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Junxian Lim is an accomplished molecular biologist at the Institute for Molecular Bioscience. With a strong background in cell biology, protein biochemistry, and pharmacology, he has established himself in the field. Collaborating with researchers at universities, institutions, as well as international industry partners like AstraZeneca and Sosei Heptares, he has contributed significantly to advancing scientific knowledge.

Throughout his doctoral studies, Junxian authored seven ground-breaking studies focused on the development of novel bioactive inhibitors targeting immune cells and inflammatory diseases. These contributions have paved the way for innovative approaches to drug development. Utilizing his expertise, he has successfully developed and characterized a diverse range of protein and cellular assays that enable in-depth investigations into immunity and inflammation. His research findings have been published in prestigious scientific journals, including Nature Communications, Cell Reports, Journal of the American Chemical Society, Diabetes, Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, and the British Journal of Pharmacology. His work has been highly cited, reflecting its impact and significance within the scientific community.

Recognized for his outstanding mentoring abilities, Junxian has supervised or co-supervised the research of two completed PhD students, six completed MPhil students, and three completed Honours students. The success of his former students is a testament to his dedication and guidance. They continue to excel and actively contribute to research endeavours around the world, spanning countries such as Australia, Singapore, Korea, India, Japan, and China.

Beyond his research and mentoring achievements, Junxian actively participates in the scientific community. He serves on the editorial boards of esteemed journals like Journal of Translational Medicine, Frontiers in Molecular Biosciences and Biology. This involvement allows him to stay at the forefront of scientific advancements and contribute to the dissemination of knowledge within his field.

Organic functional materials development (design, synthesis & characterisation) for quantum based optoelectronics

Associate Professor Shih-Chun Lo (Lawrence)

Lawrence held a prestigious Swire Scholarship while carrying out his PhD study on semiconductor material development for organic solar cells and light emitting diodes (LEDs) at Oxford University, UK (1996-2000). His post-doctoral research at Oxford University focused on the design, synthesis and characterisation of fluorescent and phosphorescent dendrimers for highly efficient LEDs. Dendrimers have been recognised internationally as the third main class of LED materials, alongside small molecules and polymers, in which he played a key role. In December 2007, he joined the University of Queensland as a Lecturer in Chemistry of Materials. His research work has focused on the development of new functional semiconductor materials for quantum based optoelectronic applications (e.g. solar cells, LEDs, photodetectors, sensors, superconductors & organic lasers) as well as clean energy generation.

A/Professor Bin Luo is currently an ARC Future Fellow and Group Leader in Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (AIBN) at the University of Queensland (UQ). He received his doctoral degree in Physical Chemistry from National Center for Nanoscience and Technology (NCNST), University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (UCAS) in July 2013. In August 2014, Dr Luo joined UQ as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in AIBN. He then secured highly competitive UQ Postdoctoral Research Fellowship (2015-2018), ARC DECRA Fellowship (2018-2021), and ARC Future Fellowship (2021-2025).

Research interests in Luo group mainly include

• Design of functional materials for next generation energy storage applications, including multivalent metal batteries, redox flow batteries and solid state batteries.
• Exploring new conceptual energy conversion or storage systems (e.g. flexible/micro-batteries, solar rechargeable battery).
• Revealing the structure-performance relationship of functional materials via in/ex situ investigations.
• Interaction of biomaterials and energy storage.

Biography

Jeffrey Mak (PhD) is an organic chemist at the Institute for Molecular Bioscience. His publications cover a range of disciplines such as biological and medicinal chemistry, total synthesis, and physical organic chemistry. Dr Mak was selected as a Rising Star of Chemistry by the Australian Journal of Chemistry (2022).

