Program

Prof. David Powell Director, Monash eResearch

Professor David Powell is the Director of the Monash eResearch, where he leads initiatives to support research through digital expertise and high-end infrastructure across multiple research disciplines. Holding a PhD in Computer Science, he brings deep technical expertise to his role in research infrastructure leadership. In his previous position as Director of the Monash Bioinformatics Platform, he collaborated extensively, applying his analytical expertise to complex biological data. Before returning to Monash University in 2012, Professor Powell gained valuable industry experience leading software development teams and worked in small startup companies, where he contributed to developing innovative technological solutions.

Prof. Jacek J. Jasieniak Pro Vice-Chancellor (Research Infrastructure), Monash University

Jacek Jasieniak completed a Bachelor of Science (1st Class Honours) from Flinders University (2003, University Medal) and PhD from the University of Melbourne (2008, Chancellor’s Prize) under the supervision of Prof. Paul Mulvaney. He then undertook postdoctoral work as an OCE fellow at the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) with Dr Scott Watkins and Dr Ezio Rizzardo (2008-11) and was a Fulbright Fellow with Nobel Laureate, Prof. Alan Heeger, at the University of California Santa Barbara (2011-12). In 2012 he returned to CSIRO, progressing to a Senior Research Scientist and then Group Leader. In 2015 he moved to Monash University as an Associate Professor, where he was also appointed Director of the cross-disciplinary Monash Energy Institute. In 2020 he was promoted to Full Professor and also became the Associate Dean of Research for the Faculty of Engineering. In December 2021, Jacek was promoted to the role of Pro Vice-Chancellor (Research Infrastructure) at Monash University.

Luke Bampton Application Security Lead, Monash University

Luke Bampton is the Application Security Lead at Monash University, with over 12 years in the tech industry. He excels in vulnerability assessment, threat modelling, and secure coding, ensuring robust application security.

Luke’s career began in Application Support, transitioning to cyber security where he bridges the gap between development and security. He holds a Bachelor of Information Technology and Systems, alongside various cybersecurity certifications, reflecting his dedication to continuous learning and professional growth

Kevon Graham Information Security Specialist, Monash University

Kevon Graham is a dynamic Information Security Specialist with a strong passion for aligning application security architecture plans and processes with industry standards and business objectives. He has extensive experience in developing and testing security frameworks for cloud-based and on-premise applications, and wireless infrastructure while working within agile development environments.

Recognized for excellence in conducting comprehensive information security assessments and architecture reviews, Kevon is skilled in directing cybersecurity auditing programs along with developing network defence strategies and data protection policies. He is also adept at conducting cyber security awareness training sessions, sharing best practices for managing security testing cycles, and leading cross-functional teams to deliver secure, high-availability solutions. A proactive professional, Kevon excels at analysing security policies, identifying vulnerabilities, and implementing strategic improvements to enhance organizational security.

Prof. Rob J Hyndman Professor of Statistics, Monash University

Rob J Hyndman FAA FASSA is a Professor of Statistics in the Department of Econometrics and Business Statistics at Monash University, and an elected Fellow of both the Australian Academy of Science and the Academy of Social Sciences in Australia. He is the author of over 200 research papers and 5 books in statistical science. In 2007, he received the Moran medal from the Australian Academy of Science for his contributions to statistical research, especially in the area of statistical forecasting. In 2021, he received the Pitman medal from the Statistical Society of Australia. For over 30 years, Rob has maintained an active consulting practice, assisting hundreds of companies and organizations around the world. He has won awards for his research, teaching, consulting and graduate supervision.

Prof. Rashina Hoda Professor of Software Engineering and Associate Dean of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion, Monash University

Rashina Hoda is a Professor of Software Engineering and Associate Dean of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion at the Faculty of Information Technology, Monash University. She is an expert in qualitative empirical research and developed Socio-Technical Grounded Theory (STGT), a modern extension of sociological Grounded Theory. With nearly 20 years of experience, she investigates the human and socio-technical aspects of software engineering and artificial intelligence. Rashina has published over 150 research outputs, been awarded over $5M in research funding, received multiple awards, and serves as an Associate Editor of IEEE Transactions on Software Engineering. A champion for women in STEM, she frequently shares insights at conferences, industry events, and public platforms such as TEDx, SXSW, Agile Australia, ABC Radio National, and more, see rashina.com for more.

Damian Almeida Academic Engagement Manager, GALE ANZ

Damian Almeida is the Academic Engagement Manager at Gale ANZ based in Melbourne. He works with the Gale sales team to enhance customer engagement through technical training and promotion of Gale’s products and resources.

In this role, Damian helps customers maximize their usage of Gale resources. He conducts comprehensive product training sessions, both online and in-person, ensuring clients are well-equipped to utilise the offerings effectively. Additionally, he serves as the primary contact for Gale’s Text & Data Mining Platform, the Gale Digital Scholar Lab, with a focus on Digital Humanities.

Patrick Splawa-Neyman Research Data Governance Specialist, Monash University

Patrick Splawa-Neyman has had a decade of experience working in research data management and for the last two years in research data governance. He has worked in research data management support for two Australian universities and an open data vendor. Patrick previously ran the Introduction to Data Organisation session for researchers at Monash University and is now co-developing an online training session on the fundamentals of research data management. Patrick is particularly interested in closely engaging with researchers to provide practical solutions to tricky research data management issues. His primary aim is to support researchers so they can spend more time on research and less time on “administrivia”.

Prof. Dianne Cook Professor of Statistics in Econometrics and Business Statistics, Monash University

Dianne Cook is a Professor of Statistics in Econometrics and Business Statistics at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia. She has a PhD in Statistics from Rutgers University. Her research focuses on statistical graphics, which involves interactive visualisation of high-dimensional data, and statistical inference for data visualisation. In her role at Monash University, she regularly teaches courses on machine learning and data analysis, and she has conducted workshops on data visualisation.

Prof. Dianne Cook Professor of Statistics in Econometrics and Business Statistics, Monash University

Dianne Cook is a Professor of Statistics in Econometrics and Business Statistics at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia. She has a PhD in Statistics from Rutgers University. Her research focuses on statistical graphics, which involves interactive visualisation of high-dimensional data, and statistical inference for data visualisation. In her role at Monash University, she regularly teaches courses on machine learning and data analysis, and she has conducted workshops on data visualisation.

Prof. Dianne Cook Professor of Statistics in Econometrics and Business Statistics, Monash University

Dianne Cook is a Professor of Statistics in Econometrics and Business Statistics at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia. She has a PhD in Statistics from Rutgers University. Her research focuses on statistical graphics, which involves interactive visualisation of high-dimensional data, and statistical inference for data visualisation. In her role at Monash University, she regularly teaches courses on machine learning and data analysis, and she has conducted workshops on data visualisation.

