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Water bubble DNA with mRNA background

Director

Prof Pall Thordarson 

Prof Pall Thordarson (Palli) obtained his BSc from the University of Iceland in 1996 and a PhD in Organic Chemistry from The University of Sydney in 2001. Following a Marie Curie Fellowship in the Netherlands he returned to Australia in 2003 and was then appointed at UNSW Sydney in 2007 as a Senior Lecturer where he became a Full Professor in 2017. He is currently the Director of the UNSW RNA Institute and the President of the Royal Australian Chemical Institute (RACI). He is also a program leader for the NSW RNA Production and Research Network and leads the NSW RNA Bioscience Alliance on the behalf of the NSW Vice-Chancellor’s Committee. 

Palli has published over 130 referred papers, including in prestigious journals such as Nature and Nature Nanotechnology. His research interest ranges from Nanomedicine and Light-harvesting Materials to Supramolecular and Systems Chemistry. He is focused on advancing our understanding of how molecules interact with one another and ‘self-assemble’, and how self-assembly can then be harnessed to create novel functional materials and systems. His key RNA research activities include nanoparticle delivery systems, RNA synthesis, RNA supramolecular chemistry and bioconjugate chemistry.  

He has received a number of awards including the 2012 Le Fèvre Memorial Prize from the Australian Academy of Science for outstanding basic research in Chemistry by a Scientist under the age of 40.

Academic team

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Dr Chantelle Athlenstiel
Senior Research Fellow
Dialog
Headshot of Chantelle Athlenstiel
Headshot of Chantelle Athlenstiel

Dr Chantelle Athlenstiel

Senior Research Fellow

In 2009, Chantelle moved to the University of New South Wales in the Immunvirology & Pathogenesis Program at the Kirby Institute, where she studies RNA-directed epigenetic silencing of HIV-1 and SIV.

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Professor Jake Baum
Head of School
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Headshot of Jake Baum

Professor Jake Baum

Head of School

Jake Baum is the Head of School of Medical Sciences at UNSW Sydney.

- Ph.D. in Infectious & Tropical Diseases. Co-evolution of Genetic Diversity in Malaria and Humans. London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (University of London), UK (1999-2002; awarded 31-08-2002).

- M.Sc. Human Biology. University of Oxford, Magdalen College, UK (1997-1998).

- B.A. Hons (M.A. Oxon). Biological Sciences. University of Oxford, St. Catherine’s College, UK (1993-1996).

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Scott Berry
Researcher / Senior Lecturer
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Headshot of Scott Berry

Scott Berry

Researcher / Senior Lecturer

Scott leads a research group investigating quantitative control of gene expression at the single-cell level – ranging from epigenetic memory and cellular decision-making to global RNA metabolism in the context of cellular physiology.

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Professor Cyrille Boyer
Deputy Head of School
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Headshot of Cyrille Boyer

Professor Cyrille Boyer

Deputy Head of School

Prof. Cyrille Boyer is the codirector of Australian Centre for NanoMedicine and Deputy Head of School (Research), School of Chemical Engineering

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Rona Chandrawati
Associate Professor
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Headshot of Rona Chandrawati

Rona Chandrawati

Associate Professor

A/Prof Chandrawati heads the Nanotechnology for Food and Medicine (NanoFAM) Laboratory. 

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Kelly Clemens
Associate Professor
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Headshot of Kelly Clemens

Kelly Clemens

Associate Professor

Kelly Clemens is an Associate Professor in the School of Psychology, and Associate Dean of Impact Partnerships for the Faculty of Science, UNSW.

Kelly has studied at the University of Otago and the University of Sydney, with post-doctoral experience at the University of Bordeaux, France, and Macquarie University, Sydney, before establishing her own laboratory at UNSW in 2012. Her research focuses on the causes and consequences of drug addiction, spanning basic science through to translational and industry engagement. 

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Professor Merlin Crossley
Deputy Vice-Chancellor, DVC Academic Quality
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Headshot of Merlin Crossley

Professor Merlin Crossley

Deputy Vice-Chancellor, DVC Academic Quality

Merlin is an enthusiastic science communicator, Chair of the Editorial Board of The Conversation, of UNSW Press, Deputy Director of the Australian Science Media Centre, a member of the Editorial Board of BioEssays, and an Honorary Associate of the Australian Museum.