Jeffrey Mak was awarded the Harriett Marks Bursary and a UQ University Medal before undertaking doctorate studies in natural product total synthesis with Prof. Craig Williams. This culminated in the first total synthesis of two caged diterpenes, (−)-neovibsanin G and (−)-14-epi-neovibsanin G. Next, he joined Prof. David Fairlie's group at the Institute for Molecular Bioscience. He is currently active in the fields of chemical biology and drug development. He is recognised for his development of ligands that modulate mucosal associated invariant T (MAIT) cells, which are a newly characterised subset of immune cells important in antibacterial defence (Accounts of Chemical Research, 2021). In 2014, he was part of an Australian team that discovered the identity of the ligands that activate MAIT cells, as published in Nature, playing a key role in the chemical synthesis and characterisation of the unstable and structurally unprecedented ligands (Nature Communications, 2017). He was selected as a CAS SciFinder Future Leader by the Chemical Abstract Service (a division of the American Chemical Society, 2017). In 2018, Dr Mak was chief investigator on a UQ Early Career Researcher Grant for developing new drug leads that target MAIT cells. Other recent awards include RSC Twitter Poster Conference (Chemical Biology) 1st Prize (2018), and a CASS Travel Award (2018).

Dr Mak has lectured in the undergraduate course Advanced Organic Chemistry (CHEM3001, 2017-2023). He has also served as a member of the UQ Cultural Inclusion Council, and as an ACS Wikipedia Fellow to systematically improve the chemistry and scientific content on Wikipedia (2018).

Student projects

Projects in medicinal chemistry, synthesis, and chemical biology are available (depending on lab space) for enthusiastic organic chemistry students at all levels (PhD, Masters, Honours, Undergraduate). These include the design and synthesis of:

1. Stable analogues of immunostimulating bacterial ligands towards vaccines and anti-cancer immunotherapies
2. Chemical biology tools for exploring MAIT cell activation
3. Highly selective histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors as new drug leads

Previous student publications:

1. Mak JYW* et al. (2024) Potent Immunomodulators Developed from an Unstable Bacterial Metabolite of Vitamin B2 Biosynthesis. Angewandte Chemie, e202400632.
2. Mak JYW et al. (2021) HDAC7 inhibition by phenacetyl and phenylbenzoyl hydroxamates. Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, 64 (4), 2186-2204.
3. Awad W, Ler GJM et al. (2020) The molecular basis underpinning the potency and specificity of MAIT cell antigens. Nature Immunology, 21 (4), 400-411.
4. Ler GJM, Xu W, Mak JYW, Liu L et al. (2019) Computer modelling and synthesis of deoxy and monohydroxy analogues of a ribitylaminouracil bacterial metabolite that potently activates human T cells. Chemistry – A European Journal, 25 (68), 15594-15608.

We use computer based modelling techniques to understand and predict the the structural and dynamic properties of (bio)molecules including proteins and lipid aggregates.

Born in 1961, I obtained a BSc (Hon 1) at the University of Sydney in 1982. I obtained my PhD in 1986 from the John Curtin School of Medical Research, Australian National University (ANU), on the "Binding Responses Associated with Self-Interacting Ligands: Studies on the Self-Association and Receptor binding of Insulin”. After holding postdoctoral positions at the ANU, University of Groningen, The Netherlands and the Federal Institute of Technology (ETH), Zurich, Switzerland I was appointed Professor of Biophysical Chemistry (Molecular Simulation) University of Groningen, in 1998. In 1998 I also received the Swiss Ruzicka Prize for research in Chemistry for work on simulating peptide folding. In 2004 I was awarded an ARC Federation Fellowship and in February 2005 an honorary chair (Bijzonder Hoogleraar) at the University of Groningen, The Netherlands. I have given over 90 invited lectures at conferences and academic Institutions around the world as well as at a range of summer and winter schools on advanced simulation techniques.

