Dr Ramanujan has a career spanning three decades in various research disciplines from condensed matter physics to mitochondrial biology to cancer cell metabolism. As the director of Biobank and Research Pathology in one of the largest private hospitals (Cedars Sinai) in the Western United States, Dr Ramanujan is leveraging these years of training to mobilize the next generation biobanking infrastructure and biobanking research. Owing to his graduate training in physics and instrumentation, Dr Ramanujan understands the power of technology and quantitative frameworks that can be harnessed to pivot the need for robust biobanking research outcomes. Research at its basic premise, is a fundamental pivot for the human health and biobanking research is no exception. Awareness about the critical need for quality biospecimens
for clinical validation and precision health in recent times has revitalized the biobanking field significantly. Automation and artificial intelligence tools are at the foundation of the next generation biobanking infrastructure.

Dr Ramanujan’s biobanking research interests go beyond these vital infrastructure tools and focus on translating biobanking research outcomes to robust frameworks for health delivery. With the recent credentials in Health Delivery Sciences, Dr Ramanujan believes that the collaborative biobanking research, across the institutions and across the continents, will be able to define the shape of human health delivery network.

Professor Kylie Pitt is a marine ecologist at Griffith University, with specialist expertise in the ecology of jellyfishes.  Kylie leads the Griffith Sea Jellies Research Laboratory, a state-of-the-art research facility specialised for studying jellyfishes.  The laboratory is located within the iconic Sea World theme park, is on display to the public and provides a unique opportunity for the community to observe scientific research being done.

Collecting and preserving jellyfishes is an integral part of the research done by Kylie and her team.  Research projects that require biobanking of samples include developing the use of environmental DNA (eDNA) to improve detection of dangerous ‘Irukandji’ jellyfishes, determining how communities of jellyfishes change through space and time, and understanding the role of jellyfishes within marine food webs.  Kylie’s research has highlighted the important role of jellyfishes in the functioning of marine ecosystems.

Professor Nigel McMillan is a cancer biologist and infectious disease expert.  He studies virally caused cancers and novel antiviral therapies based on gene medicines and nanoparticle technologies.  Following his postdoctoral training in the Canada he established his own laboratory at the University of Queensland (UQ) in 1994. He was a Principal research fellow in 2009 and Deputy Director of the UQ Diamantina Institute. In 2012 he moved to Griffith and is currently Director of the Infectious Diseases and Immunology program.  He is an internationally recognized expert in the area of RNA interference and CRISPR therapy. His lab was the first in the world to cure cancer in animal models in 2019 using CRISPR gene editing.   He has published over 140 papers and books chapters including in Nature Nanotechnology,  Nature Medicine, and Nature Communications.  He has raised over $16mil in competitive grant funding and has served as President of the Australasian Virology Society. 

Dr Claire Gordon an immunology scientist and infectious diseases physician.  She is a Senior Research Fellow in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at the University of Melbourne, Infectious Diseases Physician in the Department of Infectious Diseases and North Eastern Public Health Unit at Austin Health. Dr Gordon completed training in infectious diseases in 2011 and then studied T cell memory at Columbia University New York and the University of Oxford before returning to Melbourne in 2018. Her research focuses human tissue-resident memory T cells in health and disease. She established and leads the Australian Donation and Transplantation Biobank (ADTB), a research biobank integrated into the existing infrastructure for deceased organ donation in Australia.  

Dr Dean Miller is a scientist, multimedia professional, international television presenter, Australian Geographic sponsored explorer, creator and lead scientist of the world's only Living Coral Biobank Project, and a highly respected voice and conservationist for all things Great Barrier Reef.

With a PhD in coral reef management, tourism, and resource allocation and a wealth of scientific experience in the field from Antarctica to the Arctic and everywhere in between, Dean's scientific research career has been rich and diverse. Having been involved in over 300 ocean expeditions on ships all over the globe, much of Dean's life has been at sea in some of the most challenging environments known, from extreme storms with 18m seas in the Antarctic to deep ocean ROV missions down to 2500m, and exploring every inch of our beautiful Great Barrier Reef.

