A Window On SAHMRI

Dr Stephen Blake is an immunologist specialising in cancer immunology and immunotherapy at SAHMRI, where he focuses on understanding how the immune system and the gut microbiome influence cancer treatment response and side effects. His work sits at the intersection of laboratory discovery and future clinical care, aiming to make treatments more effective and less harmful for patients. Outside the...

Tom Symonds is the Executive Director of Health Translation SA (HTSA), leading the work of connecting SAHMRI, the state's universities, hospitals and government to turn research into real-world impact. Spending much of his younger life in the UK before moving to Australia, Tom has built his career across health service management, research strategy, primary care leadership and government innov...

Dr Ben Lewis has a PhD in skin cancer biology and molecular pharmacology but discovered along the way that he loved talking about science more than doing it. His curiosity and creativity has taken him from the lab to stage shows, documentaries, journalism and now to SAHMRI, where he helps researchers sharpen their skills in writing, presenting and sharing their work with the world. Whether he'...

Dr Ilaria Pagani is a cancer researcher hailing from Corteno Golgi, a small town in beautiful Northern Italy. She migrated to Australia a decade ago in pursuit of her career and has become a key member of SAHMRI’s Blood Cancer Program, where she's working to transform the way chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML) is treated and managed. Since arriving in Australia, Ilaria's had to overcome the c...

Professor Odette Pearson and Associate Professor Kim Morey are trailblazers in Aboriginal health research and Co-Leads of the Wardliparingga Aboriginal Health Equity Theme at SAHMRI.Prof Pearson is a Kuku Yalanji woman with expertise in Indigenous health policy and systems. Her career began in the Torres Strait, where she helped implement a diabetes recall system that significantly reduced prevent...

Cade Christensen's career got off to a uniquely exhilarating start, with the California-native working as a Special Operations Intelligence Officer in the U.S Air Force, before moving across the world to pursue bioinformatics. Based at SAHMRI for the past 18 months, he’s swapped military intelligence for medical research — applying new skills to unravel the biology behind neurological conditions....

Professor Peter Psaltis is a leading cardiologist, SAHMRI’s Deputy Director and Co-Lead of the Lifelong Health theme, where he’s driving research to better detect, prevent and treat Australia’s biggest killer – heart disease. From studying the potential of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic for heart health, to pioneering work in vascular inflammation and plaque biology, Peter remains wholeheartedly dedicat...

Professor Caroline Miller is a behavioural scientist and long-time champion of disease prevention, leading the charge at SAHMRI’s Health Policy Centre. She also serves as SAHMRI’s Chief Operating Officer, helping to steer day-to-day operations. She’s at the coal face of translating research into health policy, most recently playing a key role in shaping Australia’s approach to vaping reform. From...

Ever had a PET scan? Well, it wouldn't have been possible without the use of radiopharmaceuticals, unique agents engineered to detect and treat disease. Chady Barkil, Director of SAHMRI’s Molecular Imaging and Therapy Research Unit (MITRU), and Dr Ed Robins, Head of Research and Development, are leading the development and innovation of radiopharmaceuticals in South Australia. Operated by a te...

Professor Tim Hughes is an internationally renowned haematologist and cancer researcher. He's led many key global and national trials throughout his extensive career, perhaps most notably being heavily involved in the testing of Asciminib, a modern tyrosine kinase inhibitor capable of reducing the burden of disease in chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML) to zero, and in some cases, allowing patients to...

Having led a highly impactful career in nutrition research and headed the SAHMRI Women and Kids theme for many years, Professor Maria Makrides took the helm as SAHMRI's Executive Director in 2023. Professor Makrides list of accolades includes being awarded SA's Scientist of the Year for her extensive research around omega-3 fatty acids, which resulted in the world-leading 'Test and Treat' program,...

SAHMRI employee and leukaemia survivor, Joanne Dart, sits down with her treating physician and SAHMRI colleague, Professor David Yeung to share her inspiring story. There were no warning signs leading up to Jo's shock acute lymphoblastic leukaemia diagnosis in 2010. At the age of 44 she was forced to drop everything and spend four harrowing months in hospital. Jo was one Professor Yeung's first pa...

