NZSBDV Meeting
Description
The New Zealand Society for Balance, Dizziness and Vertigo (NZSBDV) invites you to attend its scientific meeting and AGM. This will take place on Tuesday the 27th of October 2026 at the Cordis Hotel in Auckland.
This meeting is an opportunity to hear from leaders in the rapidly advancing field of vestibular rehabilitation. This includes research from the following fields: dizziness, balance disorders, vestibular assessment and rehabilitation, audiology, otolaryngology, neurology, physiotherapy and related disciplines.
The scientific meeting of the NZSBDV is in collaboration with the ORL 2026 conference which is happening at the Cordis Hotel Auckland from the 27-30th of October 2026. For more information on ORL 2026, check out ORL 2026 - Welcome. Attendees of the NZSBDV meeting have been offered a 20% discount for daily or whole conference rates using the code BALANCE20.
Lineup
Dr Miriam Welgampola
Title: Central causes of acute, episodic and chronic vestibular syndrome. Dr Miriam Welgampola is a clinician scientist at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital Sydney. Her laboratory focuses on vestibular event monitoring, machine learning applications in neuro-otology and diagnosis of vertigo in the emergency room. Born in Sri Lanka, Miriam was awarded a Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery MBBS(Hons) in 1994 from the University of New South Wales. Having completed basic physicians training at the Prince of Wales Hospital Randwick, she undertook a PhD in vestibular physiology (1999-2003) and post-doctoral research at the Sobell Department of Motor Neuroscience, University College London (2003-2005) and at the Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Johns Hopkins University (2006). Miriam undertook the Australasian Neurology Fellowship at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, Queen Square, London in 2005. Miriam's clinical work focuses on ictal assessment of acute vestibular syndromes presenting to the emergency room, early diagnosis of vestibular disorders by event monitoring and treatment of intractable positional vertigo (BPV). Her translational research focuses on “capturing” acute vertigo in the frontline (emergency department and general practice) and Machine Learning applications in Neuro-otology. She supervises six doctoral fellows from the disciplines of Medicine, Nursing, Audiology and Engineering. Currently active research projects Vestibular Event Monitoring in the Emergency Department Pre- and Post-surgical Vestibular Function in Cochlear Implantation Using Telehealth and Machine Learning to Optimise Diagnosis of Vestibular Disorders Defining the Profiles of Common Vestibular Disorders Exploring Non-Prescription Therapies for Treatment of Vestibular Migraine Treating Vestibular Failure with Virtual Reality based Rehabilitation Professional Memberships Australian New Zealand Association of Neurology American Academy of Neurology Royal Australasian College of Physicians Neuro Otology Society of Australia Bárány Society
Professor Jorge Serrador
Professor of Biomedical Engineering. Biography Jorge Serrador is Professor of Biomedical Engineering at MARCS, Western Sydney University, and in the Department of Pharmacology, Physiology and Neuroscience, New Jersey Medical School, Rutgers University and Adjunct Professor of Cardiovascular Electronics at the National University of Ireland Galway. Professor Serrador has a PhD in Cardiovascular Physiology specialising in brain blood flow regulation and is an expert in vestibular function and the vestibular and cardiovascular system's interaction. Professor Serrador has received over 7 million USD in funding as a CI and been a co-investigator on successful grant proposals totalling over 21 million USD. His has been funded by several agencies, including the National Institutes of Health, NASA and the Department of Defence in the United States. He has also been involved with successful grant proposals in Ireland, Portugal and Australia. Associate Professor Jorge Serrador Qualifications and Honours Bachelor of Science: Physiology, University of Waterloo, Canada, 1992 Bachelor of Arts: Psychology, University of Waterloo, Canada, 1993 Master of Science: Kinesiology (Exercise Physiology), University of Waterloo, Canada, 1997 PhD: Kinesiology (Exercise Physiology), University of Western Ontario, Canada, 2000 Postdoctoral fellow: Division on Ageing, Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts, 2002.