In my research I have performed pioneering simulations of a variety of important biological phenomena, including some of the first atomic simulations of protein unfolding and the first simulations of reversible peptide folding in a realistic environment. In recent years my group performed some of the first atomic and near atomic simulations of the spontaneous aggregation of surfactant and lipid systems into micelles, bilayers and vesicles. These have enabled us, amongst other things, to elucidate the mechanism by which pores are induced within biological membranes in unprecedented detail. Over the last decade I have been intimately involved in the development of the GROMOS force field which is specifically tuned for protein and peptide folding simulations and as well as the development of models for a range of solvents including methanol and trifluoroethanol. I have also been responsible for the development of methodology for the calculations of the thermodynamic properties of biomolecular systems such as free energies of binding and hydration, as well as estimating entropic effects from simulations. Most recently, I have been responsible for the development of novel approaches to promote structure formation in protein folding simulations that can be used for the refinement of protein structures generated by ab initio or by homology methods. Finally, I am associated with two, internationally recognised, (bio)molecular simulation packages the GROningen Molecular Simulation library (GROMOS) and the GROningen Machine for Chemical Simulations (GROMACS).

Professor Darren Martin FTSE

A Translational Materials Scientist and Intensive Connector, Darren's work sits at the nexus of three key themes of strong fundamental materials science, safe biomaterials and nanomaterials and scalable advanced manufacturing

Darren has always had a strong passion for translation, as evidenced by the following four major research translation outputs, which share the capacity of advanced materials to enable impacts in health, sustainability, and social empowerment:

1996-2012 - Aortech Biomaterials Ltd: We developed a more biostable pacemaker lead insulation which is now implanted in over 80 million people worldwide (Abbott Medical).

2001-2020 - TenasiTech Pty Ltd: In 2020 our scratch resistant and break-proof acrylic glass technology was sold to RTP, a multinational plastics compounder who now sell into several large markets (appliances, personal care, construction, cell phone cases, automotive parts, etc).

2011-2022 - Spinifex Nanocellulose Platform Technology: In 2021, this technology was licensed to Brisbane startup Trioda Medical Pty Ltd for the development of injectable medical gels.

2015-Present - Sorghum-derived Microfibrillated Cellulose (MFC): My team have demonstrated that sorghum grasses can be pulped and refined into MFC in a far more sustainable manner than wood biomass.

International Collaborators and Industry Partners

Professor Martin’s current international collaborators include Stony Brook University (USA), DTU (Denmark) and IIT-Delhi (India). He also has several materials co-development projects and collaborations with companies such as Advanta Seeds, GSA Innovation, Opal Paper, Cardia Bioplastics, GMG, GrapheneX, Duromer, OPS, Dulux, Australian Wood Fibre and others.

Prizes, Honours and Awards

Excellence & Commercialisation

• 2020 - UTS Chancellor’s Award (awarded to the top Alumni from the whole of UTS each year)

• 2020 - UTS Alumni Award for Excellence - Faculty of Science • 2016 & 2019 - 2 UQ Partners in Research Excellence Awards (PIREAs) (Spinifex project Bulugudu partnership)

• 2015 - State finalist in the 2015 Telstra Business Awards (TenasiTech Pty Ltd)

• 2010 - UQ Faculty of Engineering, Architecture and Information Technology Commercialisation Award

• 2010 - Engineers Australia Nanoengineering Panel

• 2007 - iLab Prize at the QLD Enterprise Awards (lead to TenasiTech pre-seed investment from UniSeed)

Service & Leadership

• 2021 - ATSE Reconciliation Action Plan reference group and Industry and Innovation Forum

• 2021 - ATSE President Nominations and Interview Committee to deliberate on the current ATSE President

• 2019 - UQ Teams Leadership Award (Spinifex project Bulugudu partnership)

• 2019 - Business Higher Education Round Table Award (Community Engagement Bulugudu partnership)

• 1993 - Member of the Royal Australian Chemical Institute RACI and the RACI QLD Polymer Group

