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Matt Sweet is an NHMRC Leadership Fellow and Group Leader at the Institute for Molecular Bioscience (IMB) at The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia. Matt studies innate immunity, the body’s danger sensing system that responds to infection, injury and dysregulated homeostasis, and the role of this system in health and disease. Matt’s research team focuses on manipulating the innate immune system for the development of anti-infective and anti-inflammatory strategies. To do so, his lab characterizes the roles of specific innate immune pattern recognition receptors and their downstream signalling pathways/gene products in inflammatory and infectious disease processes, with a particular focus on immunometabolism. He has authored >180 journal articles and book chapters, including in Science (2), Science Translational Medicine, Science Immunology, Nature Immunology, Nature Reviews Immunology, Nature Genetics, Nature Communications(4), PNAS USA (6), Cell Metabolism, Developmental Cell and Journal of Experimental Medicine (2), and his career publications have accrued ~22,000 citations. Matt has held several leadership roles at the IMB, including IMB Director of Higher Degree Research (DHDR, 2021-2025), member of the IMB Senior Executive Committee (2023-2025), founding Director of the IMB Centre for Inflammation and Disease Research (2014-2018), and Deputy Head of the IMB Division of Cell Biology and Molecular Medicine (2014-2018).

Biography

I was awarded a PhD (The University of Queensland) in 1996 for my research under the supervision of Prof David Hume into gene regulation in macrophages, immune cells with important roles in health and disease. I subsequently undertook a short postdoctoral position in the same laboratory, focusing on the activation of macrophages by pathogen products. I then embarked on a CJ Martin post-doctoral training fellowship with Prof Eddy Liew, FRS at the University of Glasgow in Scotland. Returning to The University of Queensland, I had a prominent role within the Cooperative Research Centre for Chronic Inflammatory Diseases (including as UQ node head from 2007-2008) and was appointed as a Group Leader at the IMB in 2007. Since that time, I have held several fellowships, including an ARC Future Fellowship, two NHMRC Senior Research Fellowships, an NHMRC Leadership Fellowship, and a Le Studium Visiting Researcher Award.

Key discoveries

CpG-containing DNA as an activator of innate immunity, and characterization of the receptor (TLR9) detecting this microbial component.

The IL-1 receptor family member ST2 as a critical regulator of innate immunity and inflammation.

Inflammatory and antimicrobial functions of histone deacetylase enzymes (HDACs) in macrophages.

Effects of the growth factor CSF-1 on inflammatory responses in macrophages.

Mechanisms responsible for divergence in TLR responses between human and mouse macrophages, as well as the functional consequences of such divergence.

The first description of the p19/EBI3 heterodimer, subsequently renamed by others as the cytokine IL-39.

TLR-inducible zinc toxicity as an antimicrobial weapon of macrophages, as well as its deficiency in Cystic Fibrosis.

Host evasion strategies used by the bacterial pathogens Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium and uropathogenic E. coli.

SCIMP as a novel TLR adaptor that mediates TLR tyrosine phosphorylation and selective cytokine outputs.

Genes and pathways associated with the severity of chronic liver disease.

Molecular mechanisms controlling macrophage immunometabolism, as well as associated inflammatory and antimicrobial responses.

Anti-inflammatory and antibacterial activities of the metabolite ribulose-5-phosphate.

Research training

I have supervised or co-supervised 34 completed PhD students and 26 completed honours students, and have mentored many post-doctoral researchers over the course of my career. Many of my former staff and students continue to have active research careers around the world (USA, UK, Europe, Australia), including as independent laboratory heads. Others have key roles in and industry and government. I currently supervise 4 PhD students in my laboratory, co-supervise 3 PhD students in other laboratories, and oversee the research activities of 3 post-doctoral researchers in my group. Current and former staff/students have received numerous fellowships and awards during their research careers (e.g. ARC DECRA, NHMRC CJ Martin fellowship, UQ post-doctoral fellowship, Smart State scholarship). I have also examined 32 PhD theses and 3 MPhil theses, primarily in the fields of innate immunity, inflammation and host defence.

