Dr Larisa Labzin’s interest in innate immunity started during her honours training with Professor Matt Sweet at the University of Queensland’s Institute for Molecular Bioscience (IMB), Australia, looking at how TLR4 signalling is regulated by HDAC enzymes. After gaining more experience while working as a research assistant for Professor Sweet, she moved to the University of Bonn, Germany, for her PhD. There, she investigated the anti-inflammatory effects of high-density lipoproteins with Professor Eicke Latz. She then moved to Cambridge as an EMBO postdoctoral fellow to work with Dr Leo James at the Medical Research Council Laboratory for Molecular Biology in UK.

In Dr James’ lab, Larisa focused on how viruses are sensed by the innate immune system to trigger inflammation. In particular, Larisa investigated how antibodies change the way viruses trigger inflammation. While in Cambridge, Larisa was awarded an Australian National Health and Medical Research Council CJ Martin fellowship to return to Australia. Larisa returned to the IMB in September 2019 to work with Professor Kate Schroder. Larisa is an IMB fellow and is continuing to investigate how viruses trigger inflammation.

Website: https://researchers.uq.edu.au/researcher/18036
ORCID ID: 0000-0001-9098-4493

Dr Helena Lage Ferreira received her DMV degree from São Paulo State University (UNESP) in 2003 and a PhD in genetics and molecular biology from UNICAMP in 2007 in Brazil. She completed her post-doctoral training at Sciensano (Former Veterinary Agrochemical Centre) in Belgium from 2007 to 2008 and worked as an assistant researcher at the same institute from 2008 to 2011.

In 2011, Helena got a position as assistant professor at FZEA-USP. From 2017 to 2019, she was a visiting scientist at the Southeast Poultry Research Laboratory (SEPRL-ARS), US Department of Agriculture (USDA), in Georgia. She has documented experience of work under BSL2, BSL3 and BSL3A biocontainment and is certified to operate in BSL3 and BSL3 environments and procedures according to the select agent program (CDC-USDA) and OIE. Helena is a former member of the Advisory Committee of the Poultry Health National Program at the Ministry of Agriculture of Brazil (2014–2020). She is a tenured associate professor at FZEA-USP, Brazil. Her research emphasizes pathogenesis, the ecology of infectious diseases, host-pathogen interactions, and vaccinology of infectious diseases in the "One Health" context.

Research interests: emerging infectious diseases in the One Health context

Collaboration ideas: Interested in virus surveillance and climate changes, virus infection and animal ecology.

Website: https://bv.fapesp.br/pt/pesquisador/14172/helena-lage-ferreira/
ORCID ID: 0000-0002-3261-3712

Dr Liping Li is an early-career molecular microbiologist, specialising in antimicrobial resistance and bacterial drug efflux transporters. Her research interests include development of a point-of-care device for the diagnosis of bacterial infections, and investigation of cell population heterogeneity and its impact on antibiotic efficacy, but is not limited to these two areas. By attending the 2021 Australia–Brazil Virtual Research Collaboration event, Liping would like to search for collaborations in exploring COVID-19’s impact on bacterial infections.

ORCID ID: 0000-0002-2994-6583

Dr Fabrício M Lopes received his PhD degree in bioinformatics from University of São Paulo (USP), Brazil, in 2011. His PhD thesis received an honourable mention from USP Thesis Award 2011. He is a full professor at the Computer Science Department at the Federal University of Technology - Paraná (UTFPR), Brazil. Fabrício’s main research topics are in computational biology and pattern recognition, including but not limited to, gene network identification data integration and complex network analysis. He is advisor of the Graduate Bioinformatics Program and Graduate Program in Informatics, both at UTFPR. His recent work can be accessed with his Lattes ID

Website: http://pessoal.utfpr.edu.br/fabricio/
Researcher ID: F-6996-2010
ORCID ID: 0000-0002-8786-3313
Lattes ID: 1660070580824436
Fabricio-Lopes-4

Dr Emidio Marques De Matos Neto graduated in physical education from the State University of Piauí, completed his master in food science from the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences and a PhD in science (cell and tissue biology) from the University of São Paulo. He is currently an adjunct professor at the Federal University of Piauí (UFPI), a member of the Nucleus for Studies in Public Health (NESP-UFPI), leader of the Interprofessional Research Group on Elderly Health (GIPPESI), advisor for the Graduate Program in Family Health (RENASF). He is also advisor for the Academic League of Geriatrics and Gerontology of Piauí, Piauí State health counsellor. He has experience in the area of food science and technology, with an emphasis on biochemistry of nutrition and working mainly on the following topics: supplementation, elderly, sarcopenia, resistance training and physical assessment.

