Dr John (Eddie) La Marca completed his PhD at La Trobe University, where he studied genes that control stem cell behaviour in Drosophila melanogaster. He then completed post-doctoral work at La Trobe University, researching the genes that regulate tumourigenesis, also using Drosophila melanogaster. He then moved to The Walter & Eliza Hall Institute, where his post-doctoral research explores blood cell and blood cancer development.

Sarah Diepstraten completed her PhD at La Trobe University in molecular genetics and developmental biology. She is now a post-doctoral scientist at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute. Her research focuses on understanding how blood cancers become resistant to therapy and how this can be overcome. She develops genetic engineering approaches (CRISPR) to find genes involved in drug resistance. She has also taught in undergraduate science courses at La Trobe University and Melbourne University, and is passionate about science education.

Dennis Savaiano is Director of the Connections IN Health/Indiana Department of Health Coalition Development Program. He is also Associate Director for the Indiana Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute Community Health Partnerships. Savaiano has worked to increase its Community Advisory Council membership and build community-engaged research approaches . He has published on school community interventions focused on improving the diets of young women, health coalition assessment, food policy, and has led/developed many of the successful Purdue Extension efforts focused around health as dean of Purdue’s School of Consumer and Family Sciences for 15 years. Professor Savaiano has also studied lactose digestion for the past four decades. His research group has studied factors which influence lactose digestion and tolerance including lactose load, gastric and intestinal transit, digestive aids, colon fermentation, fermented dairy foods and lactic acid bacteria.

Professor Ian Hickie – The Brain and Mind Centre at the University of Sydney is a global leader in mental health research and digital innovations in care. Professor Ian Hickie is the Co-Director of Health and Policy. He was an inaugural NHMRC Australian Fellow (2007-2012), then Senior Principal Research Fellow (2013-2017 and 2018-22), and now is supported at the highest level of personal Investigator Grants (2023-7). He was an inaugural Commissioner on Australia’s National Mental Health Commission (2012-18) overseeing enhanced accountability for mental health reform and suicide prevention. He is an internationally renowned researcher in clinical psychiatry, with particular reference to digital innovation, youth mental health care and adolescent-onset mood disorders, notably depression and bipolar disorder.

I’m a National Health & Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Research Fellow at the University of Sydney’s Brain and Mind Centre. I lead a program of research funded by the NHMRC and Wellcome Trust that combines biologic, clinical, wearable, and subjective measures to shed light on the causes of mental disorders in young people (particularly depression and bipolar disorder), and to better understand the factors that shape people’s clinical trajectories (particularly during early phases). My major interest is in the potential role that dysregulation of the brain and body’s circadian clocks might play in the emergence of depressive and bipolar disorders. The objective of this work is to integrate measures of brain, body, and environment to understand what the circadian system can teach us about mood disorders, and to potentially uncover new targets for treatments.

Internationally renowned respiratory expert, Professor of Clinical Pharmacology and Respiratory Medicine at the University of Manchester, UK.
He is also a European Respiratory Society (ERS) Gold medal winner for his outstanding contribution to COPD. His research interest is the development of new drugs for asthma and COPD.
He has acted as principal investigator in over 400 clinical trials and has over 400 publications. He is a member of the Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease Science Committee and was previously the chair of the ERS airway pharmacology group.
He is currently an editor of the European Respiratory Journal and European Respiratory Review. He is a fellow of the European Respiratory Society and of the British Pharmacology Society.

Dr Scott Wilson is Research Director of the Eureka Award winning Australian Microplastic Assessment Project (AUSMAP), Plastics Policy Advisor at the Earthwatch Institute Australia and a Honorary Senior Research Fellow in the School of Natural Sciences at Macquarie University. Dr Wilson is a trained ecotoxicologist with over 25 years experience in assessing human impacts to the natural environment. For the last 15 years he has researched the impacts of plastics and marine debris in aquatic environments both in Australia and internationally. His current focus is on understanding sources and effects of plastics in the environment, while partnering with stakeholders and the community in the nationwide AUSMAP programme to help reduce these inputs. By working together on this issue, Dr Wilson feels we can all make a difference!