Professional activities

I have served as an editorial board member for several international journals including Journal of Leukocyte Biology (current), Seminars in Cell & Developmental Biology (current), and Immunology and Cell Biology (past). I have served on NHMRC project grant review panels in 2007, 2008, 2009, 2012 (as panel chair) and 2014, NHMRC Ideas panels in 2020 and 2024, NHMRC Investigator panels in 2021 and 2022, as well as a member of the NHMRC RGMS user reference group committee from 2010-2012. I acted as national representative for the Australasian Society of Immunology (ASI) Infection and Immunity special interest group from 2012-2017 and currently serve as a board member for the International Society for Zinc Biology. At UQ, I served as chair of an animal ethics committee from 2013-2014 and co-organized the UQ Host-Pathogen interaction network from 2007-2010 (prior to the establishment of the Australian Infectious Diseases Research Centre). Other leadership roles have included IMB Director of Higher Degree Research (DHDR, 2021-2025), member of the IMB Senior Executive Committee (2023-2025), founding Director of the IMB Centre for Inflammation and Disease Research (2014-2018), and Deputy Head of the IMB Division of Cell Biology and Molecular Medicine (2014-2018).

I have made extensive contributions to conference organization in my discipline. I co-organized the national TLROZ2009 and TLROZ2012 conferences, I organized the first ever Australasian Society for Immunology (ASI) Infection and Immunity workshop (2009), was chair of the ASI Program Committee and co-organizer of the Infection and Immunity workshop for ASI2017, and I co-organized the annual IMB Inflammation Symposium (2014-2018). I also co-chaired the 2019 World Conference of Inflammation (Sydney, September 2019). In addition, I have been a member of the organizing committee for ASI2009, the 2014 International Cytokine and Interferon Society conference, the Lorne Infection and Immunity conference (2014-2020), the Queensland Immunology Networking Symposium (2020-2024), the Brisbane Immunology Group annual meeting (2008-2024), and the International Society for Zinc Biology Conference (2026).

John Swinson's principal interests are intellectual property law, Internet law, privacy law, AI law, cybersecurity law and the application of law to new technologies.

John graduated from the T.C. Beirne School of Law in 1988 with a University Medal. He also has a Bachelor of Arts majoring in computer science from The University of Queensland and a Master of Laws from Harvard Law School where he studied as a Fulbright Fellow and a Frank Knox Scholar. In 1989, John worked as a judge's associate to Justice C W Pincus of the Federal Court of Australia. John is admitted to the NY Bar, and worked as an associate at Kenyon & Kenyon in NYC from September 1991 to January 1997. From 1999 until 2017, John was an adjunct professor at QUT.

John was a partner at the law firm King & Wood Mallesons from 1999 to 2021. He was also Chairman of the auDA Policy Review Panel, which made recommendations to the auDA Board to revise Australia's domain name policies in 2019.

Since 2000, John has been an arbitrator for the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) in Geneva, and has decided over 800 disputes regarding the ownership of domain names.

John commenced as a professor at the T.C. Beirne School of Law in November 2017.

• Art and Humanities teachings in Medical Education Belinda's work will build on knowledge of creative pedagogy and how it can be used in medical training.
• Interprofessioal Education in Medical Simulation Training Interprofessional collaboration in clinical settings improves the quality of patient care. Foundations of collaborative care lie in interprofessional education (IPE) of students, and clinicians. Belinda has been involved in teaching many IPE experiences across the breadth of the health disciplines over the last 10 years.
• Medical Simulation Training Belinda is an experienced medical simulation educator. She is involved across many simulation based learning activities in phase 1 and 2 of the Doctor of Medicine program. Simulation education uses action research to continuously improve the education services provided.

