STEM CELLS USED FOR AGE-RELATED MACULAR DEGENERATION
Dr Jenna Hall
Senior Research Associate
University of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
RESEARCHER PROFILE
Filmed in Melbourne, Australia | January 2025
Dr. Jenna Hall is a passionate and accomplished biologist with expertise in induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) culture, disease modelling, and high-throughput automated systems. She recently earned her PhD from the University of Melbourne, where her research focused on using iPSC-derived retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) cells to study age-related macular degeneration. Dr Hall’s technical skillset spans manual and automated cell reprogramming and differentiation, quantitative microscopy-based phenotyping, and large scale -omics analysis.
Dr Hall was awarded a highly competitive and sought after Australian Research Council Centre for Personalised Therapeutics and Technologies (ARC CPTT) scholarship which, in addition to funding her PhD, included an industry internship with a leading life sciences consultancy firm. Her internship with Biointelect allowed her to contribute to strategic projects addressing key challenges in Australia’s biotechnology ecosystem. Her white papers on the country’s vaccine and drug value chain, as well as anti-obesity medication, demonstrated her ability to combine scientific knowledge with commercial insights to influence policy and improve pandemic preparedness.
Dr Hall has over four years of industry experience, including her time at the New York Stem Cell Foundation, where she collaborated with engineers and data scientists to develop scalable workflows for cell reprogramming, downstream differentiation, and automated maintenance. For her next career step, Dr Hall is hoping to secure a role in a fertility research lab.
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Investigating new approaches to target plaque inflammation in atherosclerosis
Associate Professor Peter Psaltis is an Academic Interventional Cardiologist who holds Level 2 NHMRC Career Development and National Heart Foundation Future Leader Fellowships. He has Faculty positions within the University of Adelaide, Central Adelaide Local Health Network (CALHN) and South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI). Within SAHMRI, he is the Co-Theme Leader of the Lifelong Health, Program Leader of Heart and Vascular Health and Co-director of the Vascular Research Centre in the Lifelong Health Theme.
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Therapy to prevent hepatocellular carcinoma in people with liver cirrhosis
Professor John Olynyk is a Gastroenterologist & Hepatologist with over 30 years’ experience, primarily at The Fiona Stanley & Fremantle Hospital Group. He planned the Gastroenterology and Hepatology Service for the Fiona Stanley Hospital and was Head Department from 2010 until 2020.
Professor John Olynyk was appointed as Associate Dean and Head of the Medical Discipline at Curtin University in 2023 until 2025 and is now Associate Director, Clinical Engagement, Curtin Medical Research Institute, Curtin University.
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Medically Complex Pregnancies
A/Prof Shelley Wilkinson is an Advanced Accredited Practising Dietitian, Fellow of Dietitians Australia, and a leading Australian researcher in maternal health and implementation science.
She has over 30 years of experience in the field and holds a PhD in Psychology. Her passion is in health service redesign through co-creation and combining the ‘know-what’ of nutrition with the ‘know-how’ of innovative behaviour change techniques.
