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

Dr 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.

 

Dr Samantha Dawson

Dr Poshmaal Dhar

Ms Sarah Thomson

Mr Samuel Tanner

Ms Kris Vacy

Ms Lada Holland

Dr Toby Mansell

Dr Christos Symeonides

Ms Satvika Burugupalli 

Dr Mihiri Silva

Mr Rutger Roring

Dr Alexandra George

Dr Boris Novakovic

 

 

 

Steering Committee

Martin O'Hely

Peter Sly

David Burgner

Sarath Rangananthan

Lawrence Grey

Richard Saffery

Mimi LK Tang

Len Harrison

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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.

 

 

Ms 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.