EMBL Australia

Dr. Andrea Guzmán Mesa

Dr. Andrea Guzmán Mesa is the International Relations Officer at ELIXIR, the European research infrastructure for life science data. She supports ELIXIR’s engagement with international partners and current and prospective Member States. Previously, Andrea was the National Contact Point for Horizon Europe Partnerships at Euresearch in Switzerland advising stakeholders on European R&I collaborations. She holds a PhD in Astrophysics from the University of Bern in Switzerland but transitioned to science policy driven by a strong interest in research governance and international collaboration.

Elixir: https://elixir-europe.org/

Andrew Smith

Andrew Smith is Head of ELIXIR’s External Relations team. Andy manages a team of experts responsible for ELIXIR’s collaborations with international partners and other ESFRI research infrastructures, industry engagement, socio-economic impact and website and communication activities. Andy leads on ELIXIR’s engagement with existing and potential Member States and EU institutions.

Andy has served as domain expert on various G7, OECD and ESFRI Working Groups. Andy joined ELIXIR in 2011 to help establish the infrastructure. Since then, he has held a range of roles including Interim Director of ELIXIR from December 2023 to May 2024. Prior to joining ELIXIR, Andy worked in Brussels for the UK Research Office and has also held roles in regional government and education in the UK, Slovenia and Czech Republic.

Anne-Charlotte Fauvel

Anne-Charlotte Fauvel is EU Relations Lead at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), Europe’s flagship life-science research organisation. She counsels EMBL leadership on EU science and technology policy and leads stakeholder engagement efforts in Brussels. She currently chairs the International Affairs Working Group of EIROforum, a strategic alliance of eight major European intergovernmental research organisations. Prior to, she served as Head of European Affairs at EATRIS-ERIC, the European Research Infrastructure for Translational Medicine. Anne-Charlotte earned a dual Master’s in European Affairs & International Relations from Sciences Po Lille (France) and Aston University (UK).

Antje Keppler

Antje Keppler is Director of the Bio-Hub of Euro-BioImaging ERIC, hosted by the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg, Germany. She leads an international team to coordinate and operate the pan-European research infrastructure services for biological imaging in Euro-BioImaging. She currently is Chair of ERIC Forum, where 31 ERICs (European Research Infrastructure Consortia) come together to represent their voice and interests towards European key stakeholders. Antje also is coordinator of the international Global BioImaging network, which promotes open science and open access to imaging research infrastructure services in by now 64 countries across all continents. Antje studied biochemistry at the Ruhr-University in Bochum, before she moved to Lausanne for conducting her PhD in chemical biology at the EPFL.

Anton Ussi

Anton Ussi (MSc) is Operations & Finance Director at EATRIS ERIC, the ESFRI European infrastructure for translational medicine. Joining EATRIS in 2010, he was part of the team responsible for the design and statutory incorporation of the infrastructure, whose membership counts 15 European Member States. In his current role as CEO since 2015, Ussi has a background in technology transfer, with previous history in mechanical engineering and automotive design, and small business administration. He specialises in public-private and public-public collaboration and translational research in medicine. Ussi is also Principal Investigator of REMEDi4ALL, a large EU-funded initiative to develop a European medicines repurposing eco-system.

Florian Jug

Head of Image Analysis: Human Technopole

Florian Jug received his PhD in computational neuroscience from ETH Zurich. At Human Technopole in Milan, he develops AI methods for the life sciences. His research focuses on generative models, multimodal data integration, and uncertainty quantification to bridge molecular, cellular, and tissue scales. By advancing AI as a trusted partner for biology, his overarching goal is to elevate the rate of scientific discovery through the methods and tools his team develops.

Jana Pavlic-Zupanc

Jana Pavlic-Zupanc is the Head of Public Affairs at BBMRI-ERIC (Biobanking and Biomolecular Resources Research Infrastructure – European Research Infrastructure Consortium) since September 2021, where she leads relations with Member States, the EU, other Research Infrastructures and key stakeholders, such as patient organizations. Since 2011 to 2020 Ms Pavlic-Zupanc worked in international relations for the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), since 2017 as the Head of Government and EU Relations. Previously Ms Pavlic-Zupanc worked in different roles for the European Commission, including in the European External Action Service, and for the Slovenian government, where she was a senior member of the EU Affairs State Secretary’s Cabinet. Ms Pavlic-Zupanc obtained her master’s degree in European Affairs at the College of Europe in Bruges, Belgium, in 2005, and completed her university studies in the area of International Relations – Political Science at the University of Ljubljana, Slovenia, in 2004.

