Western Australia

September 4th 2026 - CBSM - The University Club of Western Australia, Whadjuk Noongar Boodja

Join us in the Cell & Developmental Biology breakout session at the WA Combined Biological Sciences Meeting (CBSM) on September 4th 2026. Invited speakers include Ben Dwyer, Ben Padman and Jasreen Kular. Submit an abstract for your change to win a prize for your poster or talk!

Dr Ben Dwyer
Dr Benjamin Dwyer is a Senior Research Fellow and Director of the WA Organoid Innovation Hub at the Curtin Medical Research Institute, Curtin University. After completing his PhD at the University of Western Australia in 2015, he undertook postdoctoral research at the University of Edinburgh, where he investigated cholangiocarcinoma and contributed to the development of therapeutic macrophage therapies now progressing through clinical trials. He currently holds an FHRI WANMA Emerging Leaders Fellowship and leads research developing patient-derived organoid models for primary liver cancer and RNA-based therapies for triple-negative breast cancer.

Dr Ben Padman
Dr. Padman is a Research Fellow at The Kids Institute and the University of Western Australia, specialising in advanced imaging techniques to study mitochondrial structure and function in rare metabolic disorders. His research focuses on inter-organellar communication and the mitochondrial interactome, using a range of cutting-edge imaging technologies spanning light and electron microscopy, ion beams, and X-rays to uncover new insights into cellular biology. Believing that “a picture is worth a thousand words,” Dr. Padman is dedicated to making each image a revelation.

Dr. Jasreen Kular
Dr Kular is a Research Fellow in the Bone Biology and Disease Laboratory at The University of Western Australia. Her research focuses on uncovering the molecular mechanisms that regulate secretory lysosomes and their role in controlling osteoclastic bone resorption. By defining how these pathways influence skeletal turnover, her work aims to identify novel therapeutic targets for lysosomal storage disorders and debilitating musculoskeletal conditions.