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POST STROKE BRAIN RECOVERY TARGETING BLOOD FLOW AND VESSEL HEALTH Dr Daniel Beard @DocBeardface87, Senior Lecturer, University of Newcastle @Uni_Newcastle Group Leader, Neurovascular Research Laboratory New South Wales, Australia & Visiting Scientist, University of Oxford @UniofOxford , United Kingdom & Founder and Chief Scientific Officer ShearFlow RESEARCHER PROFILE Filmed in Newcastle, Australia | May 2026 Dr Daniel Beard is a Senior Lecturer and Group Leader of the Neurovascular Research Laboratory at the University of Newcastle, with a distinguished career in stroke research. Dr Beard completed his PhD in Human Physiology in 2015, uncovering the impact of intracranial pressure on collateral vessel failure. He has held prestigious research and teaching roles at the University of Oxford and Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin @ChariteBerlin , contributing to international collaborations on neurovascular protection. His research has been supported by competitive grants, including an NHMRC @nhmrc Ideas Grant, and he has received numerous awards for innovation, research excellence and teaching excellence, including: -Winner of the Challenger Pitch Prize at the Proto Axiom Challenger Summit (2024). -Paul Dudley White International Scholar for the highest-ranked Australian abstract at the 2022 International Stroke Conference, New Orleans. -Recipient of the Learning Design and Teaching Innovation Teaching Excellence Award and Mid-Career Teaching Award from the University of Newcastle (2024). His most recent work focuses on understanding and improving collateral blood flow during ischaemic stroke. Notably, his groundbreaking work on shear stress and cerebral blood flow with renowned researchers at Harvard University, resulted in a patented nanoparticle therapy that selectively boosts brain perfusion during stroke, saving brain tissue and improving patient outcomes. This work was recently published in Advanced Science: advanced.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ad…. Dr Beard is Founder and Chief Scientific Officer of the University spinout ShearFlow that is now commercializing this technology to reach the clinic. This work aims to deliver targeted stroke therapies that could give patients a improved chance at recovery and a better quality of life. Source: Supplied and adapted SEE OTHER RESEARCHER PROFILES Bench Side Story @BenchSideStory benchsidestory.com

GIVE A RESEARCHER A GIFT OF PUBLICITY At a time when funding is tightening and global health challenges are growing more complex, supporting health and medical researchers has never mattered more. Researchers drive the discoveries that improve care, save lives and shape healthier futures, yet too often their impact goes unseen. By helping researchers build their profile, amplify their voice and showcase the real-world value of their work, supporters can strengthen public trust, attract vital investment and ensure the breakthroughs society depends on are recognised, funded and sustained. This International Clinical Trials Day you can support your friendly researcher by gifting them a video placement on Bench Side Story @BenchSideStory our online show on medical researchers, case studies and impacts on population health. *** Half price for month of International Clinical Trials Day USD$499 (normally USD$998) *** Click here for further details, promo code and Terms & Conditions benchsidestory.com/gift

IDENTIFYING AND TREATING AUTOIMMUNE NEUROLOGICAL DISORDERS With Associate Professor Sudarshini (Darshi) Ramanathan @darshi_r , Neurologist & Head of Translational Neuroimmunology Group, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney @Sydney_Uni , Australia RESEARCHER PROFILE Filmed in Sydney, Australia | April 2026 Associate Professor Sudarshini Ramanathan is a neurologist and clinician scientist whose work focuses on autoimmune neurological disorders. Her research has helped identify new neurological syndromes due to antibody-mediated demyelination and encephalitis, and improve diagnostic tools and treatment guidelines for patients with autoimmune diseases affecting the brain, spinal cord, muscles and nerves. Associate Professor Ramanathan’s research program aims to improve our understanding of underlying disease pathogenesis with a focus towards ‘precision medicine’ in neuroimmunology – both with diagnosis and therapeutics. Her research focuses on defining the clinical, radiological, and immunophenotypic profiles of specific pathogenic autoantibodies; understanding what triggers autoimmunity and disruption of immune tolerance; and the cellular and humoural mechanisms of action of autoantibodies and how this might be translated into refining novel therapeutic approaches. Her work thus far has resulted in the enhanced recognition of novel treatable neurological conditions, important biological insights into the pathophysiology of these disorders, and the development of diagnostic criteria and therapeutic approaches to improve outcomes in vulnerable patients who otherwise risk chronic disability. Associate Professor Ramanathan heads the Translational Neuroimmunology Group at the Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney; and also runs a neuroimmunology clinic at Concord Hospital. She supervises and mentors a research team of PhD and Masters candidates, postdoctoral fellows, and clinician researchers. Her research has been recognised by the Leonard Cox Award for Excellence in Neuroscience research and the NSW Premier’s Prize Award for Early Career Researchers (Biological  Sciences) in 2022. Source: Supplied SEE OTHER RESEARCHER PROFILES Bench Side Story @BenchSideStory benchsidestory.com Get your own interviews and research published on Bench Side Story benchsidestory.com/contact/

