Research Seminar Series

UQ School of Biomedical Sciences Research Seminar Series

The School of Biomedical Sciences (SBMS) Research Seminar Series presents seminars by international and national researchers, local researchers, and postdocs.

Unless otherwise indicated, seminars are held at:

3.00 PM AEST every second Friday

Steele Building, Room 206 or Forgan Smith Building, Room 01-E109

Contacts

Dr Sean Coakley

s.coakley@uq.edu.au

Dr Pranesh Padmanabhan

p.padmanabhan@uq.edu.au

Upcoming sessions
Past sessions

Dr Kaska Koltowska (Uppsala University)

20 March 2026 3:00pm–4:00pm

in Research Seminar Series

Professor Andrew Rice (Imperial College London)

10 April 2026 3:00pm–4:00pm

in Research Seminar Series

Professor Sharad Kumar (Adelaide University)

15 May 2026 3:00pm–4:00pm

in Research Seminar Series

HDR exit seminars

29 May 2026 3:00pm–4:00pm

in Research Seminar Series

Professor Darryl Russell (Adelaide University)

12 June 2026 3:00pm–4:00pm

in Research Seminar Series

Associate Professor Joy Wolfram (University of Queensland)

26 June 2026 3:00pm–4:00pm

in Research Seminar Series

Professor Brian Key (University of Queensland)

24 July 2026 3:00pm–4:00pm

in Research Seminar Series

Associate Professor Elizabeth Hinde (University of Melbourne)

21 August 2026 3:00pm–4:00pm

in Research Seminar Series

Professor Garron Dodd (University of Melbourne)

18 September 2026 3:00pm–4:00pm

in Research Seminar Series

HDR exit seminars

16 October 2026 3:00pm–4:00pm

in Research Seminar Series

Professor Gabrielle Belz (Frazer Institute)

6 March 2026 3:00pm–4:00pm

in Research Seminar Series

Associate Professor Eliot Peyster (Wesley Research Institute)

20 February 2026 3:00pm–4:00pm

in Research Seminar Series

Professor Nils Halberg (QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute)

7 November 2025 3:00pm–4:00pm

in Research Seminar Series

1st UQ Quantitative Biology Symposium

24 October 2025 3:00pm–4:00pm

in Research Seminar Series

Dr John Lin (University of Tasmania)

26 September 2025 3:00pm–4:00pm

in Research Seminar Series

Professor Luca Cocchi (QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute)

12 September 2025 3:00pm–4:00pm

in Research Seminar Series

Associate Professor Kylie Dunning (The University of Adelaide)

29 August 2025 3:00pm–4:00pm

in Research Seminar Series

Dr Justin Rustenhoven (University of Auckland)

15 August 2025 3:00pm–4:00pm

in Research Seminar Series

Professor Melinda Coughlan (Monash University)

18 July 2025 3:00pm–4:00pm

in Research Seminar Series

Mini-symposium: Translational Neuroimaging

24 June 2025 10:00am–12:00pm

in Research Seminar Series

HDR Exit Seminars

20 June 2025 3:00pm–4:00pm

in Research Seminar Series

Professor Gordon Lynch (University of Melbourne)

23 May 2025 3:00pm–4:00pm

in Research Seminar Series

Professor Brad Launikonis (SBMS, UQ)

9 May 2025 3:00pm–4:00pm

in Research Seminar Series

Professor Laura Piccio (University of Sydney)

28 March 2025 3:00pm–4:00pm

in Research Seminar Series

Dr James McNamara (Murdoch Children's Research Insitute)

14 March 2025 3:00pm–4:00pm

in Research Seminar Series

The nanoscale synapse: a dynamic view

28 February 2025 3:00pm–4:00pm

in Research Seminar Series

Presented by Professor Fred Meunier (QBI, UQ)