Professor Jens K. Habermann

Professor Jens K. Habermann, M.D., PH.D., is Director General of BBMRI-ERIC (Biobanking and Biomolecular Resources Research Infrastructure – European Research Infrastructure Consortium) since September 2020. He is on leave of absence from the University of Lübeck as Head of the Section of Translational Surgical Oncology and Biobanking and as Head of ICB-L (Interdisciplinary Center for Biobanking-Lübeck). He obtained his M.D. training at the Medical University of Lübeck (Lübeck, Germany), received his Ph.D. at the Cancer Center Karolinska, Karolinska Institute (Stockholm, Sweden) and a Postdoctoral Fellowship at the National Cancer Institute, NIH (Bethesda, USA). As board certified specialist in human genetics, Prof. Habermann combines clinics, biobanking, and translational (cancer) research to optimize precision medicine.

John Eriksson

Director General: Euro-BioImaging ERIC

John E. Eriksson, PhD, is Director General of Euro-BioImaging ERIC, the pan-European research infrastructure for advanced biological and biomedical imaging headquartered in Turku, Finland. He leads Euro-BioImaging’s strategy and day-to-day operations, represents the organisation to Member States and EU institutions, and works with the Bio- and Med-Hubs to deliver open, high-quality imaging services, training and data solutions across Europe. Eriksson is also Professor of Cell Biology at Åbo Akademi University. A former Director of Turku Bioscience, he has authored 200+ publications and is an inventor on several patents. His current focus as Director General is on expanding the impact, accessibility and sustainability of imaging infrastructures.

José A. Márquez

José A. Márquez, PhD is Senior Scientist and Head of the High Throughput Crystallization Laboratory (the HTX lab) at the EMBL, Grenoble. Specialized in structural biology, his scientific interest is in the study of molecular mechanisms in sensing and signalling. His team has a strong focus on technology development and operates one of the largest academic facilities offering advanced crystallography services to hundreds of scientists in Europe and the world. He has participated in numerous E.C.-funded research and infrastructure projects. His team has developed the innovative CrystalDirect technology and the CRIMS software, enabling full automation of the crystallography process with applications in fundamental research and structure-based drug design. He is co-founder and CSO of two companies, ALPX, an EMBL start-up providing advanced structure biology services to the pharma and biotech sector and Cerelixis, applying EMBL’s proprietary technology to develop precision solutions for sustainable agriculture.

Julianne Cowley

Her Excellency, Julianne Cowley is Ambassador of Australia to Italy, San Marino, Albania, Libya, and Permanent Representative of Australia to the UN Agencies in Rome.

Prior to these roles, she was in the Office of the Pacific and has also held the position of Consul-General in Ho Chi Minh City.

As Assistant Secretary of Health Policy, at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Ambassador Cowley established the Indo-Pacific Centre for Health Security and was a founding board member of the Asia Pacific Leader’s Malaria Alliance.

She has also been a founding board member of Pacific Women Lead and has undertaken development work in Northern Thailand.

Dr Kelly Vere

Dr Kelly Vere MBE is the University Director of Technical Strategy at the University of Nottingham, where she began her career as a Junior Medical Technician in 1999. Now a nationally recognised leader in technical skills and careers, Kelly founded and leads the Technician Commitment – an initiative advancing visibility, recognition, career development and sustainability for technical professionals. She directed the £5 million Research England-funded TALENT programme, including the landmark TALENT Commission report, and currently leads the UK Institute for Technical Skills & Strategy. Kelly has authored key sector reports, edited the world’s first book on the technical profession, and created flagship initiatives including the UK Higher Education Technicians Summit, Papin Prizes, The Herschel Programme for Women in Technical Leadership and the Executive Programme in Strategic Technical Leadership. Her work continues to shape culture, policy and practice across higher education and research, driving long-term change for the technical community.

