EDTAS | Human Biotechnologies Speaker Biographies
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SPEAKERS dst.defence.gov.au/edtas #EDTAS 1 2 SPEAKERS DR ALEX ZELINSKY he was awarded the Pearcey Medal, the CHIEF DEFENCE ICT industry’s premier prize for lifetime SCIENTIST achievement. In 2003, 2004 and 2005, the World Economic Forum selected Dr Dr Alex Zelinsky is Zelinsky as a Technology Pioneer. He is Australia’s Chief Defence a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Scientist. His scientific Electronics Engineers, the Australian career includes working as a computer Academy of Technology and Engineering, scientist, a systems engineer and a the Institute of Engineers Australia and the roboticist. His career spans innovation, Australian Institute of Company Directors. science and technology, research and development, commercial start-ups and education. As Chief Defence Scientist PROF PETER RATHJEN since March 2012, he leads the Defence Science and Technology program VICE CHANCELLOR, UNIVERSITY OF within the Department of Defence. ADELAIDE Prior to joining Defence, Dr Zelinsky Professor Peter was Group Executive for Information Rathjen commenced as the University Sciences at the CSIRO. Dr Zelinsky was of Adelaide’s 22nd Vice-Chancellor Chief Executive Officer and co-founder and President on 8 January 2018. of Seeing Machines, a high-technology company developing computer vision He is an Australian scientist and systems. The company is listed on the medical researcher internationally London Stock Exchange and was a start-up recognised in stem cell science. from the Australian National University Professor Rathjen is an alumnus of the in Canberra, Australia, where Dr Zelinsky University of Adelaide, as are all of the was Professor of Systems Engineering. members of his immediate family Dr Zelinsky has received numerous awards Professor Rathjen was appointed Dean of and recognition of his work. In 2017, he the Faculty of Science at the University was appointed an Officer in the Order of Melbourne in 2006; in 2008, he of Australia (AO) in the 2017 Queen’s became Dean of the Graduate School of Birthday honours. He has been included in Science, and from 2008 to 2011 he served Engineers Australia’s list of the 100 most as Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research). influential engineers since 2009 and in In 2011, he took up the role of Vice- 2015, Engineers Australia awarded him the Chancellor of the University of Tasmania, prestigious M A Sargent Medal. In 2013, a role he held until October 2017. 3 BRIGADIER CRAIG DR MARK CORBETT SCHRAMM UNIVERSITY OF Brigadier Craig Schramm ADELAIDE was born in Brisbane Dr Corbett’s primary where he completed his research aim is to map secondary schooling the genetic landscape and tertiary education in medicine. He of neurological disorders, with a view joined the Army in August 1989 as an to understanding the basic biology of undergraduate Medical Officer allocated to cognition and to provide an in-road for the Royal Australian Army Medical Corps. therapies for these devastating disorders. During his military career, Craig has held a He has built his career in human genetics number of postings, particularly in Aviation by implicating a host of new genes in Medicine. He also spent 3 years as the intellectual disability, epilepsy and other Director of Future Health Capability for neurodevelopmental disorders. These the ADF and spent a number of years as individually rare but collectively common Specialist Medical Adviser – Airworthiness disorders affect about 3% of the population for the Australian Army. He has deployed on and have a huge social, financial and a number of occasions, including to Rwanda, welfare burden on those affected. East Timor, Banda Aceh, and Afghanistan. He completed Army pilot training in 2004. PROF CHRIS LOWRY Craig is a graduate of the University Christopher A. Lowry, Ph.D., of Queensland, Kings College London, is an Associate Professor Edith Cowan University and the Southern in the Department of California Safety Institute, and holds Integrative Physiology and post-graduate qualifications in Aviation Centre for Neuroscience Medicine, Occupational Medicine, at the University of Colorado Boulder, Workplace Health and Safety and with a secondary appointment in the Aircraft Accident Investigation. He holds Department of Physical Medicine and Fellowships of the Australasian College of Rehabilitation (PM&R) and Centre for Aerospace Medicine, the Royal Aeronautical Neuroscience at the University of Colorado Society, the Australasian College of Anschutz Medical Campus (AMC), a Tropical Medicine, and the Faculty of Principal Investigator in the Department Travel Medicine, Associate Fellowship of Veterans Affairs Eastern Colorado of the Aerospace Medical Association, Health Care System, VA Rocky Mountain and is a Member of the International Mental Illness Research, Education, & Academy of Aviation and Space Medicine. Clinical Centre (MIRECC), and director He is the Immediate Past President of the of the Behavioural Neuroendocrinology Australasian College of Aerospace Medicine. Laboratory at CU Boulder. He is Co-Director, with Dr. Lisa Brenner, of the Military and Veteran Microbiome Consortium for Research and Education (MVM-CoRE). 