BIOSTATISTICS IN CLINICAL TRIALS
Kate Francis, Biostatistician (Snr Research Officer)
Murdoch Children’s Research Institute &
Honorary Research Fellow,
Department of Paediatrics, University of Melbourne &
Affiliate Biostatistician,
The Royal Children’s Hospital,
Melbourne, Australia
RESEARCHER PROFILE
Filmed in Melbourne, Australia | July 2025
Kate Francis is a biostatistician with the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (MCRI), an Honorary (Senior Fellow) within Department of Paediatrics, the University of Melbourne and Affiliate biostatistician with Royal Children’s Hospital in Narrm (Melbourne), Australia.
As a biostatistician working in research and clinical settings, she plays a vital role in ensuring all projects adhere to best practice guidelines and are transparently reported. She has served as the lead statistician for the analysis of clinical trials across a broad range of subject areas, including neonatal resuscitation, BCG for allergy and infection, convulsive status epilepticus and her work has been published in the top journals such as The New England Journal of Medicine, JAMA, and The Lancet. Most recently she was awarded the 2025 Excellence in Trial Statistics Award for her work on the PLUSS trial.
Kate is also an expert in the measurement of adolescent health behaviours, determinants, and outcomes and this was recognised with her invitation to be a commissioner for the second Lancet Commission on Adolescent Health and Wellbeing which was recently released at the 2025 World Health Assembly meeting.
Kate believes in the importance of gender equity, diversity, and inclusion and was key team member in helping MCRI achieve bronze accreditation in the Science in Australia Gender Equity (SAGE) program.
Source: Supplied
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Stem cells used for age-related macular degeneration
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.
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Liver cancer biomarkers, risk prediction & progression
Dr. Rodrigo Carlessi is an expert in Cancer Genomics and Molecular Biology, with an extensive track record in liver cancer research. He leads the Cancer Genomics Group within the Liver Disease and Regeneration Laboratory at the Curtin Medical Research Institute. He has an impressive publication record, with 43 manuscripts that have collectively garnered over 2,680 citations. His research leverages cutting-edge genomics and transcriptomics technologies, as well as long-read DNA sequencing, to explore mechanisms, identify biomarkers, and develop therapeutic targets in liver disease and cancer.
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Healthcare associated infection prevention
Professor Philip Russo is an internationally regarded expert in healthcare associated infection prevention, and led the recently completed the Australian National Healthcare Associated Infection Point Prevalence Survey, the first in Australia for 34 years. He is also Past President of the Australasian College for Infection Prevention and Control (ACIPC), the peak body for Infection Prevention and Control professionals in the Australasian region.