Lauren Maxwell

Senior Researcher: Institute for Global Health, University of Heidelberg

Linda Chaabane

Linda Chaabane is Director of the Med-Hub of Euro-BioImaging ERIC, hosted by the Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR) in Torino, Italy. She leads an international team to coordinate and operate the pan-European research infrastructure services for biomedical imaging in Euro-BioImaging and plays a pivotal role in representing the interests of the community at both national and international levels. Linda holds a master’s degree in physics at the University of Lyon (France) where she did a PhD in biomedical imaging. Before joining Euro-BioImaging, she had a professional career at both academic and industrial sectors to develop various research projects in multimodal and molecular in vivo imaging, particularly using MRI to visualize biological process and bridging the gap between chemistry, imaging technology, and biomedical sciences for advancing non-invasive diagnostics.

Lucia Banci

Lead Instruct Scientist – Coordinator Instruct-IT: CERM/CIRMMP

Lucia Banci is Professor of Chemistry at the University of Florence.

She has an extensive expertise and has provided original contributions and breakthroughs in

Structural Biology and in biological NMR. She has addressed and unraveled many aspects of the biology of metal ions in biological systems.

The innovative in cell NMR approach developed by Lucia Banci and her group allows for the

detection of human individual proteins in living human cells with atomic level resolution. She also exploited the extensive knowledge of structural biology approaches through NMR expertise to develop an absolutely innovative approach to vaccine design, based on the knowledge of the structure of the pathogen antigens and of the interaction pattern with antibodies, to design structure-based vaccines.

Lucia Banci is one of the founders and former Director of the Center of Magnetic Resonance

(CERM) of the University of Florence, which features an impressive battery of NMR spectrometers.

She is the Head of the Italian Core Center of the ESFRI Research Infrastructure Instruct-ERIC, and a member of the Instruct-ERIC Executive Committee and of the Council.

Luis Martí-Bonmatí

Luis Martí-Bonmatí is the Director of the Medical Imaging Department and Chairman of Radiology at La Fe University and Polytechnic Hospital and of the Biomedical Imaging Research Group and the Experimental Radiology and Imaging Biomarkers Platform (PREBI) at La Fe Health Research Institute in Valencia, Spain. He is also Professor of Radiology at the University of Valencia, where he has supervised numerous doctoral theses and final projects. In 2012, Prof. Martí-Bonmatí cofounded QUIBIM SL, a company focused on developing imaging biomarkers for clinical and experimental use, which successfully launched in the market in 2021.

His research focuses on computational imaging, radiomics, imaging biobanks, and clinical innovations in medical imaging and artificial intelligence. With over 600 publications, he coordinates several major European projects, including PRIMAGE and CHAIMELEON under Horizon Europe, which deal with medical imaging, artificial intelligence, and predictive models. Currently, he serves as the Scientific Director of the European Cancer Images (EUCAIM) Digital Europe project, which aims to develop a pan-European digital infrastructure for cancer imaging. He is the Scientific Coordinator of the EUCAIM project. This initiative aims to deploy a pan-European digital federated infrastructure of FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable) pan-cancer anonymised images from real-world data.

He is Full Academic Member of the Spanish Royal National Academy of Medicine, and Vice-President of the Federation of European Academies of Medicine (FEAM). He has been (2018-2024) the Editor-in-Chief of Insights into Imaging, a Q1 journal of the European Society of Radiology (ESR), dedicated to critical thinking and the added clinical value of medical imaging.

Marialuisa Lavitrano

Marialuisa Lavitrano is full professor of Pathology, director of Molecular Medicine Unit and of the Executive Masters’ in Management of Research Infrastructures at Milano-Bicocca University where she was Pro-Rector for International Affairs [2006-2013]. Over the years, she contributed to the international strategies of the Ministries of Research and of Health and coordinated the Italian participation in the BioMedical Sciences ESFRI roadmap. In 2013 she was appointed BBMRI.it (Biobanking and BioMolecular resources Research Infrastructure – Italy) Node-Director. In December 2020 she was first elected – confirmed in 2024 – in the board of eight directors of the EOSC Association and serves as vice-president. Prof. Lavitrano has a long-term experience in research, management, training and in bioethical aspects of science, with leading roles in 14 European funded projects within H2020 and Horizon programs, 11 of which related to research infrastructures.

