Dr Glauber Wagner graduated with a bachelor in biological sciences from the Federal University of Santa Catarina, Brazil, in 2004, completed his master’s degree in cell and molecular biology from the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation in 2006 and a PhD in biotechnology and biosciences from the Federal University of Santa Catarina in 2012 with a sandwich doctorate (CAPES) at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, US, in 2011–2012, in the area of proteomics of microorganisms. He worked as a professor and researcher at the University of the West of Santa Catarina between 2006 and 2015. Since 2015 Glauber is an adjunct professor and leader of the Bioinformatics Laboratory at the Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Parasitology of the Center for Biological Sciences (CCB) of the Federal University of Santa Catarina (UFSC). He has been dedicated to research in the areas of genomics and proteomics of microorganisms, especially in the characterization of markers for the diagnosis of infectious and parasitic agents. In the area of bioinformatics, Glauber has been working with the development of scientific workflows for the analysis and annotation of genomes. In the biotechnology field, he is interested in the development of peptides and markers applied in the agroindustry and PET market sectors. Glauber is also coordinator (2019–2021) and permanent professor of the Graduate Program in Biotechnology and Biosciences (CCB/UFSC) working in the line of research in Bioinformatics and Computational Biology. Currently, Glauber is pursuing professional improvement in the area of Project and Process Management through MBA in Project and Process Management/IPOG.

Research interests: gnome; bioinformatics

Collaboration ideas: Genome Surveillance

Lattes ID: 8417542717418294

Matthew Waller is an early-to-mid career researcher at the University of Sydney, Australia, and a second-year PhD candidate at Dr John and Anne Chong Lab for Functional Genomics at the university’s Charles Perkins Centre, supervised by Professor Greg Neely and Dr Lipin Loo. His research is focused on using CRISPR screening technology to interrogate models of disease (including SARS-CoV-2) and development. Most recently, they were able to identify a novel SARS-CoV-2 spike-binding protein that is capable of suppressing infection of cells with SARS-CoV-2 pseudotyped lentivirus and which is expressed in a subpopulation of cells within the lung. We believe this protein modulates lung fibrosis characteristic of long-haul COVID and has potential therapeutic use.

ORCID ID: 0000-0001-5748-9159

Dr Aletha Ward is a registered nurse in Australia with a PhD in social health policy. A researcher and lecturer within the university sector, she is passionate about advocating for health equity through policy shifts that influence social, cultural, environmental and commercial determinants of health. Aletha is driven to work with communities to empower, educate and support them to build their capacity and resilience. Aletha’s research is focused on food insecurity, emissions reduction and plant-based nutrition.

ORCID ID: 0000-0003-4549-0704

Professor James Ward is a Pitjantjatjara and Nukunu man, and a national leader in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander research. He is currently the director of the Poche Centre for Indigenous Health at the University of Queensland, Australia. As such he leads a research program focused on urban Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health and an infectious diseases research program and associated issues. Having held various roles in Aboriginal public health policy for both government and non-government organisations, in 2007 he was appointed inaugural head of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Program at the Kirby Institute, University of New South Wales. In 2012 he moved to Alice Springs to become the deputy director of the Baker Institute’s Aboriginal Health Program, after which he joined the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute. James has been awarded funding applications totalling $23 million since 2013, including $7.14 million as Chief Investigator A on National Health and Medical Research Council-funded grants and has authored 130 publications.

James has led national research projects on health services research (http://cre-ash.org.au/participating-sites/clinical-hubs/), in health promotion (www.youngdeadlyfree.org.au), and methamphetamines (https://wecandothis.com.au/), to name a few. His work has influenced and significantly contributed to national guidelines, policy and practice. During 2020 he contributed to the national COVID-19 response through membership of the Communicable Diseases Network of Australia and the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander COVID-19 Taskforce.

ORCID ID: 0000-0002-2892-4542

Research interests: animal virology; genetic characterization and evolution of pestiviruses; virome analysis using high throughput sequencing; viruses associated with diarrhoea in pets; detection of viruses in wildlife; detection and sequencing of SARS-CoV-2; transmitted drug resistance for HIV-1

Lattes ID: 7969719508082632

Professor Deborah Williamson is a clinician-scientist, director of the Victorian Infectious Diseases Reference Laboratory and professor and a Dame Kate Campbell Fellow in the Department of Infectious Diseases at the University of Melbourne, Australia. Her research group at the Peter Doherty Institute focuses on the application of novel diagnostic technologies, including genomics, to clinical microbiology and public health. She is a co-chair of the Communicable Diseases Genomics Network of Australia and a National Health and Medical Research Council Investigator Grant Fellow. She received a L’Oréal-UNESCO for Women in Science fellowship in 2017 and was awarded the 2020 Frank Fenner Award for research by the Australian Society for Infectious Diseases.