Albert Fahrenbach
Dr Albert Fahrenbach
Senior Lecturer
Dialog
Albert Fahrenbach
Albert Fahrenbach

Dr Albert Fahrenbach

Senior Lecturer

Albert received his BS in Chemistry from Indiana University in 2008, having done research under the tutelage of Professor Amar Flood in synthetic and supramolecular chemistry.  He received his PhD from Northwestern University in Organic Chemistry in 2013 under the mentorship of Professor Sir Fraser Stoddart (Nobel Prize 2016) investigating the molecular self-assembly and template-directed syntheses of artificial molecular switches and machines.  Albert then moved to Boston to carry out research in origins of life chemistry as a postdoctoral scholar with Professor Jack Szostak (Nobel Prize 2009) at Harvard University and Massachusetts General Hospital.  His research here focused on nonenzymatic RNA replication and prebiotic synthesis.  As part of a unique Fellowship opportunity during this time, Albert also spent three months of the year at the Tokyo Institute of Technology in the Earth-Life Science Institute (ELSI), a research center which specializes in origins of life research.  Thereafter, Albert spent a year with ELSI as an Associate Principal Investigator before moving to UNSW in September 2018.

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Michelle Farrar
Professor
Dialog
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Headshot of Professor Michelle Farrar

Michelle Farrar

Professor

Michelle Farrar is Professor of Paediatric Neurology at UNSW Sydney and specialist child neurologist at Sydney Children’s Hospital, leading the rare neurological diseases clinical and research programs.

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Daniel Fernández Ruiz
Senior Research Fellow
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Daniel Fernandez-Ruiz headshot
Daniel Fernandez-Ruiz headshot

Daniel Fernández Ruiz

Senior Research Fellow

I am a cellular immunologist specialised in vaccine development at the School of Biomedical Sciences, UNSW, and the UNSW RNA Institute.

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Dr Selene Fernandez Valverde
Senior Lecturer
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Headshot of Selene Fernandez Valverde

Dr Selene Fernandez Valverde

Senior Lecturer

Dr Fernandez is a genomic scientist & bioinformatician interested in understanding the role non-coding RNAs play in the evolution of gene regulatory landscapes within and across eukaryotes.

She is a Senior Lecturer RNA New Research Talent Program (Level C) funded by the UNSW RNA Institute. Her laboratory focuses on studying the evolution of long non-coding RNAs in various plants and animals to predict their functions better using bioinformatic tools and genomic approaches. She is particularly interested in how these could be leveraged to impact food production and disease in crops and humans. 

Dr Fernandez holds a BSc in Genomic Sciences from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (2007). She completed her doctorate at the University of Queensland (UQ), studying new classes of small RNAs with Prof. John Mattick in 2013. As a postdoc, she used comparative genomics to identify regulatory changes that facilitated the evolution of multicellular organisms and morphological diversity in the animal kingdom in the laboratory of Prof. Bernie Degnan, UQ (2012-2015). She then returned to her native Mexico as a Principal Investigator at the Advanced Genomics Unit of Cinvestav (2016-2023) before joining UNSW as a Senior Lecturer in mid-2023.  

Dr Fernandez was awarded the Mexico national scholarship L’Oreal-UNESCO-AMC-CONACYT for Women in Science in 2016, the International Rising Talents Fellowship of L’Oreal-UNESCO in 2018 and the Gender Equality Award by the International Union of Immunological Societies in 2019. She is a founding member of Mas Ciencia por Mexico (More Science for Mexico), the Mexican Network of Bioinformatics (Red Mexicana de Bioinformática), and a volunteer instructor of Software Carpentry and previously Clubes de Ciencia Mexico.

She has served as a volunteer mentor at foundations such as Ekpapalek and the “Mujeres en STEM: Futuras Líderes” program of the US-Mexico Foundation. Forbes Mexico magazine selected her as one of the 100 most powerful women in Mexico in 2018. She was recently elected in the competitive female climate leadership program 'Homeward Bound' and is part of #TeamHB8.

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Justin Gooding
Scientia Professor
Dialog
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Headshot of Justin Gooding

Justin Gooding

Scientia Professor

Scientia Professor Justin Gooding is currently an NHMRC Leadership Fellow and a co-director of the Australian Centre for NanoMedicine.

