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- Biomathematician & Honorary Senior Research FellowInstitute for Molecular Bioscience
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EMCRA Committee
Chair
Dr Benjamin Weger
NHMRC Emerging Leadership FellowInstitute for Molecular BioscienceResearcher profile is public:1Supervisor:Vice-Chair
Dr Clara Jiang
Postdoctoral Research FellowInstitute for Molecular BioscienceResearcher profile is public:1Supervisor:Researcher biography: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.
Dr Geng Wang
Postdoctoral Research FellowInstitute for Molecular BioscienceResearcher profile is public:1Supervisor:Researcher biography: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.
Treasurer
Dr Steven Hancock
Postdoctoral Research FellowInstitute for Molecular BioscienceResearcher profile is public:1Supervisor:Secretary
Dr Eunice Poon
Postdoctoral Research FellowInstitute for Molecular BioscienceResearcher profile is public:1Supervisor:IT / Social Media Coordinator
Dr Daniel Hwang
ARC DECRAInstitute for Molecular BioscienceResearcher profile is public:1Supervisor:Researcher biography: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 and 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 cancer patients and COVID-19.
Daniel has a B.Sc from the National Taiwan University, majoring in Biochemical Science and Technology, and an M.Biotech from the University of Pennsylvania. Following graduation, he worked as a research technician in Danielle Reed's 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 an M.Sc in Nutrition at the University of Washington, under the supervision of Glen Duncan, and a PhD 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 as a postdoc at the University of Queensland Diamantina Institute (now the Frazer Institute). Dr Hwang is an ARC DECRA Fellow at the Institute for Molecular Bioscience. He is also an Affiliated Scientist at the Monell Chemical Senses Center.
Dr Hwang has published more than 40 peer-reviewed publications. His work has been referred to in international health policy guidelines and a WHO report for the intervention of childhood obesity and in a global 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. 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. He contributes to implementing the decadal plan for the science of nutrition in Australia.
Dr Marina Naval Sanchez
NHMRC Emerging Leadership FellowInstitute for Molecular BioscienceResearcher profile is public:1Supervisor:Researcher biography:Dr. Marina Naval-Sanchez is a NHMRC Research Fellow at the Institute for Molecular Bioscience at The University of Queensland (Australia). She pursued postdoctoral studies in 2019-2024 in the Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland (Australia) and as an Office Chief Executive (OCE) Fellow in 2015-2019 at the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) (Australia). She received her PhD in Molecular Biosciences in 2014 from KULeuven (Belgium). She received her MSc in Applied Bioinformatics in 2009 from Cranfield University (UK) and MSc in Agriculture Engineering in 2008 from the Universitat de Lleida (Spain).
Marina's research program applies state-of-the-art bioinformatic, machine learning, and genetic and genomic tools to unearth the master regulators and enhancer grammar governing development and ageing across species (mouse and human) and to decipher the genomic (regulatory) impact of evolution, domestication and human selection in farm species (sheep, cattle, salmon). Her research outcomes have been published in high-impact journals such as Cell Metabolism, Nature Communications, Genome Biology, Nucleic Acids Research, Genome Research and Molecular Biology and Evolution.
Her research efforts have been supported by domestic and international fellowships and grants, including the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC, EL1 2024 Recipient), Advance Queensland, UQ Innovation Connections, CSIRO Scientific Investment Projects, CSIRO OCE Fellowships, and Flanders Wetesnchappelijk Onderzoek (FWO) PhD Fellowship.
Inclusivi-Teatime Coordinators
Dr Geng Wang
Postdoctoral Research FellowInstitute for Molecular BioscienceResearcher profile is public:1Supervisor:Researcher biography: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.
Dr Katelyn Richards
Postdoctoral Research FellowInstitute for Molecular BioscienceResearcher profile is public:1Supervisor:Career Series Coordinators
Dr Jieyu Ge
Postdoctoral Research FellowInstitute for Molecular BioscienceResearcher profile is public:1Supervisor:Dr Ellen Potoczky
Postdoctoral Research FellowInstitute for Molecular BioscienceResearcher profile is public:1Supervisor:Pizza and Chat Coordinators
Dr Nicole Warrington
Senior Research FellowInstitute for Molecular BioscienceResearcher profile is public:1Supervisor:Researcher biography:Dr Nicole Warrington is a NHMRC Emerging Leadership Fellow at the University of Queensland Institute for Molecular Bioscience. She has a strong background in statistical genetics and has been actively working towards understanding the genetic determinants of early life growth. Dr Warrington studied a Bachelor of Science at Victoria University in Wellington, New Zealand, majoring in Mathematical Statistics and Psychology. She then completed an honours degree at The University of Western Australia, where she developed a keen interest for genetics, and was subsequently awarded an Australian Postgraduate Award to complete her PhD in statistical genetics and life-course epidemiology. During her PhD she spent time at the University of Toronto to gain experience in statistical modelling methods for longitudinal growth trajectories and conducted the first genome-wide association study of longitudinal growth trajectories over childhood. After completing her PhD, Dr Warrington started at the University of Queensland and focused on using genetics to inform about the relationship between birth weight and cardio-metabolic diseases in later life. She pioneered a new statistical method to partition genetic effects on birth weight into maternal and fetal components, and combined this method with a causal modelling approach, Mendelian randomization. This method was instrumental in demonstrating the relationship between birth weight and adult hypertension is driven by genetic effects, over-turning 30 years of research into the effects of intrauterine programming. More recently, her research focus has broadened to determine whether rapid weight growth across early life, including fetal development, childhood and adolescence, causally increases risk of cardio-metabolic disease and in doing so, hopes to identify optimal times across the life-course where interventions could reduce the incidence of cardio-metabolic diseases.
