Following the EMBL model, EMBL Australia group leaders are given the freedom and funding to pursue ambitious research, ask big questions and take big risks.

The EMBL Australia Partner Laboratory Network (PLN) currently consists of 13 research groups at six institutes across the nation. The secretariat is hosted by the Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute.

EMBL Australia and the Partner Laboratory Network host institutes are committed to supporting a gender-diverse & inclusive work environment, ensuring equal employment opportunity to attract and retain the best researchers in their field. Read more about our Gender Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Plan 2023-2028.

Victorian node

The Victorian node of the PLN is hosted at Monash University and the Burnet Institute and currently consists of six research groups:

  • Chen Davidovich, based at the Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute (Monash BDI), is studying key proteins involved in the maintenance of stem cell fate, which play an important role in multiple cancers.
  • Max Cryle, also based at Monash BDI, is using a combination of techniques to understand and harness the major protein machines that catalyse the production of some of the most important antibiotics in clinical use.
  • Mikaël Martino, based at the Australian Regenerative Medicine Institute (ARMI) at Monash University, focuses on the immune regulation of stem cells and regeneration, seeking to design regenerative medicine strategies integrating a control of the immune system.
  • Senthil Arumugam, based at Monash BDI, researches how complex properties arise out of molecules and their interactions, with a primary focus on endosomal trafficking.
  • William Roman, based at ARMI, investigates how cells communicate to establish organ architecture and function and aims to improve muscle disorders and ageing.
  • Michelle Boyle is based at the Burnet Institute and is an honorary group leader at QIMR Berghofer. Her goal is to inform the development of effective malaria vaccines by defining functional mechanisms of antibodies that target the parasite, and the development of protective antibodies in humans.

South Australian node

The South Australian node of the PLN is hosted at the the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI), supported by the University of Adelaide, the University of South Australia and Flinders University, and the South Australian immunoGENomics Cancer Institute (SAiGENCI).

  • Qi Zhang is based at SAiGENCI and aims to understand the molecular mechanisms of epigenetic regulation and their implications in cancer. Using a diverse range of methodologies, she investigates the role of chromatin-modifying complexes in gene regulation and cancer, with the ultimate goal of translating fundamental lab-based discoveries into novel therapeutic strategies.

New South Wales node

The New South Wales node of the PLN is hosted at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) and the Garvan Institute of Medical Research, Sydney.

  • Yann Gambin is based at UNSW’s Centre in Single Molecule Science. He combines single molecule detection and microfluidics to develop a microscopy-based pipeline to readily study protein-protein interactions at high resolution.
  • Maté Biro is also based at the UNSW Centre in Single Molecule Science. He studies actomyosin mechanisms during cytoxic T cell action and the elucidation of the biomechanical cell-cell interaction between T cells and their cancerous targets.
  • Robert Weatheritt is based at the Garvan Institute and aims to understand how post-transcriptional regulation contributes to proteomic diversity and cell signalling.
  • Richard Morris is based at UNSW’s Centre in Single Molecule Science. He applies and develops concepts from statistical and theoretical soft-condensed matter physics, as well as applied mathematics, in order to describe biological systems.
  • Vaishnavi Ananthanarayanan is also based at UNSW’s Centre in Single Molecule Science. She investigates how stochastic and rare events, such as motor protein binding to cytoskeletal tracks or cargo, give rise to complex cellular organisation across scales.

Australian Capital Territory node

The ACT node of the PLN is hosted at the Australian National University (ANU), Canberra.

  • Eduardo Eyras  is based at the John Curtin School of Medical Research at ANU and is working on understanding the biology of RNA and cancer using computational methods.

Collaborating Groups

Though not officially part of the PLN, a number of research groups have strong and direct collaborative links between Australia and EMBL scientists.

Currently, three Australian research teams are recognised as EMBL – Australia Collaborating Groups due to their active collaborations with EMBL researchers: Professor Thomas Preiss (Australian National University), Associate Professor James Bourne (ARMI, Monash University) and Dr Mirana Ramialison (ARMI, Monash University).