Dr Alen Faiz is a molecular biologist and geneticist who is the leader of the Respiratory Bioinformatics and Molecular Biology (RBMB) Lab. The lab's primary focus is on 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. Dr Faiz obtained his PhD at the University of Sydney, Woolcock Institute of Medical Research in 2014. He then traveled on a RESPIRE2 fellowship from ERS as a postdoctoral researcher at the Experimental Pulmonology and Inflammation Research (EXPIRE) laboratory, Department of Pathology and Medical Biology, University Medical Centre Groningen, the Netherlands (2014-18). Dr Faiz started at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) in 2018 and was promoted to senior lecturer in 2021. Dr Faiz has established a research program in Australia where he developed and set up the UTS CRISPR facility (2019-ongoing). As leader of this facility, he provides expert advice and training to students and research staff. Recently Dr Faiz has focused on understanding risk factors associated with SARs-CoV-2 infection through investigating the expression of genes required for viral entry which was published in an article by Reuters and picked up by the New York Times. Dr Faiz has won the American Thoracic Society Rising Star Award in 2018 and 2019 and the European Respiratory Society (ERS) Lung Science Award in 2020.

Melanie is an immunologist and team leader at the Murdoch Children's Research Institue exploring the early life origins of childhood respiratory disease.

Gerard Kaiko completed a PhD in innate immune responses of respiratory diseases. He then moved to the USA working at Washington University in St Louis from 2013-2018 investigating stem cells, organoids, and the microbiota in the gastrointestinal system. Gerard returned to Australia to establish the Mucosal Stem Cell and Organoid group at HMRI and the University of Newcastle, where his group now leads Australia's first organoid-guided interventional clinical trial in respiratory diseases.

Dr Milne is a Respiratory Physician at Westmead Hospital, Sydney, and Conjoint Senior Lecturer at Sydney Medical School, University of Sydney and The Westmead Institute for Medical Research. His research programme is focused on the discovery and translation of novel biomarkers in airways diseases.

Thomas Iosifidis is a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Wal-yan Respiratory Research Centre and Telethon Kids Institute focusing on novel therapeutic avenues for respiratory diseases such as wheezing illnesses and asthma. His research interests revolve around understanding the mechanisms involved in tissue injury and repair in health and disease, and the development of therapeutics to enhance mucosal healing.

Dr Rhiannon Werder is a Team Leader at Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, utilising stem cell models of the lung to transform the discovery of new therapies for respiratory disease. She received a PhD from the University of Queensland in 2017. Dr Werder was awarded a NHMRC CJ Martin Early Career Fellowship to undertake postdoctoral work at a world-leading stem cell institute (Center for Regenerative Medicine, Boston University). Dr Werder now leads a multidisciplinary team at MCRI, combining expertise in stem cell biology and immunology, to develop new therapies for respiratory infections and chronic lung diseases.