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Emeritus Professor Michael Pender graduated from The University of Queensland in 1974 with First Class Honours in Medicine and a University Medal. Over the next six years he trained as a physician and neurologist at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital and St Vincent's Hospital, Sydney, and became a Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians (FRACP) in 1981. During his specialist clinical training he developed a keen interest in multiple sclerosis which he has continued since then. After completing his clinical training in neurology, he was a research scholar in the field of multiple sclerosis at the Institute of Neurology, Queen Square, London, and was awarded a PhD from the University of London and Queen Square Prize for Research in 1983. From 1984 to 1986 he continued this research as a Research Fellow at the John Curtin School of Medical Research, Australian National University, Canberra. In 1987 he was appointed Senior Lecturer in the Department of Medicine, The University of Queensland, at the Royal Brisbane Hospital. In 1989 he was awarded a Doctorate of Medicine from The University of Queensland for his research in the field of multiple sclerosis and was promoted to Reader in Medicine. In 1995 he was promoted to Professor of Medicine (Personal Chair), The University of Queensland, which he held until his retirement in 2021. His main clinical and research interest is multiple sclerosis. He also held the positions of: Consultant Neurologist, Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital, 1987–2021; Director of Neurology, Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital, 1992–2005: Director of the Neuroimmunology Research Centre, The University of Queensland, 1991–2007; Director of the Multiple Sclerosis Research Centre, The University of Queensland, 2009–2014; and Clinical Fellow, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, 2017–2021. In 1996, with the support of the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Queensland, he established a Multiple Sclerosis Clinic at the Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital. In 2006 he was awarded the Multiple Sclerosis Australia Prize for Multiple Sclerosis Research - "For outstanding commitment and dedication to research into the cause and cure of Multiple Sclerosis in Australia". In 2011 he received the John H Tyrer Prize in Internal Medicine, The University of Queensland, for research in the field of Internal Medicine. He was the Sir Raphael Cilento Orator of the Royal Australasian College of Medical Administrators for 2009 and the W Ian McDonald Lecturer of the Australian and New Zealand Association of Neurologists for 2014. In 2019 he received the John Studdy Award from Multiple Sclerosis Australia for "lifelong commitment and service to research to identify the cause of and potential cure for Multiple Sclerosis". In 2024 he was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia for significant service to medicine, particularly neurology and multiple sclerosis research, and to tertiary education. Major research achievements include: the discovery of apoptosis of autoreactive T cells in the central nervous system as a fundamental mechanism of recovery from autoimmune attack (Journal of the Neurological Sciences 1991, Journal of Autoimmunity 1992, European Journal of Immunology 1994); formulation of a novel hypothesis (The Lancet 1998) proposing a failure of this mechanism in multiple sclerosis; and the further development of this hypothesis into a new paradigm (Trends in Immunology 2003) for the cause of human chronic autoimmune diseases based on infection of autoreactive B cells with the Epstein–Barr virus (EBV), some of the predictions of which have already been verified in multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis and Sjögren’s syndrome. His EBV hypothesis led to the first clinical trial of EBV-specific T cell therapy in multiple sclerosis (JCI Insight 2018), a trial in which he was a principal investigator.

Group page: https://medicine-program.uq.edu.au/multiple-sclerosis-research-group

Yang is currently a Honorary Research Fellow in UQ School of Public Health and a Research Fellow in Cancer Epidemiology Division of Cancer Council Victoria. He has extensive experience in analysing large-scale national and international health surveys and hospitalisaiton datasets with complex statistical models. He is interested in answering a couple of research questions in the population level (e.g. the associations between modifiable behaviors and chronic diseases; the inequalities in chronic disease risk).

I began my career working in industry for a company which specialised in in vitro diagnostic assays, for both human and veterinary health (AGEN Biomedical). There, I worked as a scientist for almost a decade in numerous departments of the commercialisation pipeline, including manufacturing, product development and research. Following this, I completed a PhD (2010) with the Australian Biosecurity Co-operative Research Centre for Emerging Infectious Disease and have since worked as a virologist at The University of Queensland.

My current research focuses on mosquito-borne virus discovery and the development of innovative vaccine and diagnostic platforms. Together, these research interests have culminated in a greater understanding of the mosquito virome and the development of new approaches for the detection of novel viruses. These include high throughput sequence and antigen-independent assays and the development of suites of unique monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), which in conjunction with deep sequencing platforms, provide comprehensive virus discovery strategies. Using this repertoire, I have been involved in the discovery and extensive genetic and phenotypic characterisation of new mosquito-borne viruses, belonging to more than six viral taxon (including Flaviviridae, Mesoniviridae, Bunyavirales, Reoviridae, Negevirus, Nodaviridae).