Rebekah Miller
Rebekah is undertaking her PhD through the University of Otago (Christchurch Campus). She is looking at the relationship between vestibular issues, noise sensitivity (hyperacusis), and psychological factors as predictors of the length of time to recover among adults with mild traumatic brain injury. She looks forward to presenting at the 2026 NZSBDC meeting. Rebekah is a neurological and vestibular physiotherapist from Ōtautahi. As a Physiotherapy Board of NZ certified Vestibular Specialist Physiotherapist, Rebekah assists other physiotherapists and their clients to manage complex vestibular issues as well as supporting the growth of Vestibular Physiotherapy in New Zealand. She has concentrated her practice on both central (brain) and peripheral vestibular disorders over the past 18 years and has seen this area of physiotherapy grow from very few physiotherapists having knowledge and expertise to many people taking an interest and undertaking further learning in this area. Rebekah graduated from the University of Otago in 2000 with a Bachelor of physiotherapy. In 2003 she returned to the University of Otago and completed a Master of Physiotherapy endorsed in neurorehabilitation. It was during her Masters degree that she became a clinical tutor and ran the Balance Clinic at the School of Physiotherapy. It was there that she began her journey as a vestibular physiotherapist. Following completion of her Masters degree, she moved to Christchurch where she opened her business Balance Works Physiotherapy focussing on vestibular disorders, concussion and other neurological conditions. She has trained a number of physiotherapists to provide vestibular physiotherapy services and prides herself in the high level of expertise she, her staff and mentees offer their patients.
Dr Rachael Taylor
Dr. Rachael Taylor is a trained audiologist, Senior Research Fellow and leading researcher in the balance field, working in collaboration with otologists and neurologists to understand the complexities of the vestibular (balance) system. She is currently a Senior Research Fellow, in the Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, Audiology at the University of Auckland. She is going to bring us an update on her research into her New Zealand experience over the past five years, with vestibular and oculomotor function in RFC1 (CANVAS).
Brooke Pierce
Brooke is joining us this year to talk about the potential use of breathing interventions in vestibular disorders. Thinking more around chronic disorders like vestibular migraine and PPPD. Brooke is going to discuss practice approaches that vestibular clinicians can use on Monday. Brooke will also discuss flags that would indicate when it's appropriate to refer on to for specialist intervention for breathing dysfunction. Brooke, alongside Scott, owns the Breathing Works Clinics. She is also a director of the BradCliff Breathing Method which runs education courses for Physiotherapists online with participants around the world, as well as corporate workshops throughout New Zealand. Brooke is passionate about treating breathing dysfunction. She has a personal interest in disordered breathing after she suffered from sports related breathing dysfunction and anxiety while competing in Triathlon as a Junior Elite athlete. She represented New Zealand in Triathlon and previously worked as a masters swimming coach; as a result, she has a deep understanding of the requirements for sport and activity across a wide range of sports and age populations. Brooke utilises her strong musculoskeletal background to connect breathing with restoring optimal movement, posture, and function. Since having children, she is also very motivated to improve children’s breathing habits, especially mouth breathing in children and the wide-ranging implications this has. She has completed postgraduate training in Clinical Pilates, Acupuncture, and Ultrasound Imaging, and is currently working on her Masters of Physiotherapy.
Novel Research Presentations TBC
Professor Denise Taylor
Our very own President of the NZ Society of Balance, Dizziness & Vertigo! Denise's presentation will be about nGVS, balance and EEG. Denise leads a multidisciplinary team of researchers interested in neurological rehabilitation. She is a Co-Lead of the Research Acceleration Programme of the national Te Titoki Mataora (Medtech translator) a member of the Transitional Management Group of the Aotearoa Brain Project. Denise also has an active role in the Eisdell Moore Centre for Hearing and Balance Research (University of Auckland). Denise retains a clinical interest in balance disorders and is a Co-Director of the New Zealand Dizziness and Balance Centre where she leads research in vestibular and balance disorders.
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