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Evan Bailey is a postdoctoral researcher in the Molecular and Systems Medicine Group at the School of Biomedical Sciences and Queensland Brain Institute. His current work focuses on the interplay between innate immune signaling and cellular metabolism in neurodegenerative diseases utilising his skills and experience in molecular genetics, cellular physiology and computational biology.

Evan started his career as a Research Assistant in the lab of Dr. Natasha Kumar at UNSW, Sydney, studying functional plasticity in chemoreceptive brainstem neurons in response to chronic hypercapnia (elevated CO2) before moving to UQ to pursue a PhD in evolutionary-developmental neuroscience. His PhD work under the supervision of Dr. Laura Fenlon and Dr. Rodrigo Suarez focused on the evolution of cellular mechanisms controlling neuronal differentiation and fate specification in the neocortex of marsupial and placental mammals, resulting in publications in Nature Communications and PNAS. Throughout his research career, Evan has had a keen interest in how cells establish and maintain their functional identity across a wide range of contexts and how homesostatic programs (e.g. energy metabolism) influence cell identity and phenotypic transitions.

I am a Senior Research Fellow, NHMRC Emerging Leader Fellow, and Group Leader at UQ Frazer Institute. I was awarded my PhD in late 2017 by Biomedicine Discovery Institute, Monash University. Under the UQ Health Research Accelerator (HERA) program, I lead a team to investigate T and B cell responses that profoundly regulate vaccine responses, viral clearance, and anti-tumour immunity.

My research program employs combinatorial methodologies of Biochemistry and Immunology to uncover new molecular mechanisms controlling T-cell-mediated immunity:

1. The action of T cells is required in antibody responses for suppressing viral infection or tumour growth and to confer protection upon vaccination. In particular, follicular helper T (Tfh) cells, a specialised subset of CD4+ T cells, essentially instruct the B cells to produce long-lived antibody protection. The knowledge of Tfh cells has fundamentally enabled vaccine development and therapy design for autoimmune diseases.

2. T-cell-derived cytokines play pivotal roles in both humoral and cellular immunity. Particularly, interleukin-21 (IL-21) is essential for supporting germinal centre (GC) reaction, where the B cell memory and long-lived antibody responses are generated. Besides, IL-21 is also the only known cytokine to maintain the functionalities of CD8+ T cells in the context of chronic infections or cancers by preventing a loss-of-function program termed 'exhaustion'.

This research program has generated multiple cutting-edge discoveries in the field, producing publications as 1st or joint 1st authors in top-tier journals including Nature Immunology, Science Immunology, and Nature Communications.

I graduated with Honours in Medicine from the University of the West Indies, Jamaica, in 1992. In 1997 I relocated to the UK where I specialised in Obstetrics & Gynaecology and was admitted as a Member of the Royal College of Obstetricians & Gynaecologists in 1999. In 2012 I gained dual accreditation as a Subspecialist in Reproductive Medicine & Surgery and was admitted to the European Specialist Register. In 2012, I was appointed Senior Lecturer and Consultant in Reproductive Medicine & Surgery at University College London (UCL) and UCL Hospitals where I was the clinical lead for IVF and Recurrent Miscarriage and the scientific lead for Mammalian Oocyte Research within UCL’s Institute for Women’s Health. In January 2014 I relocated to Australia after being recruited to UNSW through the DVCR’s Strategic Priority Funding Scheme. At UNSW I jointly set up and co-directed UNSW’s first oocyte biology research lab. In January 2016, following a competitive global search, I was appointed to the fully endowed Christopher Chen Chair in Reproductive Medicine at UQ where I currently head the Christopher Chen Oocyte Research Laboratory. Since relocating to Australia I have been awarded Fellowship of the Royal Australian NZ College of Obstetricians & Gynaecologists.

In parallel with clinical activity, I have developed an internationally leading research program investigating oocyte maturation and oocyte quality. My Ph.D was awarded in 2009 from the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne (UK) and received a Dean’s commendation. My thesis investigated the regulation of chromosome segregation in mouse and human oocytes and was funded by a WellBeing of Women Research Training Fellowship. My post-doctoral research was undertaken at UCL funded by a prestigious Wellcome Trust Clinician Scientist Fellowship ($1.2 million). At UCL, I was one of the principal investigators in the cross-faculty Mammalian Oocyte and Embryo Research Laboratory. In my first 2 years in Australia, I have secured NHMRC funding as CIA worth over $1 million.

