WOOLCOCK - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Research Infrastructure Manager
Job Titles:
- Scientist
- Biomedical Scientist / Director of the Woolcock Emphysema Centre and Professor of Respiratory Pharmacology ( UTS )
- Director of the Woolcock Emphysema Centre and Professor of Respiratory Pharmacology ( UTS )
Ammit is a biomedical scientist with an international reputation for her research elucidating the mechanistic basis of inflammation in respiratory diseases.
Graduating with a PhD from University of Sydney in 1996, Alaina has received prestigious fellowships to support her postdoctoral career, including the Asthma Foundation Martin Hardie Research Fellowship and a NHMRC CJ Martin Fellowship (conducted at the University of Pennsylvania). Appointed to a Faculty position at the University of Sydney in 2002, she was promoted to Professor in 2014 and Head of the Respiratory Research Theme.
In March 2016, she was recruited to the Woolcock Institute of Medical Research as the Director of the Woolcock Emphysema Centre, in collaboration with UTS where she has a continuing research-intensive role as Professor of Respiratory Pharmacology. Distinguished Professor Ammit has earned an international reputation for her research, demonstrated by > 115 publications with citations > 4,800, a h-index of 35, and a career total of > $10 million from a range of funding bodies (including NH&MRC, ARC and infrastructure and equipment grant funders) and has attracted $3 million in philanthropic funding. Alaina has served as Associate Dean (Research) in the Faculty of Science at UTS since 2018 and was appointed Distinguished Professor in 2022.
She has demonstrated research leadership through international research contributions and high level engagement with the research community. Her current appointments include ARC Medical Research Advisory Group and NHMRC Grant Review Panel membership. In the past she has served on the ARC College of Experts (2014-2017) as Editorial Board Member of the journals Allergy, Scientific Reports and Respiratory Research; on NHMRC Grant Review Panels (including Chair of NHMRC ECF Training Fellowships 2012-2013), Associate Dean (Research) (2006-2010), and Executive Director and Honorary Secretary of the Australian Society for Medical Research (2005-2007). Alaina is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (2022).
Job Titles:
- Distinguished Professor
- Head of the Respiratory Cellular and Molecular Biology Group
Distinguished Professor Oliver is a translational researcher whose research programs span basic to clinical research.
Job Titles:
- Asthma Research Executive Director of the Woolcock Institute of Medical Research and Respiratory Researcher
- Executive Director of the Woolcock Institute of Medical Research
- Executive Director of the Woolcock Institute of Medical Research and Respiratory Researcher
Professor Carol Armour is the Executive Director of the Woolcock Institute of Medical Research. She has worked in asthma research at a basic scientific and clinical level. Her investigations span the breadth of asthma research from the cellular mechanisms to the translation of new ways to treat asthma within the health system.
She is on the Australian Respiratory Council, The National Asthma Council and has chaired the National Asthma Monitoring Advisory Committee, worked on the National Therapeutic Guidelines and the Australian Medicines Handbook.
From 2003 to 2006 she was a member of the NHMRC Research Committee and was the Chair of the Training Awards Committee. She was Pro Vice Chancellor, Research, at The University of Sydney, from 2006 to 2009. In 2005, she was made a Fellow of the Pharmaceutical Society for her services to the profession and awarded the Australasian Pharmaceutical Science Association (APSA) medal for research in 2007. She was made a Payne-Scott Professor by The University of Sydney in 2018. She was made a Member of the Order of Australia for significant services to medical education in the 2019 Honours list.
In 2020, Carol was awarded the prestigious Eureka Prize for Outstanding Mentor of Young Researchers, in recognition of her lifelong passion for mentoring and career development of staff and students.
Committed to respiratory research, particularly in the causes and mechanisms of asthma
Job Titles:
- Biomedical Scientist / Professor of Epigenetics ( UTS )
- Professor
- Professor of Epigenetics ( UTS )
Professor Chris O'Neill is a physiologist by training. He received his PhD from the University of Newcastle (NSW). After undertaking brief post-doctoral training posts in the School of Veterinary Science, University of Sydney and the Institute of Zoology, London, he took on the direction of the Human Reproduction Unit at Royal North Shore Hospital, Sydney. There, he pioneered many of the current techniques in assisted reproductive technologies and developed one of the world's leading treatment centres for infertility. He was until recently the Professor for Reproductive and Developmental Medicine at the University of Sydney, and Head of the Centre for Regenerative and Developmental Medicine within the Kolling Institute for Medical Research. He is now Professor of Epigenetics within the School of Life Sciences at the University of Technology, Sydney, and is a member of the Charles Perkins Centre.