Michael Raess

Michael Raess completed his PhD at Ludwig-Maximilians University Munich and the Max Planck Institute of Behavioural Physiology, where he also carried out postdoctoral research. His research focused on understanding physiological and behavioural adaptations to different environments. In addition to his scientific background, he pursued an MSc in Science Communication and Marketing at the Technical University of Berlin, equipping him with expertise in effectively communicating scientific concepts to diverse audiences and managing research-driven initiatives. In 2008, he joined Helmholtz Munich as Lead Project Manager for the INFRAFRONTIER Preparatory Phase and Head of the INFRAFRONTIER Project Office. In this role, he was responsible for overseeing the development and implementation of INFRAFRONTIER as a pan-European research infrastructure, coordinating large-scale research collaborations, and securing funding for the infrastructure. Since 2014, he has served as Head of General Management at INFRAFRONTIER GmbH (now INFRAFRONTIER ERIC), the coordination office of INFRAFRONTIER, the European Research Infrastructure for Modelling Human Diseases.

Plamena Markova

Chief International Relations: EMBL

Plamena Markova serves as the Chief of International Relations at EMBL and is a member of the EMBL Directorate. In this role, she leads EMBL’s engagement with its member states, the European Union, ESFRI research infrastructures, international organisations and fora, and global strategic partners. She also oversees Alumni Relations, supporting a vibrant global network of more than 10,000 EMBL alumni.

Plamena currently chairs the Coordination Group of EIROforum, under EMBL’s rotational presidency.

With over 15 years of experience across intergovernmental organisations (IGOs), non-governmental organisations (NGOs), and government sectors, she brings deep expertise in partnership development, science policy, and science governance. She contributes to numerous national and international expert committees and serves as EMBL’s representative on several ESFRI boards.

Plamena holds an advanced degree in Public International Law from Leiden University in the Netherlands, and a bachelor’s degree in International and European Affairs from Panteion University in Greece.

Prof. Robert L. Grossman

Robert L. Grossman is the Frederick H. Rawson Professor in Medicine and Computer Science and the Jim and Karen Frank Director of the Center for Translational Data Science at the University of Chicago. He is a fellow of the AAAS and the ACM. He is also the chair of the Open Commons Consortium, a US nonprofit that develops and operates data commons to support research in science, medicine and healthcare. He is the principal investigator for the National Cancer Institute Genomic Data Commons (GDC), one of the largest collections of harmonized cancer genomics data in the world. He has also built data commons and data meshes to support research in other areas, including liquid biopsies, Veterans’ health, infectious diseases, heart and lung diseases, and the environment. His research interests include data science, machine learning, deep learning and AI.

Tanja Ninkovic

Managing Director: RIcapacity

Tanja Ninkovic is a cell biologist and imaging technology developer who has dedicated last 13 years to strengthening the European research infrastructures(RIs) and human talent working in RIs.  She launched ARISE, a fellowship program at EMBL, to prepare scientists and engineers for the positions in core facilities and other RIs, developing a unique training program on professional skills required for operation and management of RIs, competency framework and analysing the career paths. To spread the training that was developed in ARISE  to broader RI community, she started RIcapacity (ricapacity.com), an organisation through which she continues working on joint projects with the community, as a partner on ARISE2, BioNT, Elixir focus group on Professionalisation of the roles of RI scientists and other community oriented projects.

Zhanna Ivanova

Zhanna Ivanova is the International Relations Officer at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL). Based at the European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI) in Hinxton, UK, she supports EMBL’s engagement with member states and international organizations, developing strategic partnerships to advance international cooperation in the life sciences. In her previous roles, she managed U.S. Department of State-funded public diplomacy and international security programs, leading capacity-building projects on chemical and biological security, counterproliferation, and supporting at-risk scientists. Zhanna holds an advanced degree in International Human Rights Law and Practice from the University of York.