Prof Ala Tabor joined QAAFI's Centre for Animal Science in October 2010, after 18 years of conducting research with the Queensland Government. She is a research focussed academic with a strong background in industry engagement associated with animal health and agricultural biotechnologies. Her research interests are associated with the application of genomic sequence data to improve animal disease management through: 1) the development of molecular diagnostic and genotyping methods to better identify pathogens; and 2) the study of gene function in relation to virulence and host pathogenicity of infectious diseases, to develop new effective vaccines. Areas studied to date include bovine reproductive diseases (in particular bovine genital campylobacteriosis), Australian paralysis tick (Ixodes holocyclus), cattle tick (Rhipicephalus microplus species complex), and tick-borne diseases (babesiosis and anaplasmosis). Some key outputs of her work include the application of reverse vaccinology for the development of a novel cattle tick vaccine and paralysis tick vaccine (patents pending), and commercialized diagnostic tools for bovine reproductive diseases. Prof Tabor has attained and completed ~$12 million in competitive grants in the last 10 years including the ARC, pharma and industry. Current research includes paralysis tick vaccines/treatments, bovine biomarkers for disease resistance, cattle tick commercial vaccine trials, bioinformatics/genomics of ticks and bovine venereal Campylobacter spp., tick fever genotyping/detection, and diagnostic assay development for bovine genital campylobacteriosis. Her international recognition in her field is exemplified by the invitation to join the BMGF International Cattle Tick Vaccine Consortium (CATVAC, est. 2015), specialist tick editor for the International Journal for Parasitology, Chair for the 9th International Tick and Tick-borne Pathogen (TTP9) conference (with the 1st Asia-Pacific Rickettsia Conference) held for the first time in Australia in 2017, and also international invitations to deliver expert presentations. Her research vision is to translate her research outcomes into viable products and methods for the benefit of cattle producers and pet owners. There are many options for students to pursue Honours, research components of Masters in Biotechnology or Masters in Molecular Biology (through affiliation with SCMB), as well as MPhil and/or PhD programs with Ala's group. Ala together with SCMB's Biotechnology Program Director and SAFS have developed UQ's 'Agricultural Biotechnology-Field of Study' (https://my.uq.edu.au/programs-courses/plan.html?acad_plan=AGBIOX5599&year=2020) within the Master of Biotechnology to start in 2020. She has had a strong focus on diversity, inclusion and gender equity initiatives at the University of Queensland.

Dr Meng-Wong Taing (Wong) is a registered pharmacist and qualified biostatistician. He graduated from the University of Queensland with a Bachelor of Pharmacy (with Honours Class 1) in 2002, Graduate Certificate in Technology Innovation Management in 2012, PhD in Pharmacy in 2013. After completion of his PhD he worked as a Post-Doctoral Researcher at the Translation Research Institute (TRI) investigating novel drug candidates for the treatment of Type 2 Diabetes and Obesity. In 2014, Wong joined the School of Pharmacy as a Lecturer and was awarded the Dean’s commendation for Research Higher Degree Excellence. He demonstrates a strong commitment to applying advanced statistical methods to health research. With broad expertise in quantitative analysis, he has made significant contributions across diverse disciplines including cell biology, social science, and medical research - leading and supporting collaborative projects that address complex health challenges. His work consistently promotes research transparency, methodological rigour, and interdisciplinary innovation. Wong serves on the editorial board of the BMC Medical Education journal.

Dr. Stephan Tait is a Senior Research Fellow at the Australian Centre for Water and Environmental Biotechnology. Stephan manages large projects in the areas of Municipal Biosolids, Digitalisation of Sewers, and Emissions Reduction in Agro-industries. Stephan's has expertise in wastewater process modelling and control, biogas and biomethane technologies, agro-industrial wastewater management, circular economy technologies, and resource recovery.

Dr. Mari Takashima is a critical care nurse, certified health informatician, and early career researcher specialising in clinical epidemiology and applied biostatistics. She is committed to advancing her career as a clinician-researcher, focusing on improving patient care through evidence-based practice and implementation science. Her research interests encompass health services research, invasive medical devices, pediatric respiratory infections, nursing education, and research methodologies.