Dr Miller is the Managing Director and co-founder of the Great Barrier Reef Legacy, a nonprofit organisation that crews and operates the only independent research vessels on the Great Barrier Reef. Dean is on a mission to collect and conserve all 400 species of corals from the Great Barrier Reef and keep them alive in land-based facilities to protect the entire biodiversity of corals and aid in research and restoration efforts. Currently, they have 85 species representing nearly 22% of Great Barrier Reef corals already secured in a project that is quickly becoming the most extensive conservation effort for coral reefs worldwide. The Living Coral Biobank facility will be the most advanced and environmentally sustainable building of its kind anywhere on the planet if funded, has been endorsed by multiple international organisations, and is a finalist in the World Architecture Awards.

Mr Chauquet is a final year PhD student (Due to submit his thesis in April 2023) at the Institute for Molecular Bioscience. His research focuses on using genomic and genetic data to improve understanding of disease with a focus on the translation of genomics into the clinics. During his PhD he generated data from liver biopsies collected in a pre-clinical trial of normothermic perfusion. He investigated the presence of circadian rhythm within ex vivo perfusion and its impact on liver function. As an extension to this work, he started the collection effort of additional samples in partnership with the Queensland liver transplant services.

Dr Eden Robertson is an experienced psychosocial researcher, with a special interest in supporting children with a serious illness and their families. Dr Robertson has completed a Bachelors of Psychology (Honours), Graduate Certificate in Adolescent and Young Adult Health and Wellbeing, and a PhD in childhood cancer (2019). She is currently a Postdoctoral Research Fellow within the Faculty of Medicine and Health, UNSW Sydney, alongside her role as the National Research, Evaluation and Impact Manager for Redkite. In 2020, Dr Robertson received a prestigious Fulbright Scholarship. She is a passionate about empowering families to be more involved in their child’s care, as well as involving consumers in research.

A/Prof Volker Herzig studied biology and obtained his PhD from the University of Tübingen (Germany) in 2004, before joining the Monash Venom Group (Melbourne, Australia) in 2005. After working with Prof. Wayne C. Hodgson at Monash University for three years, focusing on the pharmacology of Australian spider venoms, Dr. Herzig joined the group of Prof. Glenn F. King at the Institute for Molecular Bioscience (IMB) at The University of Queensland (UQ) from 2008-2019. During his time at the IMB, he worked on a number of different projects dealing with spider venoms and toxins and their potential application in agriculture and human health. In 2020, he was awarded an ARC Future Fellowship and started his own research group at the University of the Sunshine Coast, focusing on the effects of arachnid venom components on other arthropods. A major research focus of his work is the search for novel bio-insecticides from arachnid venoms. A/Prof Herzig has established the world's largest arachnid venom collection, comprising of venoms from > 550 spider and > 150 scorpion species, which is used for a variety of collaborative research projects worldwide. During his career, A/Prof Herzig has published 1 edited book, 5 book chapters, and 80 journal articles, including publications in prestigious journals like Nature, Cell, Nature Communications, PNAS, Nucleic Acids Research and Biological Reviews.

Professor Ashleigh Lin (she/her) is a NHMRC Emerging Leadership Fellow and Program Head of Mental Health and Youth at the Telethon Kids Institute. Ashleigh’s research focuses on the mental health of young people, with a particular interest in the mental health of marginalised youth, including trans and gender diverse young people. Ashleigh leads the The GENder identiTy Longitudinal Experience (GENTLE) Cohort, a collaboration with Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services to develop a research registry of trans young people seen at the Gender Diversity Service at Perth Children’s Hospital. Ashleigh is the President of the Australian Professional Association for Trans Health (AusPATH), the peak body for professionals working in trans health.

