Dr Richard Kim is a respiratory immunologist and leader in pulmonary research. Since completing his PhD in 2015 (Immunology and Microbiology, The University of Newcastle), he has established a dynamic research and leadership portfolio as Senior Lecturer at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS), Laboratory Head of the UTS ImmunoPharmacology Research Group, and research leader at the Woolcock Institute of Medical Research. He also serves as the National Convenor of the Asthma and Allergy Special Interest Group within the Thoracic Society of Australia and New Zealand (TSANZ), driving collaborative research and clinical translation across the respiratory health sector. During his postdoctoral training, he was awarded a Lung Foundation Australia & Boehringer Ingelheim research fellowship (2018-2020) and was recruited to a tenured Faculty position at UTS in 2019. In 2022, he established a multi-institutional severe asthma research initiative with UTS, The University of Newcastle, and the Woolcock Institute to advance discovery-to-translation research through cross-sector partnerships. Dr Kim leads an internationally recognised research program aimed at advancing our understanding of, and developing new treatments for, chronic lung diseases including severe asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. His work is also providing critical insights into the health impacts of emerging environmental threats such as e-cigarettes and bushfire smoke. Dr Kim specialises in developing and interrogating novel mouse models of human lung disease that are highly representative of the human scenario. These models are used to investigate disease-causing mechanisms and assess the effects of new therapies on respiratory immunology and function, and are cited in European Respiratory Society Practice Guidelines as crucial tools for research and drug testing. He has received over 25 awards and prizes recognising his research excellence, and his work is routinely published in leading respiratory and general interest journals such as Science Translational Medicine, American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Cell Metabolism, Lancet Respiratory Medicine, and Nature Communications.

Laboratory Head in Cardiovascular Pharmacology at Monash University, currently holding the prestigious positions of National Heart Foundation Future Fellow and Monash Talent Accelerator Fellow. Upon completing her PhD at the Department of Pharmacology & Therapeutics and the School of Chemistry (University of Melbourne), Dr. Qin advanced her career with a post-doctoral position at the Baker Institute in 2011. Recognizing her talent and leadership, she was subsequently recruited to establish her independent laboratory within the Drug Discovery Biology Theme at the Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences in 2019. Previously, she served as an MRFF REDI Industry Fellow and Baker Fellow. Dr. Qin also plays an integral role on the Board of Directors of the Australasian Pharmacologists and Toxicology Society, the Global Academic Drug Discovery Consortium, and the Australian Cardiovascular Alliance Emerging Leader (Industry Engagement portfolio). Dr. Qin is an emerging leader in translational pharmacology, driven by a visionary pursuit to develop "pro-resolving medicines" for the treatment of cardiopulmonary diseases, one of the leading causes of death globally. Her research team is dedicated to pioneering innovative "pro-resolving" therapies, primarily focusing on advancing the pro-resolving GPCRs (e.g. FPR2) R&D program to bridge scientific discoveries with impactful clinical solutions. Dr. Qin's expertise spans molecular and integrative pharmacology, rational drug design, and the intricacies of commercialization. Her scholarly contributions have been featured in prestigious journals such as Nature Communications, Cardiovascular Research, Circulation, British Journal of Pharmacology, Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, and Pharmacology & Therapeutics etc. Dr. Qin has secured substantial research funding from prestigious organizations including the National Health and Medical Research Council, National Heart Foundation, National Drug Discovery Centre, Diabetes Australia, CASS Foundation, Therapeutic Innovation Australia, JDRF etc. Dr. Qin's outstanding leadership and scholarly achievements have been duly recognized through the receipt of over 20 prestigious awards, including the Hypertension Australia Mid-Career Award (2023), Monash Talent Accelerator Fellow (2023), MRFF-Industry Fellow (2021), Future Research Leader (2020), and the Asian Australian Leadership Award (Basic Scientist, 2019), among others. For more information, please visit: https://www.monash.edu/mips/themes/drug-discovery-biology/labs/cardiovascular-pharmacology.

Dr Belinda Thomas is a senior postdoctoral scientist in the Respiratory Research Laboratory based at the Hudson Institute of Medical Research in Melbourne. Her research interest is viral-induced exacerbations of chronic lung disease, investigating the effects of current and repurposed therapeutic agents on disease severity. Her work utilises a panel of respiratory pathogens including influenza A virus, in vitro primary cell cultures and in vivo mouse models, and more recently, precision-cut lung slice models.