Alasdair McDowall’s career started in the Pathology department of Moredun Institute, a UK veterinary research facility. He trained here in an animal pathology service and studied medical sciences specializing in histopathology. He set up and operated the early Siemens electron microscope in the department. A position in Pathology service at the Institute for Occupational Medicine brought his career into the human clinical arena of respiratory diseases where he continued his studies in medical sciences resulting in a Masters degree and Fellowship of the Institute of Biomedical Sciences (FIBMS) UK

Alasdair McDowall received his Doctorate from the University of Sorbonne Paris VI. His thesis topic was the “Ultracryomicrotomy: a structural investigation at high resolution of untreated and fully hydrated cells and tissues for electron microscopy (cryoEM)”. This thesis was enhanced by the unique discovery in 1981 when Dubochet and McDowall reported the first vitrification of water at ambient pressures as seen in the electron microscope. In the years following this landmark result, Dr. McDowall and colleagues at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) pioneered seminal research in improved low temperature instrumentation and low dose observation techniques, which evolved into modern day molecular cryo-electron microscopy and the awarding of the 2017 Nobel Prize in Chemistry to Dubochet, Henderson and Frank.

In 2003 he was awarded a prestigious joint appointment as an Institute of Molecular Bioscience principal research fellow and Node manager of this premier $10M cryo-microscopy unit in Australia, specializing in high resolution biological electron microscopy. Professor McDowall has over 50 peer reviewed publications and 60 conference proceedings in the field of cell ultrastructure and has co-organised/participated in >20 research technical workshops, he has co-authored his 3rd EMBO article, vitrification and cryosectioning for cryo electron microscopy. In 2008 he returned to the USA as a director of the Beckman Foundation microscopy resource and to manage Professor Jensen’s cryoEM tomography Lab at the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena. In addition, as director of the Caltech Beckman foundation resource for electron microscopy he was successful in securing a $1.0M award, 6 year renewal, in 2013. In 2013 and 2014 he was nominated for the California Institute of Technology Thomas W. SchmittAward. He rejoined the Howard Hughes Medical Institute at Caltech in 2013, where he was responsible in the design, installation, and establishment of a new $15M cryo electron microscopy facility at Caltech.

Professor McDowall was an honored guest of the Swedish Academy of Sciences Nobel Foundation to attend the 2017 Nobel Prize Ceremonies and celebrations in recognition of his decades long contribution to cryo electron microscopy and his research partnership to Nobel Laureate Prof. Jacques Dubochet.

In recognition of Alasdair McDowall’s unique and integral contribution in the research leading to the 2017 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Prof. Jacques Dubochet, presented Professor McDowall with a Swedish Academy of Sciences Nobel Medal awarded to Prof. Dubochet.

In 2018, Vice Chancellor of the University of Queensland Prof. Peter Høj conferred the title of Professor Emeritus on Dr. McDowall.

Nominated Rotary STAR 2018: Outstanding humanitarian achievement in science and technology : Health and Medical

Appointed by HRH Queen Elizabeth II, in the 2019 Australian honours system, awarded Member (AM) of the Order of Australia.

“For significant service to science, particularly in the field of electron microscopy, his research included performing key experiments that culminated in the awarding of the Nobel Prize for Chemistry to his supervisor Professor Jacques Dubochet, and two of his colleagues, 2017”.

The Order of Australia is the pre-eminent means by which Australia recognizes the outstanding and meritorious service of its citizens. The award confers the highest recognition for outstanding achievement and service.

Dr Ross McKenzie's research interests are in the fields of: Condensed Matter Theory, Chemical Physics, and Quantum Many-Body Theory.

He received his PhD from Princeton University in 1989. His chief research projects are in the areas of:

Models for strongly correlated electron materials such as organic and cuprate superconductors

Magnetoresistance of layered metals including topological insulators

Excited states of organic molecules

Hydrogen bonding

Emergent phenomena in complex systems

The relationship between science and theology

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 Lecturer with UQ School of Pharmacy upon finishing his PhD in 2021. Jared also works as a clinical and research pharmacist with the Institute of Urban Indigenous Health (IUIH).

