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I am a basic science researcher with training in cell biology, genetics and research translation. My research investigates the female reproductive system by focusing on the contribution of individual cells. I aim to understand the influence of genetic architecture, differentiation and maturation on these individual cells and how this contributes to changes in the microenvironment that can contribute to disease initiation and progression.

After the completion of my PhD in 2008 at the University of Queensland, I undertook post-doctoral studies at the University of Bern, Department of Biomedical Research (DBMR), focusing on endometriosis, ovarian and endometrial cancer. I curated patient samples from clinical research trials to investigate inflammatory and metabolic components of reproductive tissue and disease and began developing patient-derived models of the endometrium. I established a relationship between endometriosis lesions, nerves and pain and how this interaction was mediated by inflammation. I further developed patient-derived in vitro models to understand the interaction between inflammation and hormonal response of endometriotic lesions and how this could be utilized to target current and novel treatments. On returning to Australia in 2016 I joined the Genomics of Reproductive Disorders laboratory to integrate genetic background into patient-derived in vitro models. I established the Endometriosis Research Queensland Study (ERQS) in collaboration with the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital (RBWH) and extended in vitro models into complex multi-cellular assembloids (combinations of organoids and surrounding stromal cells).

A/Prof. Alejandro Melendez-Calderon has an interdisciplinary background in engineering and rehabilitation with extensive experience in rehabilitation technologies (e.g. robotics, wearables, biofeedback) and computational approaches to understand human neuromuscular control (unimpaired, stroke and SCI population). He has over 20 years of experience gained in academic, clinical and industrial environments. He is one of a select few experts who has working experience in area of Rehabilitation Engineering at top academic, industrial and clinical environments around the world (Australia, Switzerland, USA, UK, Italy, Denmark). This diversity of working environments provides him with a solid understanding of the development and clinical translation processes of rehabilitation technologies - from conception in academia, to transfer, commercialization and adoption in clinical settings.

He is Principal Research Fellow and Theme co-lead of Rehabilitation and Outcomes at the Jamieson Trauma Institute (Jun 2022-present), and an Honorary Associate Professor at the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences at the University of Queensland (May 2026-present).

Work experience | Clinical - He leads the Rehabilitation Innovation and Technology Assessment (RITA) service across STARS (Metro North Health) and Princess Alexandra Hospital (Metro South Health); RITA aims to close the gap between the potential of existing/emerging technologies and their practical, sustainable integration into everyday rehab care. He was previously a Senior Research Scientist and Head of Technology at the cereneo Advanced Rehabilitation Institute / cereneo Center for Neurology and Rehabilitation (Switzerland; 2017-2019), where he led and conducted research in the area of neuromechanics of movement deficits after stroke. He was also an Adjunct Assistant Professor at the Department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, Northwestern University (USA; 2014-2020) and a postdoctoral research fellow at the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab (formerly Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago) (2012-2013), where he conducted research in cross-modal multisensory interactions and assessment of neuromuscular impairments. Medical industry - He led the areas of Robotic Hand Rehabilitation and Assessments, and work on adaptive control of robotic trainers (arm and legs) at Hocoma AG (Switzerland; 2014-2016), one of the world-leading manufacturers of robotic and wearable technologies for rehabilitation. Academic research - He was previously a Senior Lecturer within the School of Information Technology and Electrical Engineering, University of Queensland (Australia, Jan 2020-May 2026), where he led the NeuroRehabilitation and Medical Robotics group. He was a Guest Researcher at ETH Zurich (Switzerland; 2016-2019), where he conducted research in biomechanics and motor control/learning. He received his PhD degree from Imperial College London (UK; 2007-2011) for research in robotics, rehabilitation and human motor control.

Interests | A/Prof. Melendez-Calderon has a scientific interest in understanding principled mechanisms of human behavior, in particular related to movement control/learning and physical interaction; his technical interests are in robotics and computational modeling for medical diagnostics, assistive applications & (bio)medical education.

Dr Erika MELER, DVM, IPSAV, CEAV, MSc, MVSc, Dipl ACVIM (SAIM), Dipl ECVIM-CA

Senior Lecturer in Small Animal Internal Medicine - Registered Veterinary Specialist

Erika graduated from the National Veterinary School of Lyon (France) in 2003 and continued her clinical training with a rotating internship at the University of Montreal in small animal medicine and surgery (Canada). She pursued her clinical training with a Certificate in advanced studies in internal medicine at the National Veterinary School of Nantes (France) which is equivalent to an Australian Membership. Then interested in laboratory research work, she completed a Master in Oncogenetics at the Medical School of Marseille (France) and worked on the side as veterinary general practitioner.