Anson received his PhD in 2018 from the University of Melbourne and continued his study on the molecular basis of membrane trafficking and protein sorting in the Golgi with Professor Paul Gleeson. In 2020, Dr Tan joined the Queensland Brain Institute at the University of Queensland, where he is currently a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Clem Jones Centre for Ageing Dementia Research. His research at the Anggono laboratory aims to understand the molecular mechanisms of membrane trafficking in neurons, processes that are essential for synaptic transmission, plasticity, learning and memory, and how their dysregulation led to neurodegenerative diseases and neuropsychiatric disorders. Dr Tan was recently awarded the UQ Postdoctoral Researcher Retention Fellowship (University of Queensland, 2022).

Adjunct Research Fellow (Health Services)

Michelle is currently an Adjunct Research Fellow (Health Services) at The Prince Charles Hospital-Northside Clinical Unit, Faculty of Health, Medicine and Behavioural Sciences, The University of Queensland (UQ) led by Prof Ian Yang. Michelle is also a Research Fellow (Health Services and Healthy Ageing) at Monash University (Parkville Campus), where she works collaboratively with the Centre for Medicine Use and Safety (CMUS), Cochrane Australia, the National Centre for Healthy Ageing, and the Australian Department of Health and Aged Care on the development of National Clinical Practice Guidelines for Dementia 2026. She is also an Affiliate Research Fellow (Global Health) at the Department of Health Service and Population Research, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN), King’s College London, UK. Michelle received her PhD in Medicine from The University of Sydney (USYD), focused on a longitudinal research for improving a multidisciplinary publicly funded bariatric surgery service provided by three hospitals integrated with a range of adjunct treatments in highly complex adult patients with clinically severe obesity and multiple comorbidities in New South Wales, Australia. Prior to joining UQ, she was a Research Fellow of Monash University and King’s College London, working on a Medical Research Council (MRC)-funded multi-country multimorbidity project, followed by an appointment as a Research Fellow in the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine of the National University of Singapore. She was also a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Policy Research Unit for Older People at Newcastle University, UK, working in collaboration with academic and practitioner colleagues at The University of Manchester, the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), and the Department of Health and Social Care England. During her PhD, she worked in several academic roles at USYD and its affiliated hospital. The positions included Research Officer, Research Administrative Officer, Tutor in Diet and Nutrition for Health and Sport, and Clinical Trials Support Administration Assistant.

Research Interests:

Michelle is interested in and can help you with the research areas of health services evaluation and implementation, clinical practice guidelines and health policy development, epidemiology, quantitative research methodologies, biostatistics, multimorbidity, cardiovascular diseases, machine learning, healthy ageing, systematic reviews, endocrinology, surgeries, obesity, metabolic diseases, nutrition and dietetics, clinical trials, mental disorders, osteoarthritis, and sleep-disordered breathing.

Supervision:

Higher Degree Research (HDR) students

Doctor of Medicine (MD) students

Undergraduate students

Professional Memberships:

Guidelines International Network

British Society of Gerontology

NIHR Applied Research Collaboration North East and North Cumbria (ARC NENC) Multimorbidity, Ageing and Frailty Theme

International Health Literacy Association

Endocrine Society of Australia

Australia Diabetes Society

World Obesity Federation

The Association for the Study of Obesity UK

European Association for the Study of Obesity

Malaysian Society of Geriatric Medicine

Malaysian Healthy Ageing Society

Australian & New Zealand Obesity Society

Malaysian Endocrine and Metabolic Society

Malaysian Diabetes Association

Malaysian Association for the Study of Obesity

Nutrition Society of Malaysia

Research Awards and Grants:

National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Ideas Grant 2025-2029

The European Association for the Study of Obesity Travel Grant Award 2024

The University of Sydney Postgraduate Research Support Scheme 2020

The University of Sydney Charles Perkins Centre (CPC) Early- and Mid-Career Researcher (EMCR) SEED Grant Award 2019