Andrew Gilbert

Andrew is the Chief Executive of Bioplatforms Australia (www.bioplatforms.com), overseer of $500 million Commonwealth Government National Collaborative Research Infrastructure investment in the discovery sciences of genomics, proteomics and metabolomics. With 20 investments across Australia, Andrew has an extensive network of contacts from Commonwealth and State Governments, along with prominent universities, medical research institutes, agricultural research institutes and commercial entities. The network supports 350 full time research infrastructure practitioners, who in turn enable 3000 users per annum across the spectrum of pure research to commercial production. In addition to managing the national infrastructure network, Bioplatforms Australia has catalysed the formation of a series of strategic national scientific collaborations – in the broad themes of agriculture, biodiversity and biomedical science. Each Bioplatforms initiative is by design multi-disciplinary, multi-institutional and contain both discovery implications and pathways to end use. Innovation is inherent in both the model of collaboration and the environment created to foster excellent science and application to national challenges.

Prof Angel Lopez

Prof Angel Lopez AO, MBBS, PhD, FRACPA, FAHMS, FAA is the Head of Human Immunology at SA Pathology in Adelaide. He is an experimental immunologist and haematologist with an international reputation for his work on the structure and function of cytokine receptors and their role in health and disease. His breakthrough discoveries revealed significant new paradigms in cytokine receptor signalling that were published in major international journals. Prof Lopez’s team works closely with the pharmaceutical industry and clinical colleagues enabling the practical application of the laboratory’s insights as demonstrated by the development of several antibodies as potential new treatments in allergic inflammation and certain leukaemias. Prof Lopez is passionate about mentoring young researchers and promoting medical research excellence. He established (with S Kumar) the Centre for Cancer Biology in 2009, and in 2019 he (together with Prof M Brown and Senator Griffin) was awarded an $80M Commonwealth grant to establish the South Australian immunoGenetics Cancer Institute (SAiGENCI) in Adelaide.

Annette Wittmann

Annette has held several senior leadership roles in the Australian higher education and research sector, contributing to the establishment and implementation of large-scale education and research programs. Annette is Chief Operating Officer at EMBL Australia and based at Monash University in Melbourne. She is interested in strengthening existing ties between Australia and Europe, ECR talent attraction, research infrastructure workforce development and promoting the exchange of international best practice. Annette holds a Master of Marketing from the University of Auckland. She is also a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Crystal Cooper

Crystal Cooper is the Director of the Microscopy Australia facility at the University of Western Australia (UWA). Throughout her career, she has used optical, electron, x-ray and ion-beam technologies at both room temperature and under cryogenic conditions to answer complicated biological research questions. After completing a Bachelor of Science in Microbiology at UWA, she continued her studies by completing a Master’s degree characterising marine flatworms and a PhD at UWA and Murdoch University in marsupial parasitology. Subsequently, Crystal was an electron microscopy specialist and the Microscopy Lab Coordinator at the Queensland University of Technology before returning to UWA as the Cryo-Electron Microscopy (cryo-EM) Research Fellow tasked with developing and facilitating cryo-EM in Western Australia. As a founding committee member and secretary of the Australian Microscopy and Microanalysis (AMMS) special interest group Volume Imaging Australia, she has a passion for multimodal and volume microscopy techniques.

Felicity Flack

Senior Manager, Strategy and Services, Population Health Research Network

The PHRN is Australia’s national data linkage infrastructure. Felicity provides strategic support to the Chief Executive and Board, develops national policies, and coordinates the national strategic planning process. She is also responsible for negotiating strategic partnerships with external collaborators who share common goals and managing communications for the national network. Felicity has considerable experience in the ethics, law and social implications of sharing health data for research.

Prof Ian Smith

Ian has a background in both industry and research and up until 2020, was Vice-Provost at Monash University. In this leadership role, he had responsibility for research strategy, infrastructure and alliances.  Ian is now Professor Emeritus and consults for academic, government and industry organisations. He is a board director and chair of several Australian and international senior government and non-government governing and advisory boards.