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Sophia Gu
Associate Professor
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Headshot of Sophia Gu

Sophia Gu

Associate Professor

Zi (Sophia) Gu is an Associate Professor and Head of NanoBiotechnology Research Laboratory at School of Chemical Engineering of UNSW.

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Associate Professor David Jacques
Scientia Fellow (Level D)
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Headshot of Associate Professor David Jacques

Associate Professor David Jacques

Scientia Fellow (Level D)

David leads the Structural Virology Group at the EMBL Australia Node for Single Molecule Science. Having completed a bachelor of science majoring in biochemistry and chemistry, David undertook his PhD under the supervision of Professors Jill Trewhella and Mitchell Guss at the University of Sydney. During that time, David employed both crystallography and small-angle scattering to understand protein structure. He also authored the internationally accepted standards by which biological small-angle scattering data are now reported in publications. In 2012, the award of an NHMRC Early Career Fellowship enabled him to join the group of Leo James at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Cambridge. Here he studied the role played by the HIV capsid during the early stage of infection, revealing structural dynamics and interactions with the host at a molecular level not previously seen. Since returning to Australia, David leads an independent research team focused on understanding the molecular details of host-pathogen interactions through the use of crystallographic, single molecule fluorescence, and cryo-electron microscopy methods.

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Professor Maria Kavallaris
Conjoint Professor
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Headshot of Professor Maria Kavallaris

Professor Maria Kavallaris

Conjoint Professor

Professor Maria Kavallaris AM is Founding Director of the Australian Centre for NanoMedicine at the University of New South Wales, Head of the Translational Cancer Nanomedicine Theme at the Children’s Cancer Institute and a National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Investigator.

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Scientia Professor Anthony Kelleher
Director, Kirby Institute
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Headshot of Anthony Kelleher

Scientia Professor Anthony Kelleher

Director, Kirby Institute

Professor Kelleher was appointed Director of the Kirby Institute at UNSW Sydney in early 2019. He is also Head of the Kirby Institute’s Immunovirology and Pathogenesis Program, and Principal of the Infection Immunology and Inflammation Theme at UNSW Medicine.

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Dr Cecile King
Associate Professor
Dialog
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Headshot of Cecile King

Dr Cecile King

Associate Professor

Associate Professor Cecile King, Ph.D., joined the School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences at the University of New South Wales Sydney in 2021. CK received her Ph.D. in Immunology from UWA and completed her postdoctoral training at the Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, USA. She joined the faculty of the Garvan Institute for Medical Research, Sydney, Australia in 2005. CK continues to be intrigued by how the immune system maintains tolerance to self and has made important contributions to our understanding of adaptive immune responses and autoimmunity. CK’s current research focus is RNA at the immune interface: Understanding both immune recognition of RNA and immune regulation by non-coding RNA and transposable elements.

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Megan Lord
Associate Professor
Dialog
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Headshot of Megan Lord

Megan Lord

Associate Professor

Megan Lord is an Associate Professor and Australian Research Council (ARC) Future Fellow in the Graduate School of Biomedical Engineering and Academic Director of the Australian Graduate School of Engineering Industry PhD Program, Faculty of Engineering, UNSW Sydney.

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Christopher Marquis
Associate Professor
Dialog
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Headshot of Christopher Marquis

Christopher Marquis

Associate Professor

A/Prof Marquis trained as a biochemical engineer and has current interdisciplinary research projects across protein biotechnology and in the bio-nanotechnology interface.

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John Mattick
Professor
Dialog
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Headshot of John Mattick

John Mattick

Professor

John Mattick is SHARP Professor of RNA Biology at UNSW Sydney.

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Joshua McCarroll
Associate Professor
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Headshot of Joshua McCarroll

Joshua McCarroll

Associate Professor

BSc (Hons), PhD (UNSW)

Associate Professor Joshua (Josh) McCarroll is Team Leader in the Gene Therapeutics and Drug Delivery Group at Children’s Cancer Institute and Conjoint Associate Professor in the Faculty of Medicine at UNSW Sydney.

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Robert Nordon
Associate Professor
Dialog
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Headshot of Robert Nordon

Robert Nordon

Associate Professor

Robert is an Associate Professor in the Graduate School of Biomedical Engineering.

