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Associate Professor Srinivas Kondalsamy Chennakesavan is the Head of Research at the University of Queensland’s Rural Clinical School. He also shares an honorary appointment at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre. With a background in medicine and public health, his research expertise is in the areas of public health, translational research, rural health and medical epidemiology. He has received competitive grants, $8.1m+ including six major grants from the NHMRC/MRFF and other agencies and actively contributes to NHMRC/MRFF and other international peer review panels for major funding schemes. His expertise in the areas of community-based screening and surveillance programs for chronic diseases in rural and remote Indigenous communities is well known. On invitation, those models of screening and management have been replicated in South Africa and some parts of India (resource-poor and challenging environments). He has unique skills in utilising information technology, clinical medicine and statistics to improve clinical outcomes.

Dr Kevin M. Koo is currently a National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Investigator Fellow and Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia (PCFA) Future Leader Fellow at The University of Queensland Centre for Clinical Research (UQCCR). Dr Koo was awarded his PhD (Dean’s Award for Outstanding Thesis) from the Australian Institute for Bioengineering & Nanotechnology (AIBN), UQ in 2018. His PhD research was on the molecular analysis of nucleic acid biomarkers in prostate cancer liquid biopsies (with a particular interest in fusion genes), and the development of associated nanotechnology-based biosensors to facilitate precision cancer treatment.

Post-PhD, he begun a productive postdoctoral career with dual industry/academia appointments: as the Head of Assay Development/Lab Director in XING Technologies Pty Ltd (a Brisbane-based biotech start-up) to undertake product development projects for commercialization of disease in vitro diagnostics, and as an Honorary Fellow/Principal Research Scientist at UQCCR to continue his academic research in precision cancer nanodiagnostics. His research skills and experiences are honed through dedicated career time spent in both academic research and regulated industry environments.

Dr Koo's research encompasses multi-disciplinary fields of molecular biomarker and nanobiosensor development, translation, and commercialization for precision disease management applications. Presently, he is working on the design and development of integrated multi-bioanalyte sensing technologies to resolve the various challenges around holistic disease pathway understanding and clinical biomarker profiling.

Dr Koo's research endeavours have been recognized by a Metrohm Australia-New Zealand Young Chemist Award (2018), Springer Thesis Award (2019) and Queensland Young Tall Poppy Science Award (2023).

I am a developmental neuroscientist and bioinformatician interested in the molecular evolution of the mammalian brain. I completed a PhD on the molecular development of vasculature in the primate retina at the Australian National University, followed by a postdoctoral position at the Institut de la Vision in France that was supported by a NHMRC CJ Martin fellowship, where I investigated the role of guidance factors in the formation of commissural neurons within the mammalian hindbrain. My current research focuses on the development and evolution of the mammalian forebrain, in particular understanding the regulatory mechanisms and molecular evolutionary processes that control specification of cortical neuron subtypes.

Associate Professor Arutha Kulasinghe leads the Clinical-oMx Lab at the Frazer Institute, University of Queensland and is the Founding Scientific Director of the Queensland Spatial Biology Centre (QSBC). A/Prof Kulasinghe has pioneered spatial transcriptomics, proteomics and interactomics in the Asia-Pacific region, contributing to world-first studies for lung cancer, head and neck cancer, and organ atlas studies in COVID-19. His research aims to understand the underlying pathobiology by using an integrative multi-omics approach. A/Prof Kulasinghe is supported by the MRFF, NHMRC, US DoD, Cancer Australia, Cure Cancer and numerous hospital and philanthropic organisations.

Researcher Biography

Dr Snehlata Kumari is the head of skin inflammation and immunity laboratory at the Frazer Institute, the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia. She is a board member of the Australasian Society for Dermatology Research (ASDR).

After PhD and post-doctoral training in Germany, she is heading her research group with a focus on elucidating molecular mechanisms and underlying signalling pathways regulating inflammation. She has discovered novel mechanisms by which NF-kappaB, TNF, necroptotic and apoptotic signalling pathways control skin homeostasis and inflammation and published in top-tier journals such as Nature and Immunity.

Her scientific contributions received recognition from the global immunology and dermatology scientific communities including the German National Academy of Sciences, German Research Foundation (SFB), European Society for Dermatological Research, and the 2021 Christina Fleishmann Award for the Young Women Investigator from the International Cytokine and Interferon Society, USA

Overall aims and research focus

- Understanding molecular mechanisms of epithelial and immune cell communication in skin homeostasis and immunity.

- Elucidating signalling pathways and cytokines/chemokine interactions to develop novel drug targets and strategies to treat skin diseases such as Psoriasis, Hidradenitis Suppurative, Atopic Dermatitis.

