Dr Daniel Liang-Dar Hwang is a genetic epidemiologist and statistical geneticist by training. His research interests include sensory nutrition, causal modelling, and personalized nutrition. Dr Hwang applies statistical models to big data to understand genetic and environmental factors contributing to individual differences in taste and olfactory perception, their relationship with dietary behaviour and chronic conditions (See his research on taste perception in The Conversation). He develops methods for increasing statistical power for gene discovery, estimating intergenerational causal relationships, and personalized intervention. He also works with clinicians to investigate impaired chemosensory perception in patients with cancers and COVID-19.

Daniel has a B.Sc from the National Taiwan University, majoring in Biochemical Science and Technology, and a M.Biotech from the University of Pennsylvania. Following graduation, he worked as a research technician in Danielle Reed' lab at the Monell Chemical Senses Center where he first developed a keen interest in genetics and chemosensory perception. Later he was awarded scholarships to complete a M.Sc in Nutrition at the University of Washington, under the supervision of Glen Duncan, and a Ph.D in Genetic Epidemiology at the QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, under the supervision of Nicholas Martin and Margaret Wright. He then joined David Evans's group at the University of Queensland Diamantina Institue (now the Frazer Institute) as a postdoc. Dr Hwang is currently an ARC DECRA Fellow based at the Institute for Molecular Bioscience.

Dr Hwang has published more than 40 peer-review publications. His work has been referred in international health policy guidelines and a WHO report for the intervention of childhood obesity and in an international patent for personalized wine selection. He is on the editorial boards of BMC Medicine and Twin Research and Human Genetics. Dr Hwang is a Leadership Team member of the Global Consortium for Chemosensory Research, a global initiative to understand the relationship between smell loss and COVID-19 and foster the advancement of chemosensory science at large. He currently drives an international collaborative project to investigate the impact of COVID-19 vaccinations on long-COVID symptoms. Dr Hwang is a member of the National Committee for Nutrition of the Australian Academy of Science where he contributes to the implementation of the decadal plan for the science of nutrition in Australia.

Helen's interest in immune cell interactions across the tissue landscape started during her Master's and PhD with Dr. Ali Zaid at the Menzies Health Institute, Griffith University. Her PhD focused on defining the role of Interleukin-17 in virus-induced arthritis and exploring immunomodulation as a means of dampening synovial inflammation and damage. There, she was able to specialise in 3D imaging on optically-cleared tissues and high-dimensional flow cytometry. Helen received her PhD in 2022, before immediately starting a Postdoc position under Dr. Emma Gordon and Dr. Larisa Labzin at the Institute for Molecular Biosciences, University of Queensland. Her current research focuses on vascular complications in acute and long COVID-19. Specifically, Helen is developing a novel triple-culture model under air-liquid interface to investigate endothelial dysfunction and explore potential therapeutics in COVID-19.

Dr. Geng Wang is a postdoctoral research fellow specializing in statistical genetics and genetic epidemiology at the Institute for Molecular Bioscience, University of Queensland. His research focuses on the developmental origins of health and diseases, Mendelian randomization, the genetic susceptibility of complex traits and diseases, and the advancement of statistical genetics methodologies. Proficient in bioinformatics, statistical genetics, and clinical research, he has a background in clinical medicine and the biotechnology industry.

Dr. Wang obtained his bachelor's degree in clinical medicine and master's degree in internal medicine from Second Military Medical University (Shanghai, China) in 2012 and 2016, respectively. He served as a resident physician at Changzheng Hospital, affiliated with Second Military Medical University, from 2016 to 2017, specialising in rheumatology, before being promoted to an attending doctor. During his time in Shanghai, he was invited to visit the Translational Research Institute (Australia) twice in 2016 and 2017 for bioinformatics training and collaborative research.

Driven by his growing interest in human genetics, Dr. Wang pursued a Ph.D. in statistical genetics with Professor David Evans at the University of Queensland, which he successfully completed in 2023. Since then, he has continued his research in the aforementioned areas, contributing to the field with his diverse background and expertise.

Clara Jiang is a postdoctoral research fellow at the Institute for Molecular Bioscience, the University of Queensland. Clara's research focuses on using genomic and transcriptomic analysis to investigate the genetic basis of cardiovascular and psychiatric disorders, with a particular focus on female health, as well as using statistical genomic approaches to explore possible opportunities for drug repurposing. Clara graduated from the University of Queensland with Bachelor of Advanced Science (First Class Honours) in 2017, and was awarded the University Medal. Clara was awarded her PhD at the University of Queensland in 2021, where she utilised bioinformatic approaches and molecular experiments to decipher the genetic aetiology of breast cancer, specifically the regulatory role of transposons or 'jumping genes' in modulating the transcriptional landscape in the cancer state. Clara is also a UQ Wellness ambassador and an advocate for promoting equity, diversity and inclusion in academia.

I am an internationally competitive cell biologist with skills in molecular and cell biology, stem cell biology, mechanisms of protein activation, inflammatory and metabolic diseases, cancers, cardiovascular disease, as well as pharmaceutical drug discovery and development. I have more than 6 years’ research experience since my PhD commencement. My work in the last 3 years has resulted in invitations to present at scientific meetings, including at the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence in Advanced Molecular Imaging Symposium (DEC 2020), UQ ECR Life Science Symposium (MAY 2022), IMB Cell Biology Forum (JUL 2022), The Safety Pharmacology Society 2022 Annual Meeting (present by my collaborator Nanion Technologies, Canada, SEP 2022), as well as invitations to attend UQ Research Commercialisation Workshop (JUL 2022). Since my PhD completion in 2020, I have been working on cardiovascular development and disease using human pluripotent stem cells and gene/protein interaction approaches to study pathologies in the heart and to discover novel drugs. My work has attracted to Peer Review on Pathogens (2021-2022), Cell Stem Cell (MAR 2022), IUBMB Life (JUL 2022), Journal of Molecular and Cellular Cardiology (SEP 2022) . Additionally, I am supervising two undergraduate students (50% each) as well as one Medical Degree student (100%) on cardiac cell biology projects, including cardiac cell differentiation from human stem cell, maturation, disease modelling and drug screening. This work is currently supported by fellowship funding from University of Queensland and federal funding support from the Palpant laboratory supporting my early career research in academia.