Team:Victoria Wellington/Members
Team
Victoria
Team Members
Alex Telfar
Student Leader
I am studying a masters of computer science. I have been designing strategies for building abstractions (which capture essential details) to make reinforcement learning more efficient. My dream research project is building an automated scientist, one that reasons about uncertainty correctly, that generates hypotheses and tests them, that carves nature at its joints.
Max Hayhurst
Student
I'm in my second year doing a Bachelor of Science in Ecology, Molecular Biology and Statistics. I find that understanding life at the molecular level, and the consequences this has at a macro-scale, to be inspiring.
My studies could apply to a lot of things, but in general my dream research project would use Statistics to answer big or meaningful questions in Biology. For example: How do proteins fold, and could we predict this accurately enough to allow for de novo protein design? What is the role of alkaloids in nature, and why are they so common?
Safirah Mayaduhita
Student
I recently finished an undergraduate degree in biomedical science. My interests range in most aspects of life sciences, particularly in biological chemistry which is why I chose to pursue academic study in Molecular Pharmacology and Medicinal Chemistry. I hope to be able to develop more effective, low risk and financially accessible drugs to improve health. I am also interested to integrate long-established traditional approaches to therapeutics with the modern course to generate medicines of the future.
Demelza Robinson
Student
I'm in my third year of a conjoint degree in Biomedicine, Computer Science and Statistics. I chose these subjects as someday I hope to work in the field of Bioinformatics. My dream job would be to create machine learning applications to help make advancements in researching and treating cancer and genetic disorders.
Ethan Wait
Student
I am a second-year Bachelor of Science student majoring in Chemistry and Biotechnology. I chose this because I enjoy learning about life at its most fundamental level and, furthermore, being able to use this understanding to design treatments and technologies.
In the future I would like to develop new proteins and/or small molecules for novel uses, such as; for the creation of superior crops, vaccines for new diseases or for uses in mass scale manufacturing.
Tom Spence
Student
Tom is an all around great guy, his interest in biotechnology matched only by his passion for large cans of highly caffeinated beverages. Tom’s currently focus of study include biotechnology, american football, all night gaming sessions of Fortnight and a personal study on anthropological effects of drinking said large quantities of caffeinated beverages on ones course of study.
Dave Seyb
Student
I'm interested in real world projects where science and innovation can be practically applied to better people's lives yet still be economically viable. A returning student with a previous career in software development and finance I graduated with a Masters degree in IT and Computer Science and a BSc in Psychology. I strongly believe that when smart people work together sustainable and practical solutions can be found for the many human problems we have today. If I can contribute my time and expertise towards solving some of those problems while still learning I'm happy.
Jack Dakin
Student
I study biomedical science and am focussed on genetics and synthetic biology. I am amazed at the things that nature is capable of and believe that utilizing life in new ways can solve many of humanity's problems. In the future I would like to see new organisms coded in a similar manner to how computer programs are today.
Lucy Huang
Student
I am a PhD candidate under the supervision of Dr Monica Gerth. My research explores the significance of bacterial chemotaxis in the phyllosphere (plant surface). Chemotaxis is a fundamental behaviour in bacteria, enabling them to seek nutrients and to find favourable conditions for survival. Some plant pathogens use chemotaxis to navigate over the leaf surface as a way to locate potential entry sites (e.g. stomata or lesions) for invasion and infection. I use Pseudomonas syringae pv. actinidiae, the causative agent of kiwifruit disease as a model organism to understand the molecular basis behind bacterial chemotaxis.
My dream research project is to develop innovative plant-based designs. For instance, I want to integrate plant communities (and the plant microbiome) with architecture that will be beneficial for human health and the earth. One more thing, I am working towards becoming an artist/illustrator/science illustrator!
Daniel Harrington
Student
I'm finishing up my third year of undergraduate study in chemistry and biotechnology. My desire to study these subjects stems from an appreciation of life, and all the remarkable steps it took for us, and all lifeforms to exist with such a broad range of capabilities. I believe we have a responsibility to life and to future generations to make the world a more hospitable and abundant place. My dream research project would be to develop sustainable and commercially viable, closed loop food production systems which are resilient enough to endure extreme climate conditions. I am also interested in waste treatment, recycling, and bioremediation.
Manuel Blank
Advisor
I'm a Biotechnology PhD student who moved from a synthetic biology metabolic engineering background to the broad area of sequence guided natural product discovery. I was inspired by the early(ish) days of metagenomic sequencing and the promise of finding millions of new enzymes that could then be plugged back into metabolic engineering projects. And frankly, I just really like this discovery based work at the frontier. My dream project is to bring the previously mentioned 2 approaches back together: Mine data from (meta)genomes (ideally from remote and/or extreme locations), and then tinker around with metabolic pathways to produce new molecules and new knowledge. Ideally, I would like to combine this work with a community and educational aspect, e.g. communal sample collection, or collaboration with a biohackspace for e.g. DNA extractions.
Jeremy Owen
Primary PI
My research to date has been focused on biosynthesis and discovery of bacterial natural products. My research group is presently focused on developing and applying metagenomic approaches to discover new drug candidates from uncultivated microbes. We are also interested in secondary metabolite biosynthesis, and the fundamental ecological roles of secondary metabolites, particularly in the context of symbiosis.
David Ackerley
Secondary PI
I am a microbiologist and enzyme engineer, with a primary focus on discovery, characterisation, engineering and application of useful bacterial enzymes, and of novel antibiotics to counter the spread of multi-drug resistant bacteria. My particular speciality is in tailoring enzyme activities by directed evolution - a powerful approach for enzyme engineering that applies Darwinian evolutionary principles at a single-gene level, using iterative rounds of focused mutagenesis followed by artificial selection of enhanced variants to improve desirable activities.
Alistair Brown
Instructor
I'm a postdoctoral researcher in the Ackerley Lab at the School of Biological Sciences. My research focuses on the discovery and development of novel antibiotic drug candidates. Applications of this research include high throughput screening for novel antibiotics and the development of biosensors to detect amino acids for use in both research and industry.
Mitch Ganley
Instructor
I'm a biotechnology PhD student with a background in ecology, biotechnology and organic chemistry now working on next generation vaccines. Using molecular biology and chemical biology to develop therapeutic vaccines for cancer and infectious diseases. I’m also interested in engineering cyanobacteria for biosynthesis of fuels, materials and useful proteins.
My dream project would be to build the most basic living organism from scratch. Finding out what the absolute minimum requirements are for life to replicate and metabolise, helping us understand how life started and how life might arise in other solar systems.