Dr Nyoman Kurniawan is a Senior Research Fellow in the Centre for Advanced Imaging and the Facility Manager for Preclincal 16.4T Microimaging 9.4T MRI scanners.

Dr Kurniawan’s research areas are:

• Diffusion magnetic resonance imaging of mouse neuroanatomy, with view to study neurological disease model, including:
  • developmental abnormalities
  • spinal cord diseases
• Development of 3D mouse brain, human spinal cord and cephalopod brain atlases using high resolution structural and diffusion MRI
• Development of MR methods for nephron imaging
• Application of MRI for agriculture imaging

Dr. Larisa Labzin studies how our innate immune system detects viral infections and how it decodes different signals to mount an appropriate immune response. Dr. Labzin's interest in innate immunity started during her honours training with Prof. Matt Sweet at the IMB, looking at how inflammatory signalling is regulated in macrophages. After gaining more experience while working as a research assistant for Prof. Sweet, she moved to Germany to the University of Bonn for her PhD. At the Univeristy of Bonn, Dr. Labzin investigated the anti-inflammatory effects of High-Density Lipoprotein with Prof. Eicke Latz. Here she discovered novel regulatory pathways that control inflammation. Dr. Labzin then moved to Cambridge, UK as an EMBO postdoctoral fellow to work with Dr. Leo James at the Medical Research Council Laboratory for Molecular Biology. In Dr. James' lab Dr. Labzin focused on how viruses are sensed by the innate immune system to trigger inflammation. In particular, Dr Labzin investigated how antibodies change the way viruses trigger inflammation. While in Cambridge, Dr. Labzin was awarded an NHMRC CJ Martin Fellowship to return to Australia. Larisa returned to the IMB in September 2019 to work with Prof. Kate Schroder. Dr. Labzin is an IMB Fellow and leads an independent research team studying inflammation in response to influenza and SARS-CoV-2.

Dr Melissa Lai is a Neonatologist at the Grantley Stable Neonatal Unit, Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital, and serves as co-chair of the RBWH Neonatal Research Group. She is the site lead for a dynamic set of clinical trials and quality improvement projects, and helps to build research capacity and collaboration across institutions. Awarded in 2021, Dr Lai's PhD investigated the neurodevelopmental effects of infant massage in premature infants with a primary outcome measuring neonatal EEG power. Other clinical areas of interest include data management, clinician performed ultrasound and retrieval coordination. She is currently building an innovative body of work related to improving and supporting the provision of mother's own milk, and introducing new technologies into the neonatal intensive care environment.

Sunil Lakhani is Executive Director Research and Senior Staff Specialist, Pathology Queensland, and Head of the Molecular Breast Group at the University of Queensland Centre for Clinical Research (UQCCR) at the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital.

Prior to his move to Australia in 2004, he was Professor of Breast Pathology at The Institute of Cancer Research and The Royal Marsden Hospital, London, UK

His current research interests include lobular carcinoma and its variants, normal and stem cells, tumours with a basal phenotype, familial breast cancer and biology and therapeutic development for brain and distant metastases.

He was series editor for the 4th Edition WHO Tumour Classification Books and volume editor for the 4th Ed WHO Classification of Tumours of the Breast (2012). He is currently Standing member of the Board for the 5th Ed WHO Tumour Classification Books. He is also on the editorial board of a number of pathology and experimental research journals.

Ratilal Lalloo is an Associate Professor, Teaching and Research, in the School of Dentistry, University of Queensland (2016 - ); and was the Teaching & Learning Director (2020 - 2024) and Higher Degree Research Director (2016 - 2019). He was an Adjunct Professor in the Australian Research Centre for Population Oral Health (ARCPOH), University of Adelaide. He held an academic title of Professor in the School of Dentistry and Oral Health, Griffith University from 2014-2019. He is a dental public specialist, with an undergraduate degree in dentistry (1986), honours degree in Epidemiology (1992), Masters degree in Community Dentistry (1994) and PhD in Dental Public Health from the University College London (2002). After almost 20 years as a dental academic in South Africa he took up the position of Colgate Chair & Professor: Rural, Remote and Indigenous Oral Health, in the School of Dentistry & Oral Health, Griffith University, for 5-years from January 2009. He was then a Senior Research Fellow at ARCPOH for a year (2014-2015). He was an Associate Professor, on a short contract position, in the Faculty of Dentistry, University of Sydney (2015). He has been involved in the training of under- and post-graduate dental students, dental public health related research and various management roles. He has published widely and his main research interests vary across many dental public health issues including evidence-based dentistry, oral health-related quality of life and health inequalities.