I have placed leading papers on oocyte regulation in high impact journals such as Science, Developmental Cell, Genes & Development and Nature Cell Biology all of which have been cited by the Faculty of 1000 Experts. I have received numerous prizes and awards including the highly prestigious Medical Research Society Young Investigator Award (first and only award made to the specialty of O&G in the UK) and was the first of the UK Walport Clinical Lecturers in all specialties to attain Clinician Scientist status. I was one of the very few to have delivered the RCOG’s William Blair Bell Memorial Lecture whilst still a clinical trainee.

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.

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.

Dr Veronica is an Advance Queensland Industry Research Fellow, under the supervision of Professor Esteban Marcellin and Professor Lars Nielsen. She received her Biotechnology Engineering degree at the University of Chile in 2007 and completed her Ph.D. in Systems Biology at The University of Queensland in 2014. After completing her Ph.D. she performed 2 years of postdoctoral training at The University of Queensland, as part of a collaboration project with Universidad de Chile. Both Ph.D. studies and postdoctoral training were financially supported by the Chilean Government, under a competitive scholarship and fellowship, respectively. Later she worked as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow- Biopharmaceutical Upstream Bioprocessing at the ARC Training Centre for Biopharmaceutical Innovation (CBI), The University of Queensland.

She has some teaching experience. She had performed tutorial teaching in several courses at Universidad de Chile and the University of Queensland. In 2016 she was in charge of the Beer and Biofuels practical, part of the subject: Biomolecular Engineering (CHEE4020) of the chemical engineering department at The University of Queensland. In 2023 she gave an invited speaker lecture about cell culture optimization at the Biologics course (BIOT7018) at The University of Queensland.

Her research focuses on the improvement of biopharmaceutical production using mammalian cells. She is specifically interested in (1) the development of computational tools for metabolic systems biology, and (2) the improvement of upstream bioprocess. On the tools side, she has worked on the integration of thermodynamic principles and omics datasets into genome-scale models to estimate metabolic flux distributions; and developed a method for the estimation of dynamic metabolic fluxes. She has used these tools to describe experimental mammalian cells data and to guide the improvement of biopharmaceutical production processes. She has also been involved in the development of the latest human and CHO genome-scale models. On the process side, she worked on the improvement of a high cell density culture, using systems biology tools to develop a cell line adapted to high cell density and to develop an improved upstream bioprocess.

Her current project focuses on the development of a platform to generate good producer cell factories of difficult-to-express proteins.

Soumyalekshmi Nair has a degree in Veterinary and Animal Sciences (2009) and a Master of Veterinary Science in Animal Biotechnology (2011) from India. She completed her PhD in 2021 from the Faculty of Medicine, the University of Queensland. In her PhD she investigated the role of extracellular vesicles in gestational diabetes mellitus which involves developing extracellular vesicle -based biomarker for the early screening of pregnant women as well as therapeutic targets for the treatment of women with gestational diabetes. She was awarded the Research Training Scholarship from the University of Queensland and received prestigious awards from the Society of Reproductive Investigation and Australian and New Zealand Society for Extracellular Vesicles. Currently she is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Exosome Biology Lab, UQ Centre for Clinical Research (UQCCR). Her research interest is understanding the molecular mechanism by which extracellular vesicles can regulate the key signalling pathways in diseases such as obesity, diabetes, and ovarian cancer, with a focus on translating this knowledge into clinical utility. She has several key publications in the field including research articles and reviews and presented at major national and international conferences. She is passionate about supporting women in science and enhancing community engagement in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).

I completed my PhD in Neuroscience at UQ in 2009. After this, I undertook postdoctoral training in motor neuron disease/amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (MND/ALS) under the mentorship of neurologists at Royal Brisbane & Women's Hospital. In 2012, I received a MND Research Australia Bill Gole Fellowship to develop a research focus to study metabolic dysfunction in MND/ALS. I started my independent research group at UQ in 2015, after receiving the Scott Sullivan MND Research Fellowship to lead a translational program to define the contribution of altered metabolic homeostasis to MND/ALS pathophysiology. In 2017, I relocated my laboratory to the Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology to introduce the use of human stem cells for disease modelling into my reserach program. In 2020, I was awarded a FightMND Mid-Career Research Fellowship to transition into clinical trials.

My current research integrates studies in MND/ALS patients with studies in human-derived cell models (stem cell-derived neurons, human primary myosatellite cells, human myotubes) and mouse models of MND/ALS. I have served as lead investigator or co-investigator on several projects aimed at defining the mechanisms that drive MND/ALS and identifying therapeutic strategies for the disease. Projects have led to the expediting of clinical trials (NCT03506425; NCT04788745, NCT05959850). In 2021, I established the MND at UQ Collective to enhance national and international collaboration, and to facilitate community consultation to drive scientific and clinical discoveries in ALS and FTD (www.uq.edu.au/mnd-collective).