Research interests: unique health; elderly health

ORCID ID: 0000-0002-5635-900X
Lattes ID: 2997584119747885

Dr Glenn Marsh is currently a principal research scientist within the Dangerous Pathogens Team at the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Australia, based at the Australian Centre for Disease Preparedness. Glenn is trained to work at the highest levels of biocontainment. His research is focused on pathogen discovery/characterisation, animal model development and the molecular determinants of pathogenicity.

At CSIRO, Glenn’s focus has been a range of high-consequence human pathogens, including Hendra, Nipah, Ebola and Coronaviruses. Recent achievements include being the first research team to demonstrate the suitability of the ferret as a model of human Ebola virus disease, discovery of a range of novel bat-borne Paramyxoviruses, and the establishment of reverse genetics systems for a range of serious pathogens and pathogen discovery, particularly focused on fruit bats, resulting in the discovery of numerous novel Paramyxoviruses.

Research interests and collaboration ideas: virus discovery and diversity of bat-borne viruses; virus pathogenesis studies with novel bat-borne viruses; animal model development for high-consequence pathogens; testing of vaccines and therapeutics for a range of high-consequence pathogens

ORCID ID: 0000-0002-3469-1837

Doutora e mestre em Saúde Coletiva pela UFSC. Especialista em Saúde Indígena (UNIFESP) e Saúde da Família (UFCSPA). Atualmente professora do ensino superior na Universidade Federal do Amapá, onde desenvolve atividades de pesquisa e extensão voltadas para a área da Saúde Indígena, Doenças transmissíveis e Vigilância em Saúde. Em estágio pós-doc no Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Fiocruz, no Rio de Janeiro desenvolvendo pesquisa na área da vigilância nas fronteiras.

Lattes ID: 3154913017704087

Matt Mason is an experienced academic currently the academic lead for work integrated learning in the School of Nursing, Midwifery and Paramedicine at the University of the Sunshine Coast, Australia. He has over 15 years of experience in infection prevention and control (IPC) with a focus on settings outside of tertiary hospitals, particularly austere environments and low- and middle-income countries. He is a credentialed in IPC by the Australasian College for Infection Prevention and Control at an expert level, is a technical adviser to the World Health Organization's Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network, a member of the Pacific Regional Infectious Disease Association and co-director of the Collaboration for the Advancement of Infection Prevention and Control.

Website: www.usc.edu.au/staff/matthew-mason
ORCID ID: 0000-0003-3749-8677

Professor Jodie McVernon is a public health physician and epidemiologist. She has extensive expertise in clinical vaccine trials, epidemiologic studies and mathematical modelling of infectious diseases, gained in Oxford, London, and Melbourne. For the past 15 years, she has been building capacity in infectious diseases modelling in Australia to inform immunisation and pandemic preparedness policy. She has led nationally distributed networks of modellers informing responses to the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic and the current COVID-19 pandemic.

Research interests: epidemiology; modelling; infectious diseases; vaccination

Collaboration ideas: Epidemiological models have the promise to generate novel insights for current and future disease control based on the disparate population experiences of COVID-19 in Australia and Brazil.

Website: https://findanexpert.unimelb.edu.au/profile/26586-jodie-mcvernon
ORCID ID: 0000-0001-9774-1961

Jodie is one of the three Australian convenors at the 2021 Australia–Brazil Virtual Research Collaboration event.

Presentation topic at thematic session 2A:
Modelling in uncertain times - preventing and controlling COVID-19

Abstract: Models of infectious disease provide useful conceptual frameworks for synthesis of available knowledge about known and emerging infectious diseases. The international modelling community was rapidly engaged in the response to COVID-19, enhancing understanding of this new global challenge. Modelling has informed many aspects of preparedness and response in Australia and the Western Pacific Region.

Dr Renata Melo graduated in veterinary medicine from Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco in 2013, completed her master’s in 2016 and doctorate in 2019 at Ciência Animal Tropical (UFRPE) in Brazil with a fellowship program (SWE/CNPq) at Moredun Research Institute in Scotland, UK. She is a professor of parasitology at Centro Universitário Facol, Brazil. Editor for scientific journal Medicina Veterinária and experienced in preventive veterinary medicine, acting on the following subjects: parasitology, microbiology, laboratorial diagnosis of infectious and parasitic diseases.

ORCID ID: 0000-0001-7162-2745
Lattes ID: 2756533380815255