The Boden Institute Travel Support Scheme (CPC, Sydney School of Medicine, The University of Sydney) 2018

The University of Sydney Postgraduate Research Support Scheme 2018

The University of Sydney Postgraduate Research Support Scheme 2017

Australian Commonwealth Government Research Training Program Scholarships 2017-2020

The University of Sydney’s Sancta Sophia College Entrance Scholarship 2017-2018

The University of Sydney’s Sancta Sophia College Bursary 2017-2018

International Diabetes Federation (IDF) Travel Grant Award for World Diabetes Congress 2011

University Putra Malaysia Graduate Research Fellowship 2010-2011

Nutrition Society of Malaysia Travel Grant Award 2011

International Congress of Nutrition Travel Grant Award 2009

International Congress of Nutrition Distinguished Poster Presenter 2009

20th Intervarsity Biochemistry Conference Best Poster Presenter Award 2009

Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia Scholarship 2009-2011

Languages:

English, Mandarin, Chinese Cantonese, and Malay

Eric Tan is a Senior Lecturer in Finance at the UQ Business School. He holds a PhD in Finance from the University of New South Wales and a Bachelor of Commerce (First Class Honours) from Monash University.

Eric’s research focuses on investments and fund management, with particular emphasis on institutional investors such as mutual funds and hedge funds. In recent years, his interests have expanded to corporate finance and banking. His work has been presented at leading international conferences, including the American Finance Association (AFA) and the European Finance Association (EFA). He has received numerous research grants from AFAANZ and industry partners, and his research has been recognised with multiple Best Paper awards at the UWA Accounting and Finance Research Forum (2018), FIRN Annual Conference (2017), and New Zealand Finance Colloquium (2016). His publications appear in internationally peer-reviewed journals such as the Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis (FT50), Journal of Banking and Finance, Journal of Business Finance and Accounting, European Journal of Operational Research, and the Journal of Portfolio Management. He also serves as a regular referee for leading academic and practitioner journals, including The Review of Financial Studies, The British Accounting Review, and the Financial Analysts Journal.

Eric is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA) (Advance HE) and an award-winning educator. In 2024, he received two major teaching awards: Enhancing the First-Year Experience and Excellence in MBA Education. He teaches across undergraduate, postgraduate, and MBA programs with a strong commitment to inclusive, student-centred, and practice-oriented learning that connects academic theory with real-world applications in finance.

Eric also contributes actively to the academic and professional community through leadership and service. He is the chair of the FIRN Asset Management Meeting, convenor of the Student Managed Investment Fund (SMIF), Health and Safety Representative for UQ Business School, and a member of the BEL Faculty’s Lower Risk Ethics Review Panel. From 2020 to 2025, he also served as Finance PhD Coordinator. Through these roles, he fosters research collaboration, supports student engagement, and strengthens the School and Faculty’s academic environment.

Dr Qiyang Tan obtained his Bachelor of Materials Science and Engineering in 2014 from South China University of Technology, China. In 2018, he was awarded his PhD degree by The University of Queensland.

Dr Qiyang Tan's research expertise are in the additive manufacturing of metals and MAX phases, high-temperature oxidation of metals, alloy development, thin film characterization, mechanical properties of metals, grain refinement and crystallography. Dr Tan has proposed the Oxide Reinforcement Model, a novel oxidation resistance model to understand the protection capability of the surface oxide layers on metals. Recently, Dr Tan involved in the research of additive manufacturing of metallic and ceramic materials. He has successfully applied the E2EM crystallographic model to identify new grain refiners for various additively manufactured materials including Al, Ti, Cu alloys, steels and γ-TiAl intermetallic alloy. Dr Tan's research hopes are to further apply his fundamental research on grain refinement to develop new refiners for ceramic and metallic-ceramic materials and to improve their processability in additive manufacturing. His research outcomes will also offer materials scientists and engineers a totally new way to fabricated advanced materials using additive manufacturing, therefore to significantly promote the wider application of this cutting-edge manufacturing technology.