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Kate Quinlan
Associate Professor
Dialog
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Headshot of Kate Quinlan

Kate Quinlan

Associate Professor

Kate is is Scientia Fellow (Level C) in the School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences (BABS).

Martin Smith
Martin Smith
Director, Ramaciotti Centre for Genomics
Dialog
Martin Smith
Martin Smith

Martin Smith

Director, Ramaciotti Centre for Genomics

Martin is a computational biologist with a background in biological sciences. After majoring in microbiology and immunology at the Université de Montréal, he undertook a Master's degree in bioinformatics at the Infectious Disease Research Centre in Quebec City, where he studied the genomics of parasitic protists. His interest in regulatory sequences in the non-protein coding genome brought him to Australia, where he completed a PhD in genomics and computational biology at the University of Queensland's Institute of Molecular Bioscience. His thesis (UQ's lucky 10,000th!) demonstrated that a substantial fraction of mammalian genomes harbours evolutionary signatures of molecular function through the conservation of RNA structures.

Dr Smith then leveraged the rise of high-throughput sequencing technologies during his postdoctoral research at the Garvan Institute for Medical Research in Sydney, where he developed new computational solutions for the analysis of human transcriptomic data. As an early adopter of nanopore sequencing technology, Dr Smith then founded the Genomic Technologies Program at the Kinghorn Centre for Clinical Genomics in 2017, where his group developed new genomic applications for real-time single molecule sequencing. In 2019, Dr Smith moved back to Canada to lead a research team at the CHU Sainte-Justine Research Centre (Canada's largest mother-child hospital) and teach bioinformatics at the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine at the Université de Montréal.

Dr Smith has founded two commercial nanopore sequencing platforms and is listed as an author on several patents. His research interests are focused on transcriptomics and the integration of real-time sequencing and machine learning into new clinical applications.

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Martina Stenzel
Scientia Professor
Dialog
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Headshot of Martina Stenzel

Martina Stenzel

Scientia Professor

Martina Stenzel is an ARC Laureate Fellow and Professor in the School of Chemistry.

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Professor Pall Thordarson
Director, UNSW RNA Institute
Dialog
Headshot of Prof Pall Thordarson
Headshot of Prof Pall Thordarson

Professor Pall Thordarson

Director, UNSW RNA Institute

 
Professor of chemistry specialising in RNA, peptide and supramolecular chemistry

Faculty of Science
School of Chemistry

Prof. Pall Thordarson (Palli) obtained his BSc. from the University of Iceland in 1996 and a PhD in Organic Chemistry from The University of Sydney in 2001. Following a Marie Curie Fellowship in the Netherlands he returned to Australia in 2003 and was then appointed at UNSW Sydney in 2007 as a Senior Lecturer where he became a Full Professor in 2017. He is currently the Director of the newly formed UNSW RNA Institute and the President-Elect of the Royal Australian Chemical Institute (RACI). He is also a program leader for the NSW RNA Production and Research Network and leads the NSW RNA Bioscience Alliance on the behalf of the NSW Vice-Chancellor’s Committee. 

Palli has published over 130 referred papers, including in prestigious journals such as Nature and Nature Nanotechnology. His research interest ranges from Nanomedicine and Light-harvesting Materials to Supramolecular and Systems Chemistry. He is focused on advancing our understanding of how molecules interact with one another and ‘self-assemble’, and how self-assembly can then be harnessed to create novel functional materials and systems. He has received a number of awards including the 2012 Le Fèvre Memorial Prize from the Australian Academy of Science for outstanding basic research in Chemistry by a Scientist under the age of 40.

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Associate Professor Stuart Turville
Senior Research Fellow
Dialog
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Headshot of Stuart Turville

Associate Professor Stuart Turville

Senior Research Fellow

My background is as a basic and translational scientist with extensive expertise in molecular virology (Nature Methods 2008; Nature Microbiology 2022; PloS Pathogens 2012; Traffic 2017; Nature Microbiology 2022) and basic immunology (Nature Immunology 2002, Blood 2004). Using this foundation, I have utilized many mechanistic aspects of basic science research to focus on translational solutions with regard to gene therapy efforts (Molecular Therapy, 2015 & 2017) and pandemic responses (PloS Med. 2021; Nature Microbiology 2022; Lancet Ebiomedicine 2022). As of January 2023 I have published over 86 primary journal articles in my field with total number of citations equal to 5340. 