I have received invitations to contribute to high impact review articles (i.e., Brain, Nat Rev Neurol), and have received >20 invitations to speak at conferences including: 33rd International ALS/MND Symposium (2022, Plenary), 64th Japanese Society of Neurology Meeting (2023, Tokyo; Plenary), 3rd International Pan-Asian Consortium for Treatment and Research in ALS (PACTALS) Congress (2023, Kuala Lumpur), 18th International Congress on Neuromuscular Diseases (2024, Perth).

I am Professor, NHMRC Investigator Fellow (EL2) and group leader (Exosome Biology Laboratory) at UQ Centre for Clinical Research. I am nationally and internationally (>20 invitations to international meetings in the last 5 years) acknowledged key opinion leader on Extracellular Vesicle (rated 3th worldwide (Top 0.015%) and 1st in Australia in expertise for “Extracellular Vesicles and Exosomes” on Expertscape) and biomarker discovery (140 publications, and >8000 citations in the last 7 year). I have made a major conceptual contribution to EV biology with diagnostic and therapeutic implications. In the last 8 years, my primary research and commercialisation activities have focused on the identification and validation of biomarkers, and development of In Vitro Multivariate Index Assays for clinically relevant complications (including ovarian cancers, and obstetrical syndromes) and their translation into clinical applications. In Academia, I have pursued these objectives through the development and leadership of clinical translation research teams and facilities, both in Australia and overseas. For example, I had a leadership role in established the Centre for Clinical Diagnostics (CCD). Within the UQCCR, I established an exosome research team to evaluate the clinical utility of extracellular vesicles as liquid biopsies, IVDs and therapeutics. Much of our effort in this field of endeavour has involved optimising isolation methods for extracellular vesicles and their analytical analysis - including the use of protein solution array (e.g. Luminex), mass spectrometry profiling (using MS/MS SWATH) and more recently miRNA analysis.

​Dr Tosolini is a cell biologist with a focus at the intersection of axonal transport, neurotrophic factors, motor neurons and skeletal muscle, in the context of motor neuron disease (MND)/amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). His research to date has focused on utilising the connectivity between skeletal muscle and motor neurons for the enhanced delivery of therapeutic agents to the spinal cord (e.g., viral-mediated gene therapy). Building upon these foundations, his postdoctoral training focused on defining the axonal transport dynamics in a number of different experimental conditions, including stimulation with different neurotrophic factors (e.g., BDNF, GDNF), α motor neuron subtypes (i.e., fast motor neurons vs slow motor neurons), and alterations to such factors in MND/ALS pathology.

Dr Tosolini has joined the laboratories of A/Prof. Shyuan Ngo (AIBN) and Dr. Derek Steyn (SBMS) to undertake a novel project looking at assessing a novel therapeutic compound in mouse models of ALS, and in as well as in ALS patient-derived muscle cultures. This project is in collaboration with Dr. Giovanni Nardo at Laboratory of Molecular Neurobiology, Department of Neuroscience, Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri IRCCS, Milan, Italy.

​Dr Tosolini completed his PhD in 2015 in the discipline of Anatomy at the School of Medical Sciences, University of New South Wales (UNSW). His PhD project focused on characterising the connectivity between various skeletal muscles and their innervating motor neuron pools, to optimally deliver agents (e.g., retrograde tracers, virus) to the spinal cord motor neurons via retrograde axonal transport. For the work produced in his PhD, Dr Tosolini was awarded a place on the Faculty of Medicine's Dean's List.

In 2016, Dr Tosolini joined the Schiavo Laboratory at University College London (UCL), UK as a Post-Doctoral Research Associate to undertake a project focused on: 1) understanding factors influencing axonal transport dynamics in distinct in vitro and in vivo models of motor neuron disease (MND)/amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and 2) revealing the signalling elements governing neuronal trans-synaptic transfer.

In 2020, Dr Tosolini was awarded a Junior Non-Clinical Post-Doctoral Fellowship by the Motor Neuron Disease Association, UK to expand his work on evaluating axonal transport dynamics in mouse models of motor neuron disease (MND) as well as in diverse human induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSC)-derived motor neurons. This project is a direct continuation of my post-doctoral training in the Schiavo laboratory, and included a novel collaboration with Prof. Rickie Patani (Francis Crick Institute, London, UK), to evaluate axonal transport dynamics of diverse organelles in mouse and human models of MND/ALS.