A life-long fascination in sciences provided me with the inspiration to graduate in exercise physiology (University of Sherbrooke, Canada, 2004), complete a PhD in physiology/biophysics (University of Sherbrooke, 2009) and continue in my current role as a postdoctoral researcher at the School of Biomedical Sciences (SBMS) of The University of Queensland. I am a physiologist first and foremost with a particular interest in understanding how skeletal muscle cell normally functions so as to try and elucidate what changes or factors contribute to various forms of muscle weakness with ageing, inactivity or various chronic diseases.

During my previous postdoctoral appointment at La Trobe University (Melbourne, 2010-2017), I have gained considerable experience using the "mechanically skinned muscle fibre" technique in animal muscle. Importantly, I have developed this technique for the first time in human muscle which allows the exciting opportunity to investigate cellular mechanisms of muscle weakness in different clinical population. This is vitally important since most of our existing knowledge on muscle function comes from studies on muscles obtained from animal models. This technical breakthrough has been recognized by editorials of different leading scientific journals in the field of Physiology. I’m now a world recognized expert of this technique which has immense potential for examining any number of physiological questions and even allows for biochemical analyses of any protein of interest in the same cell.

Associate Professor Nina Lansbury (also published as Nina Hall) is an environmental public health research and teaching academic at The University of Queensland’s School of Public Health. Her current research at UQ examines environmental health aspects that support the health and wellbeing of remote Indigenous community residents on both mainland Australia and in the Torres Strait in terms of housing, water and sanitation, and women's health. She also investigates the impacts of climate change on human health, and this involved a role as Lead Author on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC AR6 WG II). Within the research sector, she was previously a senior research scientist at CSIRO, manager of the Sustainable Water program at The University of Queensland, and senior research consultant at the Institute for Sustainable Futures, UTS. Within the non-government sector, she was previously the director of the Climate Action Network Australia and research coordinator at the Mineral Policy Institute.

Prof Colleen Lau - MBBS (UWA), MPHTM (JCU), PhD (UQ), FRACGP, FACTM, FISTM.

Prof Colleen Lau is an NHMRC Fellow and Professorial Research Fellow at the UQ Centre for Clinical Research. Her areas of expertise include emerging infectious diseases, neglected tropical diseases, and clinical travel medicine. Her wide range of research interests include infectious disease epidemiology, spatial epidemiology and disease mapping, infectious disease surveillance and elimination, vaccinations, travel health, environmental health, and digital decision support tools. Professor Lau’s research projects focus on answering practical questions in clinical management of infectious diseases and operational questions on improving strategies to solve public health problems. She leads UQ's HERA program on Operational Research and Decision Support for Infectious Diseases (ODeSI).

Sheleigh Lawler is a health psychology expert, with research interests in understanding and intervening on health behaviours, particularly the psychosocial sequelae in relation to disease and intervention outcomes. Her breadth of knowledge across public health, health promotion and health psychology allows for a unique perspective, particularly on understanding the importance of communication. Her work involves multi-disciplinary teams of researchers, industry partners, and government organisations.

Professor Layton is a national leader in innovative ophthalmology, with expertise in macular disease, lens surgery and minimally invasive glaucoma interventions. He completed ophthalmology training in Queensland, Oxford and London, subspecialty training in retinal disease at the Royal Brisbane Hospital and holds a PhD in diabetic retinopathy from Oxford University. Professor Layton is a Rhodes Scholar and founding director of the LVF Ophthalmology Research Centre in Brisbane, Australia. He is also CEO of Ocugene, a Queensland based biotech start-up which is commercialising his gene therapy technology targeting macular degeneration, uveitis and choroidal melanoma. Professor Layton is the listed inventor of multiple ophthalmic patent applications currently under review in the USA, the EU, Japan, Israel, Australia and Singapore. He has published extensively in the international literature and his work has been recognised by awards from international eye research organisations.

Dr Lee is a mid-career researcher with training in neuroscience, and additional experience in pharmacology and immunity. He completed his Ph.D. at the University of Queensland (UQ) in 2014 and continued his post-doctoral research studies in neuroinflammation and neurodegenerative diseases. He is currently a Senior Research Fellow and Group Leader at UQ's School of Biomedical Sciences, where he focusses on innate immune and inflammatory pathways including the complement system and inflammasomes in motor neuron disease (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), Huntington’s disease, and Parkinson’s disease. Dr Lee’s research has demonstrated the therapeutic potential of multiple anti-inflammatory drugs targeting innate immune-mediated neuroinflammation to reduce neuronal cell death in animal models of neurodegenerative disease. He is also interested in the links between the immune system, stress response, and energy metabolism in neurodegeneration.