A/Prof. Nadine Andrew Senior Researcher, Monash University and Research Data Lead, National Centre for Healthy Ageing

A/Prof Nadine Andrew is a senior researcher at Monash University and Research Data Lead for the National Centre for Healthy Ageing. She is nationally recognised as a leader in generating and translating knowledge in the application of big data to health services research through data linkage, leading a number of large grant-funded projects in this area. She is chair of the Monash Helix data linkage community of practice (M-Link), running workshops through Data Fluency, hosting bi-annual events with external speakers from government and other external organisations, and providing resources and support for Monash researchers wanting to access linked data.

A/Prof. Richard Beare Research Engineer, Monash University

Richard Beare is a research engineer with over 20 years experience in development and translation of computational methods to medical research and clinical practice. He is currently the technical lead for the National Centre for Healthy Ageing data platform, with a focus on applications of natural language processing to improve coding of electronic health record data for research purposes, and a Principal Research Fellow with the Murdoch Children's Research Institute Developmental Imaging group. Previous research areas include geospatial modelling to optimise service delivery for acute stroke, advanced tractography for paediatric neurosurgery and the use of ultra low field MRI to support randomised control trials in low and middle income countries.

Dr. Paul Harrison Bioinformatician, Monash Genomics and Bioinformatics Platform

Paul Harrison is a bioinformatician working with the Monash Genomics and Bioinformatics Platform. He received his PhD in Computer Science in 2006 at Monash University and worked for the Victorian Bioinformatics Consortium until 2014. Paul has developed several bioinformatics and data visualization packages in R, Python, and Javascript. He has also been involved in developing and running various R and bioinformatics workshops at Monash.

Dr. Andrew Perry Software Developer and Bioinformatician, Monash Genomics and Bioinformatics Platform

Andrew Perry is a software developer and bioinformatician working within the Monash Genomics and Bioinformatics Platform. He completed his PhD in 2007 studying protein structure by Nuclear Magnetic Resonance at the University of Melbourne, followed by several years as a Postdoctoral Fellow in structural biology and structural bioinformatics at Monash University. Today he works on web application and pipeline development, and various genomics analysis and biology-centric data science projects, mostly using Python, R, TypeScript, Unix shell scripting, containerization technologies and HPC.

Nitika Kandhari Bioinformatician, Monash Genomics and Bioinformatics Platform

Nitika Kandhari is a bioinformatician with extensive experience in genomics and computational biology, currently working with the Monash Genomics and Bioinformatics Platform. She earned her Master’s degree in Bioinformatics and is pursuing her PhD at Monash University's RNA Systems Biology Lab, analyzing high-throughput transcriptomic data. Additionally, Nitika has been actively involved in promoting data fluency within the scientific community at Monash, delivering workshops on programming in R, Python, Unix/CLI, and other essential data analysis and bioinformatics tools.

Adele Barugahare Bioinformatician, Monash Genomics and Bioinformatics Platform

Adele Barugahare is a bioinformatician working with the Monash Genomics and Bioinformatics Platform and Stephen Turner’s research lab. She has extensive experience with epigenetics and transcriptomics and is an experienced R programmer. Adele has helped develop, administrate and teach multiple workshops at Monash.

Dr. Paul Harrison Bioinformatician, Monash Genomics and Bioinformatics Platform

Paul Harrison is a bioinformatician working with the Monash Genomics and Bioinformatics Platform. He received his PhD in Computer Science in 2006 at Monash University and worked for the Victorian Bioinformatics Consortium until 2014. Paul has developed several bioinformatics and data visualization packages in R, Python, and Javascript. He has also been involved in developing and running various R and bioinformatics workshops at Monash.

Dr. Andrew Perry Software Developer and Bioinformatician, Monash Genomics and Bioinformatics Platform

Andrew Perry is a software developer and bioinformatician working within the Monash Genomics and Bioinformatics Platform. He completed his PhD in 2007 studying protein structure by Nuclear Magnetic Resonance at the University of Melbourne, followed by several years as a Postdoctoral Fellow in structural biology and structural bioinformatics at Monash University. Today he works on web application and pipeline development, and various genomics analysis and biology-centric data science projects, mostly using Python, R, TypeScript, Unix shell scripting, containerization technologies and HPC.

Nitika Kandhari Bioinformatician, Monash Genomics and Bioinformatics Platform

Nitika Kandhari is a bioinformatician with extensive experience in genomics and computational biology, currently working with the Monash Genomics and Bioinformatics Platform. She earned her Master’s degree in Bioinformatics and is pursuing her PhD at Monash University's RNA Systems Biology Lab, analyzing high-throughput transcriptomic data. Additionally, Nitika has been actively involved in promoting data fluency within the scientific community at Monash, delivering workshops on programming in R, Python, Unix/CLI, and other essential data analysis and bioinformatics tools.

Adele Barugahare Bioinformatician, Monash Genomics and Bioinformatics Platform

Adele Barugahare is a bioinformatician working with the Monash Genomics and Bioinformatics Platform and Stephen Turner’s research lab. She has extensive experience with epigenetics and transcriptomics and is an experienced R programmer. Adele has helped develop, administrate and teach multiple workshops at Monash.

Dr. Paul Harrison Bioinformatician, Monash Genomics and Bioinformatics Platform

Paul Harrison is a bioinformatician working with the Monash Genomics and Bioinformatics Platform. He received his PhD in Computer Science in 2006 at Monash University and worked for the Victorian Bioinformatics Consortium until 2014. Paul has developed several bioinformatics and data visualization packages in R, Python, and Javascript. He has also been involved in developing and running various R and bioinformatics workshops at Monash.

Dr. Andrew Perry Software Developer and Bioinformatician, Monash Genomics and Bioinformatics Platform

Andrew Perry is a software developer and bioinformatician working within the Monash Genomics and Bioinformatics Platform. He completed his PhD in 2007 studying protein structure by Nuclear Magnetic Resonance at the University of Melbourne, followed by several years as a Postdoctoral Fellow in structural biology and structural bioinformatics at Monash University. Today he works on web application and pipeline development, and various genomics analysis and biology-centric data science projects, mostly using Python, R, TypeScript, Unix shell scripting, containerization technologies and HPC.

