Nadia Levin , Chief Executive Officer, Research Australia
Topic: Wicked Problems for MRI's in Australia
Nadia LevinNadia is CEO of Research Australia and leads national advocacy for health and medical research innovation. Nadia has successfully driven recognition and a change in strategies to support the translation of research discovery and innovation into collective opportunity. Part of her focus is showcasing digital evolution in healthcare and bio sciences progress in Australia. She was part of a national effort aimed at changing the way we fund research. She is Co-Chair of the Frontiers Health and Medical Research Initiative.
Nadia is currently Managing Director of Research Australia, and a non-executive Director on the boards of the New Zealanders for Health Research. She previously served on the board of the Australian Synchrotron. Nadia is a state and federal advisor for working groups and committees across the sector and is a mentor on the Industry Mentoring Network for STEM (IMNIS) network for early career researchers.
Dr John Mach, Research Fellow and Laboratory Manager, Laboratory of Ageing and Pharmacology, Kolling Institute
Topic: Understanding complex effects of polypharmacy and deprescribing on the liver
John Mach is currently a Research Fellow and Laboratory Manager at the Laboratory of Ageing and Pharmacology, Kolling institute. He studied his undergraduate -Honours at UNSW and earned his PhD at USYD, supervised by Professor Sarah Hilmer, using preclinical models to investigate risk of drug induced liver injury in old age. His work now focuses on utilising preclinical models to understand the risks of multiple concurrent medicines in old age, with the aim to optimise medication use for older people.
Dr Marnee McKay, Senior Lecturer
PhD, M Hlth Sci (Sports Physio), BAppSc (Phty)
Program Director Bachelor of Applied Science (Physiotherapy)
Sydney Early and Mid-Career Academic Network (SEMCAN) Co-Lead
Topic: Understanding complex effects of polypharmacy and deprescribing on the liver
Marnee McKay is an early career researcher and Sports Physiotherapist with over 20 years of clinical experience. Marnee has a Masters degree in Sports Physiotherapy and a PhD which focused on neuromuscular disorders. Her research focuses on outcome measure assessment and development, extending and implementing the research conducted during her Doctorate studies, known as the 1000 Norms Project. Marnee’s research is improving the understanding and the response to treatment of a variety of neuromuscular disorders and is facilitating the development of outcome measures with enhanced precision and responsiveness to be used in clinical trials. Marnee is the Physiotherapy undergraduate Program Director and is responsible for the coordinated delivery of over 32 units of study. She holds leadership roles locally, nationally and internationally including co-chair of SEMCAN – the Sydney Early and Mid Career Academic Network
3MT presentations
Brian Kim, Physiotherapist, PhD Candidate, BPT(Hons)
Topic: Understanding the morphometric markers of rotator cuff disease on MRI
Brian Kim is a physiotherapist and PhD candidate at the Neuromuscular Imaging Research Laboratory, Kolling Institute. Brian’s work advances the efficiency and accuracy of shoulder muscle and bone assessment tools on MRI scans, focused on the ever-growing burden of shoulder tendon surgeries (i.e., rotator cuff repair) across Australia. He is the principal investigator of a successful clinical trial grant examining the role of shoulder surgery in optimising muscle health. He is also the recipient of an international travel award, leading to ongoing collaborations with the Feinberg School of Medicine Northwestern University and Stanford School of Medicine.
Advaitha Jagadeesan PhD Candidate | BMedSc | BSc (Hons)
Topic: Investigating exosomal lncRNAs derived from ovarian cancer-associated fibroblasts
Advaitha Jagadeesan is a final year PhD student in Bill Walsh Translational Cancer Research Lab. Ovarian cancer is the leading cause of death from gynaecological malignancy in Australian Women. Her PhD project focusses on identifying the role of long non-coding RNAs in the ovarian tumour microenvironment and evaluating their potential as biomarkers for prognosis and therapeutic response to ultimately improve clinical outcomes for ovarian cancer patients.
Caitlin Fenech BSc/BAdv Studies (Hons), PhD Candidate
Topic: Uncovering the role of a subpopulation of neurons in the midbrain
Caitlin is a third year PhD student with the Pain Management Research Institute under the primary supervision of Associate Professor Karin Aubrey. Caitlin’s project uses preclinical mouse models to investigate the role of a subpopulation of neurons in the midbrain. These neurons are located in a key region for opioid-mediated analgesia as well as a hub for coordinating appropriate responses to pain. Her work has currently found that these neurons can modulate nociceptive responses as well as anxiety-like behaviours. Caitlin is also the current president of the Postgraduate Research Student Society here at Kolling.