Extracellular vesicles as biomarkers for tissue-specific disease monitoring

14 February 2025 3:00pm–4:00pm

in Research Seminar Series

Presented by Dr Richard Lobb (AIBN, UQ)

Dr Meng Law

8 December 2023 3:00pm–4:00pm

in Research Seminar Series

Monash University

Dr Mathew Jones

24 November 2023 3:00pm–4:00pm

in Research Seminar Series

School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, Frazer Institute

Proteome-wide systems genetics and functional genomics identifies UFMylation as a regulator of muscle function

27 October 2023 3:00pm–4:00pm

in Research Seminar Series

Presented by Associate Professor Ben Parker, University of Melbourne

Associate Professor Shyuan Ngo

13 October 2023 3:00pm–4:00pm

in Research Seminar Series

Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology

Dr Merja Joensuu

15 September 2023 3:00pm–4:00pm

in Research Seminar Series

Queensland Brain Institute

Professor Mark Schembri

1 September 2023 3:00pm–4:00pm

in Research Seminar Series

Institute for Molecular Bioscience

Understanding life, the uterus, and everything

28 August 2023 3:00pm–4:00pm

in Research Seminar Series

Presented by Professor Niamh Forde, Leeds Institute of Cardiovascular and Metabolic Medicine

Understanding Receptor Pharmacology - NMR-Inspired Studies of GPCR Activation

25 August 2023 3:00pm–4:00pm

in Research Seminar Series

Presented by Professor R. Scott Prosse, University of Toronto

Associate Professor Kate Poole

4 August 2023 3:00pm–4:00pm

in Research Seminar Series

UNSW

Dr Snehlata Kumari

21 July 2023 3:00pm–4:00pm

in Research Seminar Series

Frazer Institute

Associate Professor Silvia Velassco

23 June 2023 3:00pm–4:00pm

in Research Seminar Series

Murdoch Children's Research Institute

Professor Nat Hannan

9 June 2023 3:00pm–4:00pm

in Research Seminar Series

University of Melbourne

Inflammation in acute respiratory viral infection: how does our innate immune system sense and respond to viruses?

26 May 2023 3:00pm–4:00pm

in Research Seminar Series

Presented by Dr Larisa Labzin, UQ

Bringing back the dead to protect the future: deextinction of the Tasmanian tiger

12 May 2023 3:00pm–4:00pm

in Research Seminar Series

Presented by Professor Andy Pask, University of Melbourne

Developmental biology & stem cells: A love/hate relationship

28 April 2023 3:00pm–4:00pm

in Research Seminar Series

Presented by Dr Nigel Kee, UQ

Biomedical Sciences Research Seminar Series

Lipophilic potassium channel activators

31 March 2023 3:00pm–4:00pm

in Research Seminar Series

Speaker: Professor Fredrik Elinder, Department of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences, Linköping University

Genome maintenance – from meiosis to the embryo

3 March 2023 3:00pm–4:00pm

in Research Seminar Series

Speaker: A/Prof Phil Jordan Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Departments, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health and Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences

Using statistics to understand biology at single cell resolution

17 February 2023 3:00pm–4:00pm

in Research Seminar Series

Speaker: A/Prof Jessica Mar, Group Leader, AIBN UQ

Developmental biology of the heart: Building a ticker fit for function

2 February 2023 3:00pm–4:00pm

in Research Seminar Series

Speaker: A/Prof Kelly Smith, Department of Physiology, University of Melbourne

Associate Professor Louise Cheng

9 September 2022 2:00pm–3:00pm

in Research Seminar Series

Professor Brett Collins

26 August 2022 2:00pm–3:00pm

in Research Seminar Series

Honorary Professor Vicki Clifton

12 August 2022 2:00pm–3:00pm

in Research Seminar Series

Dr Anne Lagendijk

29 July 2022 2:00pm–3:00pm

in Research Seminar Series

Professor Glenn King

15 July 2022 2:00pm–3:00pm

in Research Seminar Series

Dr Lachlan Harris

17 June 2022 2:00pm–3:00pm

in Research Seminar Series

Equity in Australian STEMM: what are the issues and potential solutions?

