Chair of Public Health and Divisional Director of Research at the University of Warwick in the UK, Professor Sarah Stewart-Brown, and Director of the Irving B. Harris Infant Studies Program at Erikson Institute's Graduate School in Child Development in Chicago, USA, Professor Linda Gilkerson, are keynote speakers at the Queen Elizabeth Centre's 4th biennial Early Childhood conference.

The conference will held at Melbourne University on November 23 or 24.

The conference targets early child professionals including managers, policy makers, educators, doctors, nurses, social workers, psychologists, researchers and child protection and family support workers.

Themes will be new understandings of early childhood development, care and education, vulnerable children and their families, prevention, early intervention and building competence for parents and children.

Professor Stewart-Brown's expertise includes parenting interventions, home visiting with vulnerable families, parenting program provision and the impact of the parent-child relationship on physical health and later life.

Professor Gilkerson's areas of expertise are early childhood development and screening measures, early childhood intervention programs, relationships with families, high-risk children in hospital settings, education for teachers and caregivers about brain development and preparation of professionals to work in infant programs.

•           For more information visit http://www.qec.org.au/program-2006.htm.