Xander Bickendorf (He/They) is engaged with the Youth Mental Health Team of Telethon Kids Institute as a Research Assistant. Xander works in collaboration with the Gender Diversity Service, a multidisciplinary clinic treating trans and gender diverse children at Perth Children’s Hospital. In this role, Xander engages with young people and their families to share research participation opportunities, such as the Gender and Immunity Study. Beyond recruitment and sample collection, Xander’s driving focus is community engagement and consultation – whereby the participants impacted by this research are involved in an ongoing relationship with the chief investigators to guide the goals of the research. As a Queer person of trans experience, Xander approaches research within his community with enthusiasm and believes best practise must be consciously and continually informed by the lived experience of those affected by the research.

Chloe Yap is a junior doctor at The Prince Charles Hospital, and an Industry Fellow at Mater Research Institute, University of Queensland. She graduated MD-PhD in 2022, and her PhD thesis leveraged the rich phenotypic and multi-omics (genetic, epigenetic, gut metagenomic and blood metabolomic) data from the Australian Autism Biobank. Working in partnership with the Autism CRC to answer questions of specific interest to autistic people, this approach has contributed to a more comprehensive understanding of autism biology and commonly co-occurring conditions. Her work has been recognised with an International Society for Autism Research Early Career Investigator Award, CSL Florey Next Generation Award and a Fulbright Future Scholarship. Ultimately, Chloe hopes to unify her interests in psychiatry, medicine, bioinformatics, and health systems to improve the physical wellbeing of people living with mental health conditions.

Hamish MacDonald is a research fellow at the University of Queensland and the ARC Centre of Excellence for Plant Success in Nature and Agriculture. His research explores co-productive intersections of law and science, with a particular focus on how intellectual property laws interact with genetic technologies and quantitative models. Other research areas include the international regulation of genetic resources, technical infrastructures underlying legal systems, and the intellectual property implications of artificial intelligence. 

Dr Andrew Rayfield has experience in academia, research and industry. He has 16 years research experience with a focus in the fields of biomedical science and neuroscience. His primary area of research relates to the biology of glia, and in recent times has expanded to include developing a cell therapy for spinal cord injury using olfactory ensheathing glia. He has six years of industry experience, working for variety of Life Science companies, including Life Technologies a division of Thermo Fisher Scientific.

Andrew’s Doctoral research was the novel discovery of a gut scaffold protein in the mammalian brain. The project went onto define and characterise this and other proteins of the same family in the rodent brain, advancing knowledge in the fields of neurodegeneration, epilepsy, and cancer research.

Since 2017, Andrew has been a Research Fellow, and the Research Manager of the Clem Jones Centre for Neurobiology and Stem Cell Research at Griffith University. The Centre’s goal is to develop cellular therapies for the injured nervous system, focussing on the development of a cellular therapy for spinal cord injury. The therapy involves taking olfactory ensheathing glia, purified from the olfactory mucosa and reassembling the cells in a three-dimensional construct ready for surgery. The therapy also relies on an intensive exercise rehabilitation component. The Centre has successfully completed one of two clinical trials for intensive exercise rehabilitation and aims to commence work on a full rehabilitation-cell therapy Phase I human clinical trial in 2023/24. The Centre is also working to create a large-gap peripheral nerve repair technology using glial cells (currently in pre-clinical models), and their expertise in the olfactory system has piqued their interest in the way bacteria and viruses use this system to enter the brain and the spinal cord. The centre recently published a landmark study that is the first to show the link between olfactory mucosa damage, microbial infection, and the development of Alzheimer’s disease-associated pathologies in a rodent model.

In addition to Centre management, Andrew is responsible for, Lab research strategic planning, managing staff and HDR students, entrepreneurship and commercialisation, financial management, publication output, grant and ethics applications, clinical trial development, qualitative research, implementation science, quality control, marketing management, and external stakeholder management.