3 June 2022 2:00pm–3:00pm

in Research Seminar Series

Presented by Professor Louise Purton

Molecular insights into novel targeting of GPCRs

6 May 2022 2:00pm–3:00pm

in Research Seminar Series

Presented by Chris Draper-Joyce, The Florey Institute of Neuroscience & Mental Health

Cross-species comparisons of decision-making and psychosis

22 April 2022 2:00pm–3:00pm

in Research Seminar Series

Presented by Dr James Kesby, QBI

The role of extracellular matrix signalling in blood vessel development and disease

25 March 2022 11:00am–12:00pm

in Research Seminar Series

Presented by Anne Langendijk

Toward an understanding of how sleep and physical activity influence pain

11 March 2022 2:00pm–3:00pm

in Research Seminar Series

Presented by David Klyne

Targeting the gut microbiota– a new therapy for T1D?

25 February 2022 2:00pm–3:00pm

in Research Seminar Series

Presented by Emma Hamilton-Williams

Enhancer Loss and Gene Dosage Sensitivity Drives a Human Craniofacial Disorder - Dr Hannah K. Long, Sir Henry Wellcome Fellow, Stanford University, CA, USA

30 November 2020 1:00pm–2:00pm

in Research Seminar Series

Different role of complement system in motor neuron disease - Dr John Lee (Career Track Fellow of the School of Biomedical Sciences)

23 November 2020 1:00pm–2:00pm

in Research Seminar Series

RA signalling is critical for healthy testis development and a site of vulnerability to environmental chemicals

16 November 2020 1:00pm–2:00pm

in Research Seminar Series

Dr Cassy Spiller, Career Track Fellow of the School of Biomedical Sciences

Novel approaches to discover new peptides for orphan G protein-coupled receptors - Dr Simon Foster, Cardiac Bioengineering Group at QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute.

9 November 2020 1:00pm–2:00pm

in Research Seminar Series

Taming Inflammation and/or Cell Death in Cardiometabolic Diseases - Dr Denuja Karunakaran, IMB Fellow/Team Leader, Institute for Molecular Bioscience

26 October 2020 1:00pm–2:00pm

in Research Seminar Series

Marsupials illuminate human brain development and function in health and disease- Dr. Rodrigo Suarez, UQ Amplify Fellow, Queensland Brain Institute

19 October 2020 1:00pm–2:00pm

in Research Seminar Series

Microfluidics as flexible tools for biomedical research

12 October 2020 1:00pm–2:00pm

in Research Seminar Series

Decoding human liver maturation to advance current stem cell models

21 September 2020 1:00pm–2:00pm

in Research Seminar Series

Speaker: Dr Sarah Withey (AIBN, UQ)
Chair: Associate Professor Jo Bowles

Mechanisms of basal forebrain degeneration in Alzheimer’s disease

9 March 2020 1:00pm–2:00pm

in Research Seminar Series

Presented by Professor Elizabeth Coulson, School of Biomedical Sciences, The University of Queensland

Degeneration of ALS mouse neuromuscular junctions by a loss of synapse organizer and a treatment using human mesenchymal stem cells

2 December 2019 1:00pm–2:00pm

in Research Seminar Series

Presented by Dr Hiroshi Nishimune, University of Kansas

Please note venue change to 63-348.

Individual muscle coordination signatures: Origins and consequences

25 November 2019 1:00pm–2:00pm

in Research Seminar Series

Presented by François Hug, Nantes University, France

Please note venue change to 63-358.