Erika who enjoys both clinical research and internal medicine practice, decided to take the experience to the next step further. In order to broaden her knowledge and competences in both fields she entered a combined Master in Veterinary Sciences and residency program in small animal internal medicine at the Purdue University Veterinary Teaching Hospital (United States). She was awarded both her Master by the University of Purdue and her Certification in Small Animal Internal Medicine by the American College of Veterinary Medicine in 2010. During her Residency, Erika won the Osborne case report competition organized by the Phi Zeta Society which rewards the best case presentation of the year.

After her residency, Erika worked for about 3 years in one of the biggest emergency and referral private practices in Canada where she founded the internal medicine service. Erika has trained in her career many students, interns, veterinary nurses and mentored younger colleagues. She has given continuing education conferences and written numerous articles summaries for general practitioners. Having worked in both private and academic environments, she can prepare her students for both careers and understands the challenges of both types of practice.

Erika's academic activities encompass clinical teaching and management of referral cases in the department of small animal internal medicine at the University of Queensland Veterinary Medical Centre, classroom teaching for veterinary students in their 3d, 4th and 5th years and veterinary technology students in their 3d year of training, as well as research work bridging human as well as laboratory science and IT technology to clinical practice (so called collaborative and translational medicine). She has also an interest in developing business management field in veterinary medicine as well as innovative teaching methods for veterinary students and professionals.

Erika’s clinical areas of interest are the use of new technologies in veterinary medicine such minimally-invasive techniques (including laser and stenting) in dogs.

Erika's research areas of interest are infectious diseases such as MRSA, MRSP, protozoal, viral and fungal diseases in pet companions.

Erika's teaching areas of interest are the development of new teaching methods in the veterinary clinical setting and the exploration of a new balance between economic needs of teaching hospitals and their educational goals.

Erika is definitively a team player and has an excellent track record in student supervision and graduation. Although veterinary oriented, these themes are also deeply translational so any colleague from a medical or educational background who would like to collaborate is very much welcome to make contact. Erika looks forward to work with any colleagues and students interested any of the themes listed above.

Dr Katelyn Melvin is a Lecturer and Researcher in Speech Pathology in the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences at The University of Queensland. Katelyn's qualitative and mixed-methods research focuses on collaborating with families, professionals, and communities to drive meaningful, long-term improvements in developmental outcomes for children and families. Her clinical experience as a speech pathologist working alongside families navigating social and economic disadvantage and families with diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds has deeply shaped her approach to research and practice. Katelyn is committed to equity in the early years, ensuring that all children and families have access to the support they need to thrive.

Her research themes include:

1. Health promotion and prevention in the early years. Designing and implementing proactive, community- and population-level approaches to supporting children's development, with a particular focus on communication.
2. Advancing best-practice family-centred care through collaboration with families. Supporting collaborative working with families in pre-professional training through to professional practice in complex early years settings.
3. Co-design for health service innovation. Equipping clinicians and services to bring stakeholder voices together to solve real-world problems and improve service delivery.

Professor Frederic Meunier obtained his Masters degree in Neurophysiology at the Paris XI University, France in 1992 and completed his Ph.D in Neurobiology at the CNRS in Gif-sur-Yvette, France in 1996. He was the recipient of a European Biotechnology Fellowship and went on to postgraduate work at the Department of Biochemistry at Imperial College (1997-1999) and at Cancer Research UK (2000-2002) in London, UK. After a short sabbatical at the LMB-MRC in Cambridge (UK), he became a group leader at the School of Biomedical Sciences at the University of Queensland (Australia) in 2003. He joined the Queensland Brain Institute of the University of Queensland in 2007 and obtained an NHMRC senior research fellowship in 2009 renewed in 2014 with promotion. He became Professor in 2014 at the Queensland Brain Institute and is currently part of the Centre for Ageing Dementia Research.

