Celebrating biotechnology education at UQ

Meet the moderator and panellists for 'Biotech: past, present and future'

Emeritus Professor Paul Young (moderator)

Professor Young is a globally respected and internationally recognised Professor of Virology at UQ, who has made a significant contribution to advancing research into the treatment of virus infections and virus diagnostics over the past 4 decades. He has dedicated his career in biomedical research to developing vaccines and anti-viral strategies for the control of infections and severe disease. He is currently President-elect of the International Union of Microbiological Societies and a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Health & Medical Sciences, the Queensland Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Australian Society for Microbiology and the Australasian Virology Society. He is also a Member of the Federal Government O-GTR Gene Technology Technical Advisory Committee. Professor Young has received many accolades including UQ's R. H. Roe award.

Professor Liz Aitken (panellist)

Professor Aitken is a Professor of Plant Pathology at The University of Queensland in the School of Agriculture and Food Sustainability. Professor Aitken teaches courses in Plant Pathology and Fungal Biology at the St Lucia campus both at undergraduate and postgraduate level. Her research interests include soil borne fungal pathogens of tropical crops. Professor Aitken obtained her degrees in her native Scotland with a BSc Hons from Edinburgh University in Crop Science and a PhD from Aberdeen University studying a die back disease of Scots pine trees. She then undertook postdoctoral studies at Birmingham University and at the Sainsbury Lab at the John Innes Centre in Norwich, England before joining UQ.

Dr Kym Baker (panellist)

Dr Baker is the General Manager, Patheon Biologics, by Thermo Fisher Scientific. She is a UQ alumna who graduated with a 1st class Chemical Engineering Honours in Biotechnology and was part of the first ever cohort to undertake a BApplScience (Biotech) when offered at UQ in 1988. She graduated with a PhD from the Australian National University and the CSIRO (Commonwealth Scientific Industrial Research Organisation) in Canberra. Dr Baker is passionate about ensuring Australia and APAC remains strategically competitive in biotechnology throughout the fourth Industrial revolution through developing and mentoring and coaching the young scientists and engineers of today to lead this exciting future tomorrow.

Professor Trent Munro (panellist)

Professor Munro has over 25 years’ research and development experience, including as an executive with multinational biopharmaceutical company Amgen. He has worked across many of the world’s leading innovation centres, spanning Australia, USA, Germany, India and UK. Professor Munro has held several leadership roles in Australia including Senior Vice President of Therapeutics at Microba, leading the therapeutic development strategy, Director of the National Biologics Facility, Program Director of the CEPI funded Rapid Response Vaccine pipeline, Director of the ARC Centre for Biopharmaceutical Innovation and Senior Group Leader at the Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology. In addition, Professor Munro is Chair of Life Sciences Queensland, scientific co-founder of Cassowary Pharma and sits on the Scientific Advisory Board of Macrobiome Therapeutics. He is currently an Industry Professor and Director of Innovation in Biotechnology at The University of Queensland.

Dr Ali Alhomaidan (panellist)

Dr Alhomaidan is the Senior Scientific Consultant with the Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA) in Saudi Arabia. Ali plays a key role in shaping global regulatory policies, improving accessibility to life-saving treatments, and fostering local biotech manufacturing. He started as a pharmacist before pursuing a Master of Biotechnology at The University of Queensland in 2007, followed by a doctorate in 2012. His transition from academia to regulation was driven by a keen interest in how science, policy and ethics intersect. As a leader in biotech regulation, Ali’s responsibilities extend beyond Saudi Arabia. He is the vice chair of the International Pharmaceutical Regulators Program, where he works with global agencies — including the US FDA’s Centre for Drug Evaluation and Research — to improve accessibility to biosimilars and biologics worldwide.