Dr Magda Montgomery is the Head of the ‘Metabolic Tissue Crosstalk Laboratory’ in the Department of Anatomy and Physiology (University of Melbourne), previous fellow of the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia (NHMRC, 2014-2022), and leads one of four major programs in the School of Biomedical Sciences, the Metabolism Program. Dr Montgomery leads an innovative research program aimed at understanding how defects in lipid metabolism and the endocrine function of metabolic tissues drive progression of metabolic liver disease and type 2 diabetes. Dr Montgomery received her PhD at the University of Wollongong in 2011, and her postdoctoral training at the Garvan Institute in Sydney, at the University of New South Wales (Sydney), and at Monash University (Melbourne). Dr Montgomery published 60+ papers in high-impact peer-reviewed journals (Nature, Nature Communications, Science Translational Medicine) and is the Editor-in-Chief for a new metabolism journal with the Nature Portfolio (npj Metabolic Health and Disease).

Prof Tony Tiganis is Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Head of the Metabolism, Diabetes and Obesity Program and Scientific Director of the Monash Metabolic Phenotyping Platform within the Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute, Monash University. He leads a multidisciplinary team investigating the molecular mechanisms that drive obesity and diabetes and how these metabolic states influence cancer development and immune function. His research focuses on cellular signalling networks, particularly the role of protein tyrosine phosphatases in metabolism, immunology, and cancer. By decoding these pathways, he and his laboratory aim to identify new therapeutic targets for metabolic disease and its devastating comorbidities.

Jacqueline Stoeckli obtained her PhD from the University of Basel in Switzerland where she studied intracellular protein trafficking and trafficking signals. She then joined Prof David James' group when he was at the Garvan Institute in Sydney and she initially focused on insulin regulated protein trafficking with a particular interest in GLUT4 and vesicle trafficking proteins, such as Rabs and RabGAPs. In the James Lab she learned about insulin signalling, glucose metabolism, mouse physiology and more recently mouse genetics. She is currently a Senior Research Fellow at the Charles Perkins Centre and the School of Life and Environmental Sciences at the University of Sydney. Her research focuses on the insulin regulation of lipolysis and the genetics of metabolic disease.

Johan Auwerx, M.D., Ph.D. Johan Auwerx is Professor at the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Switzerland. He is using systems biology and genetics approaches to understand the role of mitochondria in health, disease, and aging. His work is relevant for the areas of genetics, systems biology, metabolism, muscle biology, and aging. His research spurred the development of new drugs, such as PPAR agonists, urolithin A, PARP inhibitors and other NAD boosters for the treatment of metabolic, cardio-vascular, renal, and neuro-muscular diseases. Johan Auwerx was elected as a member of EMBO in 2003 and has received many international scientific prizes, including the prestigious Marcel Benoist prize. He is the founder of several biotech companies.

Karin's research focusses on identification and translation of novel targets and treatments in diabetic complications.

Dr Tan received her PhD from the University in Otago where she studied the involvement of dopamine neurotransmission in tinnitus. Dr Tan has now taken up a Postdoctoral position in the Eating Disorder Lab at AMR in Sydney where she studies the coordinated control of physical activity and energy homeostasis.