VACCINE EFFECTIVENESS AGAINST INFECTIONS TRIGGERING AUTOIMMUNE DISEASE Dr Deborah Burnett, Scientia Senior Lecturer & Laboratory Head UNSW Sydney @UNSW @UNSWMedicine , Australia RESEARCHER PROFILE Filmed in Sydney, Australia | April 2026 Dr Deborah Burnett is a Scientia Senior Lecturer and Laboratory Head at UNSW, where she leads a multidisciplinary research program spanning mechanistic immunology and translational vaccinology. Her work focuses on understanding how immune responses can protect against challenging infectious threats, including bacterial infections and infections associated with autoimmune disease. After completing her PhD in 2019, Dr Burnett established her first independent group at the Garvan Institute @GarvanInstitute in 2022 and launched her laboratory at UNSW in 2024. Her research, published in major research journals including Science and Immunity, has helped redefine how self-reactive B cells contribute to protective immunity and is now shaping new approaches to prevention and cure of infections linked to autoimmunity. Her contributions to research leadership and translation have been recognised through the NSW Premier’s Prize for Early Career Researcher of the Year, Research Australia’s Discovery Award @ResAustralia, the Australian L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science Fellowship, a Young Tall Poppy Award, the Marie Krogh Prize for Women in Science, and selection as an International Union of Immunological Societies Rising Star. Through the Snow Fellowship, Dr Burnett and her team aim to develop new ways to distinguish protective from harmful immune responses, advancing safer vaccines, diagnostics and therapies for vulnerable communities affected by infection-associated autoimmune disease. Source: Supplied SEE OTHER RESEARCHER PROFILES Bench Side Story @BenchSideStory benchsidestory.com Get your own interviews and research published on Bench Side Story benchsidestory.com/contact/

RENAL CARE & DATA LINKAGE OF TASMANIAN KIDNEY DISEASE CASES With Professor Matthew Jose, Kidney Specialist Head of Unit, Nephrology, Royal Hobart Hospital @TasmaniaHealth & Professor of Medicine, University of Tasmania @UTAS_ Tasmania, Australia RESEARCHER PROFILE Filmed in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia | March 2026 Professor Matthew Jose is a Renal Physician & Head of the Renal Unit at the Royal Hobart Hospital, and Professor of Medicine for the University of Tasmania. Winner of the 2021 Rural Science Award from the Australia and New Zealand Society of Nephrology, he has worked in regional, rural and remote Australian locations for nearly 20 years as a Renal Physician, including the Northern Territory. He is currently Chairperson of the Tasmanian Statewide Kidney Clinical Network and a member of national clinical guideline groups including Therapeutic Guidelines and CARI guidelines kidney stone working group, as well as a member of the KidGEN (Kidney Genetics) national steering committee. He has established the first regional young adult transplant clinic for young Tasmanians with a kidney transplant transferring from paediatric to adult care. Professor Jose’s research has been funded by Australia’s NHMRC @nhmrc and MRFF, as well as Royal Hobart Hospital Research Foundation in Tasmania. Source: Supplied and adapted SEE OTHER RESEARCHER PROFILES Bench Side Story @BenchSideStory benchsidestory.com Get your own interviews and research published on Bench Side Story benchsidestory.com/contact

