Neuroinflammation is a key driver of degenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease and multiple sclerosis. Our limited ability to image and assess neuroinflammation in real patients, in real time, severely impedes our ability to accurately diagnose and treat these disorders and obstructs development of novel therapeutics.
Dr Danon’s team develops new molecules for studying neuroinflammation in living organisms, including human patients, using an imaging technique called positron emission tomography. Their ultimate goals are to develop safe diagnostic drugs that can help to decode how neuroinflammation drives neurodegeneration and use this information to develop novel strategies to treat it.
Today there are more young people alive than at any other point in history – 1.8 billion. Yet, our modern, digitally reliant societies present unique challenges for young people to consume a healthful, well-balanced diet or engage in sufficient physical activity. Dr Partridge’s research prioritises their right to good health in the digital age.
Dr Stephanie Partridge collaborates with young people and leads a multidisciplinary team with a vision to minimise harm and harness the benefits of digital technologies to improve adolescents’ lifestyle behaviours. She is conducting studies to understand how the rapid growth in meal delivery apps affects how young people access and consume food. She is also working with government and community groups to develop digital health programs to improve young people’s health. Most importantly, Dr Partridge is working with adolescents to conduct all of her research and deliver research that is important to them.
Dr Rose Cairns has been awarded AIPS NSW 2023 Young Tall Poppy of the Year! She is an NHMRC Emerging Leadership Fellow and a Senior Lecturer in Pharmacy at The University of Sydney. Dr Cairns is also the Director of Research at the New South Wales Poisons Information Centre. She is a practicing poisons information specialist, providing emergency poisoning advice to healthcare professionals and members of the public.
Her research focuses on poisoning, medicines safety, and suicide prevention. Her work uses clinical datasets to evaluate policy interventions and to identify emerging poisoning threats to the community. She is regularly interviewed by the media about her research and other poisoning and drug safety matters. She has written several invited pieces for The Conversation.
Dr Cairns is a minister appointed member on the Therapeutic Goods Administration’s Advisory Committee on Chemicals Scheduling (TGA ACCS), providing toxicology advice to the government to inform accessibility of poisons. She has also been involved in state and federal government consultations impacting medicines and chemicals legislation.
Every reef worldwide is losing corals faster than they can naturally replenish. Healthy reefs sustain 7,000+ marine species, provide billions of dollars in economic value, protect coastlines, and are an important source for new medicines. Yet, coral health is rapidly declining due to environmental stressors. Preserving and restoring coral reefs is crucial to maintain the countless benefits they provide to marine life and human society.
Corals, like any living organism, need optimal nutrition for survival, especially in the face of environmental challenges.
Dr. Jennifer Matthews uses a multidisciplinary approach, incorporating chemistry, nanotechnology, marine biology, and ecology to discover the best nutrition for corals to thrive and survive. Her ground-breaking work involves innovative nanodelivery of supplements to bolster corals when they are most vulnerable – during times of extreme environmental stress, and as babies.
By collaborating closely with key industries and stakeholders, Dr. Matthews ensures her research outputs directly address real-world problems and have a tangible impact on coral reef conservation efforts.
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Stem cells are emerging as promising therapies for a range of disorders and injuries. However, broad translation of stem cell therapies is hindered by issues of low cell supply and inefficient or non-uniform cell function.
Dr Giselle Yeo’s research aims to address these issues by understanding the native processes that regulate stem cell behaviour, and applying these towards new cell-instructive technologies and materials that can improve stem cell growth and enhance their regenerative function and lifespan.
Outside the lab, Dr Giselle Yeo directs the Amgen Biotech Experience program in Australia, an international science outreach program, which upskills teachers and lab technicians in biotechnology and provides resources to deliver a gene cloning practical experience to high school students across 50+ schools in Sydney and Dubbo.
Dr Yeo is committed to promoting accessibility and inclusivity in science education, and regularly shares her work via professional development courses and school visits.
Dr Yeo is a NHMRC Emerging Leadership Fellow in the School of Life and Environmental Sciences and a Group Leader in the Charles Perkins Centre at the University of Sydney.
