Dr Fabien Vincent
Monash University Research Field: Immunology The health disparity between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians is a national tragedy. Dr Vincent’s research tackles a devastating autoimmune disease called ‘lupus’. For reasons unknown, lupus is two to four times more common (and more severe) in Indigenous Australians. His vision is to unravel the reasons for this and use…
Read More »A/Prof James Trauer
Monash University Research Field: Health policy, Epidemiology, Modelling The COVID-19 pandemic has been an unprecedented threat, not just to human health, but to all aspects of our society and economy. From early 2020, Dr Trauer has supported the Victorian Government and many countries of the Asia-Pacific Region to understand and address the epidemic. During Victoria’s…
Read More »Jane Tiller
Monash University Research Field: Genetic Discrimination Genetic testing can save lives through preventing diseases such as cancer. However, Australian life-insurance companies can legally use applicants’ genetic test results to decline cover or increase policy cost. Research shows genetic discrimination fears deter at-risk individuals from clinical testing and research participation, creating significant barriers to research, clinical…
Read More »Dr Sarah Stephenson
Murdoch Children Research Institute Research Field: Epilepsy, Genetics Epilepsy is a serious brain disorder that typically presents in childhood and is associated with cognitive, intellectual and behavioural disabilities and an increased risk of sudden death. In some children, seizures cannot be fully controlled by medication. A major cause of drug-resistant epilepsy is a malformation of…
Read More »Dr Freya Shearer
University of Melbourne Research Field: Infectious Disease, Epidemiology Dr Shearer’s work is focused on mitigating the impact of infectious diseases on society by integrating approaches from mathematical and statistical modelling and decision science. Since January 2020, I have been using models to assist Australian and regional governments to respond to COVID-19. Her team performs real-time…
Read More »Prof Florian Mueller
Monash University Research Field: Human-Computer Interactions Traditional computer games make us sedentary and contribute to the global obesity epidemic. Prof. Mueller is changing this paradigm by researching the area of human-computer interaction (HCI), which involves greater physical exertion as a way of encouraging players to be more active. The research Prof. Mueller conducts has helped…
Read More »Dr Rachel Hill
Monash University Research Field: Neuroscience, Mental Health Schizophrenia is a devastating psychiatric illness that debilitates people for life. Current treatments for schizophrenia are largely ineffective and have severe side effects and thus better treatment options are urgently needed. A/Prof. Hill is using cutting edge neuroscience technologies to understand what is happening in the brains of…
Read More »Prof Kylie Hesketh
Deakin University Research Field: Behavioural Epidemiology, Physical Activity Physical inactivity is a leading risk factor for disease. From a young age, children spend a lot of time sitting and not enough time moving, which can set them up to experience issues with health, wellbeing, and school performance. Professor Hesketh’s research seeks to understand the barriers…
Read More »Dr Victoria Blair
Monash University Research Field: Inorganic Chemistry Making brand new molecules, drugs or fine chemical feedstocks is a costly and complicated process. There is a need to develop and design new reagents that offer more selective, atom economical and efficient methodologies in synthesis. Dr Blair is an organochemist, who uses a range of metals in her…
Read More »Dr Jeremy Barr
Monash University Research Field: Antibiotic Resistance Antibiotic resistance is one of the biggest threats to human health. Dr Jeremy Barr studies the therapeutic use of bacteriophages — viruses that infect and kill bacteria — as a way to combat antibiotic-resistant infections and the disease they cause. Dr Barr’s research has been instrumental in demonstrating that…
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