IDENTIFYING BIOMARKERS FOR IMMUNOTHERAPY USING SPATIAL BIOLOGY
With
Associate Professor Arutha Kulasinghe
Chair in Spatial Medicine and Principal Research Fellow,
Frazer Institute, University of Queensland, &
Founding Scientific Director,
Queensland Spatial Biology Centre,
Wesley Research Institute,
Queensland, Australia
RESEARCHER PROFILE
Filmed in Sydney, Australia | October 2026
Associate Professor Arutha Kulasinghe is a Principal Research Fellow at The University of Queensland’s Frazer Institute, where he leads the Clinical-oMx Lab. He holds the inaugural Brazil Family Chair in Spatial Medicine and is the founding Scientific Director of the Queensland Spatial Biology Centre at the Wesley Research Institute. He completed his PhD at Queensland University of Technology.
A/Prof Kulasinghe is a pioneer of spatial biology in the Asia-Pacific region and among the first to apply spatial transcriptomics, proteomics and interactomics there. He combines these technologies in an integrated multi-omics approach to understand the biology that drives disease. His research centres on immuno-oncology in lung, skin, and head and neck cancers, with a particular focus on the tumour microenvironment and on finding biomarkers that predict which patients will respond to immunotherapy. He also develops liquid biopsy approaches for lung and head and neck cancer, and has led tissue-atlas studies of infectious diseases, including COVID-19 and pandemic influenza.
He has authored more than 120 peer-reviewed publications, in journals including Nature Genetics, Nature Communications, The Lancet Microbe and the Journal of Clinical Oncology. His honours include Cure Cancer’s Researcher of the Year (2023), The Australian’s Top Innovators (2024), a Research Australia UNSW Frontiers Award (2026) and InDaily Queensland’s 40 Under 40 (2026). He has also been named on The Courier-Mail’s Queensland Power Lists for technology and medicine (2026). His work is supported by the MRFF, NHMRC, US Department of Defense, Cancer Australia, Cure Cancer, industry, and hospital and philanthropic partners.
- Source: Supplied
- Media Access Credit: Research Australia 2025-26 Health and Medical Research Awards
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3224-7350
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Superslayer taking on antibiotic-resistant bacteria
Dr Katharina Richter is a visionary leader in MedTech, acclaimed for innovation and gender diversity. With over 40 awards to her name, including MIT Innovator Under 35 Asia-Pacific, and Prime Minister’s Prize for New Innovator finalist, she has shattered barriers as an entrepreneur, scientist, and ‘superbug slayer.’ Katharina’s groundbreaking work in combating antibiotic-resistant bacteria has resulted in 6 innovative treatments, 3 of which are patented, offering hope against deadly infections.
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Risk factors and prevention of respiratory infections and infectious diseases in children
A/Prof Hannah Moore OAM is an infectious disease epidemiologist; Co-Head of the Infectious Disease Epidemiology team within the Wesfarmers Centre of Vaccines and Infectious Diseases at The Kids Research Institute Australia and Associate Professor at the School of Population Health, Curtin University in Western Australia.
A/Prof Moore has been awarded more than $19M in competitive research grants, co-authored more than 140 papers, was TEDxPerth 2018 speaker, recipient of a WA Young Tall Poppy Award (2013) and the WA Premiers Science Early Career Scientist Award (2015). In 2024, she was honoured with a Medal of the Order of Australia for her service to epidemiology as a researcher.
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Next-generation NK cell-based immunotherapies for hard-to-treat cancers
Associate Professor Fernando Guimaraes is an internationally recognised leader in cancer immunotherapy and natural killer (NK) cell biology. Based at The University of Queensland, he leads innovative research focused on developing next-generation NK cell-based immunotherapies for hard-to-treat cancers, including sarcomas and neuroblastoma.