Professor Mobli is a structural biologist and a group leader at the University of Queensland's Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (AIBN). He is well known internationally for his contributions to the basic theory of multidimensional nuclear magnetic resonance and its applications to resolving the molecular structure of peptides and proteins, as well as studying their physiochemical properties and function. Mehdi's contributions to the field has been recognised by being appointed an Executive Editor of the AMPERE society's journal "Magnetic Resonance", and to the advisory board of the international Biological Magnetic Resonance Data Bank (BMRB) as well as serving on the board of directors of the Australia and New Zealand Society for Magnetic Resonance (ANZMAG). He is a former ARC Future Fellow and recipient of the ASBMB MERCK medal, the Australia Peptide Society's Tregear Award, the ANZMAG Sir Paul Callaghan medal and the Lorne Proteins Young Investigator Award (now Robin Anders Award).

Prof. Mobli's research group focuses on characterising the structure and function of receptors involved in neuronal signalling, with a particular focus on developing new approaches for the discovery and characterisation of modulators of these receptors through innovations in bioinformatics, biochemistry and and biophysics. This work has led to publication of more than 100 research articles attracting over 6,000 citations.

Professor Michael Monteiro has established an international reputation in the field of 'living' radical polymerization to create complex polymer architectures. He is now building designer polymers for various biomedical applications, including vaccines, drug delivery and stem cells. He is dedicated to translating research into commercial outcomes, with 7 PCT and provisional patents since 2005 and start-up company DendriMed Pty Ltd. He was awarded an ARC QEII Fellowship in 2004 and an ARC Future Fellowship in 2009. He has attracted ARC and NHMRC grants; and Queensland State Government funding in excess of $7 million.

International links

Professor Monteiro has built a strong collaboration with Professor Virgil Percec from the University of Pennsylvania to develop and understand the new SET-LRP. He has developed a collaboration with Professor Rachel O'Reilly from the University of Warwick to develop nanoreactors that mimic enzyme activity. In collaboration with Professor Eugenia Kumacheva from the University of Toronto, they developed temperature responsive micron-sized particles from encapsulation of cells.

Dr Moyle’s laboratory (www.moylelab.com) uses cutting edge technologies for the synthesis of peptides, protein expression, and protein semi-synthesis to gain insights into the functional roles played by various biochemical pathways, to engineer better protein and peptide therapeutics, and to improve the delivery characteristics of various therapeutic molecules. Specific current areas of interest are detailed below:

1. Subunit Vaccine Development: methods to develop improved vaccines through the combination of recombinant and synthetic approaches to improve immunopotency and tailor immune responses (links to reseach articles on semisynthetic vaccines and peptide vaccines; reviews on vaccine development).
2. Delivery Systems for Nucleic Acid-Based Molecules: multi-component synthetic and recombinant approaches to improve the cellular uptake, and targeted delivery of various oligonucleotide molecules (e.g. siRNA, mRNA, pDNA and CRISPR-Cas9) as an exciting approach to treat or prevent various diseases (links to research articles and reviews).
3. Deciphering the Roles of Post-Translational Modifications: The combination of peptide synthesis and protein semisynthesis to enable the production of large amounts of site-specifically modified species, that can be used to deconvolute the roles played by various post-translational modifications (links to research articles).
4. Peptide/Protein Drugs and Delivery: The study of methods to improve the delivery characteristics of peptide/protein drugs (e.g. poor oral absorption, instability to chemical/enzymatic degradation, and the inability to reach their site/s of action) through chemical engineering approaches.
5. New Approaches for Superbugs: the development of antivirulence approaches, and formulations (e.g. various types of nanoparticles - silver, protein, mesoporous silica), which reduce the ability for microbes to cause disease, and make them more readily treated with antimicrobials, by providing access to synergistic combinations, and reducing the risk of antimicrobial resistance.