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Irina Voineagu
Professor
Dialog
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Headshot of Irina Coineagu

Irina Voineagu

Professor

Broadly, my research interests are in the area of molecular genetic mechanisms underlying human brain disorders. My PhD work demonstrated that unstable DNA repeats block replication fork progression in bacteria, yeast and mammalian cells by forming DNA-hairpins on the lagging strand (Voineagu et al. PNAS 2008), and investigated for the first time the cellular checkpoint responses to replication fork arrest at CGG repeats. This work led to a novel model of chromosomal fragility at CGG repeat sequences (Voineagu et al. Nature Struct. Mol. Biol 2009). For postdoctoral research, I joined the Neurogenetics Department at UCLA, to investigate the molecular mechanisms of autism and intellectual disability, using transcriptome methods.  My postdoctoral work led to the identification of a novel gene implicated in X-linked intellectual disability (Voineagu et al., Mol. Psychiatry 2011) and the characterisation of shared molecular pathways in autism post-mortem brain tissue (Voineagu et al. Nature 2011).Currently, my group's research concentrates on the molecular genetic mechanisms underlying normal brain function and their perturbation in neurodevelopmental disorders, using a combination of functional genomic studies in human brain tissue and neuronal cell culture systems.

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Dr Anna Wang
Associate Professor
Dialog
Headshot of Anna Wang
Headshot of Anna Wang

Dr Anna Wang

Associate Professor

I am from Sydney and spent almost a decade overseas in Massachusetts, USA. I have a background in physics and biochemistry, and enjoy working in the interdisciplinary fields of astrobiology, biophysics, and soft matter.

Experience and background

BSc (Adv H1M), The University of Sydney (2009)
SM in Applied Physics, Harvard University (2013) 
PhD in Applied Physics, Harvard University (2016)
NASA Postdoctoral Program Fellow in Astrobiology at Massachusetts General Hospital (2016-2018)

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Dr Peter Wich
Senior Lecturer
Dialog
Headshot of Peter Wich
Headshot of Peter Wich

Dr Peter Wich

Senior Lecturer

Peter Wich leads the UNSW Research Lab for Functional Biopolymers. His primary research interests are in the fields of macromolecular chemistry at the interface between nanotechnology and bioorganic chemistry. His lab focuses on the chemical modification of natural biopolymers with the aim to engineer new multifunctional and biocompatible materials for applications in drug delivery, nanomedicine and bio-catalysis.

Management team

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Professor Pall Thordarson
Director, UNSW RNA Institute
Dialog
Headshot of Prof Pall Thordarson
Headshot of Prof Pall Thordarson

Professor Pall Thordarson

Director, UNSW RNA Institute

 
Professor of chemistry specialising in RNA, peptide and supramolecular chemistry

Faculty of Science
School of Chemistry

Prof. Pall Thordarson (Palli) obtained his BSc. from the University of Iceland in 1996 and a PhD in Organic Chemistry from The University of Sydney in 2001. Following a Marie Curie Fellowship in the Netherlands he returned to Australia in 2003 and was then appointed at UNSW Sydney in 2007 as a Senior Lecturer where he became a Full Professor in 2017. He is currently the Director of the newly formed UNSW RNA Institute and the President-Elect of the Royal Australian Chemical Institute (RACI). He is also a program leader for the NSW RNA Production and Research Network and leads the NSW RNA Bioscience Alliance on the behalf of the NSW Vice-Chancellor’s Committee. 

Palli has published over 130 referred papers, including in prestigious journals such as Nature and Nature Nanotechnology. His research interest ranges from Nanomedicine and Light-harvesting Materials to Supramolecular and Systems Chemistry. He is focused on advancing our understanding of how molecules interact with one another and ‘self-assemble’, and how self-assembly can then be harnessed to create novel functional materials and systems. He has received a number of awards including the 2012 Le Fèvre Memorial Prize from the Australian Academy of Science for outstanding basic research in Chemistry by a Scientist under the age of 40.