Jared is a proud Yuwi man, pharmacist and early-career researcher with interests spanning from culturally safe and effective pharmacy practice through to new technologies for pharmaceutical development and delivery. After graduating from UQ with a Bachelor of Pharmacy (Honours) in 2012, he worked as a community pharmacist before returning to undertake a PhD in pharmaceutical sciences, focusing on discovering new drugs for Alzheimer’s disease. Throughout his PhD, Jared developed an interest in teaching and tutored for many pharmacy courses. Ultimately this led to his current role as a Senior Lecturer with UQ School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences upon finishing his PhD in 2021. Jared also works as a clinical and research pharmacist with the Institute of Urban Indigenous Health (IUIH).

Elissa is an Intensivist and clinician researcher. She is a full-time Intensive Care Specialist in the Australian Army through which she works at the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital. She holds honorary academic titles at the University of Queensland and Monash University. Her PhD was on the role of the endothelial glycocalyx in severe trauma, and she is building a research program that spans the management of severe burns, trauma, blood transfusion, military medicine, and endothelial dysfunction in critical illness. She also has a strong interest in the design of novel clinical trials and is currently completing a Masters in Biostatistics. She is an emerging leader in critical care clinical trials, currently leading the Australian sites of the international, multi-centre, Threshold for Platelets (T4P) clinical trial, and is on the management committee of several other large multi-centre clinical trials. She is an active member of the ANZICS Clinical Trials Group community and supervises several student research projects.

I received a BA in Biology from Columbia University in New York City. After taking two years off to work as a research assistant, I began graduate school at Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences, also in New York. My graduate advisor was Andrew Koff at the Sloan-Kettering Cancer Institute. I studied the cdk inhibitor, p27, and discovered that it is regulated at the level of translation as cells exit the cell cycle. I received my PhD in Molecular Biology in 2001. My postdoctoral work was carried out in Larry Zipursky's lab at UCLA. Here, I learned both Drosophila genetics and neurobiology and began working on the Dscam-family of cell recognition molecules. I identified Dscam2 as the first tiling receptor and discovered that Dscam2 and Dscam1 are redundantly required for photoreceptor synaptic specificity. I moved to Brisbane and began as a lecturer at the UQ School of Biomedical Sciences, in December 2009. I am also an affiliate of the Queensland Brain Institute.

Gita Mishra AO is Professor of Life Course Epidemiology at the University of Queensland (UQ) and is internationally recognised for her research on women’s reproductive health and chronic conditions across life. She is the founding Director of the Australian Women and Girls’ Health Research (AWaGHR) Centre at UQ with a 40-strong multidisciplinary team, including 12 PhD students, that has arisen out of her leadership of the NHMRC Centre of Research Excellence in Women and Non-Communicable Diseases (2019-2025). Professor Mishra is currently an NHMRC Leadership Fellow (Level 3; 2022-2031), having previously been awarded with an ARC Future Fellowship (2013-2017) and an NHMRC Principal Research Fellowship (2017-2021).

Within the AWaGHR Centre, she is Director of the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women’s Health (ALSWH), a national flagship study since 1996 with data on over 57,000 women in four age cohorts. She leads a series of NHMRC and MRFF funded studies, including on endometriosis, menstrual disorders, and perimenopause and menopause, that place strong emphasis on the life course and the inclusion of women from First Nations’ communities and from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. The Centre also hosts InterLACE, the International collaboration for a Life course Approach to reproductive health and Chronic disease Events which Professor Mishra has developed and led since 2012. InterLACE now combines data from more than 1.2M women in 35 studies in 19 countries and has become a leading resource for robust evidence on women’s health. As a result, she regularly presents findings from InterLACE and from the AWaGHR Centre at international policy meetings, including as an expert contributor at the UN Commission for the Status of Women in New York and at the WHO in Geneva.

Over her career, Professor Mishra has authored over 500 scientific papers, invited reviews, book chapters, and evidence reports. She is lead editor of “A Life Course Approach to Women’s Health”, a key text that presents the latest research in the field and is part of the ground-breaking Life Course Series from Oxford University Press. She works extensively with governments, especially with Australian Department of Health and Aged Care. She led the 2018 evidence review for the inform the National Women’s Health Strategy 2020-2030, which prioritised a life course approach. In 2023, she was scientific advisor to Queensland Health for the Queensland Women and Girls’ Health Strategy 2023-2032.

In her current role in supporting health policy implementation and research priorities, she is a founding member of the National Women's Health Advisory Council established by the Australian Government and is on the Strategic Advisory Committee for the Queensland Women and Girls’ Health Promotion Program. From 2023-2025 she was co-president of the 16th World Endometriosis Congress in Sydney and is currently Chair of the Queensland branch of the Heart Foundation.