Harnessing the unique mosquito-specific growth restriction of the insect-specific flaviviruses that we discovered, my research now focuses on the application of these viruses to the development of novel, safe vaccines and diagnostics for multiple pathogenic flaviviruses.

Dr. Ove A. Peters joined the University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia, in 2020 after faculty positions in Heidelberg, Germany and Zurich, Switzerland, as well as at the University of California, San Francisco. Most recently, he was the founding director of the postgraduate endodontic program at the Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry in San Francisco, a professor with tenure and the Chair of the Department of Endodontics at that school.

Dr. Peters has wide-ranging clinical and research expertise and has published more than 200 manuscripts related to endodontic technology and biology. He has authored two books and contributed to several leading textbooks in dentistry; he also is an associate editor for the International Endodontic Journal as well as the Australian Endodontic Journal, an academic editor for PLOS One and serves on the review panel of multiple other journals. Among others awards, Dr Peters has received the Hans Genet Award of the European Society of Endodontology and more recently the Louis I. Grossman Award of the American Association of Endodontists. He is a Diplomate of the ABE, a member of OKU and a Fellow of the International and American Colleges of Dentistry.

Professor Pettit leads the Bones and Immunology Research Group at Mater Research Institute-UQ and is Director of Biomedical Research for Mater Research. Professor Pettit has led multidisciplinary research discovering intersecting biological mechanisms across the fields of immunology, rheumatology, cancer biology, haematology and bone biology. Professor Pettit is currently a UQ Amplify recipient associated with an ARC Future Fellowship, 2017-2020 and CIA on an NHMRC Ideas Grant, 2022-25. Major contributions led by Professor Pettit include the paradigm shifting discovery of a novel population of resident macrophages, osteal macrophages (osteomacs), and their role in promoting bone formation and bone regeneration after injury. Her team have published over 17 manuscripts based on this original discovery (with over 1700 citations) including translation of this basic research discovery toward eluciating novel disease mechanism from cancer bone metastasis to osteoporosis. This also led to the novel discovery of bone marrow resident macrophage contributions to supporting blood stem cells niches and the key role that these cells play in protecting this vital niche from cancer therapies. Bone marrow and specifically haematopoietic stem cell damage is one of the most serious and life-threatening side effects of cancer therapies. Here discoveries are cited in over 117 patent documents and she is currently collaborating with a major pharmaceutical partner.

Professor Pettit's leadership and achievements have been recognised through multiple awards including the 2019 UQ Faculty of Medicine Leader of the Year (Academic), Women in Technology 2018 Life Sciences Outstanding Achievement Award and becoming a Fellow of the American Society of Bone and Mineral Research. Professor Pettit has been invited to give numerous presentations at national and international conferences including Seoul Symposium on Bone Health, Asia-Pacific League of Associations for Rheumatology Congress and a prestigious American Society of Bone and Mineral Research Meet-the-Professor session. Professor Pettit is and Associate Editor for the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research, is an past Council member for the Australian and New Zealand Bone and Mineral Society, and chairs or serves on numerous committees including the Association of Australian Medical Research Institutes Gender Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Committee. PhD candidates under Professor Pettit's supervision have all been supported by scholarships (including 2 x NHMRC), received numerous local and national awards (e.g. Dr Alexander, ASMR QLD Premier Postgraduate Award, 2011 and Dr Lena Batoon won the UQ Faculty of Medicine Graduate of the Year Award, 2021), all had high quality first author publications at completion and 2 received UQ Dean’s Commendations.

I got my BSc degree from the University of Natural Sciences in Vietnam. I spent the next two years working on characterisation of multi-drug resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis with Dr Maxine Caws at the Oxford University Clinical Research Unit in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. I went to the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute and the University of Cambridge, UK to do my PhD in Prof. John Wain lab where I studied molecular mechanisms affecting the stability of IncHI1 multidrug resistant plasmids in Salmonella Typhi. I then moved to Australia to join the group of Prof. Mark Schembri at the School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, University of Queensland. I am now working on identifying novel virulent factors in uropathogenic E. coli, especially in the newly emerged but globally spread ST131 clone, using high-throughput transposon mutagenesis and next-gen sequencing. I also maintain my interest in plasmid biology and have started projects to study multidrug resistant plasmids carrying blaCTX-M-15 or blaNDM-1 resistant genes.