Anna Russo is the Aboriginal Heritage and Repatriation Manager at the South Australian Museum. Her daily focus is to collaborate with Aboriginal communities across Australia, planning the repatriation and reburial of Aboriginal ancestral remains held by the Museum. Anna’s recent collaboration with the Traditional Owners of the Adelaide Plains, the Kaurna Yerta Aboriginal Corporation led to Kaurna’s establishment of Wangayarta, a reburial-memorial park dedicated to reburial of Kaurna ancestors. The legal protections of the Wangayarta mean the reburied Kaurna ancestors will never be disturbed again. In 2022 Wangayarta was recognised with the AILA National Excellence in Cultural Heritage award. Over the last five years, Anna has led the South Australian Museum’s cultural heritage repatriation policy development, aligning policy with international standards and best practice. As an advocate for Aboriginal community engagement, Anna ensures the Museum’s repatriation program is community led, underpinned by cultural authority, and respects long standing Aboriginal traditions and protocols.

My research has focused on molecular studies of pathogens, disease syndromes and health of Australian wildlife and domestic species. Particular research interests include the study of emerging and novel viral infections and disease syndromes of Australian bat species. I am passionate about undergraduate teaching of genetics and supervision of Higher Degree Research students in developing their molecular biology skills in a diverse range of project areas, from molecular detection and characterisation of pathogens with zoonotic potential in wildlife and companion animals, characterisation of novel disease syndromes in threatened wildlife species with potential wildlife health and conservation impacts, and gene expression analyses investigating the health of wildlife and companion animals.

My research into the epidemiology of Hendra virus in its Australian reservoir flying fox host has contributed to establishing risk management policies at Queensland state government levels. My continuing research into emerging viruses in Australian bats has led to the discovery and characterization of a number of novel viruses with potential wildlife health and conservation implications. I work collaboratively with Biosecurity Queensland (Department of Agriculture and Fisheries), and several Australian universities, inclusive of Griffith University, University of Southern Queensland and James Cook University as part of my research into emerging infectious diseases. I have ongoing collaborations with wildlife research organisations, in particular the University of Queensland Hidden Vale Teaching and Research Centre, the Tolga Bat Rehabilitation and Research Organisation and Australia Zoo Wildlife Warriors, in undertaking conservation orientated research in Australian endangered species.

My current role is Group Leader for Digital Data & Informatics within the National Research Collections Australia at CSIRO. I am an evolutionary ecologist with broad interests in the population biology of host-microbe interactions. My own research addresses two conceptually related areas, one aimed at understanding how spatial, demographic and genetic processes drive the coevolution of host resistance and pathogen infectivity, and the other on plant-soil mutualist interactions (e.g., in the context of invasion processes). My most recent work focuses on the application of eco-evolutionary principles to predicting and managing biotic interactions in agro-ecological systems.

Dr Nicola Rivers is a reproductive scientist and educator based at Monash University. Dr Rivers completed her PhD in 2021, focussing on the development of cryopreservation and assisted reproductive methods as conservation tools for small freshwater fish species in Australia. In her current role, Nicola aims to equip future scientists with an understanding of reproduction across diverse species and its role in addressing contemporary challenges such as biodiversity loss and climate change. Nicola has advocated to federal and state governments for improved nationwide biobanking infrastructure to preserve animal reproductive tissue and currently supports the Australian Frozen Zoo in its mission to bank away reproductive cells and tissues from Australian fauna to safeguard our native species against extinction.

Chris leads the Project Management Team at the Centre for Population Genomics. Chris has a research background in animal model genetics and ten years of experience managing research programs in industry, academic and not-for-profit settings. Chris oversees project delivery across the CPG by combining the best parts of research and project management approaches to deliver on the CPG's impact-driven agenda. Chris leads the delivery of the CPG’s flagship program, OurDNA.

