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I am a medicinal chemist, and my research focuses on developing chemical modification strategies to enhance the drug-like properties of bioactive peptides, modulating protein-protein interactions, and designing chemical tools to explore biological mechanisms.

Alexander Khromykh has PhD degree in Molecular Virology. He worked as Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Ottawa in Canada. He then joined Sir Albert Sakzewski Virus Research Centre in Brisbane and became a laboratory Head in 2001. He moved his laboratory to St Luica campus in 2005 to take an appointment with the School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences (SCMB). He was the founding Director of the SCMB’s Centre for Infectious Disease Research and is currently the Deputy Director of the Australian Infectious Diseases Research Centre. He is also the Director of Centre of Excellence and a member of COVID-19 and Zika virus Task Forces in the Global Virus Network.

Carissa Klein is an ARC Future Fellow at The University of Queensland and Deputy Director of The Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation Science. She is a conservation scientist and leads a research group called The Ocean Conservation Team, a group of students and post-doctoral researchers focused on developing science to support marine and coastal conservation. Her team's research is motivated by real-world conservation management and policy problems and is done in partnership with numerous non-government organisations (e.g. Wildlife Conservation Society), government departments (e.g., Sabah Parks in Borneo), and foundations (e.g., Minderoo) around the world. Her research group specialise in integrating social, economic, and ecological information to develop solutions that improve outcomes for nature and people. Their generally falls into three themes: land-sea conservation planning, marine spatial planning (ocean zoning), and sustainable seafood.

Carissa has degrees in Chemistry (BA, 2000), Environmental Science (BA, 2000), Environmental Science and Management (MS, 2006) and Conservation Science (PhD, 2010). Her postgraduate studies were at The University of California, Santa Barbara and The University of Queensland. She has received numerous competitive awards, including two that acknowledge her achievements in setting up successful and lasting international collaborations: The Asia Pacific Economic Corporation Science Prize for Innovation, Research and Education (ASPIRE) and the American Australia Association Sir Keith Murdoch Fellowship.

Dr Kobe's research interests are in protein structure and function, focussing particularly on proteins involved in the processes of infection and immunity.

The primary techniques used in the laboratory are X-ray crystallography and cryo-electron microscopy, combined with a plethora of other molecular biology, biophysical and computational techniques.

Current projects include:

• Structural basis of signalling by cooperative assembly formation (SCAF) in innate immunity and cell-death pathways, in particular Toll-like receptors and interleukin-1 receptors
• Structural basis of plant disease resistance - particularly plant NLRs and the correponding pathogen effector proteins
• Molecular and structural basis of function of proteins from pathogens (fungal, bacterial and viral pathogens)

Disrupting the status quo and closing the circular bioeconomy

Dr Jitka Kochanek is the founder and leader of the Plant Performance Laboratory at the Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology. At the interface of biology and materials science, she utilises bioengineering to disrupt the status quo within the global bioeconomy. Specifically, her pioneering research aims to supersede dated industry practices with new, highly efficient products and to replace outdated materials (unsustainable, damaging etc) with cutting-edge biomaterials that close the circular economy.

Her latest scientific achievement has been the discovery of a new material that is a ‘technology platform’ upon which multiple technologies are being developed through tailoring of parent materials, such as for biomedical and food packaging applications, as well as for agriculture and environmental rehabilitation. In 2021 she gained private industry funding from a prominent Australian SME for translation and commercialisation is expected over a 2–5-year timeframe. Since parent materials are plant-based, the platform promises a closed circular economy.

In the agri-environmental space, Dr Kochanek’s vision is sustainable real-time plant regulation, using novel biomaterials and technologies. The most commercially advanced product promises to be a disruptive tool for better future-proofing agriculture and wild plant ecosystem restoration, having successfully delivered emerging growth regulators that assist plants to cope with climate-related stressors, such as heatwaves and drought. Additionally, classic chemistries have been delivered to plants at 100-10,000-fold lower dosages than current commercial practices, thus generating social licence and slashing chemical costs.

