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Dr Ieuan Evans is a Staff Specialist in Thoracic Medicine at The Prince Charles Hospital, Brisbane, and a Senior Lecturer at The University of Queensland. He has significant clinical experience including sub-specialty interests in cystic fibrosis (CF), bronchiectasis, non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) and complex pulmonary infections. He completed his fellowship at the Centre for Complex Lung Infections (CCLI), Royal Papworth Hospital, Cambridge, UK, encompassing his PhD in Medicine from the University of Cambridge titled 'Developing novel therapies for M. abscessus'. Research from his PhD led to the development of RESP-301 (a nitric oxide generating solution) utilised in several clinical trials.

Ieuan is a principal investigator on a number of industry-led clinical trials in CF, bronchiectasis and NTM infection. He is a principal investigator on the BRIDGE Study an international program of bronchiectasis research involving databases, genomics and endotyping. He is an associate investigator on the FORMaT study assessing clinical outcomes in pulmonary M. abscessus infection. His current research focuses on clinical and microbiological outcomes in CF, bronchiectasis and NTM-pulmonary disease leading numerous investigator-led studies across proteomics, the CF microbiome and the pharmacokinetics of CFTR modulator therapies.

Ieuan is on the Australian Therapeutic Guidelines writing group for respiratory disease - leading on CF, bronchiectasis, and allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis (ABPA). He is an elected member of the Australian Bronchiectasis Consortium. He is the current co-chair of the TSANZ NTM Clinical Practice Guideline.

Pete is currently a Senior Lecturer in Philosophy specialising in the philosophy of science, particularly the philosophy of physics. His research interests include time and causation in modern physics, especially quantum foundations, and the epistemology and methodology of science, especially analogue experimentation. He is currently Lead CI on an ARC Discovery Project, "The View From Somewhere: embodied agents and the quantum perspective", exploring the role that agency plays both in the physics of embodied learning as well as quantum theory. In 2023 he was a collaborator in the FQxI project "Information as fuel" based in the School of Mathematics and Physics. He completed in 2021 an ARC Discovery Early Career Research Award project, "A philosophical exploration of simulating and controlling the quantum world", which examines how a novel laboratory technique, analogue quantum simulation, illuminates the epistemology of analogue experimentation. Pete's philosophical research is informed by the latest experimental and theoretical results from the physical sciences.

Pete teaches courses in the philosophy of science, including PHIL2090 Why Trust Science? and PHIL2025 What Scientific Theories Really Say, and often teaches the philosophy of science component in SCIE1000 Theory and Practice in Science. He has also recently taught PHIL1002 Introduction to Philosophy and PHIL2110 Formal Logic.

Tom Evans is a geologist with over 20 years experience working in the minerals exploration sector, working on copper projects throughout Australia and in Mongolia, Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands, and on gold projects in Türkiye and Australia. His research interests span a diverse range of topics from mineral systems analysis, exploration methodology, geometallurgical characterisation, and the interactions between mineral economics and legislation protecting the social and environmental impacts of mining. He has authored numerous chapters of the North East Queensland Mineral Deposit Atlas and has deep knowledge of the exploration and project development space in Queensland.

David Evans is an NHMRC Leadership Fellow and Professor of Statistical Genetics at the University of Queensland Institute for Molecular Bioscience. He is a winner of the NHMRC Marshall and Warren Award.

He completed his PhD in Statistical Genetics at the University of Queensland in 2003, before undertaking a four-year post-doctoral fellowship at the Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics, University of Oxford where he worked as part of the The International HapMap Consortium and co-led the analysis of four diseases within the first Wellcome Trust Case Control Consortium. In 2007 he moved to take up a Senior Lecturer position at the University of Bristol where he led much of the genome-wide association studies work in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC). In 2013 he returned to take up a chair at the University of Queensland whilst continuing to lead an MRC Programme in statistical genetics at the University of Bristol.

His research interests include the genetic mapping of complex traits and diseases (including birthweight and other perinatal traits, osteoporosis, ankylosing spondylitis, sepsis, laterality) and the development of statistical methodologies in genetic epidemiology including approaches for gene mapping, individual risk prediction, causal modelling and dissecting the genetic architecture of complex traits. He has a particular interest in Mendelian randomization and has used it and other causal methods to investigate the Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (DOHaD)- the idea that adverse intrauterine exposures lead to increased risk of disease in later life.

He is Academic Codirector at the NIH funded International Workshop on Statistical Genetics Methods and is faculty on the European Programme in Educational Epidemiology.

He is Associate Editor at the International Journal of Epidemiology and Behavior Genetics journals.