Hippo-YAP signalling in development and cancer

11 November 2019 11:30am–12:15pm

in Research Seminar Series

Presented by Professor Barry Thompson, John Curtin School of Medical Research, Australian National University (ANU)

Germ cell pluripotency control: developmental mechanisms underlying fertility and disease

Cancelled

28 October 2019 1:00pm–2:00pm

in Research Seminar Series

Presented by Dr Cassy Spiller, Career Track Award

Defining the tissue resident vascular stem cell niche

21 October 2019 12:00pm–1:00pm

in Research Seminar Series

Presented by Dr Jatin Patel, Lab Head, Vascular Regeneration Group, The University of Queensland Diamantina Institute
Please note time change to 12-1pm and venue change to 50-T203

Development of novel cancer cell killing and anti-migratory agents based on omega-3-fatty acid epoxides

14 October 2019 12:00pm–1:00pm

in Research Seminar Series

Presented by Professor Michael Murray, University of Sydney
Please note time change to 12-1pm and venue change to 03-309

Navigating the sequence space of Bcl-2-binding peptides

16 September 2019 12:00pm–1:00pm

in Research Seminar Series

Presented by Professor Amy E. Keating, Professor of Biology and Biological Engineering, MIT

Understanding students’ metacognition to support learning of biomedical science

9 September 2019 1:00pm–2:00pm

in Research Seminar Series

Presented by Dr Kay Colthorpe, Senior Lecturer, School of Biomedical Sciences

Epithelial Mesenchymal Plasticity Dynamics in Human Breast Cancer Model Systems

26 August 2019 12:00pm–1:00pm

in Research Seminar Series

Presented by Professor Rik Thompson, Associate Director, Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation (IHBI) and Professor in Breast Cancer Research, School of Biomedical Sciences, QUT

Triple-negative breast cancer and targeted therapy: Why such complexity?

19 August 2019 12:00pm–1:00pm

in Research Seminar Series

Presented by Dr Murugan Kalimutho, Senior Research Officer, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute

Glioblastoma cells vampirize WNT from neurons and trigger a JNK/MMP signaling loop that enhances glioblastoma progression and neurodegeneration

12 August 2019 12:00pm–1:00pm

in Research Seminar Series

Presented by Dr Marta Portela Esteban, La Trobe University

Protein regulation at atomic resolution: Insights into protein posttranslational modifications using NMR spectroscopy

5 August 2019 12:00pm–1:00pm

in Research Seminar Series

Presented by Dr Anne Conibear, UQ Development Fellow, School of Biomedical Sciences

Using patch clamp electrophysiology to elucidate the molecular mechanisms for the induction of arrhythmias

29 July 2019 1:00pm–2:00pm

in Research Seminar Series

Presented by Professor Livia Hool, Head of the Cardiovascular Electrophysiology Laboratory in the School of Human Sciences, University of Western Australia

Recycling to save the cell: retromer, endosomes & disease

17 June 2019 1:00pm–2:00pm

in Research Seminar Series

Presented by Associate Professor Rohan Teasdale, School of Biomedical Sciences

Patterns, Profiles, and Parsimony: dissecting transcriptional signatures from minimal single-cell RNA-seq output with SALSA

3 June 2019 1:00pm–2:00pm

in Research Seminar Series

Presented by Dr Kathryn McClelland, Visiting Fellow, Developmental Genomics Section, Laboratory of Cellular and Developmental Biology, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK/NIH)

Using gene therapy technologies to study and treat skeletal muscle

27 May 2019 1:00pm–2:00pm

in Research Seminar Series

Presented by Associate Professor Paul Gregorevic, The University of Melbourne

Auxiliary brain fuels – new treatments for epilepsy?

20 May 2019 1:00pm–2:00pm

in Research Seminar Series

Presented by Associate Professor Karin Borges

Energy homeostasis, disease progression and survival - tipping the scales on MND

15 April 2019 1:00pm–2:00pm

in Research Seminar Series

Presented by Dr Shyuan Ngo and Dr Frederik Steyn

How close are we to providing personalised medicine in diabetes?