Dr Kochanek has collaborated with some of the world’s top organisations and researchers, such as conservation ecologists at Kew Gardens in the UK, natural product chemists via the Flematti Group at the University of Western Australia and materials scientists within the Rowan Group at the University of Queensland. She has had the pleasure of supervising/mentoring >30 research students and 2 postdoctoral researchers.

Other notable career achievements

Since 2010 Dr Kochanek has been principal chief investigator across 8 industry and government projects worth >$2.3M (Federal/Horticulture Innovation Australia, Local/Brisbane City Council, State/Qld Government and private industry projects), a research consultant for the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR, developing sustainable and cost-effective crop sanitation technologies in Papua New Guinea) and won the CSIRO ON-Prime accelerator program in 2019 for her visionary agri-technologies. Other notable achievements are that Dr Kochanek became a stand-alone researcher at <2 years post-PhD, after securing funding as principal CI ($302K, 2010); has developed a novel systematic framework to close the circular economy for waste recycling technologies; was among the first to confirm empirical evidence for epigenetics in plants or animals; and has developed a bioassay to rapidly ascertain plant responses for growth promoting/harming compounds. The bioassay provides the ability to predict chemical dosages for plants within 1 week.

Biography: Dr Muxina Konarova is Senior Lecturer in the UQ School of Chemical Engineering. She gained her PhD in Chemical Engineering at Tokyo Institute of Technology, Japan. Dr Konarova has led four academia/industry projects since 2016, securing >$5M as lead CI and her team partnered with five large organisations under her Advance Qld Research (Early) and Mid-Career Fellowships, ARENA-UQ, ARC-Linkage and Innovation Connections.

Research: Dr Konarova’s research team focuses on the development of sustainable chemical processes and is directed to address climate change, waste utilisation and provide technical solutions for a circular economy. Current chemical industries are heavily reliant on fossil-fuel feedstock and significant advances in process engineering will be required to enable a carbon-neutral chemical industry. To accelerate the transition to circularity, fossil-fuel based industries are now seeking to introduce waste products and renewables as their feedstock. However, selective catalysts and suitable reactor designs are largely unknown for these new types of feedstock (biomass, plastic waste and CO2). This lack of knowledge has prevented both commercialisation of new chemical processes and the utilisation of sustainable resources. Dr Konarova’s research program focuses on the (1) design of selective, stable and active solid catalysts; (2) integration of solid catalysts into a reactor environment where an optimum mass and heat transfer can occur. Her team uses a range of advanced spectroscopic tools to analyse reaction products, elucidate underlying reaction mechanisms and control product selectivity. The overall research aim is to identify new generations of catalysts and reactors designs and address fundamental challenges associated with catalytic conversion and contribute to the development of sustainable chemical industry.

Teaching and Learning Contributions:

Dr. Konarova is a dedicated educator at the School of Chemical Engineering, where she plays a key role in the Master of Sustainable Energy (MSE) program. She coordinates and lectures the course Energy Transitions in Industrial Processes (ENGY7003), imparting critical knowledge on sustainable practices within industrial settings. Since 2021, Dr. Konarova has also been actively involved in coordinating and teaching Process Modelling and Control (CHEE3007), a core course in the undergraduate chemical engineering curriculum at UQ. Through these roles, she integrates her expertise in energy and process engineering to provide students with a robust understanding of modern industrial processes and control systems.

Not only do soils provide humans with 98.8% of our food, they also provide humanity with a broad range of other services such as carbon storage and greenhouse gas regulation. However, soils are also the most complex ecosystem in the world – it is this complexity that forms the basis of Peter's research at The University of Queensland (UQ). As a Soil Scientist, Peter is actively involved in the management and conservation of soil; one of the basic elements which sustain life. Whilst soil takes hundreds or thousands of years to form, it can be destroyed in a matter of years if not managed correctly. The management and conservation of the soil-environment is arguably the biggest challenge we face as we move into the future. We need new ideas to solve the world’s problems.