Research interests: clinical microbiology; genomics; AMR; diagnostic tests

Website: https://findanexpert.unimelb.edu.au/profile/769110-deborah-williamson
ORCID ID: 0000-0001-7363-6665

Dr Junhua Xiao MBBS is a medical graduate and holds a PhD in medicine from the University of Melbourne, Australia. She has been the recipient of the prestigious National Health and Medical Research Council’s Peter Doherty postdoctoral fellowship and an Australian Research Council Discovery Early Career Researcher Award. She has over 16 years of experience in leading pre-clinical and clinical research programs in the field of chronic diseases, in particular neurodegenerative diseases and depression.

Junhua has designed and managed large-scale multidisciplinary research projects and published 44 original research articles in leading international journals. She has been the chief investigator on 20 national and international competitive grants. Junhua regularly serves as an expert panel member and reviewer for national and international research funding agencies, philanthropies and international scientific journals. She is a proven research supervisor and has supervised three postdoctoral fellows and over 20 research high degree students.

Research interests: digital anatomy; digital health; neurological disorders.

Website: www.swinburne.edu.au/research/our-research/access-our-research/find-a-researcher-or-supervisor/researcher-profile/?id=jxiao
ORCID ID: 0000-0002-4320-2855

Professor Ruth Zadoks MSc MRes DVM PhD is a veterinarian and molecular epidemiologist with a specific interest in infectious agents that affect the health of livestock species and humans, including determinants of antimicrobial resistance. The focus of her work is to understand sources and routes of transmission of infectious agents and the development of targeted control strategies based on diagnostics, vaccines or management interventions, in order to limit their impact on animal health and welfare, food security and public health.

She has lived and worked in Europe, the US and Australia, and has led research collaborations, supervised PhD students, set up research networks and mentored early- and mid-career researchers in South America (Colombia, Brazil), Africa and Southeast Asia, in the areas of bovine mastitis, antimicrobial resistance and food safety. She has worked on liver fluke and rumen fluke in beef and sheep production, but her main expertise is in multi-host bacteria (such as Staphylococcus aureus, group B Streptococcus, Klebsiella, non-typhoidal Salmonella) affecting people, ruminants and fishes, with recent activity in poultry. Ruth takes a transdisciplinary approach to infectious disease epidemiology and health management. She has worked with experts from a wide range of backgrounds, including anthropology, human geography, behavioural and health economics; medical, veterinary and aquatic microbiology, genomics, and epidemiology; and mathematics and bioengineering, as well as policymakers, livestock producers and animal health and feed industries.

Ruth currently mentors a fellowship recipient of the International Veterinary Vaccinology Network in Brazil and maintains contact with experts in bovine mastitis and aquatic GBS disease in the country. She is keen to build on shared areas of interest and complementary areas of expertise to develop research and implementation programs that promote animal and human health through improved understanding and control of zoonotic bacterial infectious diseases with reduced reliance on antimicrobials.

Research interests: zoonoses; antimicrobial resistance; One Health; aquaculture; dairy cattle

Collaboration ideas: Building on my expertise in bacterial infectious diseases caused by multi-host pathogens, I am interested in collaboration in the areas of epidemiology and control of bacterial infectious diseases in ruminants and aquatic species. This may include implementation of molecular epidemiology studies and development of diagnostics, vaccines and management strategies to control disease transmission; reduced reliance on the use of antimicrobials; and interdisciplinary collaboration with natural, medical, quantitative and social scientists, industry stakeholders (such as farmers or animal health companies) and policymakers to understand drivers of disease and opportunities for control from a transdisciplinary perspective.

In addition, I am interested in supporting early- and mid-career academics from Brazil and Australia in developing research projects, programs and collaborations in the area of One Health, antimicrobial (including antifungal) resistance and infectious diseases.

Website: www.sydney.edu.au/science/about/our-people/academic-staff/ruth-zadoks.html
ORCID ID: 0000-0002-1164-8000

Dr Peta-Anne Zimmerman RN DPH CICP-E SFHEA is an internationally respected clinician, educator and researcher in infection prevention and control (IPC) and public health. Peta-Anne’s experience in IPC spans over 20 years and her domestic clinical experience, research and expertise has led her to work extensively in China, Southeast Asia and throughout both the South and North Pacific, directly on outbreak response, the development of comprehensive infection prevention and control programs, and integration of public health and acute care response in infectious disease emergencies in low- and middle-income country settings. Peta-Anne is the senior teaching faculty for the World Health Organization’s Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network (GOARN), and has been deployed on multiple missions as a consultant since 2003 and co-director of the Collaborative for the Advancement of Infection Prevention and Control, a formal GOARN partner.

Research interests: infection prevention and control; emergency triage for infectious diseases; outbreak preparedness and response; public health

Collaboration ideas: Infection prevention and control in LMI settings; IPC programme development; simulation and training; workforce development for IPC

Website: https://experts.griffith.edu.au/9193-petaanne-zimmerman/
ORCID ID: 0000-0003-3764-1277