PAEDIATRIC HAEMORRHAGE AND AIRWAY PROCEDURES With Associate Professor Shane George, Paediatric Emergency physician & Paediatric intensive care physician, Gold Coast University Hospital @GC_Health @qldhealth Queensland, Australia RESEARCHER PROFILE Filmed in Southport, Queensland, Australia | March 2026 Dr Shane George is a paediatric critical care physician working in paediatric emergency medicine and paediatric intensive care at Gold Coast University Hospital. He is the clinical lead for children’s critical care research for Gold Coast Health, and is a Senior Lecturer at The University of Queensland @UQ_News and Griffith University @Griffith_Uni . Associate Professor George is also an active clinician researcher on topics that span both emergency medicine and PICU practice including safety in emergency intubation, sepsis, haemostatic resuscitation in children and respiratory support therapies. He is a member of the Paediatric Research in Emergency Departments International collaborative (PREDICT) and the ANZICS Paediatric Study Group, collaborating on numerous multicentre projects. Associate Professor George’s research has been funded by Australia’s Emergency Medicine Foundation @emfresearch , Australian Government NHMRC @nhmrc and MRFF, the US based Thrasher Research Foundation. Source: Supplied and Gold Coast Health website SEE OTHER RESEARCHER PROFILES Bench Side Story @BenchSideStory benchsidestory.com Get your own interviews and research published on Bench Side Story benchsidestory.com/contact/

PARAMEDICINE WORKFORCE ACROSS AUSTRALIAN & NEW ZEALAND With Associate Professor Liz Thyer Associate Professor in Paramedicine Western Sydney University @westernsydneyu , Australia RESEARCHER PROFILE Filmed in Campbelltown, New South Wales, Australia | March 2026 Liz Thyer is an Associate Professor in the Western Sydney University Paramedicine program and is passionate about innovations and excellence in health sciences teaching and learning. She was an advanced life support paramedic with Ambulance Victoria for 11 years including roles as a clinical instructor and peer support officer. She has previously worked at Victoria University with the Paramedic programs and at Deakin University in Learning Futures. She is an active member of the Australasian College of Paramedicine @ACParamedicine and is the inaugural chair of the ACP Professional Standards Committee and Education Committee. Her PhD was in physical anthropology, highlighting a continuing passion for anatomical studies, but her more recent research and HDR supervision focuses on the fields of health education, mental health, and paramedicine workforce issues. She is the chief investigator of the Australasian Paramedicine Workforce Survey, a three-year study providing the most comprehensive data exploring trends affecting the Australian and Aotearoa New Zealand paramedicine workforce. Source: Supplied SEE OTHER RESEARCHER PROFILES Bench Side Story @BenchSideStory benchsidestory.com Get your own interviews and research published on Bench Side Story benchsidestory.com/contact

TRIALS IN TREATING STIs, VACCINES AND LIPID LOWERING MEDICATIONS Dr Pi Lip Seet, Principal Investigator Paratus Clinical @ParatusClinical , Brisbane & Surgical Registrar Brisbane, Queensland, Australia RESEARCHER PROFILE Filmed in Brisbane | March 2026 Dr Pi Lip Seet graduated from the University of Queensland with a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery, after completing a Bachelor of Biomedical Science at the University of Newcastle. He has undertaken broad hospital-based training across Queensland and the ACT, with clinical experience in Emergency Medicine, General and Orthopaedic Surgery, Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Intensive Care and Coronary Care. Since joining Paratus Clinical Research in 2022, Dr Seet has served as both Principal Investigator and Sub-Investigator across Phase I–IV industry-sponsored clinical trials. His research experience spans vaccines, immunology, cardiovascular and endocrine disease, respiratory medicine, gastroenterology, pain management, sleep medicine and adult psychiatry. He has been involved in multiple vaccine development programs, including RSV, influenza, COVID-19, herpes zoster and pneumococcal studies. Dr Seet maintains current Good Clinical Practice certification and advanced life support training. With a strong foundation in acute and procedural medicine, he is committed to delivering high-quality, ethical clinical research, ensuring participant safety while supporting the advancement of innovative therapeutic and vaccine programs. Source: Supplied SEE OTHER RESEARCHER PROFILES Bench Side Story @BenchSideStory benchsidestory.com Get your own interviews and research published on Bench Side Story benchsidestory.com/contact/