Nitika Kandhari Bioinformatician, Monash Genomics and Bioinformatics Platform

Nitika Kandhari is a bioinformatician with extensive experience in genomics and computational biology, currently working with the Monash Genomics and Bioinformatics Platform. She earned her Master’s degree in Bioinformatics and is pursuing her PhD at Monash University's RNA Systems Biology Lab, analyzing high-throughput transcriptomic data. Additionally, Nitika has been actively involved in promoting data fluency within the scientific community at Monash, delivering workshops on programming in R, Python, Unix/CLI, and other essential data analysis and bioinformatics tools.

Adele Barugahare Bioinformatician, Monash Genomics and Bioinformatics Platform

Adele Barugahare is a bioinformatician working with the Monash Genomics and Bioinformatics Platform and Stephen Turner’s research lab. She has extensive experience with epigenetics and transcriptomics and is an experienced R programmer. Adele has helped develop, administrate and teach multiple workshops at Monash.

Dr. Paul Harrison Bioinformatician, Monash Genomics and Bioinformatics Platform

Paul Harrison is a bioinformatician working with the Monash Genomics and Bioinformatics Platform. He received his PhD in Computer Science in 2006 at Monash University and worked for the Victorian Bioinformatics Consortium until 2014. Paul has developed several bioinformatics and data visualization packages in R, Python, and Javascript. He has also been involved in developing and running various R and bioinformatics workshops at Monash.

Dr. Andrew Perry Software Developer and Bioinformatician, Monash Genomics and Bioinformatics Platform

Andrew Perry is a software developer and bioinformatician working within the Monash Genomics and Bioinformatics Platform. He completed his PhD in 2007 studying protein structure by Nuclear Magnetic Resonance at the University of Melbourne, followed by several years as a Postdoctoral Fellow in structural biology and structural bioinformatics at Monash University. Today he works on web application and pipeline development, and various genomics analysis and biology-centric data science projects, mostly using Python, R, TypeScript, Unix shell scripting, containerization technologies and HPC.

Nitika Kandhari Bioinformatician, Monash Genomics and Bioinformatics Platform

Nitika Kandhari is a bioinformatician with extensive experience in genomics and computational biology, currently working with the Monash Genomics and Bioinformatics Platform. She earned her Master’s degree in Bioinformatics and is pursuing her PhD at Monash University's RNA Systems Biology Lab, analyzing high-throughput transcriptomic data. Additionally, Nitika has been actively involved in promoting data fluency within the scientific community at Monash, delivering workshops on programming in R, Python, Unix/CLI, and other essential data analysis and bioinformatics tools.

Adele Barugahare Bioinformatician, Monash Genomics and Bioinformatics Platform

Adele Barugahare is a bioinformatician working with the Monash Genomics and Bioinformatics Platform and Stephen Turner’s research lab. She has extensive experience with epigenetics and transcriptomics and is an experienced R programmer. Adele has helped develop, administrate and teach multiple workshops at Monash.

Dr. Chelsea Cobb (Moderator) Director, Research Infrastructure, Monash University

Chelsea Cobb is the Director of Research Infrastructure at Monash University, overseeing the operational sustainability and strategic growth of the university's research infrastructure portfolio. She also works to elevate the visibility of Monash’s Research Platforms within the research community.

Previously, Chelsea served as Associate Director of Research Translation and Innovation at the University of Melbourne, where she developed research translation strategies and managed key industry partnerships. She holds a PhD in genomics from Monash University and has extensive experience in corporate consulting, having worked at PwC on R&D tax incentives, sustainability, and social impact initiatives aimed at improving STEM education in Australia.

Outside of work, Chelsea is a mum of two kids and two dogs who enjoys exercising and spending time outdoors!

Kiowa Scott-Hurley Machine Learning Computational Methods Specialist, Defence Science and Technology

Kiowa Scott-Hurley is a Dja Dja Wurrung woman who spends her 9-5 leading a team of awesome Machine Learning engineers at the Defence Science and Technology Group. She's currently studying a Masters in Cybersecurity, and her unique mix of skills across ML, Cybersec and HPC means you can always catch her grumbling about GPU drivers. In her free time you'll find her drawing and cramming cat comics into slide decks, using LLMs for evil, and committing diversity-tax evasion.

Dr. Deanna Deveson Lucas Manager, R&D Enabling Technology, CSL

Deanna obtained a Bachelor of Science with Honours, majoring in Molecular Biology and Microbiology from Monash University. She began her career at Pfizer Animal Health in the Research & Development Bioprocess Improvement Group (2004–2007), where she contributed to vaccine research, development, and optimization. She then pursued an industry-based PhD, based at the Department of Microbiology, Monash University and Pfizer Animal Health, where she focused on investigating the bovine immune response to Leptospira spp. After completing her PhD in 2014, Deanna worked as a postdoctoral researcher in the Bacterial Pathogenesis Laboratory, Dept. Microbiology, Monash University. Her research involved several omics-based projects, including the study of antibiotic resistance mechanisms in Gram-negative pathogens. In 2019, Deanna transitioned to the Monash Bioinformatics Platform as Platform Manager, where she led bioinformatics initiatives across a broad range of research areas and facilitated the delivery of training at a local and national level. From September 2022, she concurrently held the roles of Manager (Bioinformatics) and Acting Director of the Monash Genomics and Bioinformatics Platform, playing a key role in the successful merger of the genomics (MicroMon) and bioinformatics platforms. In July 2024, Deanna joined CSL’s R&D Enabling Technology team, where she now focuses on supporting the implementation of an operational model for the Laboratory Data Repository, furthering her expertise in data management within a global research context.

Dr. Claudia Del Campo Manager, Operations Data Futures Institute, Monash University

Dr. Claudia Del Campo is the Operations Manager at the Monash Data Futures Institute, Monash University in Australia. She leads strategic initiatives to bring together AI and Data Science expertise across Monash faculties, and engagement with national and international partners.

Dr. Del Campo is passionate about interdisciplinary research and cross-sector collaborations. At the Monash Data Futures Institute, she oversees the delivery of the research agenda with a focus on applying AI for Climate Change, Geopolitical Security and Thriving Communities. Dr Del Campo worked in academic research for more than 15 years in Colombia, Israel, USA and Australia in the areas of biomedicine, ecology and water resources management.

Gin Tan Associate Director, Monash eResearch

Gin Tan is the Associate Director of Monash eResearch. Starting her career in both enterprise and research computing, she eventually found her true passion in high-performance computing (HPC).

Over her eight years at Monash University, Gin has been instrumental in the development and setup of a new HPC cluster and has since grown into a technical leadership role. She enjoys diving deep into the technical aspects of her work while also excelling at translating complex needs into practical, effective solutions.

Tara Stewardson DevSecOps Cadet, Defence Science and Technology Group

Tara Stewardson is a DevSecOps cadet working in Research IT with the Defence Science and Technology Group. She is simultaneously completing a Bachelor of Science in Computing and Software Systems at the University of Melbourne. As a young, neurodivergent woman in tech, Tara is passionate about active inclusion and the benefits of diversity within the workplace and beyond.