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Joshua Peterson
Chief Operating Officer
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Headshot of Joshua Peterson
Headshot of Joshua Peterson

Joshua Peterson

Chief Operating Officer

 
Institute management, facility design, chemistry, process development and scale-up

Joshua Peterson is the Chief Operating Officer at the UNSW RNA Institute. Since its formation in mid-2021, Joshua has led the design of the Institute’s facilities, procurement and hiring, building a consummate and innovative team working in an ISO 9001 certified facility for RNA therapeutics research, development and production. He currently manages all operational aspects of the Institute and enjoys developing and implementing technology-based systems improving efficiency and compliance and reducing workloads. 

Joshua has extensive background in industry, working for several years in the biotech industry in the USA, with primary expertise in downstream process development, scale-up and tech transfer to large scale GMP manufacturing facilities. After completing his PhD in chemistry/bionanotechnology in 2009, Joshua has worked in academia in a variety of post-doctoral research and management positions prior to joining the Institute. 

There was a time (pre-kids) when international travel to exotic destinations was his preferred hobby, but now he tries to squeeze in the odd round of golf and hopes that the weather cooperates. 

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Andre Serobian
Chief Innovation & Commercialisation Officer
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Headshot of Andre Serobian

Andre Serobian

Chief Innovation & Commercialisation Officer

 
Business development and commercialisation

Andre joined the UNSW RNA Institute in 2022 to lead the institute’s effort to expand and secure its financial, intellectual and network capacity. He is leading larger scale initiatives that impact UNSW, NSW state, and national strategic goals to fortify Australia’s position as RNA pioneers in the APAC region. Andre is also directing efforts to ensure the institute has the resources for success in RNA and complementary Gene and AI technology. In addition to securing and implementing all active business goals, he enjoys establishing, building, and growing commercially viable ventures to boost the institute’s productivity.  

Andre’s background is heavily focused on entrepreneurial, medical, and innovation projects locally and in nation building programmes including public and private partnerships. His experience over recent years has been focused on establishing and leading teams through all the phases from ideation and exploration to commercialisation of biotechnology and therapeutics. In earlier years, Andre has completed a PhD in Pharmacology, MBA with a healthcare focus, and is a trained MD. He has worked in academia and created companies in several industries including education, food, and marine.

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Marjorie Fox-Owens
Senior Marketing and Outreach Officer
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Headshot of Marjorie Fox-Owens

Marjorie Fox-Owens

Senior Marketing and Outreach Officer

Marjorie is a dedicated marketing thinker who has a passion for all things marketing. She has in-depth knowledge and over 20 years experience within the higher education sector. Marjorie’s specialties include branding and identity, creative marketing, communications and events. 

Marjorie is responsible for implementing UNSW RNA Institute’s marketing strategies, managing its outreach activities, and developing and maintaining relationships with potential customers, contacts and stakeholders in government, industry, academia and the community. She plays a valuable part in cultivating UNSW RNA Institute’s profile and reputation in the emerging RNA ecosystem. 

She loves taking photos, Pilates and idyllic coastal lifestyle with her husband and two kids.

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Catherine McDonald
Administrative Officer
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Headshot of Catherine McDonald
Headshot of Catherine McDonald

Catherine McDonald

Administrative Officer

Throughout her career, Catherine has been known for her exceptional problem-solving skills and her ability to adapt to rapidly changing business dynamics. Her dedication to ensuring that all aspects of the office run smoothly and efficiently makes her an indispensable member of the UNSW RNA Institute. With a constant drive for improvement and a commitment to excellence, Catherine sets a high standard for office administrators everywhere.
 
Outside of work, Catherine enjoys staying physically active through various sports and outdoor activities. She also volunteers in her community, supporting local organisations in their efforts to improve the lives of others.

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Bradley Eberand
Business Support Officer
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Headshot of Bradley Eberand
Headshot of Bradley Eberand

Bradley Eberand

Business Support Officer

Prior to joining the institute, he worked in several commercial development roles in consulting and technology industries focusing. He completed a Bachelor of Commerce / Bachelor of Science at UNSW and is currently undertaking a Graduate Certificate in Project Management.

In his spare time, you’ll usually find Brad armchair coaching sport from F1 to Soccer (go Wanderers), obsessing over anything Star Wars/Marvel, or plotting his next trip overseas due to a case of chronic travel bug.

RNA Accelerator production team

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John Chan
Quality Officer
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Headshot of John Chan
Headshot of John Chan

John Chan

Quality Officer

John has more than 10 years of experience in pharmaceutical quality assurance industry and is supporting RNA Institute for GMP/ISO system and facility.