THERAPY TO PREVENT HEPATOCELLULAR CARCINOMA IN PEOPLE WITH LIVER CIRRHOSIS Professor John Olynyk, Liver Specialist, Gastroenterologist & Hepatologist, Fiona Stanley and Fremantle Hospitals South Metropolitan Health Service, Western Australia & Associate Director, Clinical Engagement, Curtin Medical Research Institute @CurtinMRI , Curtin University @CurtinUni , Western Australia RESEARCHER PROFILE Filmed in Perth, Western Australia | February 2026 Professor John Olynyk is a Gastroenterologist & Hepatologist with over 30 years' experience, primarily at The Fiona Stanley & Fremantle Hospital Group. He planned the Gastroenterology and Hepatology Service for the Fiona Stanley Hospital and was Head Department from 2010 until 2020. Professor John Olynyk was appointed as Associate Dean and Head of the Medical Discipline at Curtin University in 2023 until 2025 and is now Associate Director, Clinical Engagement, Curtin Medical Research Institute, Curtin University. Professor John Olynyk has a long and productive history of research in the field of haemochromatosis, liver disease and iron metabolism. He has sustained 27 years of continuous funding from the NHMRC and published over 270 peer reviewed publications with nearly 20,000 citations. He is patron of Haemochromatosis Australia and currently serves on the Royal Australasian College of Physicians overseas trained physicians assessment panel. He has been a member of multiple national and international professional organisations. He was a keynote speaker at the UK Liver Cancer Meeting at Cambridge University in 2024. Currently he is leading a multicentre, international NHMRC-funded clinical trial examining whether aspirin therapy can prevent hepatocellular carcinoma in people with cirrhosis. Source: Supplied SEE OTHER RESEARCHER PROFILES Bench Side Story @BenchSideStory benchsidestory.com Get your own interviews and research published on Bench Side Story @BenchSideStory benchsidestory.com/contact

IDENTIFICATION & CHARACTERISATION OF MOLECULAR DRIVERS OF THERAPEUTIC RESISTANCE Professor Pieter Eichhorn Group Leader, Curtin Medical Research Institute @CurtinMRI & Dean of Research Infrastructure & Professor at Curtin University @CurtinUni , Western Australia RESEARCHER PROFILE Filmed in Perth, Western Australia | February 2026 Professor Pieter Eichhorn is an internationally experienced cancer biologist and research leader whose career has been defined by high-impact contributions at the interface of functional genomics, translational oncology, and research infrastructure strategy. He completed his PhD at the @UniofNewcastle , contributing to the cloning of the gene associated with Cornelia de Lange Syndrome, before undertaking postdoctoral training at the Netherlands Cancer Institute in the laboratory of René Bernards. There, he performed pioneering functional genetic screens that identified key regulators of oncogenesis and therapy resistance, including critical roles for the PI3K signalling pathway in resistance to targeted breast cancer therapies. He subsequently worked Dr. Jose Baselga at the Vall d’Hebron Institute of Oncology @VHIO and Harvard Medical School @harvardmed contributing to studies on signalling networks, resistance mechanisms, and ubiquitin pathway regulation in cancer. A major career highlight has been the identification and characterisation of molecular drivers of therapeutic resistance, including work on PI3K pathway biology and ubiquitin-regulated oncogenic signalling, published in high-impact journals and informing biomarker-driven therapeutic strategies. At Curtin University, he has established and led a multidisciplinary translational research program focused on deubiquitinases, epithelial plasticity, and non-coding RNA biology in breast and melanoma. In parallel, he has provided strategic leadership as Dean of Research Infrastructure, overseeing major national and institutional infrastructure investments, NCRIS-aligned initiatives, and large-scale collaborative platforms that enhance research capability and clinical translation. COLLABORATIONS National University of Singapore @NUSingapore , Walter and Eliza Hall Institute @WEHI_research , @Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre @PeterMacCC , Vall d’Hebron, Helmholtz Munich, University of Manchester, FUNDING World Cancer Research Fund, Cancer Council WA @CancerCouncilWA, Australia Center for RNA Therapy in Cancer Source: Supplied SEE OTHER RESEARCHER PROFILES Bench Side Story @BenchSideStory benchsidestory.com Get your own interviews and research published on Bench Side Story @BenchSideStory benchsidestory.com/contact