8 April 2019 1:00pm–2:00pm

in Research Seminar Series

Presented by Associate Professor Sof Andrikopoulos, University of Melbourne

Heads or Tails: the regulatory logic of cell identity in the nervous system

1 April 2019 1:00pm–2:00pm

in Research Seminar Series

Presented by Dr Vicki Metzis, The Francis Crick Institute, London

Australasian Chronobiology Meeting

15 October 2018 1:00pm–2:00pm

in Research Seminar Series

Heart failure 2020: In search of solutions

8 October 2018 1:00pm–2:00pm

in Research Seminar Series

Regulation of cellular pathways

17 September 2018 1:00pm–2:00pm

in Research Seminar Series

Improving monoclonal antibody therapies in advanced cancer

10 September 2018 1:00pm–2:00pm

in Research Seminar Series

CIPDD - overview of the Centre for Integrated Preclinical Drug Development (CIPDD)

3 September 2018 1:00pm–2:00pm

in Research Seminar Series

Development of the hypothalamus

17 August 2018 1:00pm–2:00pm

in Research Seminar Series

A smorgasbord of New Frontiers in heart failure therapies: A cardiologist’s perspective

6 August 2018 1:00pm–2:00pm

in Research Seminar Series

Speaker: Dr Scott McKenzie (The Prince Charles Hospital, Brisbane)

Synthetic biology and the principal agent problem

23 July 2018 1:00pm–2:00pm

in Research Seminar Series

Speaker: Professor Kirill Alexandrov (Institute for Molecular Bioscience, UQ)

Calcium regulation and the cytoskeleton: how does calcium control cell motility

16 July 2018 1:00pm–2:00pm

in Research Seminar Series

Speaker: Professor Lisa Foa (University of Tasmania, Hobart)

RNAi therapies for cancer treatment: From target discovery to therapeutic intervention

4 June 2018 1:00pm–2:00pm

in Research Seminar Series

Presented by Dr Sherry Wu

Protecting the heart and kidneys in diabetes mellitus

28 May 2018 1:00pm–2:00pm

in Research Seminar Series

Presented by Dr Linda Gallo

Novel pathomechanisms and treatment strategies for Alzheimer's disease

21 May 2018 1:00pm–2:00pm

in Research Seminar Series

Presented by Professor Juergen Goetz, QBI

Understanding placental regulation of pregnancy complications and programmed disease

14 May 2018 1:00pm–2:00pm

in Research Seminar Series

Presented by Dr James Cuffe

Complexities in angiotensin receptor signalling and implications for cardiovascular control

30 April 2018 1:00pm–2:00pm

in Research Seminar Series

Make do and make new: how zebrafish rapidly regenerates spinal cord injury

16 April 2018 1:00pm–2:00pm

in Research Seminar Series

Imaging of Neuroinflammation

26 March 2018 1:00pm–2:00pm

in Research Seminar Series

Amelia Armstrong (RHD student)

19 March 2018 1:00pm–2:00pm

in Research Seminar Series

Lighting the pathway: Insights into neural circuitry of motivation and movement disorders

27 November 2017 1:00pm–2:00pm

in Research Seminar Series

Lighting the pathway: Insights into neural circuitry of motivation and movement disorders

Single Molecule Neuroscience

20 November 2017 1:00pm–2:00pm

in Research Seminar Series

Single Molecule Neuroscience

Single stranded DNA binding proteins: Stems Cells, Development, Cancer and more

13 November 2017 1:00pm–2:00pm

in Research Seminar Series

Single stranded DNA binding proteins: Stems Cells, Development, Cancer and more

Targeting the IGF1-PI3K pathway in the failing heart: Translating studies from mice to humans

30 October 2017 1:00pm–2:00pm

in Research Seminar Series

Targeting the IGF1-PI3K pathway in the failing heart: Translating studies from mice to humans

Development, maturation and self-assembly of neurons derived human pluripotent stem cells

23 October 2017 1:00pm–2:00pm

in Research Seminar Series

Development, maturation and self-assembly of neurons derived human pluripotent stem cells.