Dr Ewing leads the Translational Bioinformatics Group at the Mater Research Institute - UQ, located at the Translational Research Institute (TRI). His research interests follow a common theme of developing and applying computational methods to investigate genomic mutation in evolutionary and disease-related processes. Dr Ewing is a key collaborator on an array of projects spanning from basic research into clinical applications of Bioinformatics. In particular, his interests include the genomics and epigenomics of epithelial tumours including those arising in prostate, pancreatic, and breast cancer.

Prof Darryl Eyles is the head of the Queensland Centre for Mental Health Research Developmental Neurobiology laboratory. One of Darryl’s research directions is focused on how known risk-factors for schizophrenia change the way the brain develops. His group have established the biological plausibility of various epidemiological risk factors for this disease including developmental vitamin D deficiency, prenatal hypoxia and maternal immune activation. Strikingly all these exposures affect the early development and later differentiation of early dopamine neurons. A second major focus is on understanding the effects of increased dopamine release in selective circuits and how this may be causal in schizophrenia. A third major interest is in factors such as the gut microbiome, and how increased testosterone contribute to altered brain function related to autism.

Dr Luli Faber is a teaching-focused academic in the School of Biomedical Sciences at The University of Queensland whose research examines how motivation, emotions and emotion regulation influence student learning, engagement and well-being in higher education. Her work in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) focuses on identifying strategies that help undergraduate students remain motivated, manage stress, and achieve stronger academic outcomes.

Her research investigates how psychological processes during learning can be harnessed to improve student experiences and performance. In particular, she studies motivation regulation, emotion regulation, student engagement and learning strategies, with the aim of informing evidence-based teaching practices that support both academic success and student well-being. This work also guides the design of innovative learning activities that foster key graduate capabilities, including cultural capability, critical thinking and science communication.

Dr Faber’s research is conducted within the SBMS Biomedical Education Research Group and has contributed to a growing body of work examining the factors that shape student motivation and learning in biomedical science education. Her projects integrate quantitative and qualitative approaches to better understand how students navigate challenges during university study and how educators can support their learning.

Prior to moving into education research, Dr Faber conducted neuroscience research investigating synaptic transmission and plasticity in brain regions involved in emotional processing, including the amygdala and prefrontal cortex. Her work focused on the role of potassium channels, including SK channels, in regulating neuronal activity.

Honours projects are available within the SBMS Biomedical Education Research Group, including projects examining:

• motivation regulation strategies that improve undergraduate learning and academic outcomes
• emotion regulation strategies used by first-year university students.

I research ancient agriculture, plant use and human environmental impact in Turkey, Italy (Pompeii) and Australasia via the analysis of archaeological plant remains (seeds, fruits leaves etc)

I started my archaeological career in 1988, working on the excavation of Blawearie Cairn in my native Northumberland (UK). I studies at the Institute of Archaeology, UCL (London) gaining BSc Archaeology (1991), MSc Bio and Geoarchaeology (1992) and PhD (2001), specialising in the study of plant macrofossil remains, such as seeds, fruits, leaves and wood, from archaeological sites to reconstruct past environments and economic practices. I also developed a large consulting portfolio, working as an environmental archaeologist for the Museum of London Archaeology Service (1993-1994) and UCL Geoarchaeology Unit (1992-1993) and as an independent contractor (1994-2001). From 1999-2001 I worked as a research assistant for the Catalhoyuk Research Project, based at Cambridge University and during that time moved to Australia. From 2001 - 2004 I worked at The Australian National University in Canberra as a research assistant to the Engendering Roman Spaces Project and then received a research fellowship at the Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies. I moved to UQ in January 2006. My research interests are currently focused on the origins of agriculture in Central Anatolia (Turkey) and the later development of the region's state economies. I also work in Australasia where I have been developing plant macrofossil techniques to disentangle ancient tree-fruit use and the development of food production in Papua New Guinea.

Dr Fairley’s research focuses on three major streams: sport and event tourism, volunteerism, and the globalization of sport. Dr Fairley has conducted various research and consultancy projects in the United States, China, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Recent projects she has been involved in include the globalization of Australian Rules Football in international markets, the sport tourism behaviours of friends and family of athletes who travel to the Olympic Games, and the legacy of Olympic volunteerism. Dr Fairley currently serves on the advisory board of the United States Australian Football League.

Professor Fairlie is an NHMRC Research Investigator Fellow (Level 3) (2022-present), a Node Leader of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Innovations in Peptide Protein Science, one of four Centre Directors and former Head of the Division of Chemistry of Structural Biology at the Institute for Molecular Bioscience (since 2009), and an Affiliate Professor of the School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences. He was previously an NHMRC Senior Principal Research Fellow (2012-2021), a Node Leader at the ARC Centre of Excellence in Advanced Molecular Imaging (2014-2021), an ARC Federation Fellow (2006-2011), an ARC Professorial Fellow (2002-2006), and Scientific Director and Chief Scientific Officer of a startup company. He undertook postdoctoral studies at Stanford University and University of Toronto, postgraduate studies at Australian National University and University of New South Wales, and undergraduate studies at University of Adelaide.