LIVER CANCER & PATIENT-DERIVED TUMOUR ORGANOIDS Dr Benjamin Dwyer, Senior Research Fellow & Director, Western Australian Organioid Innovation Hub, Curtin Medical Research Institute @CurtinMRI , Curtin University @CurtinUni , Western Australia RESEARCHER PROFILE Filmed in Perth, Western Australia | February 2026 Dr Benjamin Dwyer is a translational cancer researcher driven by a clear purpose: to ensure discoveries made in the laboratory genuinely improve outcomes for patients. Based at Curtin University, he established and now leads the organoid platform within the Liver Cancer Collaborative and directs the WA Organoid Innovation Hub, working at the intersection of biology, medicine and biotechnology to accelerate new treatments for liver cancer. After completing his PhD in Perth, Dr Dwyer joined the world-leading liver research group of Prof Stuart Forbes at the University of Edinburgh @EdinburghUni , where he contributed to research spanning fundamental biology, clinical trials and commercial translation. He helped define how cholangiocarcinoma crosstalk with macrophages establishes a protective environment. In parallel, he was closely involved in the development of macrophage cell therapy for cirrhosis as part of the management team of the MATCH trials, and established novel, GMP-compatible methods to engineer and cryopreserve therapeutic macrophages, foundational methods for the commercial development of macrophage therapy. He was part of the founding team of a biotechnology spinout created to translate this work, and the therapeutic strategy built on those early methods is now progressing through Phase 1 clinical testing. Seeing principles he helped establish move from bench to bedside has been a defining milestone in his career. Today, as part of the Liver Cancer Collaborative his research focuses on building patient-derived “mini tumours” for drug development that better predict treatment response, narrowing the gap between laboratory models and real patient outcomes. COLLABORATIONS WITH: Perkins Cancer Biobank, Australian Centre for RNA Therapeutics in Cancer, UWA @uwanews, WA Data Science Innovation Hub, Murdoch University @MurdochUni , Epichem @epichem, Cholangiocarcinoma Foundation Australia @Cholangio1 , WEHI National Drug Discovery Centre @WEHI_research, Inventia Life Sciences @InventiaLifeSci , University of Edinburgh @EdinburghUni, Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service (SNBTS) @SNBTSblood, University of Calgary @UCalgary FUNDING FROM: Department of Health WA FHRI Fund @health_wa, Cancer Research Trust, Gastroenterological Society of Australia (GESA) @GESAorg, Ian Potter Foundation @IanPotterFdn , AMMF- The Cholangiocarcinoma Charity @CharityAMMF Source: Supplied and adapted SEE OTHER RESEARCHER PROFILES Bench Side Story @BenchSideStory benchsidestory.com Get your own interviews and research published on Bench Side Story @BenchSideStory benchsidestory.com/contact/

DEVELOPING UPPER LIMB MOTOR BIOMARKERS OF DEMENTIA Kaylee Rudd, Junior Research Fellow, Wicking Dementia Research and Education Centre @WickingDementia, University of Tasmania @UTAS_ , Hobart, Tasmania RESEARCHER PROFILE Filmed in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia | February 2026 Kaylee is currently a research fellow with the Wicking Dementia Research and Education Centre at the University of Tasmania. She has recently submitted her PhD thesis, reporting the findings of her research on developing upper limb motor biomarkers of dementia. She has postgrad degrees in physiotherapy and experience working in the community and aged care across Tasmania for several years, where she worked with people with dementia. Her experience underlined the importance of detecting cognitive impairment early and prompted her to join the Wicking to research dementia in 2021. Her research aims to better understand how movement is associated with cognition and to identify potential hand motor tests to help detect those at risk of developing cognitive impairment early. One of the main highlights of her research experience has been close and regular collaboration with participants and team members of the ISLAND Clinic and the Tasmanian ISLAND Project. Currently she coordinates the TapTalk project, a multi-level RHHRF funded project, which aims to develop a non-invasive screening test to detect risk of Alzheimer's disease pathology. Kaylee also contributes to national and international research projects. Examples are her work with the multisite Australian Dementia Network (ADNeT) study investigating the impact of blood-based biomarkers knowledge on clinician’s diagnostic confidence, and her ongoing collaboration with the AI-assisted motor biomarkers team in the University of Leeds, UK. Collaborations and funding from - Wicking Dementia research and Education Centre, University of Tasmania - Royal Hobart Hospital, Tasmanian Health Service - Royal Hobart Hospital Research Foundation (RHHRF) Source: Supplied and adapted SEE OTHER RESEARCHER PROFILES Bench Side Story @BenchSideStory benchsidestory.com Get your own interviews and research published on Bench Side Story @BenchSideStory benchsidestory.com/contact/