Calcium and the cytoskeleton: guiding axons

16 October 2017 1:00pm–2:00pm

in Research Seminar Series

Calcium and the cytoskeleton: guiding axons

Get your (microtubule) motor running: Molecular insights into cargo recognition and transport by kinesin-1

9 October 2017 1:00pm–2:00pm

in Research Seminar Series

Get your (microtubule) motor running: Molecular insights into cargo recognition and transport by kinesin-1.

Acidosis, ion channels and disease

11 September 2017 1:00pm–2:00pm

in Research Seminar Series

Acidosis, ion channels and disease.

Molecular regulators of synapse development and maintenance

4 September 2017 1:00pm–2:00pm

in Research Seminar Series

Molecular regulators of synapse development and maintenance

A thalmic circuit for directional escape

21 August 2017 1:00pm–2:00pm

in Research Seminar Series

A thalmic circuit for directional escape

Hypoxia in the kidney: causes and consequences

14 August 2017 1:00pm–2:00pm

in Research Seminar Series

Hypoxia in the kidney: causes and consequences

Defective Degradation Pathways Underpinning Neurodevelopmental Disorders

7 August 2017 1:00pm–2:00pm

in Research Seminar Series

Sleep and circadian regulation: implications for alertness and health

26 June 2017 1:00pm–2:00pm

in Research Seminar Series

Presented by Shanthakumar Wilson Rajaratnam, Monash Institute of Cognitive and Clinical Neurosciences

The impact of Alzheimer's disease on blood-brain barrier transport of endogenous and exogenous molecules

19 June 2017 1:00pm–2:00pm

in Research Seminar Series

Presented by Joseph Nicolazzo, Monash Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences

Controlling pluripotency in the germline: from development to disease

12 June 2017 1:00pm–2:00pm

in Research Seminar Series

Presented by Cassy Spiller, SBMS

IL-33 underpins virus-allergen synergy in asthma onset and exacerbation

5 June 2017 1:00pm–2:00pm

in Research Seminar Series

Presented by Rhiannon Werder, SBMS

An isoform-specific role for Dscam2 at the synapse

22 May 2017 1:00pm–2:00pm

in Research Seminar Series

Presented by Dr Sean Millard, SBMS

Peripheral mechanisms of cold pain – Insights from ion channel toxins

15 May 2017 1:00pm–2:00pm

in Research Seminar Series

Presented by Dr Irina Vetter, IMB

A Synthetic Biology Approach To Next-Generation Stem Cell Research & Regenerative Medicine

8 May 2017 1:00pm–2:00pm

in Research Seminar Series

Presented by Jeremy Crook, University of Wollongong

Mechanisms underlying the establishment of the evolutionary conserved wedge-like structure of the central nervous system

5 May 2017 12:00pm–1:00pm

in Research Seminar Series

Presented by Professor Stefan Thor, Professor in Developmental Biology, Linkoping University, Sweden

Using CRISPR/Cas9 technology to identify novel cell death regulators for cancer therapy

26 April 2017 1:00pm–2:00pm

in Research Seminar Series

Marco Herold, Walter and Eliza Hall Institute

Host responses to intracellular bacterial pathogens

10 April 2017 1:00pm–2:00pm

in Research Seminar Series

Presented by Antje Blumenthal, UQ Diamantina Institute

How autotransporter proteins mediate bacterial interactions

3 April 2017 1:00pm–2:00pm

in Research Seminar Series

Presented by Dr Begona Heras - La Trobe University, Victoria

The role of shear wave elastography in quantifying musculotendinous mechanical properties: Investigations in healthy and diseased tendon and the response to eccentric exercise

13 March 2017 1:00pm–2:00pm

in Research Seminar Series

Presented by Dr Brooke Coombes