Dr Emma van der Westhuizen is a neuropharmacologist leveraging receptor signalling and immunobiology to design next-generation small molecule and biologic therapies for neurodegenerative diseases. She completed her PhD in Molecular Pharmacology at Monash University and undertook postdoctoral research with Professor Michel Bouvier at the University of Montreal, where she developed intracellular signalling fingerprints linking β₂-adrenergic receptor drug actions to therapeutic outcomes and adverse effects, work recognised with the 2022 Early Career Researcher Award from the Monash Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences. She subsequently worked at the Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences on allosteric modulation strategies for muscarinic receptors in Alzheimer’s disease and schizophrenia. Currently, as a Senior Research Officer at St Vincent’s Institute, Dr van der Westhuizen and her team are developing bi-specific diabody biologics coupling β-amyloid to microglial phagocytic proteins, applying the principles of biased signalling and immunoreceptor modulation to enhance disease-relevant clearance mechanisms in neurodegeneration.

Dr. Atsushi Yonezawa graduated from the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences at Kyoto University in 2002 and received his Ph.D. from the Graduate School of Kyoto University in 2007. He served as an Assistant Professor (2007–2013), Senior Lecturer (2013–2016), and Associate Professor (2016–2022) at Kyoto University. From 2014 to 2015, he was also a Visiting Assistant Professor at Stanford University. He is currently a Professor at Keio University.

Dr. Varuni Premaratne is a clinician from Sri Lanka who recently completed her Master's degree in Biomedical and Health Science at Monash University. Her research interests center on silicosis and respiratory diseases, with a focus on understanding disease mechanisms and improving clinical outcomes. She aims to develop a career as a clinician-researcher integrating patient care with impactful biomedical research.

Dr. Sohini Chakraborty is an assistant professor at REVA University, Bengaluru, and a PhD graduate of VIT, Vellore. Her research integrates bioinformatics, structural biology, and network pharmacology to advance the understanding of cancer, particularly breast cancer metastasis. She has received several prestigious accolades, including the DST International Travel Grant and multiple Best Oral and Best Poster Presentation awards, and serves as a Regional Ambassador of the Breast Cancer Hub (USA).