Griffith University Institute for Biomedicine and Glycomics

This Tuesday, we proudly celebrated global Neurodiversity Pride Day at our Brisbane South (Nathan) and Gold Coast campuses with a morning tea that brought our community together in recognition, reflections, and celebrations.

The event highlighted our ongoing commitment to creating an inclusive environment where neurodivergent individuals are recognised, accepted, and supported to thrive.

Neurodiversity is an umbrella term that includes ADHD, ADD, dyslexia, dyscalculia, dyspraxia, sensory processing differences, bipolar, autism, ASD and more. Each neurotype brings unique strengths, perspectives, and ways of thinking that enrich our workplaces and campuses.

On this day, we not only celebrated these differences but also challenged the stigmas and stereotypes that can hold people back. By acknowledging and appreciating the strengths that arise from different neurotypes, we can continue to build a culture where everyone feels empowered to succeed.

This week we hosted the IBG Three Minute Thesis (3MT) competition where our talented PhD students presented their research to an audience in under 3 minutes using one static slide. This competition aims to help PhD students hone their communication skills to better present what can seem like very complex research to wider and lay audiences. The 3MT competition was originally established in 2008 by the University of Queensland, and has now grown into an event with PhD-candidates from universities across the globe competing in telling their research stories in 3 minutes.

This year we had 33 PhD students compete in the IBG heat. Their presentations covered a wide variety of topics from the use of AI in cancer mapping, to the potential of marine-derived probiotics.

Following a heated competition, Arjuna Abitbol, presenting his work titled “Can Australian Mushrooms protect the brain?” took home the 3MT IBG heat’s Winner title. Sanchia Marie Malapitan was hot on the heels of Arjuna, awarded Runner- up with her presentation “Tiny technologies tackling the cholesterol trap”. The winner and the runner-up progress to compete in the Griffith University level 3MT competition in August, and should they be successful there, will continue to the Australian wide competition.

The audience had an important role to play, voting on the People's Choice award. Congratulations to Cara O'Dwyer who won the audience over with her presentation “Honey I shrunk the cells!”

The winner and runner-up were selected by our wonderful panel of judges:
- Mr Peter Johnstone - CEO, Clem Jones Foundation
- Dr Nagaraj Gopisettyvenkata -Business Development Manager, IBG
- A/Prof Elise Sargeant - HDR Director AEL, School of Criminology and Criminal Justice
- Dr Danielle Kamato – Research Leader, IBG,
who dedicated their time and strategic effort to select the best of the best presentations - which was a difficult task given the high quality of the presentations this year.

The competition allowed IBG to showcase the wide variety of research topics carried out with our institute and the talents of our emerging biomedical researchers. We are looking forward to see Arjuna and Sanchia compete in the Griffith University finals, held on the 20th of August at our Southbank campus.

It was a chilly but exhilarating start to a Sunday morning as the sun rose over the Leneen Ford Sports Fields at Griffith University Logan campus on 31 May for the 10th annual Logan Fun Run.

IBG members from both Brisbane South (Nathan) and Gold Coast came together for the love of running and a great cause - raising money for Ronald McDonald House South East Queensland.

We had a total of 7 members representing the Institute for Biomedicine and Glycomics across the 2 km Colour Run, 5 km and 10 km distances, which traversed the most scenic areas of Griffith University Logan and Riverdale Park.

Congratulations to Associate Professor Rohan Davis, who won the bronze medal in the Men's Masters category for the 5 km run, and Dr Ablikim Bake who earnt a silver medal in the Men's Open division of the 2 km Colour Run.

What a fantastic kick-off to the Pint of Science AU Festival on the Gold Coast! Despite the heavy rain, there was an incredible turnout, with almost 100 people coming together to celebrate science and community. Dr Ailin Lepletier shared exciting insights into Strep A infections and the innovative strategies being developed at the Institute for Biomedicine and Glycomics to help end rheumatic heart disease.

https://pintofscience.com.au/event/brains-bites-and-better-health/

Welcome Intelligene 智新生技 to Griffith University and the Griffith University Institute for Biomedicine and Glycomics.
Intelligene scientists will be based at the Institute's Gold Coast labs to take advantage of Griffith's world-class facilities and the great ecosystem at the Gold Coast Health and Knowledge Precinct.

New biotech partnership to deliver advances in biomedical technology - Griffith News Intelligene will set up a home base at Griffith University to work in partnership with researchers to potentially deliver new therapies for infectious diseases.

A Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) could occur from a fall, vehicle or bike accident, assault, or a sport collision and could affect the human body in two stages: the primary injury could result in direct damage to the brain cells, and secondary degeneration which is caused by physiological responses to the primary injury.

During the secondary degeneration stage of TBI, the injury could worsen as the dead or injured cells released molecules which could cause further damage, and while healthy cells responded to try and repair the injury they could over-react and cause inflammation and ongoing damage.