METABOLIC PHENOTYPING, LIPIDOMICS & BIOINFORMATICS IN DEMENTIA Dr Luke Whiley Curtin Medical Research Institute @CurtinMRI , Western Australia RESEARCHER PROFILE Filmed in Perth, Western Australia | February 2026 Dr Luke Whiley is a dementia researcher whose work focuses on understanding how the body’s metabolism, particularly the biology of fats known as lipids, influences our health throughout ageing. His research explores how the body responds to illness, lifestyle, and environmental stress at a chemical level, and how these responses shape longterm disease risk. Using advanced blood-based measurement technologies, Dr Whiley studies thousands of small molecules at once to build a snapshot of a person’s metabolic health. By combining these measurements with data science approaches, his work identifies biological pathways that become disrupted in disease, providing insight into why some people are more vulnerable to conditions such as dementia. A major focus of Dr Whiley’s research is Alzheimer’s disease, where he investigates how genetic risk, particularly variations in genes involved in lipid transport,  may affect metabolism across the body and lead to disease. This work highlights the importance of lipids in brain health, helping shift dementia research beyond proteins alone to include broader metabolic processes. He also studies related questions in Parkinson’s disease, traumatic brain injury, and COVID19, where metabolic disruption plays a key role in recovery and longterm outcomes. Alongside discovery research, Dr Whiley develops methods that allow detailed metabolic testing using much smaller samples, making future screening and monitoring more accessible. His overarching goal is to improve understanding, earlier detection, and prevention of neurodegenerative disease, while keeping people with lived experience at the centre of dementia research. Source: Supplied SEE OTHER RESEARCHER PROFILES Bench Side Story @BenchSideStory benchsidestory.com Get your own interviews and research published on Bench Side Story benchsidestory.com/contact/

CELLULAR MECHANISMS OF TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY & CONCUSSION With Professor Melinda (Lindy) Fitzgerald, Deputy Vice Chancellor, Research & Professor of Neurotrauma, Curtin University @CurtinUni , Western Australia John Curtin Distinguished Professor & CEO Connectivity Traumatic Brain Injury Australia @ConnectivityTBI RESEARCHER PROFILE Filmed in Perth, Western Australia | February 2026 Professor Melinda Fitzgerald is Deputy Vice Chancellor, Research at Curtin University, John Curtin Distinguished Professor and CEO of Connectivity Traumatic Brain Injury Australia @ConnectivityTBI She has published over 135 papers; recent highlights include Lancet Neurology, J Neuroscience, Nature Nano, ACS Nano, Biomaterials. Currently held grants/Projects total $10.1 million; CIA for $5.2 million of these; $18.5 million total research and equipment funding, $9.9 million as CIA; continuous category 1 grant funding as CIA since 2009. Prof Fitzgerald was Ministerially appointed and re-appointed as Chair and Co-Chair of the Expert Working Group of the Federal Government MRFF Mission for TBI, 2019 and 2024 ($50m over 10 years). Prof Fitzgerald is a Member of the Executive Committee for International TBI Research (InTBIR2) and Co-Chair of the InTBIR2 Working Group on Observational and Comparative Effectiveness Studies. She has supervised more than 35 Honours students or equivalent, 20 PhD students (14 completions), and 12 post-doctoral researchers (5 currently); of whom 3 are Group Leaders and 15 are developing independent scientific and research careers. As CEO of Connectivity Traumatic Brain Injury Australia, Prof Fitzgerald has led dissemination of best practice knowledge to the community. Connectivity’s work on raising awareness of traumatic brain injury has been viewed more than 6.93 million times, including 255,000 individual users of the website and more than 641,000 views on YouTube, accessing research-informed, best practice evidence-based information about concussion and more severe traumatic brain injury, including 110,000 views of our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander prevention campaign. Provision of concussion online short courses, currently more than 20,000 completions. Source: Supplied Arranged by: Curtin Medical Research Institute @CurtinMRI SEE OTHER RESEARCHER PROFILES Bench Side Story @BenchSideStory benchsidestory.com Get your own interviews and research published on Bench Side Story benchsidestory.com/contact

