David Wong Zhang is a final year PhD Candidate from the Centre of Cardiovascular Biology and Disease Research (led by Prof. Grant Drummond and Prof. Chris Sobey). He completed his Master of Science in 2021 in the department of Microbiology, Anatomy, Physiology and Pharmacology at La Trobe University. David has received recognition of his work through awards from the Australian & New Zealand Microcirculation Society (ANZMS), and Australasian Society of Clinical and Experimental Pharmacologists and Toxicologists (ASCEPT). Alongside his PhD, David is an anatomy and physiology demonstrator and is passionate about research and education. His current research focuses on the use of human amniotic epithelial cells as therapy for stroke, using techniques such as neurobehavioral testing, immunohistochemistry, RT-qPCR, and single-cell transcriptomics to uncover the mechanisms of cognitive repair.

Ting is a third-year PhD student at the Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, where she has the privilege of working under the esteemed guidance of a dynamic team of researchers, including Dr. Chengxue Helena Qin, Professor Rebecca Ritchie, Associate Professor Barbara Kemp-Harper, and Dr. Peishen Elva Zhao. Her research focus is centred on unravelling the intricate regulation of formylpeptide receptors, with a particular emphasis on their role in Cardiopulmonary diseases

Supitchaya (Leena) is a second-year PhD student in the Department of Pharmacology at Monash University as part of the IRAP Pharmacology Group and Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Pharmacology Group. Her area of research focuses on identifying novel therapeutic targets to treat Pulmonary Hypertension (PH). After completing her Honours at Monash, she worked as a research assistant at the Garvan Institute of Medical Research, testing compounds in preclinical mouse models of pancreatic cancer. Now, she continues her work in PH, investigating IRAP as a novel therapeutic target. This involves testing IRAP inhibitors and performing right heart catheterisation in mouse models of PH, and utilising immunohistochemistry to explore pathological changes within the lungs. She hopes to contribute to cardiovascular therapeutic testing and discover novel treatments to improve patient outcomes.

Mariah is a final year PhD candidate at UNSW Sydney, supervised by A/Prof Nicola Smith. Her research focuses on the molecular pharmacology of BB3, an understudied G protein-coupled receptor with untapped therapeutic potential in lung cancer. Since 2023, she has served as Treasurer of the ASCEPT Student Committee, where she has organised career workshops and networking dinners for students at the annual ASCEPT conferences.

Rianna Tadd-Lennox is a second-year PhD student in the Department of Pharmacology, Monash University. She is passionate about neuropharmacology and cardiovascular research, and her work aims to reduce the devastating neurological deficits that follow ischemic stroke. Her research utilizes the photothrombotic model of stroke to assess the impacts of targeting insulin-regulated aminopeptidase (IRAP) as a novel ischemic stroke therapeutic. Ultimately, her work aims to bridge the gap between preclinical discoveries and clinical treatments to improve outcomes for stroke patients.

Varuni Premaratne holds a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery and has over three years of clinical experience across anaesthesia, intensive care, surgery, and internal medicine. Building on this foundation, she is currently completing a Master of Biomedical and Health Science at Monash University, where her research focuses on developing a novel precision-cut lung slice model of silicosis to explore pharmacological responses in ex vivo tissue. Her dual background in medicine and biomedical science fuels her passion for translational research, particularly in bridging laboratory findings with clinical application to improve patient care. She aspires to develop her career as a clinician-researcher, combining her clinical insight and scientific training to drive innovative research that enhances health outcomes and directly benefits patients.