SBEI26 Speaker Biographies

Professor Daniel MacArthur is a human genomicist with over two decades of experience at the interface between human biomedicine, large-scale genomics, and data science. From 2012-2019 he served as Co-Director of the Medical and Population Genetics Program at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, and led the development of the Genome Aggregation Database (gnomAD), the world's largest accessible resource of human genetic data. In 2020 he returned to Australia as the inaugural Director of the Centre for Population Genomics, a joint initiative between the Garvan Institute of Medical Research, Sydney and Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Melbourne, focused on leveraging large-scale genomic and analytical tools to build a more equitable foundation for genomic medicine. He also leads the Australian Alliance for Secure Genomics and AI in Rare Disease (AASGARD) consortium, a national effort to validate and apply new analytical tools in the diagnosis of severe genetic diseases.

Michael Stumpf is Professor for Theoretical Systems Biology, an ARC Laureate Fellow, and a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science. Michael studied physics and mathematics in Germany and he completed his DPhil in Statistical Physics at Oxford. After this he jumped disciples and became a biologist, first in Zoology at Oxford and then, until 2018 as Professor for Theoretical Systems Biology at Imperial College London. He moved to the University of Melbourne in 2018 and in 2024 he co-founded Cell Bauhaus together with Megan Coomer.

His academic group is using theoretical physics to learn how cells make decisions; the Cell Bauhaus team is using computer models of cells to tackle some of the biggest problems in biotechnology, synthetic biology, and climate change. Outside of research he loves spending time with his family, and he enjoys running, rowing, and judo.

Professor Lyn Griffiths AM is a Distinguished Professor in molecular genetics with more than 30 years’ research experience in this field. She is also Director of the Centre for Genomics and Personalised Health at QUT which is focused on discovering better methods of diagnosing disease, developing targeted treatments based on genetic information, and training the next generation of genomics scientists. In addition, she is a passionate advocate of the translation of medical research through commercialisation and is currently the Director of the industry-led Bridge and BridgeTech programs, undertaking commercialisation training for the pharmaceutical and medical devices-technology fields across Australia, respectively.

Her own research at the Genomics Research Centre has involved population and translational genomics with a focus on identifying the genes involved in common complex traits and disorders including migraine, concussion, memory and CVD risk traits. This research has involved case-control cohorts, large multigenerational pedigrees and also a cohort from the Norfolk Island genetic isolate. Her research has led to diagnostic breakthroughs for several neurogenetic disorders, including familial migraine, ataxia, epilepsy and hereditary stroke. Her genomics research continues to focus on neurovascular disorders and analysis of multiomics data from the Norfolk cohort as well as a new study focused on the genetics of metabolic health disorders in Pasiika communities in Australia. Her research has appeared in more than 480 peer-reviewed international journals, and she has been awarded significant competitive and industry research funds to support her molecular and population genetics research.

A/Professor Jimmy Breen is the Chief Data Scientist of the Indigenous Genomics research group at The Kids Research Institute Australia in Adelaide. His group is the primary curator of multiomics datasets produced in the South Australian Aboriginal Diabetes Study (PROPHECY - Predicting Renal, Ophthalmic, and Heart Events in the Aboriginal Community), a project aimed at assessing the levels of complications in Aboriginal people with Diabetes. He has 20 years experience working as a Bioinformatician, primarily in Australia and Europe, working on diverse areas such as Plant Genetics, Ancient DNA, Viticulture, Reproductive Biology, Clinical Oncology and Precision Healthcare.

Adam Heterick is a Wiradjuri man, originally from Central NSW, and is Australia’s first Indigenous bioinformatician. Adam is a Bioinformatics Officer at Black Ochre Data Labs (The Kids Research Institute, Australia) and the National Centre for Indigenous Genomics (Australian National University). His work focuses on helping Indigenous communities develop ethical, culturally informed ways to govern and use genomic data. He is also involved in pharmacogenomics research, studying how genetic differences affect drug metabolism in Indigenous populations to improve health outcomes. Additionally, Adam contributes to the Marine Biomass Innovation Project, where he helps develop data systems and governance processes for the Mi’kmaw people of Western Newfoundland, ensuring Indigenous leadership in research and that Indigenous communities have control over their data and benefit from research outcomes. Previously, he worked with the Queensland Aboriginal and Islander Health Council (QAIHC), supporting Indigenous healthcare providers with data-driven solutions.

Professor Mathew G. Lewsey studies how plants perceive and interact with the world around them through regulation of their genes. His lab at the La Trobe Institute for Sustainable Agriculture and Food (La Trobe University, Australia) is home to a diverse team of engineers, computational biologists, plant and genome scientists. Their work spans from the fundamental to the applied, with particular interests in seed biology and in specialized metabolism. Mat completed his PhD at the University of Cambridge then was a Marie Curie Fellow at the Salk Institute (La Jolla, USA) and at the Centro Nacional de Biotecnología (Madrid, Spain). He joined La Trobe University in 2016 where he has established several major research initiatives. As Director of the Australian Plant Phenomics Network at La Trobe University, he leads a team that provide advanced plant phenotyping services to academic and commercial researchers. Most recently, he established the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence in Plants for Space with colleagues from Adelaide University, the University of Melbourne, the University of Western Australia and Flinders University, which studies plant design and bioresource production to enable off-Earth habitation and provide solutions for improving on-Earth sustainability.