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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.

Dr Gordon’s research is focused on the formation and maintenance of the blood and lymphatic vascular systems. Vessels form complex branched networks that supply oxygen and nutrients to all body tissues. The signals controlling blood vessel expansion, identity and migration are all downstream of a single, common complex at the cell surface, yet exactly how this diverse range of functions is differentially regulated, depending on the physiological need, remains unknown.

The specific focus of Dr Gordon’s research is to determine the precise molecular signals that control cell adhesion within the vessel wall the surrounding environment. If the signals controlling cell adhesion become deregulated, normal vessel growth and function is lost. This contributes to the progression of a wide range of human diseases, including cancer growth and metastasis, diabetic eye disease and stroke. Dr Gordon aims to use novel biological models, biochemical assays and imaging techniques to better understand vessel biology, which will enable improved treatment of disease and aid in the development of vascularised, bioengineered organs.

Dr Gordon received her Bachelor of Science (2005) and PhD (2011) from The University of Adelaide, after which she undertook six years of postdoctoral studies at Yale University in the USA and Uppsala University in Sweden. With the support of an ARC DECRA Fellowship, Dr Gordon relocated to IMB in 2017 to establish her independent research career as an IMB Fellow. In 2019, she was appointed as Group Leader of the Vessel Dynamics Laboratory.

Clara Jiang is a postdoctoral research fellow at the Institute for Molecular Bioscience, the University of Queensland. Clara’s research focuses on using genomic and transcriptomic analysis to investigate the genetic basis of cardiovascular and psychiatric disorders, with a particular focus on female health, as well as using statistical genomic approaches to explore possible opportunities for drug repurposing. Clara graduated from the University of Queensland with Bachelor of Advanced Science (First Class Honours) in 2017, and was awarded the University Medal. Clara was awarded her PhD at the University of Queensland in 2021, where she utilised bioinformatic approaches and molecular experiments to decipher the genetic aetiology of breast cancer, specifically the regulatory role of transposons or ‘jumping genes’ in modulating the transcriptional landscape in the cancer state. Clara is also a UQ Wellness ambassador and an advocate for promoting equity, diversity and inclusion in academia.

Dr. Daniel P. Morin earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from Cornell University in 1995, graduating with Honors and Distinction. He earned his medical degree from the University of Massachusetts Medical School, and his Master of Public Health degree from Harvard University, both in 2000. He then served his internship and residency in Internal Medicine at Tufts-New England Medical Center in Boston, Massachusetts. Thereafter, he completed advanced fellowships in cardiovascular disease and cardiac electrophysiology at New York Presbyterian Hospital - Weill Cornell Medical Center in New York, New York. He is board certified in Cardiology and Clinical Cardiac Electrophysiology. He is a Fellow of the American College of Cardiology and the Heart Rhythm Society. Dr. Morin's clinical interests are in device therapy for cardiac dysfunction (including cardiac resynchronization therapy) and treatment of cardiac arrhythmias via medical therapy and/or catheter ablation.

In addition to his full load of clinical work, Dr. Morin serves as Director of Electrophysiology Research and Director of Cardiovascular Research for the Ochsner Health System. He heads an active team researching such diverse subjects as risk stratification for sudden cardiac arrest, new applications for cardiac resynchronization therapy, the effects of ablation on cardiac contractility, and relationships between the environment and cardiac tachyarrhythmias.

Dr. Pyi Naing is a dual-trained cardiologist and general physician with subspecialty expertise in Echocardiography. His clinical and academic interests include evaluation and management of breathlessness, pulmonary hypertension, chronic heart failure, cardiac risk assessment and valvular heart diseases.

His advanced cardiology training was at The Prince Charles Hospital, the premier cardiac hospital in Australia where he earned the fellowship of Royal Australian College of Physicians (FRACP) in cardiology. He continued his training as an echocardiography fellow at the same hospital and gained further skills in all aspects of echocardiography including transesophageal, transthoracic and stress echocardiography.

Dr Naing is also a well published clinical academic with an MPhil degree from University of Notre Dame, Australia. He is currently completing a Ph.D. degree by studying novel methods to improve the care for breathless patients. He holds a senior lecturer position at the School of Medicine, University of Queensland. He has public appointments in Caboolture Hospital and The Prince Charles Hospital as a consultant cardiologist. He is bilingual in Burmese and English.

I am an Associate Professor and Organisational Psychologist at UQ's School of Psychology. I research, supervise, teach, and consult on a broad range of work and organisational topics. Through my research, I aim to help organisations and their employees devise new strategies for balancing and realising the dual concerns of feeling well and performing well. To this end, I have researched employee stress, well-being, motivation, and performance in a range of high-performance settings (e.g., small business owners, professional musicians, elite athletes, and safety critical work in healthcare and transport industries). I also supplement this field research with a program of basic research in my laboratory using work simulation paradigms.