His current research focusses on the impacts that the intrauterine environment experienced by the embryo and foetus have on an individual's whole-of-life health trajectory. In particular, he studies how these events change the pattern of expression of genes that influence the predisposition of individuals to developing chronic diseases, including respiratory, cardiac, and metabolic diseases.
Chris has held generous continuous competitive research funding throughout his career, and has a record of extensive collaboration with industry, philanthropic and advocacy groups. He has held many consultative and advisory posts with government agencies and industry and is a Fellow of the Society for Reproductive Biology. He is most proud of the many postgraduate students and trainees that have passed through his lab who now make important contributions to Australian society.
An international leader in respiratory research who has enriched research and scientific collaborations
Job Titles:
- Associate Professor
- Research Leader of Insomnia
Associate Professor Christopher Gordon is a Research Leader of Insomnia, Chronobiology and Industry Collaboration at the Woolcock Institute of Medical Research and a nurse academic in the Faculty of Medicine and Health at the University of Sydney. He leads a multidisciplinary Insomnia research program focusing on understanding the pathophysiology of Insomnia and developing and conducting randomised controlled trials of new digital insomnia therapies and non-pharmacological chronotherapies for treatment of circadian rhythm disruptions.
A/Prof Gordon worked as clinical nurse specialist for 11 years in Intensive Care at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital. He completed his PhD in 2010 examining thermal and cardiovascular mechanistic physiology.
He has developed the largest insomnia database in Australia with the most comprehensive collection of clinical, psychophysiological and treatment measures. As well, he has extensive experience in fostering and developing industry-academic partnerships across a range of research areas.
Associate Professor Craig Phillips (Macquarie University - Faculty of Medicine, Health and Human Sciences, Macquarie Medical School) is an NHMRC Research Fellow at the Woolcock Institute of Medical Research. Most of his research has focussed on understanding how obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) treatment impacts cardio-metabolic health using rigorously-designed randomised controlled trials.
Job Titles:
- International Leader in Pulmonary Drug Delivery and Leads the Respiratory Technology Group
- Professor in Respiratory Science
International leader in pulmonary drug delivery and leads the Respiratory Technology Group
Daniela Traini is Professor in Respiratory Science and NHMRC Investigator (2020-2024) at the Faculty of Medicine, Health and Human Sciences (Department of Biomedical Sciences), Macquarie University, based at the Respiratory Technology Group, Woolcock Institute of Medical Research.
She has over 20 years of experience in inhalation drug development, with a focus on particle engineering and drug delivery. She completed her PhD in Pharmaceutics in 2005 and has since led a research team at the University of Sydney (2005-2021) and at Macquarie University since 2021.
Dr D'Rozario, BSc (Hons) PhD RPSGT is a Senior Research Fellow, School of Psychology, University of Sydney. She established and heads the Facility for High-density Electroencephalography (EEG) Sleep Investigation and the Sleep Neurobiology Research Theme at the Woolcock Institute. She is a Chief Investigator on the NHMRC Centre of Research Excellence to Optimise Sleep in Brain Ageing and Neurodegeneration (CogSleep CRE, 2019-23) where she leads the EEG Biomarker Discovery Program. She was awarded an NHMRC-ARC Dementia Research Development Fellowship (2016-20) to investigate links between abnormal brain activity during sleep and cognitive decline in older adults.
She trained as a sleep technologist at St Thomas' Hospital (London, UK), and later commenced her PhD in Sleep Medicine at The University of Sydney. She was a recipient of the prestigious NHMRC Dora Lush Priority PhD Scholarship to examine novel brain biomarkers of cognitive dysfunction and sleepiness in obstructive sleep apnea. In 2017, she received the Helen Bearpark Memorial Scholarship from the Australasian Sleep Association (ASA), the peak national body for sleep health and sleep medicine. She is an active member of the ASA Research Committee and the University of Sydney Human Research Ethics Committee.