In 2017, Professor Mishra became a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences and in 2025 she was appointed as President-elect for the World Endometriosis Society (2025-2027). She has received prestigious awards for her contribution to research and education, including the 2022 RANZCOG Award for Excellence in Women’s Health. In 2025, she was honoured with the title of Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) and awarded an Honorary Doctorate from Stockholm University.

Amy is an Associate Professor in the School of Nursing, Midwifery and Social Work and affiliate of the Parenting and Family Support Centre at UQ. She is the recipient of consecutive Children's Hospital Foundation Early Career Fellowships (2018-2021, 2021-2022). Amy is a paediatric nurse and completed her PhD (Health) in 2011, for which she received the Executive Dean's Commendation for Higher Degree Research. Amy's productive program of interdisciplinary research draws on health and behavioural science methodologies to understand the role of parents and parenting in child health and development, identify targets for intervention, and develop and test evidence-based parenting support interventions to improve children’s health and developmental outcomes. Current areas of focus include the use of evidence-based parenting support to improve outcomes for children with chronic health conditions (e.g., asthma, eczema, type 1 diabetes, PKU) and neurodevelopmental differences (e.g., autism), supporting families to develop healthy habits from early childhood (e.g., oral health, nutrition, screen use), and supporting parents in the transition to parenthood (e.g., perinatal mental health, breastfeeding). Amy is also the Program Lead for the Master of Nursing (Graduate Entry) and a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (HEA).

Dr María Patricia Hernández Mitre (Patty Mitre) is Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Antimicrobial Optimisation Group led by Professor Jason Roberts and a member of the CRE-RESPOND (Centre of Research Excellence - REduce the burden of antimicrobial reSistance through oPtimal persONalised Dosing) team at the University of Queensland Centre for Clinical Research, located on the Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital campus at Herston in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.

She is certified in non-compartmental analysis (NCA) using Phoenix® WinNonlin™ and conducts NCA for Phase 1 clinical trials under NATA ISO 17025-accredited processes, preparing regulatory reports for submission to agencies such as the FDA. In addition, she develops and validates population pharmacokinetic models using Monolix®, Pmetrics™, and NONMEM® to optimise drug therapy and support therapeutic drug monitoring.

Dr Hernández Mitre is leading the individual pharmacokinetic analyses of antifungal therapies from the Screening Anti-Fungal Exposure in Intensive Care Units (SAFE-ICU) study. She also mentors students and clinicians, delivers training in pharmacokinetic modelling, and participates actively in university committees. She is experienced in clinical trial monitoring, regulatory writing, and electronic research data management.

Dr Miura's research focus is the role of nutrition and dietary intake in prevention of chronic disease, especially skin cancer and cardiovascular disease. Dr Miura is currently leading projects to studying nutritional status and dietary intake among heart transplant recipients. Her research areas also extend to health of airline pilots in relation to radiation exposure.

Dr Yousuf Mohammed completed his PhD in pharmaceutics and skin drug delivery under the guidance of Associate prof Heather Benson, Prof Michael Roberts and Associate prof Tarl Prow. He has been working within the field of skin delivery at the Therapeutics Research Centre, University of Queensland - School of Medicine since 2012. His current research includes managing a five-year (2018-2023) US FDA funded project titled Bioequivalence of Topical products: Elucidating the Thermodynamic and Functional Characteristics of Compositionally Different Topical Formulations as a Principle Investigator and managing the five-year project (2014-2019) Characterization of Critical Quality Attributes for Semisolid Topical Drug Products as a Co-investigator. These projects aims to improve current regulatory guidelines for topical and transdermal semisolid products. Over the last 6 years, his work has been focused on skin penetration and skin toxicology of drugs and xenobiotics including nanoparticulate materials.

Dr Jayson Moloney is a colorectal surgeon and gastrointestinal endoscopist consulting and operating across Brisbane's north.

Jayson's clinical special interests include colorectal cancer, minimally-invasive (laparoscopic and robotic surgery) and complex pelvic surgery. He practices across the full breadth of colorectal surgery, including both benign and malignant disorders such as diverticular disease, inflammatory bowel disease, rectal prolapse and haemorrhoids.

In addition to private practice, Jayson also holds appointments as a colorectal surgeon at the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital and is a Senior Lecturer with the University of Queensland.