Stephen Firth Manager, Micro Imaging Platform, Monash University

Stephen Firth holds a Bachelor of Applied Science in Biotechnology, followed by a Master’s Degree in Research. Stephen spent two years in Virology, before transitioning to a decade-long role in human molecular genetics. In 2002, he established the confocal microscopy facility at the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology at Deakin University. In 2005, Stephen joined Monash University as an Optical Microscopist at the Monash Micro Imaging Optical Microscopy Core Facility, becoming the Manager of the Clayton facility in 2012, and later, the Manager of all three MMI facilities in 2020.

For the past two decades, Stephen has been deeply committed to teaching microscopy to biologists, with a strong emphasis on practical, hands-on learning.

A/Prof. James Trauer Head, Epidemiological Modelling Unit Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, Monash University

A/Prof James Trauer is an expert in infectious disease modelling, with a particular focus on COVID-19 and tuberculosis. He leads the Epidemiological Modelling Unit at Monash University, where his team uses mechanistic simulation models to guide public health strategies for infectious disease control.

His work has been important in shaping the response to the COVID-19 pandemic and informing TB control programs across the Asia-Pacific, including through extensive collaboration with the World Health Organization's Western Pacific and South-East Asia Regions. The team has recently shifted to a capacity building approach for epidemic modelling to enable locally led responses to infectious diseases. As a practising respiratory physician, James brings a clinical perspective to his research, but also remains closely involved in platform development.

Dianne Brown Data Governance Consultant, Monash University

Dianne Brown (BEc(Hons), GradCert(Epi)) is a data governance consultant at Monash University working with clinical quality registries and other sensitive data research to improve their data governance capabilities. Dianne began her career working globally for a strategy consulting firm and joined Monash in 2015, where she developed a Health Research Data Governance Framework that took a novel value chain approach to how all data activities should be governed. She has worked with various research groups, government and commercial agencies in health data definition and dictionary development. She has trained over 500 researchers in how to prepare a health research data dictionary, assisted the University in becoming accredited under the DATA scheme and coordinates the data linkage COP.

Dr. Tim Powers Statistical Consultant, Monash eResearch

Dr. Tim Powers leads Monash Statistical Consulting Services, where he mentors over 200 PhD students and research staff annually in statistical analysis, leveraging both academic and industry expertise. His recent work spans interdisciplinary university research projects, providing guidance on large-scale survey design, statistical analysis, and comprehensive project coordination. With a solid background in business operations and management development, Tim has consulted for federal and state governments, associations, and industry groups, utilising surveys, focus groups, and interviews to gain insights into membership and client needs. Known for engaging deeply with stakeholders, he delivers data-driven solutions to complex challenges, bridging academic rigour with practical, impactful outcomes across both academic and industry settings.

John Liman Senior Data Manager, Monash University

John Liman is the Senior Data Manager at Monash University’s School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine. He oversees the data management of five major Clinical Quality Registries, of which four out of five are using REDCap. John has been using REDCap for more than 7 years.

A/Prof. Sze-Ee Soh Associate Professor, Monash University

Sze-Ee is an Associate Professor in the School of Primary and Allied Health Care at Monash University. She is a physiotherapist by background and is currently the Course Director of the Doctor of Physiotherapy program. Her research has spanned the areas of chronic disease, health services, patient-reported outcomes and the psychometric properties of measurement tools. She has a broad range of experience in developing and using surveys as part of her teaching, clinical and research work. Sze-Ee also delivers a survey design short course alongside her colleagues at the School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine.

Dr. Amr Hassan

Joseph John Staff Scientist, National Computational Infrastructure (NCI)

Joseph John is a Staff Scientist at the National Computational Infrastructure (NCI), Australia. His primary research focuses on programming models for high-performance computing. He is also keenly interested in exploring libraries and tools for scaling large-scale multi-GPU HPC applications.

Joseph John Staff Scientist, National Computational Infrastructure (NCI)

Joseph John is a Staff Scientist at the National Computational Infrastructure (NCI), Australia. His primary research focuses on programming models for high-performance computing. He is also keenly interested in exploring libraries and tools for scaling large-scale multi-GPU HPC applications.

Joseph John Staff Scientist, National Computational Infrastructure (NCI)

Joseph John is a Staff Scientist at the National Computational Infrastructure (NCI), Australia. His primary research focuses on programming models for high-performance computing. He is also keenly interested in exploring libraries and tools for scaling large-scale multi-GPU HPC applications.

Dr. Yang Liao Monash University, Bioinformatician

Yang Liao is a skilled bioinformatician with a strong background in computer science. He earned his Bachelor's degree from Tsinghua University in 2002 and subsequently completed his PhD in information science at the University of Melbourne in 2012.

Yang has been working in the field of bioinformatics for more than a decade, contributing to the development of tools and methods for analysing high-throughput sequencing data. He is a co-author of the widely used Subread and Rsubread packages. He has also collaborated with many researchers on a variety of biology and immunology projects.

Yang has been a postdoctoral researcher in Professor Wei Shi's lab at Monash BDI since 2024, specialising in the development of bioinformatics methods for analysing high-throughput sequencing data, including bulk RNA-seq, single-cell RNA-seq, and long-read sequencing data.

Dr. Jathan Sadowski Senior Lecturer and ARC DECRA Fellow in the Emerging Technologies Research Lab, Monash University

Jathan Sadowski is a Senior Lecturer and ARC DECRA Fellow in the Emerging Technologies Research Lab, Department of Human-Centred Computing, Faculty of Information Technology at Monash University. His work analyses the political economy and social impacts of technology, with a specific focus on the development of risk governance systems in the insurance industry.

Sophie Wright Liaison Librarian, Monash University

Sophie Wright has been working in STEM Librarianship since 2017, where she collaborates closely with researchers and faculty across Science, Engineering, and Information Technology at Monash University. She provides specialised research support and consultation services, helping researchers navigate complex information ecosystems and enhance their capabilities. With expertise in advanced literature searching for reviews, Sophie is focused on leveraging emerging AI tools for research discovery to optimise workflows and maximise research quality. She is committed to making scholarly research discovery and synthesis both accessible and efficient for the Monash community.

Ines Sincock Liaison Librarian, Monash University

Ines Sincock is a Liaison Librarian working with the faculties of Engineering, Information Technology, and Science at Monash University. She provides expert guidance on resource discovery, complex search strategies, and scholarly communication. Ines is passionate about empowering researchers through innovative technologies, including integrating AI-powered tools into the research workflow, from literature scoping to knowledge synthesis. Ines is dedicated to helping researchers with their academic discovery process and enhancing the impact of their work.