Information for Potential Students:

The Moyle lab considers applications from potential students and postdoctoral fellows with an interest in: i) infection control (including subunit vaccine and antimicrobial development); ii) delivery systems for peptide therapeutics; iii) targeted delivery systems; iv) studying the function of posttranslational modifications; and v) delivery systems for nucleic acid-based therapeutics (e.g. siRNA, shRNA, miRNA, mRNA, pDNA and CRISPR-Cas9). If you are interested in working in any of these areas please feel free to contact Dr Moyle (p.moyle@uq.edu.au). Please ensure that you supply an up to date CV; describe why you would like to work in the Moyle lab; provide a listing of publications (preferably with impact factors and citation counts); and indicate what skills you would bring to the lab. Detailed information on our laboratory is available at www.moylelab.com. Preference will be given to students and postdoctoral fellows who have their own funding.

Dr Moyle Biosketch:

Dr Moyle (H-index 30, >2600 citations; >95 publications; 13/8/2024; Google Scholar, ORCID, ResearcherID, and Publons profiles) received a PhD (Dec 2006) and a Bachelor of Pharmacy (Hons I) (Dec 2001) from The University of Queensland (UQ); graduated from the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia pre-registration pharmacist-training course (Nov 2002); and is registered with the Pharmacy Board of Australia. He currently works as an Associate Professor in the UQ School of Pharmacy, where he has been based since 2014.

Dr Moyle works in the fields of medicinal chemistry, chemical biology, and drug formulation, investigating subunit vaccine development, outcomes associated with histone post-translational modifications, and methods to improve the delivery characteristics of oligonucleotide (e.g. siRNA and pDNA), peptide, and protein therapeutics. During his PhD, Dr Moyle developed methods that enabled the synthesis of pure, lipid adjuvanted peptide vaccines, using advanced chemical ligation techniques. In addition, the conjugation of mannose to combined prophylactic/therapeutic human papillomavirus type-16 vaccines, to target dendritic cells, was demonstrated to significantly improve vaccine anti-tumour activity. This work, conducted with leading researchers at the QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute (Prof Michael Good & Dr Colleen Olive), established Dr Moyle’s national and international profile in the field of vaccine development, resulting in 11 peer reviewed papers, including top journals in the field (J Med Chem; J Org Chem), as well as 6 review articles and 2 invited book chapters.

Dr Moyle undertook his postdoctoral training in the laboratory of one of the world’s premier chemical biologists, Professor Tom Muir (the Rockefeller University, NY, USA; now at Princeton University, NJ, USA). During this time he developed an extensive knowledge of techniques for protein expression, bioconjugation, bioassays, and proteomics, which represent an essential skill set required for this proposal. As part of this work, Dr Moyle developed novel synthetic routes to generate site-specific ADP-ribose conjugated peptides and proteins. This research was hailed as a major breakthrough in the field, leading to several collaborations, and an exemplary publication in the prestigious chemistry journal JACS. This vast body of work identified the enzyme (PARP10) responsible for mono-ADP-ribosylation of histone H2B, and demonstrated interactions between this modification and several proteins, including BAL, which is associated with B cell lymphomas. In addition, a number of robust chemical methods were developed to enable the synthesis of a complete library of methyl-arginine containing histones, which were incorporated into synthetic chemically-defined chromatin to investigate the site-specific effects of arginine methylation on histone acetylation. This work led to a collaboration with colleagues at Rockefeller to investigate the effects of histone arginine methylation on transcription.

Teaching:

Dr Moyle teaches into the following subjects in the UQ School of Pharmacy.