EMBL Australia: https://www.emblaustralia.org/

Ian Smyth

Professor Ian Smyth is the Associate Dean, Research and Research Infrastructure in the Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences at Monash University. The role supports the development of the Faculty’s extensive network of Research Platforms. He was awarded his PhD from the University of Queensland and undertook postdoctoral training as a Wellcome Trust Traveling Research Fellow at the MRC Human Genetics Unit (Edinburgh) and Baylor College of Medicine (Houston) and as an LRI Fellow at Cancer Research UK in London. He returned to Australia as an NHMRC RD Wright Fellow and has subsequently held ARC Future and NHMRC Senior Research Fellowships. His research team at Monash focuses on understanding kidney disease and how genetic and environmental factors influence the development of the organ. He has previously served as node lead for Phenomics Australia and he is the founder of the kidney disease therapeutics company xCystence Bio.

James Whisstock

Deputy Dean, Research: Monash University

James Whisstock performed his PhD in bioinformatics and structural biology at the University of Cambridge.  In 1997 James moved to Australia and established his group at Monash University. James took up the role of Deputy Dean Research in the Faculty of Medicine Nursing and Health Sciences in January 2022.  In 2024 he was named a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences. His previous appointments include an ARC Federation Fellowship, ARC Laureate Fellowship together with an Honorary NHMRC Senior Principal Research Fellowship and Scientific Head of the Australian EMBL partnership (2017-2024).  James was awarded the 2006 Science Ministers prize, the 2008 Health ministers prize and the 2010 Gottschalk medal.

James’s current research directions include understanding the structure and function of pore forming proteins in immunity and Drosophila development (e.g. Rosado et al., Science 2007.Law et al., Nature 2010). His team further investigates the proteases and their inhibitors that control blood coagulation and wound remodelling.

Over the course of his career at Monash, James has contributed to the development of several key Monash technology platforms, including protein production, eResearch and X-ray crystallography. Most recently he led the establishment of the Monash Ramaciotti Cryo-Electron Microscopy platform

Jeff Christiansen

Jeff Christiansen is Director of Australian BioCommons, leading the team to establish national omics-related digital infrastructure for Australian life research communities. He has a PhD in Biochemistry from the University of Queensland and began his career in cancer, molecular genetics and embryo development. He has held many community-facing roles in the UK and Australia focused on building digital infrastructure to support health and life science research at scale, ensuring Australian researchers can fully participate in a global life science digital ecosystem.

Jim Hennessy

Jim Hennessy is an Associate Professor at the Australian National University and Deputy CEO at Phenomics Australia. He is a research infrastructure specialist with broad experience in research and innovation, most recently leading high-impact collaborative national research infrastructure initiatives. Jim previously worked within the Operations Team at the University of Sydney’s Core Research Facilities, held research positions with the CSIRO and ANU, and was an Editor for Nature Research in London for 4 years. He is also a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

John Hooper

John Hooper is a Mater Foundation Fellow and a Senior Research Fellow at Mater Research. Prof Hooper leads the Cancer Biology Research Group and is the author of over 125 publications with his research currently focused on understanding molecular mechanisms underlying cancer.
Prof Hooper’s lab has a particular interest in aggressive malignancies, including cancers of the ovary, prostate, breast, bowel, pancreas and bile duct, and works closely with Mater clinicians to identify key areas of need in these malignancies, with an ongoing emphasis on the role in cancer of cell surface receptor systems. The lab’s work is underpinned by molecular, enzymology and cell biology approaches, analysis of human tissues and pre-clinical models of cancer to identify cancer promoting molecular pathways and to develop new approaches to better detect and treat cancer.
Since 2010, Prof Hooper has helped to drive the establishment of gynaecological, urological and breast cancer research teams at the Mater Hospitals. These are closely aligned with Mater’s clinical multidisciplinary teams and involve surgeons, medical oncologists, pathologists, palliative care physicians, nurses and basic researchers.