Some of my specific research topics include: how workers manage their energy during work; how workers recover from work stress in off-the-job time; how jobs and careers can be designed to maximise well-being, motivation, and performance; and I also explore the 'hidden costs' of performance management systems. Beyond these core areas, I have also contributed to other topics through theoretical (i.e., self-determination theory) and methodological (i.e., physiology, experience sampling, work simulation) expertise in academic, industry, and student-based collaborations. For example, in areas like supervisor support, diversity and inclusion, employee voice, employee green behaviour, compassion science, and social identity.

Passionate about doing practically-relevant research, though my consulting and advisory work I have helped both public and private organisations tackle issues with selection and recruitment, training and development, career management, work design, culture change, and operational safety. I also regularly engage with the media on topics related to my expertise and my research and/or commentary has been featured in outlets like TIME Magazine, Harvard Business Review, HR Magazine, and ABC’s popular podcast This Working Life.

I currently serve on the Editorial Boards for the Journal of Occupational Health Psychology and the European Journal of Work and Organisational Psychology.

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

Dr Isuru Ranasinghe is a Senior Staff Specialist Cardiologist and the A/Prof in Cardiology at the Prince Charles Hospital and the Northside Clinical Unit of the Faculty of Medicine at UQ. He leads research in clinical cardiology, cardiovascular epidemiology and healthcare safety and quality. Dr Ranasinghe has recipient of nationally competitive scholarships and fellowships including the NHMRC Postgraduate Scholarship, the NHMRC Neil-Hamilton-Fairley Early Career Fellowship and the National Heart Foundation of Australia Future Leader Fellowship. He currently holds an Advancing Queensland Clinical Research Fellowship.

Dr Kirstine Shrubsole is an NHMRC Emerging Leadership Fellow at the Queensland Aphasia Research Centre. She holds a Bachelor of Speech Pathology (First Class Honours) from The University of Queensland, and completed her PhD in 2018. Kirstine has a research focus on improving implementation of evidence into practice in speech pathology and multidisciplinary services, with a special interest in stroke and aphasia rehabilitation. She has demonstrated that practice change is achievable for healthcare teams working in aphasia, leading to positive outcomes for patients, clinicians, and organisations.

Kirstine has published over 40 peer-reviewed journal articles, and has been awarded over $6 million in competitive research funding. Kirstine previously worked as the Conjoint Research Fellow in Speech Pathology (Princess Alexandra Hospital and The University of Queensland), providing research capacity building and mentoring to speech pathologists and supporting multidisciplinary research. Kirstine is the co-founder and Deputy Lead of the Collaboration of Aphasia Triallists’ Implementation Science in Aphasia working group, and a research affiliate of the Centre for Research Excellence in Aphasia Rehabilitation and Recovery.

Kirstine is completing a NHMRC Emerging Leadership Fellowship on the following topic:

• The Aphasia Implementation Toolkit Project: Developing an implementation intervention to improve services for stroke survivors with aphasia

She is a chief investigator on three MRFF grants, including:

• Unspoken, Unheard, Unmet: Improving Access to Preventative Health Care through Better Conversations about Care

• Bridging the Digital Divide: Building Health Self-Efficacy through Communication-Accessible Online Environments

• Enhancing utility of neuropsychological evaluation for earlier and effective diagnosis of dementia in Parkinson's disease

Critical Care Medicine focuses on supporting patients, often with one or multiple organ failures. Based at the largest Australian cardiac hospital, our research investigates better ways to support patients with heart and/or lung failure. We explore technological, pharmacological and engineering advances that could help our patients to live longer and better. Our group is world-renowned for clinically relevant large animal models, including heart failure, respiratory failure (ARDS), heart transplantation, sepsis, cardiogenic shock, and more. All our studies use hospital-grade equipment and follow the same clinical guideline to maximise translation. We actively take on honours, MPhil and PhD students from multi-disciplinary backgrounds (science, engineering, medicine, allied health), with a successful track record in supporting our students to secure their own grants and funding. Students are expected to contribute to other studies of the group. For more information about the group, please visit ccrg.org.au, and email if you are interested to join us.

MBBS MM (Sydney), PhD (Cambridge), FRACP, FCSANZ, FRCP (London)

Consultant Cardiologist, Princess Alexandra Hospital, Brisbane.

Associate Professor, PAH-Southside Clinical Unit, Faculty of Medicine, The University of Queensland.

Research interests: clinical cardiology, cardiovascular imaging, genetics and indigenous health.