• PHRM3011 (Quality Use of Medicines) - course coordinator
• PHRM4021 (Integrated Pharmaceutical Development)
• PHRM3021 (Dosage Form Design)
• PHRM2040 (Drug Discovery)

Awards:

2016 - Health and Behavioural Sciences (HABS) faculty commendation for Early Career Citations for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning (ECCOSL)

2015 - ChemMedChem top 10 cited article of 2013 (link)

2014 - Highest ranked NHMRC development grant (2013; APP1074899)

2013 - Institute for Molecular Biology (IMB) Division of Chemistry and Structural Biology Prize

Jochen’s research focusses on monitoring of trace organic pollutants, including pioneering work on sources, fate, monitoring techniques (including development of passive sampling techniques) and trends in human exposure to trace contaminants. More recently his group has been leading research in the field of wastewater epidemiology.

Jochen joined QAEHS in 1997 and was awarded an ARC Future Fellowship in 2012 to understand changes in chemical exposure through integrative sampling and systematic archiving. As part of his research program at QAEHS he has lead numerous national and international studies, such as Australia's National Dioxin Program, the Brominated Flame Retardant Program and a major study to investigate bush-fire emissions (the results of which are included in the UNEP Toolkit). He works closely with governments (state, federal and international including UNEP) on the development of systematic monitoring strategies, including for protection of the Great Barrier Reef. As part of his Future Fellowship, he has established an extensive sample archive, the Australian Environmental Specimen Bank (ESB), to allow retrospective analysis of changes in pollutant exposure in Australia.

Jochen’s work on passive samplers, bioanalytical techniques for emerging chemicals and wastewater epidemiology has received support from ARC and numerous industry partners.

Associate Professor Muttenthaler is a medicinal chemist working at the interface of chemistry and biology with a strong passion for translational research. His research focuses on bioactive peptides and exploring Nature's biodiversity to develop advanced molecular tools, diagnostics, and therapeutics. His background in drug discovery and development, as well as his interdisciplinary training in the fields of chemistry, molecular biology and pharmacology, assist him in characterising these often highly potent and selective compounds to study their interactions with human physiology for medical innovations in pain, cancer, gut disorders and neurological diseases.

Dr Ebinazar Namdas is an Associate Professor in the School of Mathematics and Physics at the University of Queensland. Dr Namdas has a strong international track record in the field of organic optoelectronics materials and device research across several platforms including organic transistors, light emitting transistors, OLEDS, organic lasers, and photo-sensors. He has published more than 110 papers in top international journals including 15 x Advanced Materials; 4 x Nature Communications; 7 x Advanced Functional Materials; 11 x Advanced Optical Materials; Nature Materials; Nature Photonics; Science; 3 x Laser & Photonics Reviews; 2 x JACS; 5 x ACS Photonics and 10 x Applied Physics Letters. Additionally, he has co-authored the first ever academic textbook on semiconducting and metallic polymers with Nobel Laureate Professor Alan Heeger and Professor Serdar Sariciftci. The book, titled Semiconducting and Metallic Polymers was published by Oxford University Press. Currently, Dr Namdas is an Editorial board member of Communications Materials (nature.com).

Dr Evgenii Nekhoroshev is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the School of Chemical Engineering and a member of the Pyrometallurgy Innovation Centre led by Prof. Evgueni Jak.

He graduated with a Master in Chemistry (chemical thermodynamics) from Lomonosov's Moscow State University, Deparment of Chemistry in 2012. His Master's Thesis was "Thermodynamic optimization of the NaOH-Al(OH)3-Na2SiO3-H2O system for applications in Bayer's process of bauxite treatment" as part of a bigger project initiated in collaboration with Rusal company aimed at utilisation/valorisation of red mud residues accumulated during the production of aluminium oxide from bauxite ores.

In 2019, he completed a PhD in Metallurgical Engineering at Ecole Polytechnique of Montreal, Canada within The Centre For Research in Computational Thermodynamics (CRCT), where he acquired expertise in FactSage software, multicomponent database development, and was included in the list of official collaborators of FactSage. His PhD thesis was "Thermodynamic optimization of the Na2O-K2O-Al2O3-CaO-MgO-B2O3-SiO2 system" sponsored by Glass Consortium including Corning and SCHOTT glass producers. The purpose of the database he developed was to assist the industry in designing new glasses with special properties: chemically hardened glasses (smartphones), technical glasses with high thermal and chemical resilience (boron-containing glasses), chemically inert glasses, etc.