Peter Reynolds Librarian, Monash University

Peter Reynolds is an experienced librarian in the Engineering, IT and Science team at Monash University Library. With a strong background in supporting innovative technologies, he employs a practical and collaborative approach to support educators, researchers, and students with information discovery, effective use of metrics, reference management, and various aspects of the publishing process. He has contributed to the development of innovative online resources and training sessions. Currently, he is focused on supporting researchers in utilising emerging tools such as ResearchRabbit, Scopus AI, and Elicit for scoping and information discovery.

Mitchell Hargreaves , Monash eResearch

Mitchell Hargreaves is experienced with training and deploying deep learning models as well as building data engineering pipelines. He is passionate about reducing barriers of entry and making these tools more available for all. He is the primary developer and system administrator for Machine Learning eResearch Platform (MLeRP).

Dr. Christoph Bergmeir María Zambrano (Senior) Fellow, University of Granada, Spain and Adjunct Senior Research Fellow, Monash University

Christoph Bergmeir is a María Zambrano (Senior) Fellow in the Department of Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence at the University of Granada, Spain, and an Adjunct Senior Research Fellow in the Department of Data Science and Artificial Intelligence at Monash University. Before this, he was a Visiting Research Data Scientist at Meta Inc. (formerly Facebook Inc.) in California in the US, and a Senior Lecturer at Monash University. He has a track record of working in forecasting for capacity planning, sustainable energy, and supply chain, and has led teams that have delivered systems for short-term power production forecasting of wind and solar farms, and energy price forecasting. Christoph holds a PhD in Computer Science from the University of Granada, and an M.Sc. degree in Computer Science from the University of Ulm, Germany. He has over 5,800 citations and an h-index of 30. He has received more than AUD 2.7 million in external research funding. Four of his publications on time series forecasting over the last years have been Clarivate Web of Science Highly Cited Papers (top 1% of their research field).

Dr. Abishek Sriramulu Founder of Tymestack, Tymestack

Abishek Sriramulu is the Founder of Tymestack, a forward-thinking startup focused on advancing AI-driven forecasting and optimization solutions. With both a PhD and a Master's in Data Science from Monash University, Dr. Sriramulu has dedicated his career to harnessing artificial intelligence for improved decision-making and enhanced outcomes.

Specialising in forecasting, Dr. Sriramulu brings extensive experience in developing and deploying production-grade machine learning systems across a variety of industries. His research interests span graph neural networks, multi-modal analytics, and constrained machine learning, with a clear focus on addressing complex, real-world challenges. Passionate about making cutting-edge AI technologies more accessible, Dr. Sriramulu is committed to driving meaningful impact across diverse applications.

Dr. Christoph Bergmeir María Zambrano (Senior) Fellow, University of Granada, Spain and Adjunct Senior Research Fellow, Monash University

Christoph Bergmeir is a María Zambrano (Senior) Fellow in the Department of Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence at the University of Granada, Spain, and an Adjunct Senior Research Fellow in the Department of Data Science and Artificial Intelligence at Monash University. Before this, he was a Visiting Research Data Scientist at Meta Inc. (formerly Facebook Inc.) in California in the US, and a Senior Lecturer at Monash University. He has a track record of working in forecasting for capacity planning, sustainable energy, and supply chain, and has led teams that have delivered systems for short-term power production forecasting of wind and solar farms, and energy price forecasting. Christoph holds a PhD in Computer Science from the University of Granada, and an M.Sc. degree in Computer Science from the University of Ulm, Germany. He has over 5,800 citations and an h-index of 30. He has received more than AUD 2.7 million in external research funding. Four of his publications on time series forecasting over the last years have been Clarivate Web of Science Highly Cited Papers (top 1% of their research field).

Dr. Abishek Sriramulu Founder of Tymestack, Tymestack

Abishek Sriramulu is the Founder of Tymestack, a forward-thinking startup focused on advancing AI-driven forecasting and optimization solutions. With both a PhD and a Master's in Data Science from Monash University, Dr. Sriramulu has dedicated his career to harnessing artificial intelligence for improved decision-making and enhanced outcomes.

Specialising in forecasting, Dr. Sriramulu brings extensive experience in developing and deploying production-grade machine learning systems across a variety of industries. His research interests span graph neural networks, multi-modal analytics, and constrained machine learning, with a clear focus on addressing complex, real-world challenges. Passionate about making cutting-edge AI technologies more accessible, Dr. Sriramulu is committed to driving meaningful impact across diverse applications.

Dr. Christoph Bergmeir María Zambrano (Senior) Fellow, University of Granada, Spain and Adjunct Senior Research Fellow, Monash University

Christoph Bergmeir is a María Zambrano (Senior) Fellow in the Department of Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence at the University of Granada, Spain, and an Adjunct Senior Research Fellow in the Department of Data Science and Artificial Intelligence at Monash University. Before this, he was a Visiting Research Data Scientist at Meta Inc. (formerly Facebook Inc.) in California in the US, and a Senior Lecturer at Monash University. He has a track record of working in forecasting for capacity planning, sustainable energy, and supply chain, and has led teams that have delivered systems for short-term power production forecasting of wind and solar farms, and energy price forecasting. Christoph holds a PhD in Computer Science from the University of Granada, and an M.Sc. degree in Computer Science from the University of Ulm, Germany. He has over 5,800 citations and an h-index of 30. He has received more than AUD 2.7 million in external research funding. Four of his publications on time series forecasting over the last years have been Clarivate Web of Science Highly Cited Papers (top 1% of their research field).

Dr. Abishek Sriramulu Founder of Tymestack, Tymestack

Abishek Sriramulu is the Founder of Tymestack, a forward-thinking startup focused on advancing AI-driven forecasting and optimization solutions. With both a PhD and a Master's in Data Science from Monash University, Dr. Sriramulu has dedicated his career to harnessing artificial intelligence for improved decision-making and enhanced outcomes.

Specialising in forecasting, Dr. Sriramulu brings extensive experience in developing and deploying production-grade machine learning systems across a variety of industries. His research interests span graph neural networks, multi-modal analytics, and constrained machine learning, with a clear focus on addressing complex, real-world challenges. Passionate about making cutting-edge AI technologies more accessible, Dr. Sriramulu is committed to driving meaningful impact across diverse applications.