Prof Jose M Polo

Professor Jose M. Polo FAA is Scientific Head of EMBL Australia. He is inaugural Director of the Adelaide Centre for Epigenetics (ACE), Program Leader at SAiGENCI, University of Adelaide, and Group Leader at Monash University. A leading expert in cellular reprogramming, epigenetics, and stem cell biology, his work includes developing organoid models from iPSCs and in vitro models of placenta and early human embryos. Since earning his PhD in 2008, he has advanced research in development, cancer, ageing, and neurodegenerative diseases. His contributions have earned multiple accolades, including the Metcalf Award, NHMRC Fiona Stanley Research Excellence Award, and the President’s Medal from ANZSCDB. In 2024, he was elected Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science. He co-founded Cell Mogrify Pty Ltd in 2016 to translate reprogramming into therapies, with the company receiving several innovation awards.

SAiGENCI: https://www.adelaide.edu.au/saigenci/

Dr Kelly Scarlett

Kelly Scarlett leads the engagement strategy and partnership activities at Bioplatforms Australia, building persistent collaborations with a diverse range of research communities and stakeholders across the Australian life science ecosystem. Her work focuses on fostering long-term collaborations that drive impactful research and address key national scientific and industry priorities. With a research background in plant pathology and microbiology, Kelly has over 12 years of academic experience and has held research positions at the University of Sydney, the University of Queensland, and internationally at the University of Essex and Forest Research in the UK. Passionate about science and innovation, Kelly supports research through the deployment of cutting-edge omics technologies to tackle national and global sustainability, environmental and health challenges.

Dr Lisa Yen

Lisa Yen is the CEO of Microscopy Australia, established in 2007 to enable access to advanced microscopes and experts through the Australian Government’s NCRIS. She has nearly 20 years of experience in collaborative research, focused on enabling research and innovation nationally and internationally. She has been Co-Chair of Global BioImaging, an international network of cutting-edge bioimaging facilities to share best practice and support career pathways for imaging scientists worldwide.

Dr Liz Jazwinska

Dr Liz Jazwinska PhD MBA GAICD is an experienced leader in medical research strategy, innovation, and governance, with over 30 years’ experience across government, academia, and industry in Australia, New Zealand, the UK, and Singapore. She brings expertise in research translation, commercialisation, public-private partnerships, and national infrastructure development.

Liz currently chairs the Governance Boards of Phenomics Australia and the FOXG1 Research Foundation Australia and serves as the NSW Health Government Representative on the Board of the Westmead Institute for Medical Research (WIMR), where she also chairs the IP & Commercialisation Subcommittee. She has held previous board and advisory roles with profit and not-for-profit organisations including Johnson & Johnson Australia and ESR (NZ). Her prior executive roles include Director of Business Development at Monash University, Director of Research Engagement and Acting Director of Research Translation at RMIT, and Director of Industry Development at A*STAR Singapore. She was Deputy Chief Executive of New Zealand’s Ministry of Science & Innovation and Executive Director for Biological Sciences at the Australian Research Council. Liz holds a PhD (Science), an MBA, and is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Liz Sonenberg

Liz Sonenberg is a Professor of Information Systems at the University of Melbourne with research interests in artificial intelligence. In 2020 she received the Distinguished Research Contribution in the Australasian AI Awards. She is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors with board experience through directorships of several small companies associated with the University. In her role as Pro Vice Chancellor (Systems Innovation), she contributes to University-wide technology planning and investment. Previous responsibilities included facilitation of interdisciplinary research across the University and oversight of University research infrastructure policies. She has also been on the advisory and management boards of several major State and Commonwealth government funded research infrastructure initiatives. Liz is Chair of the National Research Infrastructure Advisory Group that advises the Commonwealth Department of Education, and Chair of the Expert Working Group developing the 2026 National Research Infrastructure Roadmap.

Merran Smith

Chief Executive, PHRN

Merran is the founding Chief Executive of Australia’s Population Health Research Network, a national research infrastructure with core funding from the Australian Government’s National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS). She is also a past Director of the International Population Data Linkage Network (2019-2020). Merran has chaired a number of national research infrastructure committees including the NCRIS Health Group and is a member of the Pawsey Supercomputing Centre Board.

Merran has an extensive background in science, health, economics and management, with strengths in strategic leadership and many years’ experience in Australia’s health and research infrastructure systems. She is well versed in data management and oversaw the Western Australian Department of Health’s Health Information Centre for more than 10 years. While with the Department, she established population data linkage as a core service and served on Australia’s peak national health information committees.

