Gary Anderson works in translational immunopharmacologynusing genetic disease models and clinical cohorts to find molecular mechanisms of lung diseases, especially asthma and COPD. He described the diffusion microkinetic mechanism of long-acting beta-2 agonists and the critical role of IL-4 in murine Th2/T2 lung immunity. In 2008 he proposed the widely adopted “Endotype” concept of disease. His work identified the pathogenic role of SAA, gp130 and the Src family kinases LYN and HCK in lung disease. Earlier, he worked in the Swiss pharma industry and contributed to the discovery and development of the clinical medicines formoterol, indacaterol, omalizumab/anti-IgE and imatininb. His current work on drug development includes otilimab/anti-GM-CSF, elarekibep/PRS-060/AZD1472 anticalin and new inhaled JAG-1 blockers for muco-obstructive disease. He was a co-author of the Lancet Commission on asthma and leads the CURE Asthma initiative.

Sundram is member of the Asthma Australia - Consumer Advisory Council.

Dr Christine Keenan is a Laboratory Head at the Bio21 Institute of Molecular Sciences and Biotechnology and Senior Lecturer in the Department of Biochemistry and Pharmacology, University of Melbourne. She has a long-standing interest in the cellular and molecular dysfunction that causes asthma, with recent focus on epigenetic mechanisms. Her research leverages cutting-edge Next-Gen Sequencing methodologies combined with deep expertise in cellular immunology. The ultimate goal of her research is to prevent or cure asthma, whilst maintaining healthy immunity.

A/Prof Michael P. Menden is an Associate Professor at the University of Melbourne, Department of Biochemistry and Pharmacology, since August 2023. He also holds a Principal Investigator position at Helmholtz Munich, Institute of Computational Biology, Germany, a role he has undertaken since February 2019. A/Prof Menden is an ERC Starting Grant Laureate (2020) and was awarded the Rising Star in Drug Discovery Award by Cardiff University in 2022. Prior to his academic appointments, he worked as a Senior Scientist in Oncology Bioinformatics at AstraZeneca, UK. His academic background includes completing a PhD in Computational Biology at the University of Cambridge (2016) and postdoctoral research at EMBL-EBI, UK. The Menden Lab specialises in developing biostatistical frameworks and artificial intelligence methodologies to unravel the mechanisms of complex diseases and identify patient stratifications. By harnessing deeply characterised biomedical datasets and incorporating environmental factors, the Lab tailors computational models using disease-specific insights from data-driven analyses and the literature. Through the application of cutting-edge technologies such as generative AI and digital twins, the Lab seeks to advance precision medicine and drive the next generation of healthcare innovations.

Aowen Zhuang is an early mid-career Research Fellow at the Centre for Lung Health Research, Department of Biochemistry and Pharmacology, the University of Melbourne. He currently conducts his post-doctoral research under the guidance of Professor Gary Anderson and utilises integrative -omics approaches, molecular biology and imaging to delineate novel molecular pathways of prodromal disease. Our work hopes to identify novel molecular indicators of pre-disease and disease progression for COPD and asthma, furthering precision diagnostics and therapeutics.

Dr Alen Faiz is a molecular biologist and geneticist who is leader of the Respiratory Bioinformatics and Molecular Biology (RBMB) Lab. The labs primary focus is to understanding the biology of respiratory systems at the genetic and epigenetic levels, including under conditions of exposure to cigarette smoke and viral infection. Dr Faiz’s research program has made significant contributions to the understanding of the molecular pathways that underpin the development and progression of COPD and asthma through the development of bioinformatics pipelines and advanced cell culture and genetic editing techniques.

Director – Health Knowledge and Translation, Anthony is the Director of Health Knowledge and Translation at Asthma Australia. In this role he oversees Asthma Australia’s research program, strategic evaluation plans and supervises the quality development of consumer information and education resources. Anthony has a Masters Degree in Social Sciences and is a registered nurse who specialised in critical care nursing. He is responsible for connecting the need of the person with asthma with strategic research and evaluation decisions and the translation of these into consumer benefit.

Christine is head of the Respiratory Group at The George Institute for Global Health; Clinical Professor at the University of Sydney; and Professor of Respiratory Medicine at UNSW Sydney. She is a thoracic physician with a clinical research focus on the management of airways disease and has overseen many clinical trials and participated in international study steering committees and monitoring boards. Christine has been active in advocacy and leadership for lung health in Australia over many years. At The George Institute she manages a research group implementing trials in asthma and COPD in Australia, New Zealand and Asia.