Winter School - Invited Speakers
Kathleen McGrath
Research Associate Professor, University of Rochester
Session: Wednesday 27th July - Image Cytometry
Dr. McGrath is a Research Associate Professor working within Jim Palis' research group. Her research efforts are focused on better understanding the cellular and molecular events underlying the ontogeny of the hematopoietic system in the mammalian embryo. Her studies have focused on the emergence and differentiation of hematopoietic progenitors using the mouse embryo and embryonic stem cells as primary model systems and have involved extensive use of imaging flow cytometry including pioneering its use in analysis of erythroid and megakaryocyte lineages in bone marrow and fetal liver.
Carole Ford
Product Manager, Research Reagents and Single Cell, BD Life Sciences
Session: Wednesday 27th July - Single Cell (Genomic Cytometry)
Dr Carole Ford is a research scientist with interests in stem cell transplantation, cancer and autoimmune diseases. She joined BD in 2018 and is the Product Manager for Life Science Research Reagents and Single Cell. Previously she was the Research Solutions Specialist and provided technical support for research instruments and reagents across Biosciences. She continues to lead the Single Cell Multi-omics portfolio in Australia and New Zealand.
Dr Ford undertook her PhD at UNSW and Children’s Cancer Institute and focused on cord blood stem cell transplantation and immune reconstitution. After her PhD, Dr Ford moved to Sweden to continue her research at Lund Stem Cell Center. Back in Australia she worked at Westmead Millennium Institute and later joined the team at St Vincent’s Centre for Applied Medical Research for a few years before making the transition to a commercial role.
Chris Johnson
Principle Product Specialist – Imaging and Cellular Analysis, PerkinElmer APAC
Session: Friday 29th July - Image Cytometry - High Content Bioimaging
Chris has followed a career as a microscopist for the last 50 years in both research and industry, always focusing on a strong technical contribution in all the practical application aspects of microscopy technology, including histopathology, immunohistochemistry, biomedical, animal, botanical, clinical, microbiological, and industrial microscopy for all forms of microscopic analysis
After graduating in Medical Laboratory Science, he had a working career originally within a number of hospitals and universities both in Australia and UK, in practical and teaching roles along with management of a core university electron microscopy laboratory facility. Switching to industry he was active in the commercial development and establishment of confocal and multiphoton microscopy as a life science microscopy technique and trained many users in this then emerging technology. Chris joined PerkinElmer in mid-2020’s to support the company's various imaging platforms for the Asia Pacific region including High Content Analysis and associated products and continue to support and train customers throughout the region.
The advancement of excellence in microscopy technique has been a long-term passion for Chris and continues to be so.
Kate Pilkington
Technical Applications Specialist, ANZ, Cytek Biosciences, Inc.
Session: Wednesday 27th July - Full Spectrum Cytometry
Kate discovered her love for all things cytometry during her post-graduate studies at Adelaide University and hasn’t looked back. Following her cytometry-heart, she moved from an immunology laboratory into a flow cytometry core facility as SA Pathology and later, University of South Australia, where she helped researchers to achieve the best flow cytometry results they could. A long-standing member of both ISAC and ACS, Kate met the Cytek Aurora for the first time at an ACS conference in Adelaide, 2018, and it was love at first sight. Now, Kate is a Technical Applications Specialist with Cytek Biosciences, supporting Australia and New Zealand in spectral cytometry and pursuing her passion for and promotion of best practices for scientific excellence in cytometry.
Boon-Eng, Teh
Senior Manager, Service and Support – Greater Asia, Standard BioTools
Session: Wednesday 27th July - Mass Cytometry (CyTOF)
Boon-Eng has broad experience with immunology, microbiology, infectious disease, clinical research, molecular biology and in vitro diagnostic assay development. Proven success in supporting direct users with their early adoption of breakthrough technologies.
He has been supporting Fluidigm mass cytometry line of products which includes mass cytometry and imaging mass cytometry for over 6 years. Both of these innovative products enable ultra-high dimensional cytometry and highly multiplex immunohistochemistry studies.
Karessa Mercado
NSW/ACT Territory Manager, Integrated Sciences
Session: Wednesday 27th July - Mass Cytometry (CyTOF)
Karessa is a Territory Manager for Integrated Sciences within the Life Sciences division. With a background in immunology, molecular and cell biology, as well as automation, Karessa uses the knowledge she has gained from the research lab to offer her customers a customised solution to their needs.
Alanna G Spiteri
PhD Candidate, University of Sydney
Session: Wednesday 27th July - Full Spectrum Cytometry
Alanna is a PhD candidate under the supervision of Honorary Professor Nicholas JC King at the University of Sydney. Using high-dimensional spectral cytometry, single-cell RNA sequencing and computational analysis Alanna investigates the response of microglia across CNS pathology, with a specific focus on acute and severe neuroinflammation, as seen in West nile virus encephalitis.
Felix Marsh-Wakefield
Post-Doctoral Researcher, Centenary Institute and University of Sydney
Session: Friday 29th July - R and Spectre: End-to-end data analysis
Felix is a post-doctoral researcher with the Liver Injury & Cancer Program (Centenary Institute) and Human Cancer & Viral Immunology Laboratory (University of Sydney). He is an immunologist interested in investigating the role of various immune cells in a range of diseases, including hepatocellular carcinoma and multiple sclerosis. This primarily involves bioinformatics to assist in the analysis of high dimensional data, including that of imaging mass cytometry. He is part of the Marylou Ingram Scholarship Program run by the International Society for the Advancement of Cytometry (ISAC).
Felix was awarded his Immunology PhD in 2018 at The University of Sydney, for his work investigating the ability of mast cells to activate regulatory B cells. This project involved the use of high dimensional cytometry, particularly mass cytometry. These skills were then put to use during his first post-doc, where he interrogated circulating immune cells in multiple sclerosis patients after disease-modifying therapeutics, including alemtuzumab and cladribine. During this time he became experienced in coding and bioinformatics, which he has since applied in a range of disease contexts including multiple sclerosis, multiple myeloma and COVID-19.
James Burchfield
Senior Research Fellow, University of Sydney
Session: Friday 29th July - High Content Bioimaging
Dr Burchfield is a highly experienced cell biologist who currently heads the Molecular Imaging group at the Charles Perkins Centre located at the University of Sydney and who is internationally recognised for his work on Akt signalling, insulin resistance and live-cell microscopy. Dr Burchfield’s work focuses on cellular signal transduction in the context of stress. Signal transduction is at the forefront of all biological decisions and is essential, growth, development, survival, and the response to stress. He recently published an important study mapping a previously undescribed negative feedback pathway that is critical to cell growth and survival (eLife). In 2019, Burchfield discovered a new role for AMPK in regulating store operated calcium entry into muscle cells (EMBO J) and an oxidative switch in Akt (Nat. Comms) that regulates the activity of this critical kinase.