Professor James St John and his team are excited to pivot their research to create treatments for TBI. This is all thanks to the NIISQ's vision to "cure TBI" and we have accepted the challenge.

Read more on Griffith News: https://news.griffith.edu.au/2026/05/06/funding-boost-for-traumatic-brain-injury-research/

Congratulations to Evgeny Semchenko on receiving the 2026 ASM Industry Engagement Award!
Awarded by The Australian Society for Microbiology, this national honour recognises outstanding early to mid career microbiologists who are making a tangible impact through meaningful engagement with industry. Evgeny’s work exemplifies the translation of cutting-edge microbiology into real world outcomes.
At Griffith University, Evgeny has played a key role in advancing academic - industry collaboration, including involvement in the Griffith LimmaTech Biologics partnership, supporting translational vaccine research aimed at tackling antimicrobial resistant pathogens. This award highlights the power of collaborative science in driving impact beyond the laboratory.
A fantastic and well deserved recognition of leadership, collaboration, and industry focused microbiology!

The Australian Society for Microbiology media release: https://www.theasm.org.au/news/2026/5/1/excellence-in-australian-microbial-science-asm-unveils-2026-award-recipients-in-research-and-teaching-leadership

Read more about Evgeny’s research here: https://experts.griffith.edu.au/8086-evgeny-semchenko/publications

Last week we were delighted to welcome Dr Anthony Dyer (Chief Commercial Officer) and Dr Corinna Dwan (Director, Partnerships & Engagement) from Marine Bioproducts CRC to Griffith University and the Griffith University Institute for Biomedicine and Glycomics(IBG).
The visit included tours of Nature Bank and Compounds Australia located within IBG Brisbane South (Nathan) campus, along with meetings with key researchers and executives. These discussions explored MBCRC programs and opportunities for industry–research collaboration under the CRC framework.

It was also an excellent opportunity to explore how MBCRC initiatives can build on existing IBG projects and capabilities, strengthening translation pathways and impact at scale.
We look forward to continuing the conversation and identifying new opportunities to collaborate.

𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐈𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐳𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐖𝐞𝐞𝐤 (𝟐𝟒 - 𝟑𝟎 𝐀𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐥 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔)

Strong vaccines need strong immune responses. Based at IBG, the 𝐍𝐇𝐌𝐑𝐂 𝐂𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡 𝐄𝐱𝐜𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐕𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐀𝐝𝐣𝐮𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 & 𝐃𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐩𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 (𝐕𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐞‑𝐀𝐃𝐃), advancing new adjuvants that improve the strength and durability of vaccine‑induced immunity. This work underpins the next generation of safer, more effective vaccines.

Respiratory bacterial infections remain a major global health challenge. 𝐃𝐫 𝐉𝐨𝐡𝐧 𝐀𝐭𝐚𝐜𝐤 and colleagues at IBG are developing a 𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐚𝐥 𝐯𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐧𝐨𝐧‑𝐭𝐲𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝗛𝗮𝗲𝗺𝗼𝗽𝗵𝗶𝗹𝘂𝘀 𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗹𝘂𝗲𝗻𝘇𝗮𝗲 —a leading cause of respiratory disease across all ages. The goal: broader, longer‑lasting protection against a major unmet medical need.

IBG researchers, 𝐀/𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐟. 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐚 𝐏𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐄𝐦. 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐟 𝐌𝐢𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐞𝐥 𝐆𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐀𝐎 are advancing 𝐯𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐬 𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐭𝐨𝐜𝐨𝐜𝐜𝐮𝐬 𝐀 (𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐩 𝐀)—a pathogen responsible for significant global disease burden, particularly in vulnerable populations and children.

Malaria remains one of the world’s deadliest infectious diseases. 𝐓𝐰𝐨 𝐈𝐁𝐆 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐬 𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐀/𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐟 𝐃𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐞 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐜 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐄𝐦. 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐟 𝐌𝐢𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐞𝐥 𝐆𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐀𝐎, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐟 𝐁𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐝 𝐑𝐞𝐡𝐦 are progressing separate 𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐚 𝐯𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐩𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐬, working across immunology, parasitology and nanotechnology and engaging with industry partners to support translation from discovery toward impact.

𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐟 𝐌𝐢𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐞𝐥 𝐉𝐞𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐟 𝐊𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐒𝐞𝐢𝐛 have partnered with a European biopharma to develop a 𝐠𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐜𝐨𝐜𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐯𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐭 𝐈𝐁𝐆, aimed at tackling the global rise in gonorrhoea and antimicrobial resistance.

Today, on Anzac Day, we pause to honour the courage, service and sacrifice of Australian and New Zealand servicemen and women, past and present.

We recognise the veterans within our Griffith University community, including our students, staff, alumni and their families, whose strength and contributions enrich our campuses.

We thank all who serve and have served and those who support them.

Lest we forget.