Job Titles:
- Sleep Researcher With Expertise in Sleep Clinical Trials
Dr Hoyos graduated with a PhD from the University of Sydney and is a researcher at the Woolcock Institute of Medical Research and School of Psychology, the Brain and Mind Centre and the Charles Perkins Centre at the University of Sydney. She currently holds a National Heart Foundation Future Leader Fellowship. Dr Hoyos has a research interest in whether reversing sleep problems with various therapies leads to reduced risk and impact of diabetes, heart disease and dementia.
Dr Hoyos's expertise includes clinical research in the area of sleep medicine, particularly the design, conduct and reporting of randomised controlled trials. She maintains active participation in the activities of the American Thoracic Society as Chair of the Sleep, Respiratory and Neurobiology Assembly Program Committee for the 2020-21 conferences and as a member of the Australasian Sleep Association Research Committee.
Job Titles:
- Expert in Aerosol Drug Delivery and Research Leader in Respiratory Technology
Dr Hui Xin Ong (YY) holds a Bachelor of Pharmacy (Hons) and a PhD in Pharmaceutical Science from the University of Sydney. Her research is focused on developing pharmaceutical and medical device technologies that can be used for the treatment of respiratory and infectious diseases, and methodological platforms that can help promote the translation of new discoveries to clinical practice.
Dr Ong's expertise lies in the study of the dynamic interactions between the different biological barriers in the respiratory tract and aerosol particles in a representative manner that captures the true nature of aerosol interactions in the lung. Her research is currently a blend of basic, applied and clinical disciplines.
Dr Ong's work with diverse renowned experts from academia and industry partners has lead to the development of various state-of-the-art pharmaceutical formulations and an outstanding publication record in leading journals in the field.
In 2014 she was awarded the prestigious European Respiratory Society-European Lung Foundation Fellow to work at the University of Southampton (UK). As an emerging leader in the field she has secured approximately $3 million for research projects, infrastructure and education with competitive national and international grants since 2015.
Dr Ong's well-rounded experience in industry-focused research and education, applied and clinical research aims to translate her research into commercial outcomes that will benefit the healthcare sector and community.
Job Titles:
- Solicitor in a Private Law Firm With Wide Ranging Experience and Medical Knowledge for Doctors in Civil Litigation
Fiona Campbell was admitted to practice law as a solicitor in the Supreme Court of New South Wales in 1993. She is currently a solicitor in private practice at Vizzone Ruggero Twigg Lawyers (1997 -) specialising in plaintiff medical negligence and other personal injury litigation. Fiona has a particular interest in psychiatric injury and forensic mental health. She has conducted many cases for plaintiffs in numerous areas of medical specialties including orthopaedic surgery, obstetrics, maternal-foetal medicine, neurosurgery, infectious diseases, ophthalmic surgery and oncology. Prior to her employment with VRT Lawyers Fiona commenced her legal career at Blake Dawson Waldron (now Ashurst) where she joined the insurance (Medical Defence) practice group acting for a large medical indemnity insurer, United Medical Defence. Fiona gained wide ranging experience and medical knowledge acting for doctors in civil litigation as well as disciplinary and Health Care Complaints Commission proceedings.
A Pulmonologist and Epidemiologist with a primary research interest in tuberculosis
A clinician-researcher with expertise in lung physiology and complex lung function
Job Titles:
- Head of the Respiratory and Environmental Epidemiology Group
- Professor
Professor Guy Marks AO FAHMS is a respiratory and public health physician and environmental epidemiologist. His main research interests are in chronic respiratory disease (asthma and COPD), tuberculosis and the adverse health effects of exposure to air pollution. He is Scientia Professor in the School of Clinical Medicine, Discipline of Medicine, South Western Sydney Campus at UNSW Sydney and a physician in the Department of Respiratory Medicine at Liverpool Hospital. He is currently an NHMRC Senior Principal Research Fellow. He is head of the Respiratory and Environmental Epidemiology group at the Woolcock Institute of Medical Research, co-leader of Woolcock Vietnam, and an Honorary Professor at The University of Sydney (Sydney Medical School).