His research group works across the disciplines of chemistry (synthesis, structure, reaction mechanisms), biochemistry (enzyme inhibitors, protein-protein interactions, GPCRs, transcription factors), immunology (innate immune cells in health and disease, mucosal T cells), and pharmacology (molecular pharmacology and human cell signalling, experimental pharmacology in rodent models of human diseases). He has published over 480 scientific journal articles in high impact chemistry journals (e.g. Chem Rev, Acc Chem Res, J Am Chem Soc, Angew Chem Int Edit, Chem Sci, J Med Chem, Org Lett, J Org Chem) and biology journals (e.g. Nature, Science, Nat Rev Endocrinol, Mol Cancer, Immunity, Nature Immunology, Science Immunology, Am J Resp Crit Care Med, J Hepatol, Trends Immunol, Mol Neurodegen, Adv Drug Deliv Rev, Nature Communications, Trends Pharmacol Sci, J Exp Med, J Clin Invest, Kidney Int, Arthritis & Rheum, Science Advances, Pharmacol Ther, Cancer Res, Proc Natl Acad Sci USA, Dev Cell, Curr Biol, J Cell Biol, Cell Reports, PloS Biol, Br J Pharmacol, JCI Insight, Diabetes, Mucosal Immunol, etc). He has been a Highly Cited Researcher (Clarivate Analytics), with over 37,000 citations and 113 publications with over 100 citations (Google Scholar), and has collaborated with many of the world’s largest pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies.

Doctor James Falconer has been an academic at the School of Pharmacy, The University of Queensland since June 2015. Dr Falconer was an assistant lecturer, then research & teaching fellow at the School of Pharmacy, the University of Auckland from 2011 – 2015.

In 2007 he was awarded with the Technology for Industry Fellowship (TIF) from the New Zealand Foundation for Research, Science & Technology (FRST) from the NZ Government with joint funding from Pharmaceutical Compounding New Zealand (PCNZ) to complete a PhD under A/Professor Jingyuan Wen and Professor Raid Alany from the University of Auckland, New Zealand for development of a supercritical fluid platform and transdermal delivery of poorly aqueous soluble steriods. As a post-doctoral researcher under A/Professor Zimei Wu and collaboration with Argenta Global in Auckland he worked to help stabilise a veterinary pour-on which resulted in international patents and registered product for cattle. He was then appointed as a lecturer in pharmacy practice and pharmaceutical sciences at The University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia. Prior to his academic career, he received a BSc in Genetics 1999 and a Masters in Health Sciences (Bioethics) in 2003 under A/Professor Neil Pickering on the anatomy of the GMO debate from the University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand. In 2005, he completed a BPharm (Hons) from the University of Auckland and undertook an internship at Middlemore Hospital in 2006, then was employed from 2007 as a ward pharmacist in general surgery and the hospital dispensary and as a community pharmacist - including the 'graveyard' shifts at day/night pharmacies.

Doctor Falconer has established research in supercritical fluid applications for selective extraction as well as in engineering advanced nanoparticulate dosage forms based on lipid and polymeric systems. A backbone to this work is the search for green/er technology to replace organic solvent driven material manufacturing processes and the repurposing of carbon dioxide for good.

Dr Jon Fanning is a dedicated clinician with 15 years’ experience in clinical medicine including specialist training in Anaesthesia, Intensive care, and Neurology. Passionate about advancing clinical research and advocating for clinician-researchers, Jon balances research leadership, teaching and mentoring alongside his own research and active medical practice. Jon’s career includes a diverse research portfolio with a strong focus on harm minimisation (especially neurological injury) in operative and critical care settings. He has undertaken dedicated training in clinical trials (University of Oxford Clinical Trials Unit, UK), and in epidemiology (Harvard University, USA). In 2022 Jon undertook a Visiting Fulbright Scholarship in Cardiac intensive care and ECMO (Cardiovascular Surgical Intensive Care Unit, Johns Hopkins Medicine, USA).

To facilitate innovative discovery and advances in the fields of perioperative medicine, clinical trials, and ECMO, Jon invests considerable effort in building research capacity through collaboration with national and international research institutions. Valuing the diverse perspectives of multidisciplinary colleagues at all stages of their career, Jon recruits and supervises senior scientists, clinician-researchers and top PhD and MPhil students and looks to repay the generosity he has received from supervisors and mentors.

Additionally, Jon fosters research networks and ensures research integrity through leadership positions such as current positions as co-chair of the Queensland Cardiovascular Research Network; and as Expert Panel Member and writing committee representative for Therapeutic Guidelines.