The aim of Peter's research is to increase plant growth in soils that are degraded and infertile, both in Australia and developing countries. He has a demonstrated ability to lead outstanding research programs across a range of inter-connected themes, spanning in scale from fundamental research to landscape-scale projects, with this demonstrating a unique ability to link industry partners with high quality research. Peter's research spans the areas of agricultural production, water chemistry, and waste disposal, currently focusing on (i) the global development of advanced and novel methodologies for investigation of plants and soils, (ii) behaviour of nutrients, fertilizers, and carbon in soils, and (iii) plant growth in degraded soils.

Peter is Past President of Soil Science Australia (QLD), a former ARC Future Fellow, recipient of the JK Taylor Gold Medal in Soil Science (2018), and recipient of the CG Stephens Award in Soil Science (2005).

I am a developmental neuroscientist and bioinformatician interested in the molecular evolution of the mammalian brain. I completed a PhD on the molecular development of vasculature in the primate retina at the Australian National University, followed by a postdoctoral position at the Institut de la Vision in France that was supported by a NHMRC CJ Martin fellowship, where I investigated the role of guidance factors in the formation of commissural neurons within the mammalian hindbrain. My current research focuses on the development and evolution of the mammalian forebrain, in particular understanding the regulatory mechanisms and molecular evolutionary processes that control specification of cortical neuron subtypes.

My current research is all about finding ways to improve teaching and student learning, with a focus on biology and other sciences. This is a new and exciting direction for me to which I and my group are now dedicated. Of particular interest to me is finding ways to improve communication abilities of science students through the design, testing and implementation of effective curricula, class activities and assessment methods. Naturally, no learning occurs in isolation, so my current research also looks at learning scientific reasoning, information literacy, and how to improve the relevance and authenticity of practical/lab classes and assessment tasks.

Previously my research focussed on using physiological approaches and techniques to address questions in ecology, conservation and aquaculture, especially in vertebrates living in extreme environments (see references for examples). I continue to be involved in biological research through teaching, co-supervision and examination of postgraduate students.

My current projects aim to find effective ways to...

• Improve abilities of first year biology students to work effectively in groups.
• Improve science students’ communication abilities through the development and implementation of a new 3rd year course titled Communicating in Science.
• Improve scientific reasoning and writing in first year biology students.
• Improve tutor support and consequently student learning through implementation of a program of tailored tutor professional development.
• Improve information literacy in first year biology students.
• Motivate students to improve their biological knowledge and use of modern communication technologies by implementing authentic assignments throughout the curriculum e.g., websites, video, blogs.
• Improve the ability of students to articulate the skills and knowledge they develop in undergraduate ecology research through the use of a skills portfolio.
• Improve student practice and confidence in avoiding plagiarism and adhering to academic integrity.

Researcher Biography

Dr Snehlata Kumari is the head of skin inflammation and immunity laboratory at the Frazer Institute, the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia. She is a board member of the Australasian Society for Dermatology Research (ASDR).

After PhD and post-doctoral training in Germany, she is heading her research group with a focus on elucidating molecular mechanisms and underlying signalling pathways regulating inflammation. She has discovered novel mechanisms by which NF-kappaB, TNF, necroptotic and apoptotic signalling pathways control skin homeostasis and inflammation and published in top-tier journals such as Nature and Immunity.

Her scientific contributions received recognition from the global immunology and dermatology scientific communities including the German National Academy of Sciences, German Research Foundation (SFB), European Society for Dermatological Research, and the 2021 Christina Fleishmann Award for the Young Women Investigator from the International Cytokine and Interferon Society, USA

Overall aims and research focus

- Understanding molecular mechanisms of epithelial and immune cell communication in skin homeostasis and immunity.

- Elucidating signalling pathways and cytokines/chemokine interactions to develop novel drug targets and strategies to treat skin diseases such as Psoriasis, Hidradenitis Suppurative, Atopic Dermatitis.