Short after receiving his PhD, Dr Evgenii Nekhoroshev accepted a position at The University of Queensland as part of the Pyrometallurgy Innovation Centre's team where he has an official title of Theme Leader in Thermodynamic Computations, combining his broad expertise in metallurgy, chemical engineering, applied mathematics, and programming.

Dr Evgenii Nekhoroshev has always been passionate about formalisation and automation of big research tasks. He started working on developing an automated solver for thermodynamic optimisation during his PhD thesis which was improved and finalised using the ideas of Prof. Evgueni Jak about real-time derivative matrix optimization and sensitivity analysis applicable to large multicomponent systems. His contribution to the Centre allowed to make transition to a continuous optimization approach when experimental and modelling streams of work in the Centre are efficiently combined together. It allows to include the most recent experimental datasets into a self-consistent database update with minimal time delays.

Dr Asep specialises in the design and development of advanced inorganic materials with porous architectures, specifically tailored for energy and environmental applications.

Dr Asep's research focus lies in the development of novel mesoporous inorganic materials with enhanced functionality through a simplified wet-chemical synthesis process. His work is motivated by the unique properties exhibited by the porous materials, such as their ultra-high surface area and abundance of active sites. These properties provide ample space for interaction with environment, making them highly valuable in various applications, including energy storage and conversion, sensing, and bio-related applications. He is particularly interested in the rational design and construction of inorganic mesoporous materials through self-assembly processes, utilizing template-assisted approaches in both chemical and electrochemical methods.

Dr. Asep earned his Bachelor's degree from Padjadjaran University, Indonesia, in 2014. He then joined the Department of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology at Waseda University, Japan, as a Master's student in 2016, completing his degree in 2018. In 2019, he conducted research as a research assistant at the National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS), Japan. Dr. Asep received his PhD from the University of Queensland in 2024 and is currently a postdoctoral research fellow at the Australian Institute for Bioengineering & Nanotechnology (AIBN). As an early career researcher, Dr. Asep has established a strong track record, with over 600 citations from his research articles published in prestigious, high-impact journals. His work reflects both the quality and impact of his contributions to the field.

Doctor Jake O’Brien is Senior Research Fellow and NHMRC Emerging Leadership Fellow at the Queensland Alliance for Environmental Health Sciences (QAEHS). His main field of interest is in wastewater-based epidemiology, but he also has interest in developing analytical methods for chemicals of emerging concern within biological and environmental samples. Doctor O'Brien is a strong advocate for collaborative research having co-authored with more than 300 collaborators worldwide on over 150 publications. Jake is strongly supportive of early career researcher development and is currently the chair of the EMCR@UQ Committee. He is also a Chief Investigator of the National Wastewater Drug Monitoring Program since its establishment in 2016.

Megan O’Mara is a Professor and Group Leader at the Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (AIBN), UQ. Her group uses multiscale modelling techniques to understand how changes in the biochemical environment of the cell membranes alters membrane properties and modulates the function of membrane proteins. She has research interests in multidrug resistance, computational drug design and delivery, biopolymers, and personalized medicine. Megan completed her PhD in biophysics at the Australian National University in 2005 before moving to the University of Calgary, Canada, to take up a Canadian Institutes of Health Research Postdoctoral Fellowship. In 2009, she returned to Australia to join University of Queensland’s School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences as a UQ Postdoctoral Fellow, before commencing an ARC DECRA in 2012 where she continued her computational work on membrane protein dynamics. In 2015, Megan joined the Research School of Chemistry, Australian National University in 2015 as Rita Cornforth Fellow and Senior Lecturer. In 2019 she was promoted to Associate Professor and was Associate Director (Education) of the Research School of Chemistry ANU in 2019-2021. In April 2022 she relocated to AIBN.