His other major role is as President (and interim Executive Director) of the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (The Union).
In 2020 Guy was elected to Fellowship of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences. In 2022 he was awarded an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) for distinguished service to respiratory medicine and research, and to tertiary education.
Chair of the Science Committee of the Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) focussed on better control of asthma
Job Titles:
- Company Secretary With over 40 Years' Experience Within the Financial Services Industry
A world-renowned specialist in Pulmonology and the editor-in-chief of the New England Medical Journal
An international leader in respiratory research with a passion for career development of the next generation of research leaders
Job Titles:
- Director of the Woolcock Centre for Lung Cancer Research
- Professor
- Research Leader at the Woolcock Institute of Medical Research
Professor Maija Kohonen-Corish is a Research Leader at the Woolcock Institute of Medical Research and Professor at Macquarie University. She was appointed head of the Woolcock Centre for Lung Cancer in 2019. She leads the Lung Cancer Network and a research program on harnessing the microbiome in the treatment of lung cancer, in collaboration with Microbiome Research Centre UNSW, Chris O'Brien Lifehouse, Royal Prince Alfred and other hospitals.
Maija completed a BSc and MSc at the University of Helsinki in Finland. This was followed by a PhD at John Curtin School of Medical Research in Canberra. There she established one of the first laboratories in Australia to identify inherited gene defects in Lynch Syndrome. Subsequently, she was a Cancer Institute NSW Fellow and the head of lung and colon cancer research at the Garvan Institute of Medical Research until 2017.
Maija is a Human Genetics Society of Australasia-certified molecular geneticist (MHGSA) with a track record of discovery in basic and translational research in lung and colorectal cancer. Her team has identified new biomarkers of prognosis and therapeutic responsiveness, which have improved the clinical management of patients. Maija is a member of the Variant Interpretation Committee of the International Society for Gastrointestinal Hereditary Tumours, which produces international guidelines on how to interpret the pathogenicity of Lynch Syndrome gene variants.
Former Governor of NSW and former Chancellor of the University of Sydney
Job Titles:
- FRACP / Director
- Head of Respiratory Medicine at Concord Hospital, Sydney
Professor Matthew Peters is a Respiratory Physician and Head of Respiratory Medicine at Concord Hospital. He holds academic appointments at Macquarie University and The University of Sydney. He has long had an interest in preventative health and was Chair of Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) for many years. He is a past President of the Thoracic Society of Australia and New Zealand.
He has research interests in respiratory physiology and the pulmonary and cardiac responses to hypoxia. A recent focus is health professional and community education to avoid current and future harms related to electronic cigarette use.
He was made a Member of the Order of Australia for significant services to medical education in the 2019 Honours list.
Job Titles:
- Independent Non - Executive Director
Ms Julie Osborne has extensive experience across a range of sectors including in excess of 25 years in financial services. She currently chairs the Board of Assetinsure Pty Limited and serves as a non-executive director on the Boards of Auto & General Insurance Company Limited, NSW Crown Holiday Parks Land Manager and Regional Australia Bank Ltd. Julie previously consulted to KPMG in the Audit, Assurance and Risk Consulting Division regarding the strategic alignment of capability and business development.
In her executive career, Julie was an Executive Director at Westpac Banking Corporation for 15 years where she led the Structured Finance business within the Treasury Division and served on various Westpac Group subsidiary companies in Australia and the United States.
Julie is a past member of the Police Bank Limited and Summerland Financial Services Limited boards and the Starlight Children's Foundation NSW Advisory Board.
Job Titles:
- Associate Professor
- Deputy Editor of the Journal of Sleep Research
Associate Professor Marshall has over 15 years' practical experience in designing, running, analysing, reporting and reviewing both pharmacological and non-pharmacological studies in sleep medicine.
Job Titles:
- Research Leader
- Researcher
- Conjoint Professor
- Professor
Conjoint Professor Paul Robinson is a clinician-researcher and Research Leader within the Airway Physiology and Imaging Group. He is the Deputy Director of the Children's Health Environment Program within the Child Health Research Centre (CHRC) at the University of Queensland and Senior Staff Specialist in Respiratory and Sleep Medicine at the Queensland Children's Hospital in Brisbane.
