Dr Alice Adriaenssens is a researcher with over ten years’ experience in the field of diabetes and obesity with a focus on investigating how gut hormones released from enteroendocrine cells integrate with homeostatic networks to regulate glucose levels and energy balance. Specifically her research programme is centred on characterising Gipr-expressing cells in the brain and their role in regulating body weight.

Nikki Lee is a molecular biologist investigating the neural control of metabolism. Her PhD investigated the role of neuropeptide Y1 receptor in the control of bone mass and was awarded by UNSW in 2009. As a post-doctoral researcher at the Garvan Institute of Medical Research, Nikki identified osteoglycin as a novel bone-derived hormone capable of controlling whole body glucose homeostasis through actions on insulin target tissues and the brain. Now situated at the University of Sydney, Nikki uses her unique skill set across the neuroscience, bone biology, and metabolism disciplines to drive research focused on elucidating the sex-specific differences in the control of metabolism with a focus on the interaction between leptin and the hypothalamus.

A/Prof Dodd is a neuroscientist and the Head of the Metabolic Neuroscience Research Laboratory at The University of Melbourne. His research focuses on understanding how the brain controls the development of metabolic diseases such as obesity and diabetes. His lab is committed to delivering transformative treatments for incurable metabolic diseases, which are set to be the leading cause of death by 2030.