Enquiries: admin@ausces.com or https://www.drjaysonmoloney.com.au/

Greg studies cellular signalling in disease and the identification of new drug targets. Greg leads the Calcium Signalling Therapeutics Team (CaSTT) in the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences at UQ.

His lab specializes in the development and application of genetically encoded calcium indicators for high-content imaging in live cells. His team focuses on integrating these technologies into high-throughput assays that are critical for drug discovery efforts targeting calcium-mediated signaling pathways. The group has developed and utilized high-content imaging platforms to investigate calcium signaling in various cell types. These platforms enable the team to conduct large-scale screenings and these have been instrumental in identifying novel therapeutic targets.

Greg has established a research program with research funding via NHMRC, ARC, Queensland Cancer Council, Society of Biomolecular Screening, Department of Defense (USA) and other grants and collaboration with Pharmaceutical companies. His interests are signal transduction in disease, calcium transporters as drug targets and biomolecular screening. His work has led to patents and projects towards commercialization for new therapies for cancer.

In 2006 he received a UQ Foundation research excellence award and in 2016 he received the UQ Research Higher Degree Supervision Excellence Award - video link. Greg has also recieved a Research Mentorship Award (HaBS, 2017) and an award for Excellence in Leadership (UQ, 2016).

Associate Professor Andy Moore is a Paediatric Oncologist and Director of Research at Children's Health Queensland Hospital & Health Service (CHQ). He is also Director of the Queensland Children's Tumour Bank, a unique resource located on the Queensland Children's Hospital precinct, facilitating local, national and international collaborative research across all childhood cancer types and supporting enrolment of children on clinical trials. A/Prof. Moore's clinical and research interests focus on childhood leukaemia, particularly acute myeloid leukaemia (AML), an aggressive form of leukaemia with a poor prognosis. He also holds a number of leadership and advisory roles, including Deputy Chair of the Australian & New Zealand Childrens Haematology / Oncology Group (ANZCHOG).

Prof Alina Morawska is Director of the Parenting and Family Support Centre, The University of Queensland. She is passionate about creating a world where children develop the skills, competencies and confidence to adapt and thrive in an ever-changing world. Her research focuses on the central role of parents in influencing all aspects of children’s development, and parenting interventions as a way of understanding healthy development, a means for promoting positive family relationships, and a tool for the prevention and early intervention in lifelong health and wellbeing. She has published extensively in the field of parenting and family intervention and has received numerous grants to support her research. She has been recognised as Australia’s top scholar in family studies.

Dr Michael Morgan is a mid-career academic with a robust foundation in basic sciences, who has built a distinguished path exploring the biological underpinnings of pain—particularly musculoskeletal pain and osteoarthritis. With influential lead author publications in PAIN, Osteoarthritis and Cartilage and Bone his work bridges molecular mechanisms and translational insights. Now pivoting toward clinical research, he is deepening his focus on another musculoskeletal condition, focusing on whiplash injury and the multidimensional nature of pain, driving cross-disciplinary studies that aim to connect lab findings with real-world patient outcomes.

Prof Karen Moritz is internationally renowned for her work in understanding how early life perturbations contribute to an increased risk of developing cardiovascular, renal and metabolic disease in adulthood. Over the last 5-7 years, her research has focused on determining how prenatal alcohol can result in “developmental programming” of disease. Her research has identified critical windows of susceptibility to alcohol, including the period around conception and prior to implantation. In addition, her work has identified the placenta as playing a key role in the sex-specific offspring outcomes following maternal perturbations. Her research spans both preclinical and clinical domains, highlighted by her appointment as the Director of the Child Health Research Centre in 2016.

Current projects are:

• Periconceptional alcohol exposure: Programming long-term health in offspring (with Dr Lisa Akison and Dr James Cuffe)

• Emerging therapies for diabetes and complications: Effects on metabolic, cardiovascular and renal function (with Dr Linda Gallo)

• Effect of prenatal insults on the developing placenta (with Dr Marloes Nitert Dekker, Prof Vicki Clifton [Mater], Dr David Simmons and Dr James Cuffe)

• Effect of prenatal insults on the developing kidney and implications for adult disease (with Dr Peter Trnka [QLD Children's Hospital])

• Impact of maternal cannabis and alcohol around conception on development and long-term health of offspring (with Dr David Simmons and Dr Lisa Akison)

Prof Moritz maintains a strong commitment to teaching of students, including lectures and research student supervision in undergraduate programs, supervision of Honours students and supervision of higher degree research students.