koert De Waal
John Hunter Hospital / The University of Newcastle, Mulubinba Newcastle, NSW, Australia
Melissa Gilroy
Mater Mothers’ Hospital, Meanjin Brisbane, Australia
Tetsuya Isayama
National Center for Child Health and Development (NCCHD), Tokyo, Japan
Sailesh Kumar
Mater Mothers’ Hospital/ The University of Queensland, Meanjin, Brisbane, Australia
Craig McBride
Queensland Children’s Hospital /University of Queensland, Meanjin Brisbane, Australia
Renee Muirhead
Mater Mothers’ Hospital, Meanjin Brisbane, Australia
Josef Neu
University of Florida, College of Medicine, Gainesville, FL, USA
Brett Manley
The Mercy Hospital for Women / The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia
Ju-Lee Oei
Mater Mothers’ Hospital, Meanjin Brisbane, Australia /University of New South Wales, Randwick Warrane, Australia
Denise Page
Mater Mothers’ Hospital, Meanjin, Brisbane, Australia
Matthew Rysavy
University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, USA
Huayan Zhang
Guangzhou Women and Children's Hospital, China / Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, USA
Program
TUE, September 15, 2026
Venue: Emporium Hotel
08.30-08.40
Welcome and Acknowledgement of Country
Kerri Gane &TBC
Session 1: The Best Start to Life
08.40-08.50
Life with a Tiny Baby: A Family’s Experience
TBC
08.50-09.05
Tiny babies: Why Now?
Pita Birch
09.05-09.25
Tiny Babies, Big Clues: What the Placenta Can Tell Us
Sailesh Kumar
09.25-10.10
The Best Start: Optimising Delivery Room Management for Tiny Babies
Matt Rysavy
10.10-10.40
Morning tea
Session 2: Fuelling for the Best Start to Life
10.40-11.10
Nutritional Targets in the Tiny Baby and Hyperglycaemia
Josef Neu
11.10-11.40
Refeeding Syndrome in the Tiny Baby
Barbara Cormack
11.40-12.10
The Dietician’s Lens: Using Growth Metrics to Guide Feeding
Mel Gilroy, Denise Page
12.10-13.00
Lunch
Session3: NEC and beyond
13.00-14.10
The NEC Duel: Medical vs Surgical Strategies Under the Operating Lights
Josef Neu, Craig McBride
14.10-14.40
Post Operative Pain Management
Renee Muirhead
14.40-15.10
Afternoon tea
Session 4: The First Week of Life
15.10-15.55
Ventilation Strategies to Prevent Lung Injury
Huayan Zhang
15.55-16.25
How Much is Enough? Surfactant Strategies for Tiny Babies
Peter Dargaville
16.25-17.25
PANEL: Optimising Early Care for Our Tiniest Patients: Chaired by Jasmine Antoine
Matt Rysavy, Peter Dargaville, Huayan Zhang, Ju-Lee Oei
17.25-17.30
Closing Remarks
WED, September 16, 2026
Venue: Emporium Hotel
08.30-08.40
Welcome & Housekeeping
Peter Cunningham
Session 5: The First Week of Life
08.40-09.25
Safeguarding the Neonatal Brain: Preventing Intraventricular Haemorrhage
Matt Rysavy
09.25-10.25
Hypoxia and Haemodynamics in the Tiny Baby: : physiologically targeted treatments
Koert De Waal
10.25-10.55
Morning tea
Session 6: The Later Days
10.55-11.45
When the Honeymoon Ends: Managing Respiratory Deterioration in Tiny Babies
Huayan Zhang
11.45-12.15
Steroids in the Tiny Baby: Timing, Dosing and Outcomes
Tetsuya Isayama
12.15-12.45
When Can We Extubate the Tiny Baby?
Peter Dargaville
12.45-13.35
Lunch
Session 7: The Later Days
13.35-14.20
The Tiny Baby Collaborative
Matt Rysavy
14.20-14.55
Inhaled nitric oxide use in tiny babies - the Japanese experience
Tetsuya Isayama
14.55-15.25
Redefining BPD. Who cares about 36 weeks?
Brett Manley
15.25-15.55
Afternoon tea
Session 8: Preparing for Home
15.55-16.05
Home Life with a Tiny Baby: A Family’s Experience
TBC
16.05-17.00
PANEL: Chronic Respiratory Management in Tiny Babies: Where to From Here: Chaired by Luke Jardine
Huayan Zhang, Matt Rysavy, Tetsuya Isayama, Brett Manley
17.00-17.10
Closing remarks
Ju-Lee Oei
THU, September 17, 2026
Venue: Mater Mothers’ Hospital
Workshops
07.30-10.30
Difficult Vascular Access: Enhancing Success with Ultrasound Guidance
Facilitated by Friederike Beker and Tejasvi Chaudhari
08.30-10.30
Ventilation Strategies for Severe BPD
Facilitated by Huayan Zhang
08.30-10.30
Neuroprotective Nursing: Skin to Brain Strategies in Tiny Babies
Facilitated by De August and Renee Muirhead
10.30-11.00
Morning tea
11.00-13.00
Ventilation Strategies for Severe BPD (REPEAT SESSION)
Facilitated by Huayan Zhang
11.00-13.00
From TPN to Full Feeds: Navigating Nutrition in Tiny Babies
Facilitated by Denise Page, Melissa Gilroy, Josef Neu
13.00-14.00
Lunch
14.00-17.00
Difficult Vascular Access: Enhancing Success with Ultrasound Guidance (REPEAT SESSION)
Facilitated by Friederike Beker and Tejasvi Chaudhari
Subject to change
Free Seats
Information
The number of participants is limited to 190
Participation Fees
Local participants:
Physicians: 600 AUD
Fellow/nurse/allied health: 430 AUD
Please click here to register as an Australian attendee.
International participants:
Single Person: 400 EUR
LMIC: 250 EUR
Registration for international and LMIC participants will open soon.
Workshops: 85 AUD / 50 EUR
allows attendance at two workshops; limited to 75 participants
Poster Abstracts
- A small number of poster abstracts will be accepted.
- Please send applications to Luke.Jardine@mater.org.au by Friday July 3rd.
- Format: Max 250 words, one A4 page, 2.54 cm margins, Arial font size 10, single-spaced.
- Structure: Title in CAPITALS, followed by author(s) initials and surname, and the sponsoring unit.
- Submission: Email to with subject line: "Ipokrates 2026 - ABSTRACT SUBMISSION".
- Content: Focused on tiny babies
- For further details please contact Luke Jardine.
Target Audience
Neonatologists, neonatal fellows, neonatal nurses, allied health professionals
Local Organizers
Dr. Jasmine Antoine and Dr. Peter Cunningham
Mater Mothers’ Hospital
Neonatal Critical Care Unit
South Brisbane, QLD
Australia
Main Sponsors
Local Sponsors