Dr. Christoph Bergmeir María Zambrano (Senior) Fellow, University of Granada, Spain and Adjunct Senior Research Fellow, Monash University

Christoph Bergmeir is a María Zambrano (Senior) Fellow in the Department of Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence at the University of Granada, Spain, and an Adjunct Senior Research Fellow in the Department of Data Science and Artificial Intelligence at Monash University. Before this, he was a Visiting Research Data Scientist at Meta Inc. (formerly Facebook Inc.) in California in the US, and a Senior Lecturer at Monash University. He has a track record of working in forecasting for capacity planning, sustainable energy, and supply chain, and has led teams that have delivered systems for short-term power production forecasting of wind and solar farms, and energy price forecasting. Christoph holds a PhD in Computer Science from the University of Granada, and an M.Sc. degree in Computer Science from the University of Ulm, Germany. He has over 5,800 citations and an h-index of 30. He has received more than AUD 2.7 million in external research funding. Four of his publications on time series forecasting over the last years have been Clarivate Web of Science Highly Cited Papers (top 1% of their research field).

Dr. Abishek Sriramulu Founder of Tymestack, Tymestack

Abishek Sriramulu is the Founder of Tymestack, a forward-thinking startup focused on advancing AI-driven forecasting and optimization solutions. With both a PhD and a Master's in Data Science from Monash University, Dr. Sriramulu has dedicated his career to harnessing artificial intelligence for improved decision-making and enhanced outcomes.

Specialising in forecasting, Dr. Sriramulu brings extensive experience in developing and deploying production-grade machine learning systems across a variety of industries. His research interests span graph neural networks, multi-modal analytics, and constrained machine learning, with a clear focus on addressing complex, real-world challenges. Passionate about making cutting-edge AI technologies more accessible, Dr. Sriramulu is committed to driving meaningful impact across diverse applications.

Dr. Sara King Training and Engagement Lead, AARNet

Dr. Sara King is the Training and Engagement Lead for AARNet. She is focused on outreach within the research sector, developing communities of interest around training, outreach and skills development in eResearch. She is a Carpentries Trainer and is passionate about helping others develop the infrastructure and digital literacies required for working in a data-driven world, translating technology so it is accessible to everyone.

Greg D'Arcy Research Analyst and Program Manager, AARNet

Greg D'Arcy is an experienced Research Analyst and Program Manager working across several product development projects and research collaborations at AARNet. Greg has over twenty years’ experience in the research and education sectors working across several large-scale digital transformation and infrastructure initiatives.

Chris Myers Solutions Architect, AARNet

Chris Myers has 30 years of experience working in the telecommunications and higher education sector, especially in large data projects. Chris supports a wide array of data movement projects in training, consultation, and design in the areas of astro/high energy physics, HPC, scientific instruments, archives and film, cloud solutions, data centre fabrics and cybersecurity.

Dr. Sara King Training and Engagement Lead, AARNet

Dr. Sara King is the Training and Engagement Lead for AARNet. She is focused on outreach within the research sector, developing communities of interest around training, outreach and skills development in eResearch. She is a Carpentries Trainer and is passionate about helping others develop the infrastructure and digital literacies required for working in a data-driven world, translating technology so it is accessible to everyone.

Dr. Matthew Belousoff Senior Research Scientist, Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences

Dr. Matthew Belousoff is a senior research scientist at the Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences. His scientific interests are in the field of structural biology, where he has used both X-ray diffractions as well as cryogenic electron microscopy techniques to examine the molecular structures of everything from archeal ribosomes to mammalian G-coupled protein receptors.

Dr. Matthew Belousoff Senior Research Scientist, Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences

Dr. Matthew Belousoff is a senior research scientist at the Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences. His scientific interests are in the field of structural biology, where he has used both X-ray diffractions as well as cryogenic electron microscopy techniques to examine the molecular structures of everything from archeal ribosomes to mammalian G-coupled protein receptors.

Andrew Harrison Open Scholarship and Data Services Liaison Librarian, Monash University

Andrew Harrison is an Open Scholarship and Data Services Liaison Librarian at Monash University. He has been working at Monash University for more than 30 years. He has been responsible for implementing a digital taped lecture service, a digitisation centre for exam and reading list content, and has been working on Institutional Repositories space for twenty years and has implemented and managed repositories using four different software platforms (ePrints, VITAL/Fedora, and Figshare). He has extensive experience in working with relevant standards, protocols, persistent identifiers, harvesting and migration techniques. He has also been involved in several large national and international projects (including ARROW and NEREUS) looking at improving exposure to Australian research outputs, and has in the past run Monash's ERA evidence repository.

Susie Philips Open Scholarship and Data Services Liaison Librarian, Monash University

Susie Phillips is an Open Scholarship and Data Services Liaison Librarian at Monash University. With several years of experience in scholarly and educational open publishing, she specialises in reading and Publishing agreements and open textbooks. Susie is enthusiastic about advocating for open practices in education and research and enjoys collaborating with academics to support them in publishing their work openly.

Dr. Paul Harrison Bioinformatician, Monash Genomics and Bioinformatics Platform

Paul Harrison is a bioinformatician working with the Monash Genomics and Bioinformatics Platform. He received his PhD in Computer Science in 2006 at Monash University and worked for the Victorian Bioinformatics Consortium until 2014. Paul has developed several bioinformatics and data visualization packages in R, Python, and Javascript. He has also been involved in developing and running various R and bioinformatics workshops at Monash.

Prof. Victoria Mar Director of the Victorian Melanoma Service at the Alfred Hospital and Professor of Dermatology, Monash University

Prof. Victoria Mar is a Fellow of the Australasian College of Dermatologists, Director of the Victorian Melanoma Service at the Alfred Hospital and Professor of Dermatology at Monash University School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine.

Prof Mar holds an NHMRC Investigator Grant focusing on early diagnosis of melanoma and skin cancer and surveillance of high-risk individuals, including the use of artificial intelligence. She is the Victorian Lead for the Australian Centre of Excellence for Melanoma Imaging and Diagnosis and a Board member of the Melanoma and Skin Cancer Trials Group. She has been a member of the Melanoma Guidelines Working Group since 2015 and the TGA Advisory Committee on Medicines since 2023.

Dr. Amanda Walmsley Senior Manager, Major Initiatives, Monash University

Amanda has a PhD specialising in molecular biology and a Masters of Law specialising in Intellectual Property Law. Through her own research and in managing research at the department, faculty and university level, she has experience across many fields of science, medicine, engineering, commercialisation, law and technology implementation at a national and international level.

Throughout her career, she has developed and reviewed a large number of successful funding proposals. While with the World Mosquito Program at Monash University, she developed and submitted 13 proposals in 3 years, 10 of which were successful, resulting in over AU$142 million in funding for the Program. She has substantial experience writing, editing and reviewing a broad range of complex documents aiming to teach grantpersonship and value-add. Amanda has been with Monash for 15 years and with the MRO for 18 months.

