Members of the EMBL Australia Steering Committee
South australian immunogenomics cancer institute (saigenci) & UNIVERSITY OF ADELAIDE
JOse polo
Professor Jose M. Polo is an epigenetics, stem cell and reprogramming specialist who was appointed Scientific Head of EMBL Australia in 2025. As Director of the Adelaide Centre for Epigenetics (ACE) and Program Leader at SAiGENCI, his group probes how epigenetic landscapes define cell identity, fate change, and cancer, combining state-of-the-art genomic, cellular, and computational tools. Professor Polo chairs the EMBL Australia Steering Committee.
Monash University
john carroll
Professor John Carroll is a reproductive biology expert whose research examines female reproduction, embryo development and infertility. He serves as Dean of Biomedical Sciences and Director of the Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute, bringing together over 100 research groups to advance translational work in fertility, oocyte development and the prevention of mitochondrial disease.
peter currie
Professor Peter Currie is a developmental evolutionary and stem cell biologist, and Director of the Australian Regenerative Medicine Institute (ARMI), Monash University. Internationally known for his work on muscle development and repair, his team uses zebrafish and other vertebrate models to investigate how muscle stem cells grow, regenerate and evolve, with implications for treating degenerative disease.
University of new south wales
till boecking
Professor Till Boecking leads the Molecular Machines Group at the University of New South Wales, within the EMBL Australia Node for Single Molecule Science. Using single-molecule fluorescence imaging, protein self-assembly systems and advanced biophysics, his research reveals how viral, cytoskeletal and signalling proteins build dynamic molecular machines.
Burnet institute
james beeson
Professor James Beeson is a public health physician and malaria immunologist who serves as Deputy Director of the Burnet Institute and heads the Malaria Immunity & Vaccines Research Group, as well as the Healthy Mothers Healthy Babies program of research and implementation activities on maternal and child health in Papua New Guinea. His research spans decades of field, clinical and translational studies in Africa and Asia, exploring the mechanisms of protective immunity to malaria and advancing vaccine development.
the australian national university
ross hannan
Professor Ross Hannan is a cancer biologist internationally recognised for pioneering work on ribosome biogenesis and nucleolar stress, whose insights have led to new treatment paradigms using RNA polymerase I inhibitors. He holds the Centenary Chair in Cancer Research at the John Curtin School of Medical Research (ANU), where his multi-disciplinary team integrates genomics, proteomics and molecular biology to translate basic discoveries into therapeutic strategies.