Dr Giovanni Pietrogrande obtained his PhD from the University of Newcastle. Here he explored how different brain processes are affected by the activation of microglia, the immune cells resident within our brain. In particular his work shows that microglia mediated inflammation has a pivotal role in neuronal loss following brain ischemic injury. He has developed an entirely new method to recreate the human brain in vitro using organoid technology and is utilizing these advanced organoids to gain novel insights into the pathophysiology of neuroinflammatory diseases.

In late 2019 he joined the Stem Cell Engineering lab at the Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology in Queensland. Now he uses and improves cutting-edge techniques for CRISPR-Cas9 mediated gene editing to modify the genome of induced pluripotent stem cells and generate brain and spinal cord organoids to model neurological diseases and evaluate potential treatments.

Dr. Pietrogrande has also established collaborations with biotechs and startups, employing genetic engineering to modify cells for product development and organoid-based compound screening. Additionally, he provides consultancy services for Stemcore and Phenomics Australia, both UQ-based facilities, driving advancements in stem cell research.

Amanda Pigott (BOccThy, PhD) is an occupational therapist with over 25 years’ experience in oedema and lymphoedema management. Amanda has a bachelor’s degree in occupational therapy and a PhD obtained studying the side effects of cancer treatment. Amanda is passionate about improving oedema management. To progress this passion, she works as a specialist clinician, is a key researcher in the field of lymphoedema and delivers education through training and conference presentations.

• As a clinician, Amanda works in the public sector as a clinical specialist at the Princess Alexandra Hospital cancer-related lymphoedema clinic.
• As a researcher, Amanda holds a position as an honorary research fellow at the University of Queensland. She has been involved in research projects securing over $650, 000 in research funding through competitive grants. As a researcher, Amanda ranks in the top 2.5% of published authors worldwide on lymphoedema (May 2024; expertscape.com)
• As an educator, Amanda has been trainign occupational therapists in oedema management since for 15 years. She has provided training to public and private organisations. Her training is regularly delivered via Occupational Therapy Australia. Amanda also delivers lectures and tutorials to undergraduate Occupational Therapy students addressing the occupational therapy role in cancer care, palliative care and management of complex conditions.

Amanda was awarded the Contribution to Lymphology Research award from the Australasian Lymphology Association in recognition of conducting, publishing and presenting lymphoedema related research to promote or support evidence based practice in the prevention, detection, diagnosis and management of lymphoedema. She was awarded the Dr Dorothea Sandars and Irene Lee Churchill Fellowship to study techniques in head and neck lymphoedema assessment and treatment methods.

Amanda is an active member of the Australasian Lymphology Association through her roles on the research committee and conference scientific committees.

I graduated from The University of Tasmania, and received my PhD in Developmental Biology from The University of Queensland in 2003. My PhD, performed at the Institute for Molecular Bioscience with Prof. Melissa Little, centred on understanding the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying embryonic kidney development. My first postdoc was performed with Prof. Christine Holt at The University of Cambridge, UK, where I studied the mechanisms by which axonal growth cones navigate to their targets in the brain, using the frog Xenopus laevis as a model system. In my second postdoctoral position, with Prof. Linda Richards at the Queensland Brain Institute at The University of Queensland, my work focussed on understanding the molecular mechanisms of neural progenitor cell specification in the developing cerebral cortex. In late 2010, I took up a joint position with the Queensland Brain Institute and The School of Biomedical Sciences (SBMS) to continue my research into the mechanisms underlying neural stem cell differentiation. I have held numerous fellowships during my career, including an NHMRC Howard Florey Fellowship, an NHMRC CDF and an ARC Future Fellowship. I currently hold a continuing Teaching and Research position within SBMS, and am currently the Director for Higher Degree Research Training at SBMS.

Dr Stefanie Plage is a Research Fellow with the Life Course Centre at the School of Social Science at UQ. Her expertise is in qualitative research methods, including longitudinal and visual methods. Her research interests span the sociology of emotions, disadvantage and health and illness. Stefanie has taught introductory and advanced courses in sociology and medical sociology, research design and qualitative inquiry, including the use of software for qualitative research (i.e. NVivo). Her work is multi-disciplinary. She completed her PhD at the Centre for Social Research in Health at The University of New South Wales. In her study she employed a mix of longitudinal qualitative interviews and visual elicitation methods to explore the lived experience of people with cancer. Currently, her research seeks to understand and improve the interactions of families experiencing social disadvantage with the social and health care systems.

