Dr William Roman, an EMBL Australia & Baker Foundation group leader at the Australian Regenerative Medicine Institute (ARMI), is reimagining the future of muscle repair – one pixel and protein at a time.
Backed by the transformative support of the Thomas Baker Foundation and Monash University, Dr Roman leads a team combining engineering, biology, and data science to uncover how muscles heal, grow, and connect.
Their ultimate goal? To make high-resolution science more accessible and regenerative therapies more personal.
“Movement is second nature to us, but the biology behind it is astonishingly complex,” said Dr Roman.
“We’re studying how muscle repairs itself at the cellular level and how that breaks down in disease, ageing, or injury. That means understanding not just which genes are active – but exactly where they’re being expressed inside tissue.”
To do this, Dr Roman has pioneered an affordable imaging-based spatial transcriptomics platform. Built in-house at ARMI, including a custom microscope and robotic fluid-exchange system, the setup slashes the usual $30,000-$45,000 experiment cost.
It’s already enabling new insights into muscle development and repair, while offering local access to global-calibre technology.
Trained at Stanford University in spatial transcriptomics methods, Dr Roman returned to Australia to develop a version of the technology that’s user-friendly for biologists, scalable for labs, and customisable for unusual samples – from human tissue to shark fins.
“Spatial transcriptomics is like a molecular map,” said Dr Roman.
“It lets us track gene activity over time and space – crucial for understanding how muscle cells communicate during healing or degeneration. This tool has changed the questions we can ask.”
His team at ARMI is using this platform to investigate how muscle cells initiate self-repair before stem cells are even activated – a possible first line of defence against damage.
They’re also building muscle-on-a-chip systems to replicate complex environments like neuromuscular junctions- where nerves signal muscles to contract – and myotendinous interfaces, which anchor muscles to tendons.
These models are key to developing treatments for conditions like ALS and age-related muscle loss.
“Our lab works across the full discovery pipeline – from fundamental biology to translational applications,” Dr Roman explained.
“We want to know how cells ‘talk’ to each other, but we also want to use that knowledge to build better therapies.”
The freedom to follow curiosity, rather than short-term funding cycles, is what sets Dr Roman’s lab apart – and that’s thanks to the support of the Thomas Baker Foundation.
“This kind of long-term, flexible support is rare and powerful,” he said.
“It means we can pivot, experiment, and explore bold ideas. When science surprises you – and it always does – you need to be able to move with it.”
Modelled on the prestigious European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) framework, Dr Roman’s nine-year appointment gives his team the time and autonomy to build something lasting: not just discoveries, but capability.
His lab recently welcomed postdoctoral researcher Dr Melinda Wang, who is helping scale the spatial transcriptomics platform to other users and collaborators.
The Foundation’s backing has also catalysed broader innovation within Monash and beyond.
From cross-disciplinary research to emerging industry partnerships, Dr Roman’s work exemplifies the multiplier effect of strategic philanthropic investment.
“Everything we’ve built—the microscope, the chip systems, the ideas—is about enabling discovery,” said Dr Roman.
“We want to understand how the body heals itself, and use that to help it heal better.”
This article originally appeared on the ARMI website and has been republished with permission.