4 Dr. Lowry’s research program focuses on He gained his PhD from Maastricht understanding stress-related physiology University in 2011, having completed his and behaviour with an emphasis on the MD at the same institution in 2007. role of the microbiome-gut-brain axis in His current research interests include: stress resilience, health and disease. Pre-clinical PROF MARK - Non-invasive (Molecular) Imaging of HUTCHINSON Atherosclerosis, Myocardial infarction, Heart Failure (PET/SPECT, Optical, MRI, CT) Professor Hutchinson is the Director of the ARC - Intravascular Imaging of Atherosclerosis Centre of Excellence for (OCT, Hybrid Fluorescence/OCT Catheters) Nanoscale BioPhotonics Clinical (CT, MR) (CNBP) and a Professor within the School - Non-invasive imaging of of Medicine at the University of Adelaide. atherosclerotic disease (CT, MRI) Professor Hutchinson’s research explores - Non-invasive imaging of interstitial the “other brain” or the other 90% of cells changes after myocardial in the brain and spinal cord. These immune- infarction (SPECT/PET, MRI) like cells are termed glia. Mark’s research has implicated the brain immune-like cells - Population Imaging / Machine in the action of drugs of dependence and learning in Cardiovascular Disease the negative side effects of pain treatments. He has pioneered research which has led to DR ASHLEY the discovery of novel drug activity at innate CONNOLLY immune receptors. His work has enabled the FLINDERS UNIVERSITY translation of compounds at the lab bench to clinical agents used at the bedside. Dr Connolly graduated from the University of He has now added Director of the CNBP Adelaide with honours to his roles. Prof Hutchinson’s work degree in chemistry and a PhD in with the CNBP is to “Discover new immunology. He maintained a focus approaches to measure nano-scale dynamic on interdisciplinary research through phenomena in living systems” and allow appointments in the United Kingdom the first minimally invasive realtime (Oxford & Manchester) and Australia (ANU visualisations of the “other brain”. & UQ) and is currently a research scientist in the Centre for Nanoscale Science & DR JOHAN Technology at Flinders University. His VERJANS research is focussed on developing novel Dr John Verjans is a DNA nanotechnologies for rapid disease senior lecturer at the diagnosis. This research is documented University of Adelaide, in 18 publications and a book chapter with research interests in clinical innovation and E-Health. 5 DR ESMAEIL PROF EWA GOLDYS EBRAHIMIE Professor Ewa M. Goldys UNIVERSITY OF is Deputy Director of the ADELAIDE Australian Research Council Dr. Esmaeil Ebrahimie Centre of Excellence in is a high-achieving Nanoscale Biophotonics Bioinformatician at The University of (cnbp.org.au) and Professor at the Graduate Adelaide who has been innovative in School of Biomedical Engineering, the applying new data mining algorithms for University of New South Wales, integrative analysis of large datasets, Sydney, Australia. She is Fellow of the particularly from NGS (next generation Australian Academy of Technological sequencing). Knowledge discovery and Science and Engineering (ATSE), Society sequence-based prediction of pandemic for Optics and Photonics (SPIE), the influenza and developing novel approach Optical Society and winner of the 2016 for identification of influenza virus host Australian Museum Eureka Prize for range and zoonotic transmissible sequences ‘Innovative Use of Technology’. are examples of his research in application Her research spans the interface of of machine learning algorithms infection ultrasensitive optical characterization, diseases. Due to the advance in microbiome biotechnology, materials science and sequencing technique and outstanding photonics. A portfolio of her works features of metagenomics profiling, he is centred on the development and collaborates in unravelling microbiome understanding of luminescence emission in biosignature of various diseases as well doped nanocrystals where she developed as profiling the effects of new antibiotic advanced methods of synthesis and compounds, such as the third-generation characterisation of fluorescent nanoparticles veterinary fluoroquinolone, on microbiomes. for applications in fluorescence labelling. Microbiome based classification of Her expertise in ultrasensitive optical antibiotics and antimicrobial alternatives characterisation and