Dr. Larisa Labzin studies how our innate immune system detects viral infections and how it decodes different signals to mount an appropriate immune response. Dr. Labzin's interest in innate immunity started during her honours training with Prof. Matt Sweet at the IMB, looking at how inflammatory signalling is regulated in macrophages. After gaining more experience while working as a research assistant for Prof. Sweet, she moved to Germany to the University of Bonn for her PhD. At the Univeristy of Bonn, Dr. Labzin investigated the anti-inflammatory effects of High-Density Lipoprotein with Prof. Eicke Latz. Here she discovered novel regulatory pathways that control inflammation. Dr. Labzin then moved to Cambridge, UK as an EMBO postdoctoral fellow to work with Dr. Leo James at the Medical Research Council Laboratory for Molecular Biology. In Dr. James' lab Dr. Labzin focused on how viruses are sensed by the innate immune system to trigger inflammation. In particular, Dr Labzin investigated how antibodies change the way viruses trigger inflammation. While in Cambridge, Dr. Labzin was awarded an NHMRC CJ Martin Fellowship to return to Australia. Larisa returned to the IMB in September 2019 to work with Prof. Kate Schroder. Dr. Labzin is an IMB Fellow and leads an independent research team studying inflammation in response to influenza and SARS-CoV-2.

Yasmine Lam is a researcher within the Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation at the University of Queensland. Her main areas of interest are using biotehnological tools like gene editing to dissect key traits of interest in cereals to further understand the molecular mechanisms that underpin phenotypes. Currently, her main focus is dissecting various components of plant architecture using CRISPR and a holistic phenotyping approach to further disseminate the influences these genes can have for future trait improvement in key cereal crops. Additionally, she endeavours to form more integrative approaches to crop improvement by looking at ways to integrate biotechnological and molecular techniques to improve current breeding technologies.

A life-long fascination in sciences provided me with the inspiration to graduate in exercise physiology (University of Sherbrooke, Canada, 2004), complete a PhD in physiology/biophysics (University of Sherbrooke, 2009) and continue in my current role as a postdoctoral researcher at the School of Biomedical Sciences (SBMS) of The University of Queensland. I am a physiologist first and foremost with a particular interest in understanding how skeletal muscle cell normally functions so as to try and elucidate what changes or factors contribute to various forms of muscle weakness with ageing, inactivity or various chronic diseases.

During my previous postdoctoral appointment at La Trobe University (Melbourne, 2010-2017), I have gained considerable experience using the "mechanically skinned muscle fibre" technique in animal muscle. Importantly, I have developed this technique for the first time in human muscle which allows the exciting opportunity to investigate cellular mechanisms of muscle weakness in different clinical population. This is vitally important since most of our existing knowledge on muscle function comes from studies on muscles obtained from animal models. This technical breakthrough has been recognized by editorials of different leading scientific journals in the field of Physiology. I’m now a world recognized expert of this technique which has immense potential for examining any number of physiological questions and even allows for biochemical analyses of any protein of interest in the same cell.

A/Prof Landsberg's undergraudate and Honours studies, majoring in Chemistry, were completed at Central Queensland University and the CSIRO (JM Rendel laboratories) before he moved to the University of Queensland to study a PhD in Biochemistry (awarded 2003). He then moved to a postdoctoral position at the Institute for Molecular Bioscience, spending time as a Visiting Scientist at Harvard Medical School (2008) and securing promotion to Senior Research Officer upon his return to IMB in 2009. He additioanlly spent time as a Visiting Scientist at the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute in 2010 and 2011.

In 2016, he joined UQ's School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences as a Group Leader in Cryo-EM and Macromolecular Structure and Senior Lecturer in Biochemistry and Biophysics, where he was promoted to Associate Professor in 2019. He has secured >$13.5M in competitive research funding since 2012, including major grants from the Australian Research Council and National Health and Medical Research Council. He his research has been presented at over 70 national and international conferences and research institutions.

Conservation, biology and ecology of large marine vertebrates

Current research interests:

• Population ecology of dugongs and coastal dolphins
• Population genetics of dugongs
• Physiology, functional morphology and ecology of dugongs
• Health assessment of inshore marine mammals, particularly dugongs

My research focuses on using host defence molecules as the basis for designing peptide-based drugs with improved safety and reduced likelihood of drug resistance to combat infectious disease caused by pathogenic bacteria and malaria parasites. Zooming in to investigate molecular interactions at the cell surface and inside infected cells allows me to describe and refine how drug candidates overcome disease organisms to produce the next generation of antimicrobial drugs.