Dr. Andrés Gambini is a highly accomplished veterinarian and reproductive biotechnologist with extensive experience in embryology, cell culture, and animal preservation technologies. He graduated with honors from the University of Río Cuarto, Argentina, in 2008, and after a period of farm practice, he pursued a Ph.D. program and taught Animal Physiology at the University of Buenos Aires (UBA) for five years. During his Ph.D. research, he focused on improving in vitro embryo production in horses, particularly with somatic cell nuclear transfer (cloning) followed by embryo vitrification. Dr. Gambini's research has taken him across the globe, from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) in North Carolina, USA, where he studied mechanisms governing embryonic genome activation, to the University of Torino, Italy, and the University of Cordoba, Spain, where he served as a professor. He has continued his research in cloning, ICSI, IVF, and other reproductive biotechnologies and has achieved several breakthroughs in the field, including the first equine cloned foals in Argentina (2010) and in Australia (2018), and the first cryopreserved embryos produced in vitro in zebras (2020) and donkeys (2022). Dr. Gambini is a respected scholar, having participated as a speaker in more than 30 conferences/seminars and provided private training courses worldwide. He was an Assistant Professor at the University of Buenos Aires from 2017 to 2022 and is now a Senior Lecturer at the School of Agriculture and Food Sustainability at the University of Queensland in Australia. He is widely recognized for his contributions to the field of reproductive biotechnology and animal preservation.

Cris qualified in Medicine from Auckland Medical School in 1989 and began research while working as a house surgeon in Dunedin, NZ. A molecular immunology PhD in the University of Auckland led to a four-year postdoctoral period in the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute in Melbourne, Australia, before moving to Cambridge University, UK for six years where he was a Fellow of St Edmunds College and developed a deep interest in genomics and bioinformatics. While there he co-founded a bioinformatics biotechnology company, which became listed on the Tokyo stock exchange in 2007. In 2005 he returned to the University of Auckland where he leads a cross-disciplinary research team of clinicians, biologists and data scientists who use genomics, systems biology and bioinformatics to better understand human disease, especially cancer. He currently chairs the Scientific Advisory Board of Te Ira Kāwai (The Auckland Regional Biobank), leads the Genomics Into Medicine Strategic Research Initiative, is a Principle Investigator in NZ's Rakeiora program, the Maurice Wilkins Centre and the 'Healthier Lives' National Science Challenge. His previous roles include acting as Director then chairing NZ’s Institute of Environmental Science and Research (ESR) for a period of time and acting as President of the NZ Society for Oncology and Joint Director of the Bioinformatics Institute at the University of Auckland. Most of his research, teaching and professional activity focusses on translation of tissue-based research into advances for human health.

Professor Sunil Lakhani is a clinical diagnostic and molecular pathologist. He is the Executive Director of Research and Senior Staff Specialist at Pathology Queensland and Head of the Breast Group, University of Queensland Centre for Clinical Research (UQCCR), Brisbane, Australia.  

His current research interests include lobular carcinoma and its variants, triple negative and metaplastic breast cancer and the mechanisms and therapeutic development of brain metastases.

In collaboration with the clinical units and Pathology Queensland, Prof Lakhani established the Brisbane Breast Bank in 2005. This not-for-profit biobank provides resources on a collaborative basis, supporting local, national, and international studies.

Prof Lakhani is the current Chair of Board of Directors, Breast Cancer Trials (formerly ANZ Breast Cancer Trials Group) and has supported the biobanking infrastructure for clinical trials established in Newcastle, NSW.

Dale is Curator of Brisbane Botanic Gardens Mt Coot-tha and the Brisbane Botanic Gardens Conservation Seedbank. Dale’s remit also includes the historic City Botanic Gardens, and beautiful Sherwood Arboretum, as well as Brisbane’s well-loved and historic high-profile parks.