LEUKAEMIA MICROENVIRONMENT & HIGH RISK CHILDHOOD LEUKAEMIA With Associate Professor Laurence Cheung Curtin University @CurtinUni & Research Lead, Curtin Medical Research Institute @CurtinMRI, Western Australia & Research Lead, The Kids Research Institute @TheKids_AU , Western Australia RESEARCHER PROFILE Filmed in Perth, Western Australia | February 2026 Associate Professor Laurence Cheung is an exemplary pharmacist-scientist whose research is focused on improving outcomes in children with high-risk leukaemia. He obtained his Bachelor of Pharmacy degree with First Class Honours from the Curtin University in 2000 and have been a registered pharmacist since 2001. In 2014, he completed the PhD studies at The Kids Research Institute Australia (The Kids) in the area of haematopoiesis and paediatric leukaemia. He is now an Associate Professor at the Curtin Medical School as well as Curtin Medical Research Institute, and a Co-head of the Leukaemia Translational Research Laboratory at The Kids. He has attracted over $8.7 million in research funding, including 16 awards as CIA (over $6.1 million). Assoc Prof Cheung was named the 2019 Cancer Council of WA Early Career Cancer Researcher of the Year and received the STEM Early Career Research Award at Curtin University in 2019. Assoc Prof Cheung enjoys nurturing and motivating the next generation scientists and HDR students and he believes that the true success is about influencing others to achieve their own greatness. He has supervised two PhD and one Masters students to completion, and is currently supervising 4 PhD students as a Primary Supervisor. In 2023, Assoc Prof Cheung received the Faulty of Health Sciences Teaching Excellence Individual Award for Honours, Postgraduate, or HDR supervision at Curtin University. Source: Supplied and adapted SEE OTHER RESEARCHER PROFILES Bench Side Story @BenchSideStory benchsidestory.com Get your own interviews and research published on Bench Side Story benchsidestory.com/contact

NOVEL THERAPY FOR PANCREATIC CANCERS, TARGETING MOLECULAR FOUNDATION Dr Michael KC Lee, Medical Oncologist, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre @PeterMacCC , Melbourne, Australia RESEARCHER PROFILE Filmed in Melbourne, Australia | February 2026 Dr Michael Lee is an experienced medical oncologist, sub-specialising in gastrointestinal cancers and neuroendocrine tumours at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre @PeterMacCC. He plays a key role in molecular tumour boards at VCCC Alliance (Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Centre) @VCCCAlliance and MPCCC (Monash Partners Comprehensive Cancer Consortium), ensuring the accurate and effective use of precision medicine in cancer care across the state. His care philosophy, embodied in his practice name, "Can-Therapy," promotes a CAN-do approach to CANcer care: empowering patients to thrive beyond cancer through cutting-edge research and personalised, values-driven care. Beyond the clinic, he leads research as a clinician scientist, developing therapeutic strategies that target RNA processing - the molecular blueprint cancer hijacks to fuel its growth and resistance - by altering its sequence is like changing words in a sentence to redefine cancer's trajectory. Supported by Pancare Foundation @PancareAus, the Paul Dear Post Doctoral Fellowship and his industry collaboration, his work aims to revolutionise outcomes for patients with this aggressive cancer by targeting its molecular foundation. He is a recognised expert in pancreatic cancer care, combining research insights with exceptional patient care, while also providing comprehensive treatment for all cancer types. Source: Supplied SEE OTHER RESEARCHER PROFILES Bench Side Story @BenchSideStory benchsidestory.com Get your own interviews and research published on Bench Side Story @BenchSideStory benchsidestory.com/contact/

GENETICS AND ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS OF GLAUCOMA & MYOPIA Professor David Mackey AO, Professor of Ophthalmology The Lions Eye Institute @LionsEyeInstAus, University of Western Australia @uwanews RESEARCHER PROFILE Filmed in Perth, Western Australia | February 2026 Professor David Mackey, AO is a clinician, scientist and academic. He is Professor of Ophthalmology at UWA and was the Lions Eye Institute’s Managing Director from 2009 until 2018. A University of Tasmania @UTAS_ medical graduate, Professor Mackey completed his ophthalmology training at the Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital in Melbourne @EyeandEarHosp. After an MD thesis on Leber Hereditary Optic Neuropathy at the University of Melbourne, he completed fellowships in the US and UK in genetic eye diseases. A renowned international researcher on the genetics of eye disease, Professor Mackey leads the Lions Eye Institute’s Genetics and Epidemiology research group, which pursues multiple projects aimed at understanding how genes and environment interact to influence an individual’s risk of eye disease. Professor Mackey collaborates with researchers worldwide. He is a lead investigator in the International Glaucoma Genetics Consortium (IGCC) and the Consortium for Refractive Error and Myopia (CREAM). In the 1990s he coordinated an international consortium across eight countries to establish the frequency of Leber Hereditary Optic Neuropathy (LHON) mutations. In Australia, he initiated the Glaucoma Inheritance Study in Tasmania – creating one of the largest glaucoma biobanks in the world and contributing to the discovery of more than a dozen genes associated with Mendelian genetic eye disease. The Twins Eye Study in Tasmania and Brisbane, the Norfolk Island Eye Study, the eye component of the WA Pregnancy (Raine) Cohort, Busselton Healthy Aging Study are his other major projects. Professor Mackey’s original research over more than 30 years into the genetics of glaucoma and in the fields of optic atrophy and congenital cataract has received constant professional accolades, attracted ongoing research funding and led to his publication of more than 400 peer-reviewed papers. In 2019, he was made an Officer (AO) in the General Division of the Order of Australia for “distinguished service to medicine, and to medical education, in the field of ophthalmology, as a clinician-scientist and academic”. Source: Lions Eye Institute website SEE OTHER RESEARCHER PROFILES Bench Side Story @BenchSideStory benchsidestory.com Get your own interviews and research published on Bench Side Story benchsidestory.com/contact/

