Meet the Team
Principal Investigators
Peter Vuillermin
Professor Peter Vuillermin is a general paediatrician with an interest in the early life origins of immune related disorders in the modern environment. He has a particular interest in the relationship between the modern environment and diet, the microbiome and its metabolites, and the early life origins of immune dysregulation, allergic disease and asthma.
Fieldwork Team
Jasmin Foster
Fieldwork co-ordinator
Jacinta McMahon
Neurodevelopmental research assistant
Jacinta co-ordinates the neurodevelopmental assessments as part of the school review.
Carlie Butterworth
Lead research assistant
Carlie co-ordinates all our in-clinic appointments for participants and is an expert at measuring cardiovascular health.
Rachel Morgan
Respiratory research assistant & PhD candidate
Rachel oversees the lung function tests as part of the school review, including Spirometry, multi-breath washout and oscillation techniques.
Nakita Clements
Assistant co-ordinator
Minh Bui
Medical scientist
Investigators
Luba Sominsky
Senior Research Fellow
Luba's research interests are within the field of psycho-neuro-immunology, with a focus on the role of inflammation, diet and stress in perinatal mental health and neurodevelopment.
Dr Katherine Drummond
Postdoctoral Researcher
Katie is passionate about exploring ways to protect and enhance brain health, with her research focusing on the impact of environmental chemicals on brain function.
Dr Yuan Gao
Postdoctoral Researcher
Yuan is is interested in the role of the gut microbiome and atopic wheeze during childhood.
Samuel Tanner
PhD Candidate
Sam uses bioinformatics and machine-learning approaches to investigate the neurodevelopmental mechanisms underlying autism and ADHD, with a focus on the role of epigenetics in mediating the effects of prenatal neurotoxicant exposures.
Kris Vacy
PhD Candidate
Kris's PhD investigates the impact of the lipodome on neurodevelopment, using bioinformatic techniques in cohort studies alongside preclinical in vivo models.
Dr Toby Mansell
Senior Research Officer
Toby is a molecular biologist and biostatistician researching the biological processes involved in the links between early life exposures and childhood cardiovascular and metabolic health, with a focus on infections and inflammation.
Dr Christos Symeonides
Dr Satvika Burugupalli
Dr Mihiri Silva
Dr Rutger Roring
Dr Alexandra George
Dr Boris Novakovic
Dr Samantha Dawson
Sarah Thomson
Kavindi Gamage
Dr Dwan Vicilins
Steering Committee
Dr Martin O'Hely
Dr Toby Mansell
Prof Peter Sly
Prof David Burgner
Prof Sarath Rangananthan
Dr Lawrence Grey
Prof Richard Saffery
Prof Mimi LK Tang
Prof Len Harrison
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Anne-Louise Ponsonby
Professor Anne-Louise Ponsonby is an environmental epidemiologist and public health physician, who is interested in the determinants and management of disease at the population level. She has dedicated her life to understanding food allergy development, multiple sclerosis, and environmental influences on neurodevelopment outcomes.
Mikayla Hoffman
Fieldwork co-ordinator
Mikayla co-ordinates all aspects of the BIS school review, including in-clinic appointments and school visits on the BIS bus.
Aneeshya Nidhin
Dental research assistant
Chloe Love
Assistant co-ordinator & PhD candidate
Chloe co-ordinates data collection and auditing for the school review. She also manages participant engagement including newsletter and social media content. Her PhD explores the role of the gut microbiome and autism development.
Grace Terrill
Psychologist
Thao Tran
Laboratory technician
Dr Martin O'Hely
Bioinformatician / Biostatistician
Marty's research focuses on how mathematical thinking can enhance understanding in the biological sciences, leading him to work with ecology, evolution, math/stats, and bioinformatics groups globally.
Dr Andrea Gogos
Senior Researcher
Andrea is a neuroscientist whose research focuses on understanding the biological mechanisms underlying mental health and neurodevelopment.
Lada Holland
PhD Candidate
Lada's PhD is exploring prenatal nutrition, including molecular mechanisms such as epigenetic programming, and investigating their impact on child development, with a focus on novel statistical approaches.
Dr Poshmaal Dhar
Postdoctoral Researcher
Dr Poshmaal Dhar is a mucosal immunologist whose research focuses on understanding how the immune system develops during early life and how these early immune responses influence the onset and progression of chronic diseases.