Dr Xichun Li
Postdoctoral Research FellowInstitute for Molecular BioscienceResearcher profile is public:1Supervisor:Miss Daisy Crick
Postdoctoral Research Fellow/Research OfficerInstitute for Molecular BioscienceResearcher profile is public:1Supervisor:Social Event Coordinators
Dr Amila Agampodi Dewa
Postdoctoral Research Fellow & Research OfficerInstitute for Molecular BioscienceResearcher profile is public:1Supervisor:Dr Johanna Richter
Postdoctoral Research Fellow/Research OfficerInstitute for Molecular BioscienceResearcher profile is public:1Supervisor:Dr Alesha Hatton
Postdoctoral Research FellowInstitute for Molecular BioscienceResearcher profile is public:1Supervisor:Researcher biography:Alesha Hatton is a postdoctoral research fellow specializing in statistical genetics and genetic epidemiology at the Institute for Molecular Bioscience, University of Queensland. Currently, her research focuses on understanding the genetic and environmental aetiology underlying complex traits through use of Mendelian randomization and statistical genetics methodologies. Her PhD was in systems genomics, applying quantitative genetics methods to investigate the role of DNA methylation in complex trait variation. Alesha has a bachelor's degree in medical mathematics from the University of Wollongong (2016) and previously was employed as a statistician at the South Australian health and Medical Research Institute.
STAR Representative
Dr Alesha Hatton
Postdoctoral Research FellowInstitute for Molecular BioscienceResearcher profile is public:1Supervisor:Researcher biography:Alesha Hatton is a postdoctoral research fellow specializing in statistical genetics and genetic epidemiology at the Institute for Molecular Bioscience, University of Queensland. Currently, her research focuses on understanding the genetic and environmental aetiology underlying complex traits through use of Mendelian randomization and statistical genetics methodologies. Her PhD was in systems genomics, applying quantitative genetics methods to investigate the role of DNA methylation in complex trait variation. Alesha has a bachelor's degree in medical mathematics from the University of Wollongong (2016) and previously was employed as a statistician at the South Australian health and Medical Research Institute.
UQ ECR Committee Representative
Dr Meltem Weger
Research FellowInstitute for Molecular BioscienceResearcher profile is public:1Supervisor:Researcher biography:I am a basic science researcher trained in molecular and cell biology, with expertise in transdisciplinary research. My primary focus is investigating the circadian aspects of (patho-) physiology, specifically in relation to the liver. I am particularly interested in understanding how circadian, endocrine, and metabolic pathways work together to maintain homeostasis, as well as how disruptions in these pathways can contribute to pathological conditions.
Following the completion of my PhD at Heidelberg University in Germany in 2013, I pursued post-doctoral studies as a Marie-Curie Fellow at Birmingham University (UK) and École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (Switzerland). During this time, I utilized omics-approaches to elucidate the metabolic changes caused by impaired mitochondrial glucocorticoid biosynthesis and adrenal insufficiency. Additionally, I investigated the relationship between mitochondrial function and stress-induced depression. In order to understand the molecular mechanisms underlying rhythmic expression of metabolic genes, I also developed tools that facilitate the study of how circadian clock components and glucocorticoids cooperatively drive these processes.
In 2019, I have joined the Physiology of Circadian Rhythms laboratory at the Institute of Molecular Bioscience, University of Queensland, to investigate the role of the circadian clock and chronodisruption in metabolism and liver disease.
EMCRA Retreat Coordinators
Ms Svetlana Shatunova
PhD studentInstitute for Molecular BioscienceResearcher profile is public:1Supervisor:Dr Yomani Sarathkumara
Postdoctoral Research FellowInstitute for Molecular BioscienceResearcher profile is public:1Supervisor:Dr Sugarniya Subramaniam
Research AssistantInstitute for Molecular BioscienceResearcher profile is public:0Supervisor:Dr Anouschka Akerman
Postdoctoral Research FellowInstitute for Molecular BioscienceResearcher profile is public:0Supervisor:Dr Ashton Kelly
Postdoctoral Research FellowInstitute for Molecular BioscienceResearcher profile is public:1Supervisor:Tags:Early career researchers- Higher degree by research (PhD) studentInstitute for Molecular Bioscience
- Principal Research AssistantInstitute for Molecular Bioscience
- Director of Translation, IMBProfessorial Research Fellow & GL & IMB Director of Translation of Institute for Molecular BioscienceInstitute for Molecular Bioscience
- Research OfficerInstitute for Molecular Bioscience
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The Edge: Genetics
People have known for thousands of years that parents pass traits to their children, but it is only relatively recently that our technology has caught up to our curiosity, enabling us to delve into the mystery of how this inheritance occurs, and the implications for predicting, preventing and treating disease.
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