PAEDIATRIC OBESITY PREVENTION, NUTRITION AND DIETETICS With Dr Robyn Littlewood, Chief Executive, Health and Wellbeing Queensland @hw_queensland & Adjunct Professor, University of Queensland @UQ_News , Queensland University of Technology @QUT & Griffith University @Griffith_Uni, Australia RESEARCHER PROFILE Filmed in Brisbane, Australia | December 2025 Dr Robyn Littlewood is the CEO of Health and Wellbeing Queensland, the state’s prevention agency committed to fostering a healthier and more equitable Queensland. With over 25 years of experience in clinical care, research and education, Dr Littlewood has made significant contributions to paediatric healthcare. Dr Littlewood is a published author with over 100 publications and has recently released her first book on health and wellbeing for Queensland. She has trained hundreds of students over two decades of frontline service. Leveraging a systems-based and collaborative approach, Dr Littlewood continues to drive research and data outcomes in the area of health and wellbeing. Dr Littlewood leads a dedicated team focused on making healthy happen for all Queenslanders, with a particular focus on improving health outcomes for our next generation. Dr Littlewood holds a raft of formal qualifications including a Bachelor of Science and Postgraduate Diploma in Nutrition and Dietetics, a Master of Medical Science, a Masters of Business Administration and a PhD. Dr Littlewood has also completed a number of postgraduate qualifications in executive leadership and is a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.  Dr Littlewood holds Adjunct Professor appointments from UQ, QUT and Griffith universities, has been awarded Fellow of Dietitians Australia @dietitiansaus , the Barbara Chester Award and QUT Health Alumni of the year in recognition of her outstanding contribution to the dietetics profession. Source: Supplied SEE OTHER RESEARCHER PROFILES Bench Side Story @BenchSideStory benchsidestory.com Get your own interviews and research published on Bench Side Story benchsidestory.com/contact

ANTIMICROBIAL TECHNOLOGIES & DRUG DELIVERY PLATFORMS With Associate Professor Aaron Elbourne RMIT University @RMIT , Melbourne, Australia RESEARCHER PROFILE Filmed in Melbourne, Australia | January 2026 Dr Aaron Elbourne is an ARC DECRA Fellow, Jack Brockhoff ECR Fellow, and Associate Professor within the School of Science at STEM Hub. A leader in nanomaterials, soft matter science, and interface research, Aaron’s work addresses critical challenges in health and the environment. Since becoming an independent researcher, Aaron has held continuous funding from prestigious funders, including the Australian Research Council (ARC) and the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) @nhmrc . His research is characterised by its interdisciplinary approach, combining chemistry, materials science, and engineering. His pioneering contributions to colloid therapeutics and soft matter science have driven advancements in diagnostic tools, antimicrobial technologies, and therapeutic delivery systems. His expertise in studying nanomaterial interactions with synthetic and biological membranes has been instrumental in translating scientific discoveries into impactful applications. Aaron is a dedicated mentor to early-career researchers (ECRs) and students, having supervised and trained numerous postgraduate and doctoral candidates. He has played a key role in securing funding for student training initiatives, including joint PhD scholarships and National Industry PhD programs, which emphasise collaboration between academia and industry. With a strong focus on translational research, Aaron’s work bridges the gap between fundamental science and practical applications. His leadership in creating innovative technologies, fostering academic-industry partnerships, and empowering future researchers underscores his commitment to advancing science and creating a meaningful impact. Source: Supplied SEE OTHER RESEARCHER PROFILES Bench Side Story @BenchSideStory benchsidestory.com Get your own interviews and research published on Bench Side Story benchsidestory.com/contact