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Kim Duong
Scientist - LNP Formulation
Dialog
Headshot of Kim Duong
Headshot of Kim Duong

Kim Duong

Scientist - LNP Formulation


Bachelor of Advanced Science (Honours) – University of New South Wales (2019)
PhD Chemistry – University of New South Wales (2024)

Kim joined the UNSW RNA Institute in June 2024 and is responsible for encapsulating RNA into lipid nanoparticles for biomedical applications. Kim earned a Bachelor of Advanced Science (Honours) with a major in Chemistry in 2019, followed by a Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry in 2024. With extensive experience in synthesising and optimising nanoparticles, Kim specialises in tailoring nanoparticle synthesis and surface modifications to enhance biological functionality.

In her free time, she enjoys occasional trips to the beach with her dogs and watching crime and mystery TV shows. She is also a big fan of Harry Potter and detective novels.

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Gregory Fessler
Scientist – pDNA and mRNA Production
Dialog
Headshot of Gregory Fessler
Headshot of Gregory Fessler

Gregory Fessler

Scientist – pDNA and mRNA Production
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Dae Jong Han
Scientist - pDNA & mRNA Production
Dialog
Headshot of Dae John Han
Headshot of Dae John Han

Dae Jong Han

Scientist - pDNA & mRNA Production
Headshot of Han Han
Han Han
Scientist – RNA Purification and Analysis
Dialog
Headshot of Han Han
Headshot of Han Han

Han Han

Scientist – RNA Purification and Analysis


B.Sc. Food Science and Engineering – Harbin Institute of Technology (2017) 
PhD Chemistry – University of New South Wales (2022)

Han Han is a Scientist for RNA purification and characterisation at the UNSW RNA Institute. She is mainly involved in RNA downstream work such as purifying RNA by HPLC and FPLC, characterising RNA by analytical HPLC, and RNA desalting now. She also provides purification support of RNA and peptides for research students. 

Han was awarded her PhD in chemistry in 2022. She focused on peptide synthesis and peptide-based gel systems as stereoselective organocatalysts during her PhD. Her practical experience skills in peptide purification and chiral compounds separation built her chromatography knowledge, and she joined our team after her PhD. 

Han likes jazz dance and is crazy about fashion. She hopes to create her own way to combine fashion with science together.

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Alison Ho
Quality Manager
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Headshot of Alison Ho
Headshot of Alison Ho

Alison Ho

Quality Manager


Quality management systems, development and implementation

Alison has extensive experience working in regulated laboratory environments and has knowledge of quality management and accreditation procedures. She played a key role in achieving ISO 9001 certification for the UNSW RNA Institute, making it the first accredited manufacturer of RNA-based therapeutics in Australia.  

Prior to this, she worked in hospital and private laboratories, where she learned about providing quality services with a focus on staff and patient health and safety. She also played a key role in establishing a start-up pathology laboratory and obtaining NATA accreditation through her expertise in quality management. 

In her free time, she enjoys activities such as camping and travelling. She is also an avid collector of dog memes and enjoys the occasional murder mystery/thriller.

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Michelle Huang
Scientist
Dialog
Headshot of Michelle Huang
Headshot of Michelle Huang

Michelle Huang

Scientist


Bachelor of Advanced Science (Hons) – University of New South Wales (2022) 

Michelle joined the UNSW RNA Institute in December 2022. She completed a Bachelor of Advanced Science (Honours) degree at UNSW Sydney in Chemistry in 2022, graduating with Honours Class I. Michelle has several years of experience in synthetic organometallic chemistry, which includes working with air and moisture sensitive compounds. 

In her free time, Michelle delves into true crime documentaries and thrillers.

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Hsiu Lin Li
Senior Research Associate
Dialog
Headshot of Hsiu Lin Li
Headshot of Hsiu Lin Li

Hsiu Lin Li

Senior Research Associate


BSc (Hons) - First Class Honours in Chemistry - Monash University (1995) 
PhD Chemistry - Monash University (1999) 

Key responsibilities

- Production of Synthetic RNA  
- Supervision and training of students 
- Enabling and assisting research efforts 

Hsiu Lin Li is a Senior Research Associate at the UNSW RNA Institute where she has a dual role of producing synthetic RNA and supervising postgraduate research students.  She has 20+ years experience as a postdoctoral researcher in synthetic organic and organometallic chemistry, working, in particular, with air and moisture sensitive compounds (including pyrophorics).   