Dr Juan Carlos Polanco leads a research team on "Extracellular Vesicles and Neurodegenerative Disorders" at the Clem Jones Centre for Ageing Dementia Research (CJCADR), part of the Queensland Brain Institute (QBI) at the University of Queensland (UQ). He holds an MSc in Biochemistry from the National University of Colombia and a PhD in Molecular Bioscience from UQ. During his PhD, Dr Polanco made significant contributions to understanding how SOX genes are involved in XX disorders of sex development. He furthered his expertise during a postdoctoral fellowship at CSIRO, developing assays to detect unstable human-induced pluripotent stem cells prone to tumorigenesis.

In 2013, Dr Polanco joined Prof. Jürgen Götz's lab at CJCADR, where he began pioneering work on small extracellular vesicles, known as exosomes. His highly cited 2016 paper in the Journal of Biological Chemistry was the first to demonstrate that exosomes encapsulate 'Tau seeds' capable of inducing Tau aggregation in recipient cells. He also showed that exosomes can propagate between interconnected neurons and that some exosomes internalised by neurons are re-released by hijacking endogenous secretory endosomes, thereby increasing their pathogenicity (Acta Neuropathologica Communications, 2018). Since 2019, Dr Polanco has secured NHMRC grants and leads a research team within Prof. Götz's larger laboratory at CJCADR.

Jason D. Pole is the Deputy Director of Research for the Queensland Digital Health Centre (QDHeC) and a Professor in the Centre for Health Services Research (CHSR) within the Faculty of Health, Medicine and Behavioural Sciences. Jason's program of research utilises clinical and surveillance data linked with real-world administrative data to answer health questions in several areas.

Jason has a background in epidemiology, health services research and digital health with an emphasis in the use of real-world data and complex survey instruments.

Currently, Jason has research interests in the areas of digital health applications to improve system performance including patient safety, health care utilization among childhood cancer survivors, the effects of childhood cancer treatment specifically on the development of second cancers and education achievement and has interests in the financial impact of a childhood cancer diagnosis on the family and the long-term financial health of the survivor. More recently, Jason has developed an interest in adolescent and young adult oncology (AYA) survivors and the specific long-term needs of this unique cancer population.

Jason maintains appointments as an Associate Professor in the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto and an Adjunct Scientist with the Hospital for Sick Children Research Institute and an Adjunct Senior Scientist with ICES, Toronto.

Javad Pool is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at The University of Queensland. He completed his PhD in Business Information Systems at UQ Business School in 2022, with a focus on data privacy and the effective use of information systems, specifically in the digital health context. By employing a combination of qualitative and quantitative research methodologies, Javad has conducted studies in a wide range of organizational and technological contexts, including healthcare, artificial intelligence, digital health, and social media. His work includes the development of inductive and theory-driven models, contributing to the existing body of knowledge on the effective use of information systems and health informatics research. Passionate about collaboration, Javad seeks to engage with diverse stakeholders, encompassing multidisciplinary researchers, industry professionals, and government partners, to advance research on information resilience and data protection practices. His research endeavors to better understand and address socio-technical challenges within information systems use, including data governance, privacy risks, cybersecurity, data breaches, data protection, misinformation, and responsible use of data.

Research Interests

• Advanced Drug Delivery and Nanomedicine 1.Advanced drug delivery methods (controlled release dosage forms such as tablets, granules and microspheres) 2. Biomaterials as next generation adjuvant for vaccine delivery 3. Surface modified nanomaterials (Silica, Polymer, Liposomes) 4. Programmable nanoparticales for oral drug delivery and targeting 5. Translocation of nanoparticles after oral drug delivery (In-vitro and In-vivo)

Qualifications

• Master of Pharmaceutical Science, Gujarat University
• Bachelor of Pharmacy, Gujarat University

Profile Summary

Dr Sandro Porceddu is an internationally recognised radiation oncologist and a leading authority in head and neck and skin cancer. With over 20 years experience in medicine his areas of clinical expertise include head and neck cancer, skin cancer, sarcoma and lymphoma. He is currently a senior radiation oncologist and Director of radiation oncology research at the Princess Alexandra Hospital, Brisbane, Professor of Medicine, University of Queensland and Associate Editor for the International Head and Neck journal, Oral Oncology.