Prof. Michael Dobbie

Prof. Michael Dobbie has worked to establish and direct Phenomics Australia since its foundation in 2007, serving as CEO since 2013. Phenomics Australia bioengineers, characterises and curates preclinical models to enable advances in genome-based, Precision Medicine, supported by the NCRIS program. Over the past 18 years, Michael has built and delivered the infrastructure Australian research needs to thrive. He holds degrees in Biochemistry and Immunology from Sydney, a PhD in Neurochemistry from the University of London, and completed postdoctoral fellowships at King’s College, London and Oxford University (Cancer Research UK Translational Research Fellow), with over 20 years of research experience across genetics, cancer, neuroscience, vascular biology, metabolism, developmental biology, and malaria.

Professor Peter Gray AO

Professor Peter Gray is the Chair of the Board of Bioplatforms Australia (BPA), which provides national infrastructure and expertise in genomics, proteomics, metabolomics, and bioinformatics to researchers in Australia. Funding is provided by the Australian Government’s NCRIS. He was inaugural director (2003–2016) of the Australian Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (AIBN) at UQ, growing the institute to over 500 staff. Prior to UQ, he was Director of the Bioengineering Centre and Professor of Biotechnology at UNSW. Professor Gray has held positions at University College London and UC Berkeley and commercial experience with Eli Lilly and Co and the Cetus Corporation. He is a past President of ATSE and a founder and past President of AusBiotech.

Professor Rebecca Glauert

Professor Rebecca Glauert is the Chief Executive of the Population Health Research Network (PHRN) and a recognised leader in data linkage and population health research, with over 17 years of executive experience. She earned her PhD in Psychology from the University of Western Australia and has led programs including the WA Developmental Pathways Project, the Australian Child and Youth Wellbeing Atlas, and the Raine Study. Professor Glauert is known for visionary leadership, governance expertise, and commitment to ethical, community-informed research, shaping national policy and developing enduring data assets.

Sach Jayasinghe

Sach Jayasinghe is the CEO of QCIF Ltd. QCIF provides data and digital research infrastructure across Australia. As Adjunct Professor at UQ, he helps uplift research infrastructure and enable new industries including synthetic biology, clean energy, and quantum technologies. Previously, Sach oversaw QUT’s research infrastructure portfolio and led the Melbourne Collaborative Research Infrastructure Program. He is a Fellow of the Queensland Academy of Arts and Science and the Association for Tertiary Education Management, and a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Sarah Flaim

Dr Sarah Flaim is Chief Operating Officer at the National Imaging Facility, with over 15 years of experience in research, operations, clinical trials, and stakeholder engagement. She is passionate about values-based leadership, mentoring, high-performing teams, and enabling large-scale collaborations. Previously a Junior Research Fellow at Balliol College, Oxford, she holds a PhD in Bioengineering from UC San Diego as a Fulbright Scholar.

Steven Manos

Associate Director, BioCloud: Australian BioCommons

Steven brings over 15 years of experience working at the intersection of research practice and digital technologies, and has a background in computational research, including a PhD from the University of Sydney. Steven has a unique mix of skills across facilitation, strategy and tech. Steven’s interests lie in building digital platforms designed specifically for researchers and he has a big focus on partnerships and community building. His work will deliver a more united national workforce of research support specialists providing valuable expertise and new services to the life sciences community.

Stuart Newman

Stuart Newman completed a PhD in Antarctic Biology from the University of Tasmania in 2001. He has experience in science policy, pharmaceutical R&D, grant funding, IP management, business development, and commercialisation. He joined TIA as CEO in 2017, focusing on bridging research and development of high-value therapeutics. Stuart is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Prof Wojtek Goscinski

Prof Wojtek Goscinski is the CEO of the National Imaging Facility (NIF), Australia’s national network for advanced biomedical imaging, funded through NCRIS. NIF brings together 14 universities, medical research institutes, and public science agencies. Wojtek is also an Adjunct Professor at Monash University. Previously, he founded and directed MASSIVE, a high-performance data processing and analytics facility at Monash University with national and international impact.