She is a co-author of three books on structural elucidation from spectra (Organic Structures from Spectra Sixth Edition, Organic Structures from 2D NMR Spectra and Instructor’s Guide and Solutions Manual to Organic Structures from 2D NMR Spectra).  

Her love for making things extends beyond the workplace as she also knits for a hobby.

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Dylan Perriseau
Scientist - Synthetic RNA Characterisation & Synthesis
Dialog
Headshot of Dylan Perriseau
Headshot of Dylan Perriseau

Dylan Perriseau

Scientist - Synthetic RNA Characterisation & Synthesis

Dylan is a Scientist in the downstream lipid nanoparticle process. His primary role is the quality and integrity analysis of LNPs using UPLC-CAD, light scattering, and fluorescence-based techniques. He is dedicated to developing the Institute’s analytical capabilities and ensuring the quality of products provided to research and industry partners. Before joining the team in July 2023, he worked in the US research and development private sector for a decade on various therapeutic modalities in different phases of the pipeline.

Dylan’s background and industry experience incorporates cellular biology, particle analysis, oligo synthesis and formulation development. Most recent work includes an FDA approved adalimumab biosimilar and multiple successful oligonucleotide screening campaigns of extra-hepatic targets.

His hobbies include cooking, sometimes burning, a good meal and traveling with his partner.

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Dr Febrina Sandra
Senior Scientist – Nanoparticle Formulation
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Headshot of Febrina Sandra
Headshot of Febrina Sandra

Dr Febrina Sandra

Senior Scientist – Nanoparticle Formulation


B. Pharm – Brawijaya University, Indonesia (2013) 
M. Pharm (by research) – Korea University, South Korea (2014) 
Ph.D Molecular Science – Macquarie University, Australia (2018) 

Febrina Sandra (Sandra) joined the UNSW RNA Institute in 2021. She leads the production of RNA – lipid nanoparticles at the institute and also develops its quality control analysis. She is responsible for managing the projects, engaging clients and stakeholders, as well as providing training.  

Sandra is a pharmacist by background, equipped with fundamental knowledge of pharmacology and pharmaceutical manufacturing/Good Manufacturing Practice. Through her research training at Korea University, she gained expertise in formulating nano-drug delivery systems for biomedical applications, and the skills to evaluate their pre-clinical safety and efficacy in cell and animal models. Her PhD training in bio-nanotechnology further expands her skill in molecular biology, particularly in downstream protein purification and analysis.   

Sandra values an active lifestyle, on her day off you will find her on a badminton court or somewhere in the mountain, bushwalking.

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Angela Soeriyadi
Senior Scientist - pDNA & mRNA Production
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Headshot of Angela Soeriyadi
Headshot of Angela Soeriyadi

Angela Soeriyadi

Senior Scientist - pDNA & mRNA Production
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Dr Hiroki Suyama
Scientist – RNA Analytics
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Headshot of Hiroki Suyama
Headshot of Hiroki Suyama

Dr Hiroki Suyama

Scientist – RNA Analytics


Bachelor of Biotechnology (Hons) – University of New South Wales (2018) 
PhD Microbiology and Immunology – University of New South Wales (2023)

Responsibilities 

Process development for the analysis of pDNA and mRNA quality and integrity through methods such as capillary electrophoresis and mass spectrometry.

Biography 

Hiroki joined the UNSW RNA Institute in 2023 following the completion of his PhD in microbiology and immunology. He is involved in developing and optimising the processes of mRNA production and analysis to ensure that the products of the UNSW RNA Institute are of the highest quality. 

Hiroki’s background is in infectious disease microbiology and he has experience in pharmaceutical and diagnostic environments. His past work involved the characterisation of a bacterial pathogen through molecular biology techniques and the identification of novel vaccine candidates.  

In his spare time, Hiroki enjoys cooking and indulging in an extensive cheese and charcuterie board in the sunshine.

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Nhan Ton
Scientist
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Headshot of Nhan Ton
Headshot of Nhan Ton

Nhan Ton

Scientist