Conjoint Professor Robinson has led the development and standardisation of novel measures of lung function across the entire ranges from infancy onwards, facilitating the development of commercial equipment available for widespread use. His standing as and international expert, both in terms of clinical and research experience, has led to broader leadership roles at national and international levels.
Job Titles:
- International Expert in the Field of Inhalation Technology and Leads the Respiratory Technology Group
- Professor of Respiratory Technology at the Woolcock Medical Research Institute
International expert in the field of inhalation technology and leads the Respiratory Technology Group
Paul Young is Professor of Respiratory Technology at the Woolcock Medical Research Institute and has over 25 years' experience in the area of respiratory product characterisation, formulation, development and commercialisation.
Paul is additionally Professor of Commercialisation at Macquarie Business School, where he specialises in commercialisation, entrepreneurship, pharmaceutical, MedTech and deep-tech business creation. Paul has held academic roles as the Inaugural Chair of commercialisation at the University of Sydney and Deputy Executive Director of the Woolcock Institute of Medical Research.
Paul is a strong believer in building an entrepreneurial and translation-focused ecosystem in Australia. He is on the Executive Board of Accelerating Australia. He is also a Director of Biodseign.Sydney and co-director of Sydney SPARK, two multidisciplinary training programs that support the development of innovative medical devices and therapeutics. These programs have already seen the formation of a number of spin-off companies and significant pharma license deals for commercialisation.
Paul has established, or is on the board of directors of, numerous small-medium enterprises, including Nanopharm UK Ltd (founder and director 2000-2007), OzUK Ltd (Director 2016-), and Pivot Innovations (Director 2021-). Paul is Chief Executive officer of Ab Initio Pharma Pty Ltd, a pharmaceutical research and development company specialising in the formulation and good manufacturing practice (GMP) production of pharmaceutical products in Australia.
Job Titles:
- Consultant
- Physician
- Professor
- Senior Staff Specialist at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital
Pioneer in sleep medicine in Australia, heading up the Sleep and Circadian Research Group
Professor Ron Grunstein has been a consultant physician in sleep disorders for over 30 years and a pioneer in improving patient care in sleep medicine in Australia and internationally. He currently holds an Investigator Leadership Level 3 award from the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC's highest level research appointment).
Ron is currently a Senior Staff Specialist at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital and Professor of Sleep Medicine at the University of Sydney. He heads the Sleep and Circadian Research Group at the Woolcock Institute of Medical Research and was Chief Investigator A on three successive NHMRC Centres of Research Excellence (2004-2018).
From 2007-2011, Professor Grunstein served as President of the World Sleep Federation, the roof body for sleep researchers and clinicians internationally organising successful world congresses in Cairns and Kyoto. He was awarded the Australasian Sleep Association Distinguished Achievement Award in 2010, the Kleitman Award, the premier award of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine in 2011, and the Royal Prince Alfred Foundation Medal for Excellence in Medical Research in 2012. In 2014, he received the Distinguished Professor Award from the Sydney Medical School. Professor Grunstein was named Fellow of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences in October 2021, and Fellow of the Thoracic Society of Australia and New Zealand in April 2022.
Professor Grunstein is the most published sleep researcher in Australia and has over 414 publications (including book chapters). He has a Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery and MD degrees from The University of Sydney and a PhD from the University of Gothenburg in Sweden. He was made a Member of the Order of Australia for significant services to medical research and education in the 2019 Honours list.
Job Titles:
- Senior Partner, McKinsey & Company, Sydney
Job Titles:
- President of the Respiratory Effectiveness Group
- Professor
An internationally recognised leader in quality use of medicines in respiratory research
Sinthia is President of the Respiratory Effectiveness Group (REG), Executive Director of ARIA (Allergic Rhinitis in Asthma), Chair of Pharmacy ARIA, and Chair of the Primary Care SIG of the Thoracic Society of Australia and New Zealand. She is on the editorial board of several prestigious international respiratory journals, including the European Respiratory, European Respiratory Journal Monograph and The Medical Republic (Australia's most widely circulated GP newsletter). She sits on several global pharmaceutical industry advisory boards associated with the use of medicines in the management of respiratory diseases.
Job Titles:
- Research Executive
- Professor