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Mental health disorders are of major concern worldwide, contributing to 13-32% of the global disease burden and resulting in 1.5 million suicides and 15-30 million suicide attempts annually.
While many individuals with mental illness seek medical help and undergo psychiatric care, a considerable percentage, ranging from 30-40%, do not respond to initial medication-based therapies, and around 10-45% experience moderate to severe treatment-related side effects. This variability in treatment response is partly attributable to genetic factors.
Dr Amare leads a dedicated research team with a vision to revolutionize mental health treatment through the development of genetic tests. These tests aim to enable clinicians to make accurate diagnoses and identify the most effective and safe medications for their patients. Leveraging advanced data science techniques on extensive internationally gathered genetic datasets, his team endeavors to create innovative technologies that can personalize health care, ultimately enhancing the quality of life for millions suffering from mental illnesses.
Beyond his current focus on pharmacogenomics and studying the genetic basis of mental health disorders, Dr. Amare’s research spans areas such as diversity genomics, healthy aging, and global health.
Dr. Azmeraw Amare obtained his PhD in Medicine (2018) from the University of Adelaide and currently holds the prestigious NHMRC Emerging Leadership Fellowship (2021-2026).
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Dr Christopher Perrella’s research uses light to make high-precision measurements of time and space and provide insight into the health of individual cells or into a person’s health.
The absorption of light by atoms or molecules allows Chris to measure the presence of different types of gasses to monitor biological processes or human health, or to build high-precision optical clocks used in next generation GPS. Dr Perrella also uses light to manipulate small particles to investigate the health of a cell or embryo.
Chris developed the Laser Radio outreach activity (https://laserradio.wordpress.com/), to highlight the fun and excitement of science to school students, aiming to encourage more students into STEM studies. This activity allows students to learn how information can be encoded onto light (the basis of modern telecommunication technology like the NBN) by transmitting audio signals over a laser beam in an interactive hands-on activity.
Chris was awarded his PhD in 2013 at the University of Western Australia. He is currently a post-doctoral researcher at the School of Biological Sciences, The University of Adelaide.
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Acute lymphoblastic leukaemia is one of the biggest causes of non-traumatic death in children and 30% of those who do eradicate their disease relapse within 5 years. Current methods of combating relapse involve intense chemotherapy or bone marrow transplant, but these are highly toxic and risky approaches. In order to improve long-term survival outcomes, we need more effective therapies targeted to an individual patient’s specific disease.
Dr Laura Eadie’s team sequences the genetic code of a patient’s leukaemia cells to identify the leukaemia-causing mutations. They also create humanised mouse avatars for leukaemia patients and use them in pre-clinical drug trials. Combined, these models allow them to identify effective therapies tailored to each patient.
Currently, Dr Laura Eadie is a Cancer Council South Australia Beat Cancer Fellow based at the South Australian Health & Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI). She is also a Senior Affiliate Lecturer at The University of Adelaide, in the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences.
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When most people hear about dementia, they picture older people with memory loss. But not all types of dementia start with memory loss. Other symptoms can include changes in personality and social behaviour, reduced motivation and empathy and/or difficulties with financial management and decision-making. These symptoms are poorly understood and, as a result, limited treatment options are available.
Dr Stephanie Wong’s research combines neuroscience and psychology to understand how changes in the brain lead to different symptoms of dementia. By understanding what causes these symptoms, targeted and effective interventions can be developed, to manage these symptoms and improve quality of life in people living with dementia and their families.
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Daniel Harvie is a Pain Scientist and Program Director of the Master of Musculoskeletal and Sports Physiotherapy program at the University of South Australia.
Dr Harvie’s research focusses on new theories of body perception and how they might inform new approaches to chronic pain. Along with Lorimer Moseley, Daniel is an author of the book ‘Pain and The Nature of Perception: A New Way to Look at Pain’ which uses visual illusions to describe features of perception that are relevant to understanding and treating pain.
Dr Harvie has been a passionate contributor to PainRevolution.org, a group seeking to improve public knowledge and skills needed to prevent and overcome persistent pain particularly in regional communities.
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