Neil Owens Research Development Manager, Monash University

Dr Neil Owens is an experienced research development manager with experience in both university and medical research institute settings. He completed a PhD in cardiovascular neuroscience (UniMelb), furthering his research training with postdoctoral positions at The Florey and RMIT where he attracted Heart Foundation grants and an NHMRC Early Career Fellowship.

A change in career direction led him to the Faculty of Medicine Nursing and Health Sciences at Monash, where he developed numerous large projects. He then moved to Prince Henry’s Institute where he established and managed the grants office. Since then, he has developed funding applications in university, medical research institute, and commercial consulting settings.

In Dec 2022, he commenced his current role as Senior Manager MRFF initiatives, where he leads Monash’s development efforts aimed at increasing the amount MRFF funds secured.
Neil has extensive experience in developing applications for NHMRC, MRFF, ARC and philanthropy, having worked with researchers across STEM and HASS disciplines. He is passionate about positioning research that has meaning and impact for the community. Further details on Neil's experience can be found on LinkedIn.

Dr. Zhuang Li Research Fellow, Monash University

Zhuang Li is a Research Fellow and an incoming Lecturer at RMIT University. His research centres on low-resource and multicultural natural language processing, generative AI, and cross-cultural dialogue systems. With professional experience at Microsoft and Monash University, Zhuang brings expertise in data optimisation and multilingual AI research.

Dr. Zhuang Li Research Fellow, Monash University

Zhuang Li is a Research Fellow and an incoming Lecturer at RMIT University. His research centres on low-resource and multicultural natural language processing, generative AI, and cross-cultural dialogue systems. With professional experience at Microsoft and Monash University, Zhuang brings expertise in data optimisation and multilingual AI research.

Simon Michnowicz Senior Application Specialist, High-Performance Computing, Monash eResearch

Simon Michnowicz works at Monash e-Research in the High Performance Computing Team. He is passionate about using the best in IT technologies to assist researchers in doing their work more effectively.
Simon works closely with the Monash University Engineering Team - DeepNeuron, and has supervised several student projects and teams that have won awards in international Student Cluster Competitions.

Simon Michnowicz Senior Application Specialist, High-Performance Computing, Monash eResearch

Simon Michnowicz works at Monash e-Research in the High Performance Computing Team. He is passionate about using the best in IT technologies to assist researchers in doing their work more effectively.
Simon works closely with the Monash University Engineering Team - DeepNeuron, and has supervised several student projects and teams that have won awards in international Student Cluster Competitions.

Dr. Debjit Bhowmick Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Monash University

Dr. Debjit Bhowmick is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Monash University with a strong background in Transportation Engineering and Geospatial Information Science. He specialises in the analysis of spatial datasets and their application in urban mobility. His research focuses on bike riding behaviour that supports planners and policymakers in developing data-driven infrastructure and policy solutions to promote sustainable and active transportation.

Dr. Debjit Bhowmick Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Monash University

Dr. Debjit Bhowmick is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Monash University with a strong background in Transportation Engineering and Geospatial Information Science. He specialises in the analysis of spatial datasets and their application in urban mobility. His research focuses on bike riding behaviour that supports planners and policymakers in developing data-driven infrastructure and policy solutions to promote sustainable and active transportation.

Riccardo Bonacci PhD candidate, Monash University

Riccardo Bonacci is a PhD candidate at Monash university in the school of Physics and Astronomy. He is a part of the LHCb collaboration, a particle physics experiment situated at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN (Geneva, Switzerland). His research focuses on analysing data taken from the LHCb, and using this to study particles containing the beauty and charm quarks.

Riccardo Bonacci PhD candidate, Monash University

Riccardo Bonacci is a PhD candidate at Monash university in the school of Physics and Astronomy. He is a part of the LHCb collaboration, a particle physics experiment situated at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN (Geneva, Switzerland). His research focuses on analysing data taken from the LHCb, and using this to study particles containing the beauty and charm quarks.

A/Prof. Linda Kalejs Manager Researcher Services, La Trobe University

Nick May Manager, Digital Research, La Trobe University

Dr. Sam Ryan Digital Research Analyst, La Trobe University

Eva Fisch Open Scholarship and Data Services Lead, Monash University

Dr. Richard Ferrers Data Consultant, Australian Research Data Commons (ARDC)

Dr. Maria del Mar Quiroga Senior Research Data Specialist, Melbourne Data Analytics Platform

Dr. Maria del Mar Quiroga is a Senior Research Data Specialist at the Melbourne Data Analytics Platform, where she works with researchers across all faculties and domains to bring the benefits of data-led methods to their fields. She is currently leading the HASS Taskforce, an exciting initiative that aims to empower and inspire researchers in the Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences to embrace the potential of digital methodologies and create communities of practice and peer support.

David Shipman Lead Software Engineer, Monash EMU (Epidemiological Modelling Unit)

David Shipman is the lead software engineer at Monash EMU (Epidemiological Modelling Unit). He has worked in the (rather niche!) field of modelling platform development for several decades, across multiple domains including finance, hydrology, and epidemiology. He specialises in Python, numerical computing and expressive domain-specific APIs, with an interest in signal processing and compiler development. He eventually realised that code is a means to an end - the real work is understanding users and what they want to express - then building tools to empower them.

Simon Musgrave Training and Communication Lead, Language Data Commons of Australia

Simon Musgrave is the Training and Communication Lead for the Language Data Commons of Australia and an Adjunct Research Fellow in the School of Languages, Literatures, Cultures and Linguistics, Monash University. Starting as a syntactician specialising in Austronesian languages, his research interests extended to cover areas including language endangerment, communication in medical settings and the use of technology for linguistic research. This last interest, through work on the Australian National Corpus project, led to work in the digital humanities and to his current work in research infrastructure for the humanities.

Kit Greenhill Skills Development Lead (HASS & Indigenous), Australian Research Data Commons (ARDC)

Kit Greenhill is ARDC’s Skills Development Lead (HASS & Indigenous). She helps researchers build better skills to create, analyse and retain HASS and Indigenous data. She applies expertise developed as a university lecturer and a professional librarian to support HASS and Indigenous researchers and data custodians to build communities identifying and addressing skills gaps.

Simon Musgrave Training and Communication Lead, Language Data Commons of Australia

Simon Musgrave is the Training and Communication Lead for the Language Data Commons of Australia and an Adjunct Research Fellow in the School of Languages, Literatures, Cultures and Linguistics, Monash University. Starting as a syntactician specialising in Austronesian languages, his research interests extended to cover areas including language endangerment, communication in medical settings and the use of technology for linguistic research. This last interest, through work on the Australian National Corpus project, led to work in the digital humanities and to his current work in research infrastructure for the humanities.