Commencing at Brisbane City Council in 2015, Dale has 20 years’ experience as a botanic garden’s professional, with a diverse background that includes visual arts and design, tourism, and underlying all of this – a love for horticulture and plants. Dale holds Advanced Diplomas of Horticulture and Conservation & Land Management, and a Bachelor of Visual Arts.

Dale is impassioned about the role of botanic gardens conserving and researching flora in the face of a changing climate and our increasing impact on the environment; as well as providing places of history, beauty and connection to plants.

Joan's passion lies in co-producing solutions with diverse communities, and she has was the founding chair of the Gold Coast Hospital and Health Service Consumer Advisory Group (CAG). This group works collaboratively with the hospital to ensure that the consumer voice is actively represented in the design, delivery, and planning of health services.  With extensive experience in health and business advocacy, Joan advocates for vulnerable groups, striving to give them a meaningful voice in decision-making processes. Her dedication to improving the healthcare experience is deeply motivated by her personal journey with a chronic medical condition and her interactions within the health system.

General Manager, Victorian Cancer Biobank
Director-at-Large Indo-Pacific Rim region, International Society for Biological and Environmental Repositories (ISBER)
As the General Manager of the Victorian Cancer Biobank (VCB) Consortium, he oversees the operations and leads the strategic planning of the consortium. VCB is a collaborative tissue bank network operating in Melbourne, Australia, that offers over 450,000 ready-to-use specimens from nearly 40,000 donors, prospective collection services and biospecimen services for clinical trials primarily in cancer. As a core research infrastructure in the country, the VCB has facilitated over 300 research projects locally and internationally.
Wayne has recently been elected as the Director-at-Large of ISBER for the Indo Pacific Region and is currently chairing the ISBER Local Engagement Taskforce to support the organisation of the 2024 ISBER Annual Meeting in Melbourne. He has leadership experience by way of roles on the committees for ABNA, and the Australian Donation and Transplantation Biobank. He was a Regional Ambassador for ISBER prior to his Directorship, and chaired the plenary symposium at the 2023 ISBER Annual Meeting in Seattle.

Zehnab has a passionate commitment in working collectively with others to improve healthcare in Queensland. She has a demonstrated track record of successfully for healthcare services being more accessible, holistically focused and better integrated around the needs of health consumers and their families by actively taking a social determinants of health focus that is informed by her own family lived experience of complex health care across a number of care settings. She is also a champion for co-designed innovation in healthcare that balances ethical considerations around health consumer and carer human rights, quality, safety and accessible information to inform advances in personalised healthcare and medicine. Outside of her studies and health consumer roles she is a mother of two girls and lives with her family on the Gold Coast. Zehnab is an actively engaged health and consumer advocate

Dr Tamsin Robb is a postdoctoral research fellow in the NETwork! research group at The University of Auckland. In her PhD, she was privileged to be involved in the tissue collection via rapid autopsy of over ninety tumours from around one patient’s body, and she spent the next three years using genomic technologies to better understand how these tumours had evolved and spread around the patient’s body. She has also worked with artists and digital data specialists to explore how this wealth of information can be visualised interactively in augmented reality.

Peter Catt holds a BD and a PhD in Evolutionary Microbiology.  As Anglican Dean of Grafton during the early 2000s Peter oversaw the International Philosophy, Science and Theology Festival. He is currently Dean of St John’s Anglican Cathedral, Brisbane. His interests include Christian Formation, the science and religion dialogue, and Narrative Theology. Peter understands justice to be a core spiritual value. He is President of A Progressive Christian Voice and a member of the Australian Churches Refugee Taskforce. He also serves on Anglican and Ecumenical Social Justice Committees at a Diocesan and National level. 