Dr Porceddu is a nationally and internationally recognised cancer advocate through his involvement in high-level committees, engagement with key policymakers, community education and media roles.

Career Summary

Professor Porceddu completed his medical degree at Monash University before undertaking his residency at Monash Medical Centre, Melbourne. He commenced his specialist training in radiation oncology at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre in 1996 and was made Fellow of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Radiologists, Faculty of Radiation Oncology in 2000. After working as a consultant radiation oncologist at PeterMac for several years he moved to the Princess Alexandra Hospital in 2004.

Professional Committees and Organisations

Professor Porceddu has been the President of the Clinical Oncology Society of Australia (COSA), the peak organisation for cancer-related health professionals, and the Trans Tasman Radiation Oncology Group (TROG), one of the largest cancer collaborative trials group in Australia/New Zealand. He has served on numerous national and international professional and academic committees including the board of the Cancer Council of Australia, the National Cancer Expert Reference Group for the Commonwealth and the International Union for the Control of Cancer (UICC) TNM Expert Advisory Panel.

Currently, he is the Chair of the Cancer Council Queensland Co-operative Oncology Group, a committee that provides over $1.2M per annum to support clinical research throughout Queensland and is on the board of the of the Head and Neck Cancer InterGroup (HNCIG), a group of leading world cancer experts dedicated to promoting the global harmonisation of head and neck cancer research and treatment.

Academic Highlights

Professor Porceddu runs an active clinical research program with over 150 peer-review articles, book chapters, published abstracts, invited reviews and commentaries. He has received invitations to speak at major international conferences such as the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) meeting and publish in prestigious journals such as the Lancet Oncology and Journal of Clinical Oncology.

Awards

Trans Tasman Radiation Oncology Group Outstanding Contribution

American Head and Neck Society Chris O’Brien Travelling Scholar

Pre-eminent status by Queensland Health

Rouse Fellowship, Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Radiologists

Teaching

Dr Porceddu has had a life-long commitment to teaching and is a supervisor and mentor to Doctor of Philosophy and Master of Philosophy candidates, Clinical Research Fellows, MBBS Honours students, resident, registrars and other allied health professionals.

NAME Professor Elizabeth Ellen POWELL

POSITION TITLE Professor, School of Medicine, The University of Queensland; Hepatologist, Princess Alexandra Hospital

Email e.powell@uq.edu.au

EDUCATION/TRAINING

Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery with First Class Honours (M.B.,B.S.Hons1), The University of Queensland

Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), The University of Queensland

Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians, London

Fellow, American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases

Elizabeth Powell is a Hepatologist and Senior Staff Specialist in the Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Princess Alexandra Hospital. She is also Professor, School of Medicine, The University of Queensland, Director of the network Centre for Liver Disease Research in The University of Queensland and a Research Fellow with the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases. She is also a recent past member of the Executive of the Australian Liver Association.

Professor Powell has a very productive research group, bridging basic science and clinical research. Her main research interests include:

(i) developing strategies to improve the assessment of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease by primary care clinicians and non-hepatology specialists.

(ii) examining ways to improve education and medication management for people with decompensated cirrhosis (advanced liver disease)

(iii) examining the role of injury-stratifying biomarkers for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease

Dr Josephine Previte’s research focuses on issues related to the use of qualitative and digital methodologies in marketing and health service research, gender and embodiment issues in social marketing practice and social technology influences on consumer behaviour.

She has worked on a broad range of social marketing projects including alcohol consumption, breastfeeding, breastscreening, blood donation and new technology use to deliver social marketing services. Her research interests in social marketing, technology and consumption contexts has led to publications in academic journals, book chapters and conference papers, and delivered findings to invited speaking engagements.

Dr Melinda Protani is an epidemiologist with over 15 years experience in research and tertiary education. She is the current Program Director for the Master of Epidemiology at UQ. Her research is focussed on cancer aetiology, survivorship and patterns of care, with a particular interest in inequity in access to health services and the receipt of optimal cancer care. Dr Protani has experience in a number of methods including medical record audits, surveys of the general population, patient groups and clinicians, and data linkage using registry and administrative datasets.

Breast and Endocrine Surgeon, Mater Hospitals South Brisbane.

Previous Fellowships at University of Nottingham(UK) and Mayo Clinic (USA)

Chairman, Foundation for Breast Cancer Care

Senior Surgeon Breast Screen Qld Metro south Brisbane