Professor Mark Patrick Taylor is Victoria’s Chief Environmental Scientist at EPA Victoria. He left Macquarie University in June 2021 for his new role and remains an Honorary Professor of Environmental Science and Human Health at Macquarie University, Sydney. His research program specialises in environmental contamination and the risks it can pose. His work comprises > 160 research papers, investigating environmental contamination in aerosols, dusts, sediments, soil and water and risks to human health. His work has focused on mining and smelting emissions and depositions, as well as contamination in urban environments. In recent years he has examined lead and other contaminants in bees, sparrows, lichens and wildfire ash. His work has also encompassed ‘human environments’ and has included analysis of blood lead levels in children, PFAS in fire fighters, lead in wine, honey, residential veggie patches, household dusts, drinking water and the effect of early life lead exposure on aggressive crime rates. His group’s work includes Australia’s only community VegeSafe program, which provides free soil metal analysis and advice to household gardeners across the nation. In 2017, he started a global citizen science initiative ‘DustSafe’ to examine contaminants in household dust. As a former Commissioner of the NSW Land and Environment Court, expert advisor to a range of government, industry, NGO and community organisations in regard to environmental pollution and human heath, Professor Taylor has contributed significantly to Australia’s environmental protection, management and remediation. He has completed several commissions for government in recent years: (i) A review of the NSW EPA’s management of contaminated sites for the NSW Minister for the Environment, which focussed on perfluorinated (PFAS) chemical exposure and its management; (ii) A review of lead in plumbing fittings and materials for the Australian Building Codes Board; (iii) A state of the science review for NSW EPA’s Broken Hill Environmental Lead Program in regard to childhood lead exposures. His work has received extensive and career defining media coverage, including in leading outlets such as ABC’s 730 Report, Four Corners, Catalyst, Background Briefing and on the front pages of the SMH and The Age. Google scholar: http://goo.gl/oCpk7 University Pure profile: https://researchers.mq.edu.au/en/persons/mark-taylor The Conversation articles: https://theconversation.com/profiles/mark-patrick-taylor-11394/articles

Leanne Boase BN MN (NP), MHSc (Ed), MAICD, FACNP is the Executive Director of Nursing for Luminar Health and Fullarton Clinic. She has over 25 years’ experience working in a wide range of hospital and private health settings, including metropolitan and regional areas, and primary care. Leanne is a practising Nurse Practitioner, endorsed since 2009, working in her own primary care practice, and is the President of The Australian College of Nurse Practitioners. Her roles in the sector have included Clinical roles, Management, Clinical and Business Planning/Development, as well as being a Board Member of various health organisations. She has set up and operated her own successful primary care clinic, specialist centre and general practice and has consulted on a wide range of greenfield and existing health related projects. Leanne’s extensive experience working with Commonwealth and State Governments, Health Professionals, Professional Associations and key Stakeholders, with a focus on improving health care, and the role of the nurse practitioner.

Dr. Segal’s research, together with the labs of Kyle Fink and Jill Silverman, focuses on developing molecular therapies for neurologic disorders. We use programable DNA- or RNA-binding platforms (Zinc finger, TALE, CRISPR/Cas9, Cas12, Cas13) to cause long-term changes in the expression of disease genes. This approach avoids problematic double-strand breaks. We use a variety of delivery systems (protein, AAV, lipo-particles, stem cells) to treat the brain in animal models of disease, which are extensively characterized on a molecular and behavioral level. A flagship project is Angelman syndrome, for which the therapeutic strategy is to reactivate a silenced gene in the brain. We collaborate with groups around the world to de-risk genetic therapies for this and several other related disorders.

Associate Professor Warwick Teague DPhil Oxford, FRACS, FRCSEd A/Prof Warwick Teague is Director of Trauma, Clinical Lead for Burns, and Academic Paediatric Surgeon at The Royal Children’s Hospital, Melbourne. Warwick is active in discovery science and clinical research, building on the expertised gained from a DPhil from the University of Oxford. He is Co-group Leader of Surgical Research within the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, Melbourne, and his clinical research interests focus mostly on paediatric trauma care, epidemiology and prevention. Within the State of Victoria, Warwick is a member of various trauma and injury prevention focused committees for the government, Kidsafe Victoria, WorkSafe Victoria and Royal Australasian College of Surgeons, and he chairs the Victorian State Trauma Registry Monitoring (VSTORM) Steering Committee. Nationally an internationally, Warwick is considered a leader and key advocate in the fields of paediatric major trauma care and childhood injury prevention. Warwick has engaged widely with media and community groups to promote practical steps towards safer and healthier childhoods for all our children.

Scientia Professor Rebecca Ivers AM FAHMS FRSN is Head, School of Population Health, UNSW Sydney, and Honorary Professorial Fellow at the George Institute for Global Health. Ivers leads a global research program focusing on the prevention and management of injury, and delivery of efficient, equitable health care. Her work has a strong focus on equity, implementation, sustainability and capacity development.