Simon Musgrave Training and Communication Lead, Language Data Commons of Australia

Simon Musgrave is the Training and Communication Lead for the Language Data Commons of Australia and an Adjunct Research Fellow in the School of Languages, Literatures, Cultures and Linguistics, Monash University. Starting as a syntactician specialising in Austronesian languages, his research interests extended to cover areas including language endangerment, communication in medical settings and the use of technology for linguistic research. This last interest, through work on the Australian National Corpus project, led to work in the digital humanities and to his current work in research infrastructure for the humanities.

Kit Greenhill Skills Development Lead (HASS & Indigenous), Australian Research Data Commons (ARDC)

Kit Greenhill is ARDC’s Skills Development Lead (HASS & Indigenous). She helps researchers build better skills to create, analyse and retain HASS and Indigenous data. She applies expertise developed as a university lecturer and a professional librarian to support HASS and Indigenous researchers and data custodians to build communities identifying and addressing skills gaps.

Meirian Lovelace-Tozer Skills Development Lead (Services), Australian Research Data Commons (ARDC)

Meirian Lovelace-Tozer is a Skills Development Lead (Services) at the Australian Research Data Commons (ARDC). With over 10 years of experience in education, Meirian is committed to making an impact through empowering Australian research communities with a competitive advantage. Meirian delivers training and resources that support researchers to effectively leverage ARDC services. For more information and to contact Meirian, please visit https://meirian.gitbook.io/home

Dr. Cooper Smout

Dr Cooper Smout is a designer, researcher and lifelong student of human behaviour. Inspired by a Vipassana meditation retreat, he left a promising career in architecture to study Psychology and Neuroscience at the University of Queensland, winning prizes for both his Honours and PhD theses in the neural mechanisms of visual awareness.

Cooper's passion for good design found a counterpart in the scholarly publishing industry, igniting a new interest in Open Science and the problem of cultural change in academia. He founded the world's first collective action platform for researchers (Free Our Knowledge) and spent several years campaigning for open and reproducible research practices, later drawing on these experiences to design a decentralised peer-review model with disruptive potential. Realising he could make faster progress outside of academia, he founded a citizen-science project (Open Heart + Mind) and prototyped by peer-reviewing contributions to community gatherings, before validating the model for use in academia by peer-reviewing contributions to Open Science conferences.

Alongside his interests in Open Science and decentralised technologies, Cooper enjoys playing games, snowboarding, rock climbing, meditating, dancing, and spending time in nature.

Tomasz Skora Staff Solution Architect, GitLab

Tomasz Skora is a Staff Solution Architect at GitLab, based in Melbourne. He helps organisations achieve strategic objectives, focusing on DevSecOps excellence and digital transformation. He has extensive experience in implementing and driving impactful DevSecOps initiatives, resulting in improved software delivery, compliance, and security.

Dr. Shani Amarasinghe Bioinformatics Research Officer, Monash University

Shani Amarasinghe is currently working as a bioinformatics research officer with over a decade of experience, producing impactful research across various biological disciplines while raising a young family. With a career spanning >1000 citations since 2018, Shani has developed multiple bioinformatics tools used widely by the research community. After completing a PhD in bioinformatics focused on bulk transcriptomics from the University of Adelaide, she has worked extensively with cutting-edge technologies like long-read sequencing (ONT, PacBio) and single-cell techniques (scRNA-Seq, scATAC-Seq). Currently, she’s working on intestinal regeneration-focused single-cell, spatial and bulk transcriptomics data analyses at the Abud and Jarde laboratories at the BDI.

Dr. Andrew Pattison Computational Biologist, Monash University

Andrew Pattison is currently working as a father to a 21 month old toddler and 4 month old baby with a secondary role as a computational biologist studying colorectal cancer in the Abud lab at Monash University. He obtained his PhD in biochemistry/computational biology from Monash University in 2018. His background is in sleeping at night, RNA biology, cancer genomics and scRNA-Seq analyses with a focus on immunotherapy. While he hasn’t recently spent too much time working in his old field, he is very passionate about one day returning to it. Currently he is analysing single cell/spatial transcriptomic data and supporting the Abud lab members with their computational analyses.

Milinda Abayawardana Modelling and Data Visualisation Analyst, Monash University

Milinda Abaywardana has a diverse background in aviation, mechanical engineering, and epidemiological modelling. His expertise encompasses database design, Python, Power BI, and data analysis. At Monash University, he has been involved in several projects. These include integrating outputs from SEIR compartmental models at the Epidemiological Modelling Unit within the School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine. During the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, he designed, developed, and delivered Power BI dashboards that provided critical insights to policymakers in the Philippines, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Nepal, and Australia. Driven by a passion for all things data, he is currently collaborating with the office of the Pro-Vice Chancellor of Research Infrastructure to create a research insights value pipeline that connects awarded funding to utilisation spending and publication outcomes. He holds a B.Eng from Nanyang Technological University and a Masters in Data Science from Monash University.

Dr. Chris Hines Senior HPC Consultant, Monash eResearch

Chris Hines has been part of the Australian eResearch sector for longer than he'd like to admit (even to himself). With a background in physics, he brings the classic physicist's confidence that every problem could be solved if we'd just approximate our cows as spheres. An adaptable systems administrator, programmer, and HPC consultant, Chris applies his expertise wherever Monash University and partners' research needs him most.

Dr. Carina Kemp International Lead for Research, Amazon Web Services (AWS)

Dr. Carina Kemp is the Global Lead for Academic Research at AWS. Carina is passionate about enabling researchers to leverage the power of the cloud to accelerate their research. Previously Dr. Kemp was the Director of eResearch at AARNet where she led Research Cloud Services enabling researchers with tools and advice for all their data and digital infrastructure needs. Dr. Kemp joined AARNet from Geoscience Australia, where she provided scientific and digital leadership as the CIO. At GA, Dr. Kemp also led the development of virtual laboratories and high-performance computing to enable geophysical applications for pre-competitive dataset delivery. In her career, Dr. Kemp has always strived to enable research and innovation working for higher ed, industry, government and NGOS. Her interests include open data, data science, machine learning, high-performance computing, communication of science, improving collaboration across science and information technology disciplines, and encouraging leadership and women in science.

Dr. Carina Kemp is the Global Lead for Academic Research at AWS. Carina is passionate about enabling researchers to leverage the power of the cloud to accelerate their research. In her career, Dr. Kemp has always strived to enable research and innovation working for higher ed, industry, government and NGOS.