South Australia

The 13th annual ANZSCDB State Meeting brought together a vibrant scientific community of over 80 registrants for a day of inspiring science, networking, and celebration of research excellence. We were thrilled to welcome attendees from across all South Australia’s Universities and Research institutes to engage in dynamic presentations and discussions across a broad spectrum of all things cell and developmental biology.

This year’s meeting was made possible thanks to the generous support of our sponsors. We extend our sincere gratitude to our Platinum sponsors, ANZSCDB and The Centre for Cancer Biology/UniSA, whose support was instrumental in bringing this event to life. We also thank our Gold sponsors and trade displays — ATA ScienIfic, Zeiss, Pathtech, Nikon, Stemcell Technologies, and Millennium Science — and our Bronze sponsors, Merck and ScienIfix, for their valued contributions.

A highlight of the meeting was our national keynote speaker, Dr Melanie White from the University of Queensland, who delivered an engaging and visually captivating talk titled “Quails Across the Scales: Qualitative Live Imaging of Development.”

We were also proud to feature two outstanding local speakers:

• Dr Yee Lian Chew, from Flinders University, who shared fascinating insights into neural development in the worm, and

• Associate Professor Tim Sargeant, from University of Adelaide/SAHMRI who discussed the critical role of autophagy in aging.

The program showcased the next generation of scientific leaders through two student oral presentation sessions and an ECR/MCR session, highlighting the breadth and quality of emerging research within South Australia. In addition, there were over 14 student posters, with 6 entries into our Research Image Award recognising visual excellence in scientific communication.

A big congratulations to all of our presenters and award winners — your hard work, creativity, and dedication continue to drive our field forward.

Most Outstanding Oral Presentation – Emmylou Nicolas (Robinson Research Institute, University of Adelaide)

Most Outstanding Oral Presentation R/U - Chano Ranwala, Robinson Research Institute, University of Adelaide

Most Outstanding Poster Presentation – Nathaniel Napoli – Centre for Cancer Biology – UniSA

Most Outstanding Poster Presentation R/U – Emily Phipps, Centre for Cancer Biology – UniSA

Most Outstanding ECR/MCR oral presenta2on – Sri Vaidyanathan , Centre for Cancer Biology- UniSA

Research Image Award – Emmylou Nicolas (Robinson Research Ins2tute, University of Adelaide)

A big thank you to the amazing organising committee who made this day such a huge success, this includes, Dr Jan Kazenwadel, Dr Drew Sutton, Dr Ash Geiger and soon to be Dr, Ruchi Umargamwala! Thank you to everyone who attended and contributed to the success of the meeting. We look forward to seeing you all again next year!

This will be me signing off for the last time, so if anyone is interested on taking on the role of state Rep for next year, please put your hand up!!

ANZSCDB State Representatives

Gen Secker and Lachlan Jolly