Alison Parry-Jones (BSc, MA, PhD, MRSC) is the Operations Director of the Wales Cancer Biobank (WCB).  She is responsible for the day to day running of the biobank and is based at the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff.  She is the Designated Individual on the WCB licence issued by the Human Tissue Authority and is therefore responsible for governance and compliance across all WCB sites in Wales. She has extensive project management experience in academia and is a PRINCE2 registered practitioner.  Her background is in analytical chemistry and before moving into project management she worked in bioanalytical laboratories specialising in phase I and II clinical research. Her interest in the legal and ethics issues within biobanking led her to complete an MA in Medical Ethics and Law in 2012.  

She is the President of the Board of the International Society for Biological and Environmental Repositories (ISBER) and is a member of an American Society of Clinical Pathology Board of Certification working group that developed an international Qualification in Biorepository Science online examination. She is on the UKAS Biobank Accreditation Steering Group for ISO20387 and recently became a member of the Scientific Advisory Board for the European ISIDORe consortium (Integrated Services for Infectious Disease Outbreak Research).

Daniel completed his undergraduate training in 2004 at the University of Sydney, Australia, majoring in biochemistry and genetics, performing his Honours project in colon cancer research. He then went on to attain a PhD in 2008 in epigenetics at the University of Queensland and the Queensland Institute of Medical Research. His PhD project encompassed identifying and characterizing genes involved in epigenetic reprogramming in the mouse.

He began working in assisted reproduction in 2010 at Genea in Sydney, Australia. During his 12 years there, he completed his embryology training and progressed to Senior Embryologist, functioning as one of the primary trainers of new embryologists into the network for more than 8 years. He was the primary Fertility Laboratory Trainer at their Centre of Excellence for Fertility in Bangkok, Thailand bringing together his passion for the ART industry as well as his strong skills in presenting lectures and training for participants from across the globe. Daniel was also based in Beijing, China for 12 months, developing Genea Consult’s external auditing service and performing capability assessments in the Asia Pacific region, including in China, Japan, Malaysia and Thailand.

Daniel is currently the Scientific Director for Queensland for Monash IVF Group, a role he has held since March 2022. He is responsible for the scientific leadership, operations and provision of clinical Embryology, Andrology, and Endocrinology services within Queensland’s rapidly growing clinics. He has recently overseen the transition from sequential to single-step media for Queensland’s two largest clinics, a first for Monash IVF Group.

Paula is a descendant of Susan of the Namoi in the Gamilaraay language region.  Paula has extensive project management experience in a range of projects including Yugambeh Jarla (First Nations Gala Dinner events), Bulabula Yarga (4 winds didgeridoo orchestra) and the development of the Gold Coast Road Safety Plan 2015-2020.

Passionate about community participatory processes, Paula has facilitated and evaluated evidence based preventative health projects including the First Nations Health Consumer survey, Gold Coast Fever Clinic survey, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Focus Group discussions and Galagir ngaurai (youth speak) health and wellbeing initiative.

Paula’s enthusiasm and knowledge for local bushtucker has her presenting at conferences and universities, guiding tours at the Gold Coast Regional Botanic Gardens and developing regional Plant Profiles that are underpinned with Traditional Ecological Knowledges. To amplify the First Nations voice, Paula has worked with Elders to capture and transmit their stories to audiences and facilitated community engagement activities to produce the legislated GCHHS First Nations Health Equity Strategy and Implementation Plan.

Felicity is a Research & Development Scientist within the Forensic Biology/DNA Unit at the NSW Health Pathology Forensic & Analytical Science Service (FASS) and a part-time PhD candidate at the Queensland University of Technology Centre for Genomics and Personalised Health. Felicity’s research focuses on emerging DNA analysis technologies and their application to forensic investigations. She has also been involved with internal validation and implementation of novel DNA analysis methods, including automated processing, to enhance operational capabilities at FASS. Felicity’s current work relates to the use of massively parallel sequencing technology to implement new capabilities to provide investigators with more information about the donor of biological evidence in challenging criminal and coronial cases. This includes DNA intelligence applications, such as the prediction of biogeographical ancestry and externally visible characteristics, as well as whole mitochondrial genome sequencing.