Professor Deb White is the Precision Cancer Medicine Theme Leader at SAHMRI and a renowned veteran of blood cancer research. Leukaemia is the most common childhood cancer and Deb has dedicated much of her career to trying to improve outcomes for children and their families. She has two sons of her own, one studying medicine and another who she has the opportunity to work alongside in haematology....

Joyce Mugabushaka is a first-generation Australian whose family fled civil conflict in the Congo in the mid 90’s, eventually settling in Adelaide. It was watching science themed kids TV shows that first sparked Joyce’s interest in research, leading her on the path to wearing in a lab coat as a PhD Candidate within SAHMRI’s Precision Cancer Medicine theme. Joyce’s research primarily focuses on stud...

Matthew Kemsley is a Yamatji Malgana man whose family comes from Shark Bay, Western Australia. Matthew's grandfather was a member of the stolen generation, and Matthew himself was raised on the Central Coast of New South Wales. Matthew is a Project Officer working on Wardliparingga's South Australian Aboriginal Diabetes-related Foot Disease Program - Walk Strong, Walk Tall, improving the p...

Treatment side effects and disease relapse make myeloma one the most challenging forms of cancer to manage, reducing quality of life and overall survival. Dr Krzysztof Mrozik has made it his mission to improve drug delivery to sites of cancer, aiming to improve the effectiveness of therapy while limiting overall damage to the body. Dr Mrozik is also a husband, a father of two an Arsenal fan and a...

A/Prof Christina Bursill is a vascular biologist and Co-director of SAHMRI's Vascular Research Centre. Her career is dedicated to the detection, prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disease. She's also a mother and continues to compete at a high level in rowing, having once contended for selection on the Australian Olympic team.

Chronic pain limits the lives of around three and half million Australians and forces 40% into early retirement. Conditions like inflammatory bowel disease (IBS) and endometriosis can severely impact quality of life for not just months and years, but decades. Professor Stuart Brierley, Co-lead of SAHMRI's Lifelong Health Theme and leader of the Visceral Pain Research Group, has dedicated his c...

Dr Julian Carosi is an early-career researcher within Lysosomal Health in Ageing at SAHMRI. Julian’s research focuses on autophagy, a waste disposal system that helps repair cellular damage and slow biological ageing. Julian's fascination with problem solving very nearly led him to pursue engineering, but his passion for understanding and improving the health of the human body landed him in sc...

Dr Dan Thomas is the leader of SAHMRI's Blood Cancer Program. Dr Thomas is both a clinical haematologist and pathologist whose goals in research are to develop new drugs for the treatment of rare blood cancers. His career was set up by 7 years of post-doctoral training at the Stanford School of Medicine under pre-eminent leaders of his field. The Thomas Lab has a strong track record in finding...

Professor Alice Rumbold is SAHMRI's Women & Kids Theme Leader, a mother of two and a keen musician. A veteran of pregnancy health and Aboriginal health research, Alice's work continues to make a significant impact in improving the lives of women and children and part of her focus is now mentoring the next generation.

Joep Van Agteren, Monique Newberry and Matthew Iasiello are a trio of people dedicated to building community wellbeing through the practical application of research innovation. They've each experienced their own mental health struggles throughout their lives and have been inspired to create a toolkit that can be used by anyone to proactively build wellbeing. Together they lead the team behind...

Julia Scott is an expert in hormone driven cancer and has spent the past four years completing her PhD, focusing on cell metabolism in prostate cancer. Julia's been striving towards being a scientist since developing a passion for discovery in school. She's also an avid amateur athlete who's always looking for a new puzzle to solve.

Dr Najma Moumin was born in Somalia and grew up in Canada after immigrating with her family to escape the Somali Civil War. Now living in Australia, Najma is a registered nutritionist and researcher within SAHMRI's Women and Kids Theme. Her research centres around sourcing critical information relevant to public health policy, such as the prevalence of food allergy, breastfeeding rates and use...

Dr Andrew Shoubridge is an early career postdoctoral researcher in microbiology and neurobiology. He was also awarded the honour of becoming SAHMRI's inaugural BRIGHT Accelerator and is currently using some of the funds raised by the community during the 2022 BRIGHT Walk to conduct a unique dementia research project.