Leadership
My leadership focuses on building research capability across computational systems biology, data science, stem-cell biology and biomedical discovery. I lead interdisciplinary programmes that connect statistical and machine-learning methods with single-cell, spatial, multimodal, proteomic and organoid systems, with an emphasis on reproducible tools, community standards, rigorous training and collaborative research culture.
Research and institutional leadership
I lead the Computational Systems Biology lab across the University of Sydney and Children's Medical Research Institute, and serve as Unit Head of Computational Systems Biology at CMRI. I also lead the Computational Trans-regulatory Biology group at the Charles Perkins Centre. These roles provide a platform for connecting quantitative data science with biomedical, stem-cell and disease-focused research.A central part of this leadership is creating shared research infrastructure: open-source software, reusable analysis workflows, benchmark resources and collaborative projects that allow computational and experimental researchers to work from common standards.
Research narrative | Software and resources
Field-building through methods, benchmarks and standards
My group develops computational methods and benchmark frameworks that help the field evaluate single-cell, spatial and multimodal omics methods more rigorously. This includes resources for multimodal integration, spatial transcriptomics, simulation, cell-type number estimation, feature selection, and atlas-based fidelity assessment of stem-cell and organoid systems.This standard-setting work is intended to move the field from visual or plausibility-based assessment towards quantitative, task-specific and biologically grounded evaluation. It also supports broader uptake through public code, tutorials, documentation and research-led training.
Developing people and research culture
I place strong emphasis on developing HDR students, postdoctoral researchers and early-career collaborators as independent researchers. This includes mentoring in research strategy, publication development, software practice, grant and fellowship preparation, and interdisciplinary collaboration.Computational systems biology brings together people from statistics, computer science, biology, medicine and engineering. My aim is to build a research environment in which people can contribute across disciplines, lead visible components of collaborative projects, and gain access to broader professional networks.
Lab members and alumni | Teaching and research training
Service, editorial and professional leadership
Within the University, I contribute to cross-school and cross-institutional research capability building through School, Faculty, CMRI and Charles Perkins Centre activities. This includes Faculty Research Mission Champion work around Improving Health and Well-being, CMRI research education and collaboration between quantitative and biomedical research communities.Beyond the University, I contribute to disciplinary leadership through editorial roles with journals including Stem Cell Reports and npj Systems Biology and Applications, professional societies including ABACBS and ISSCR, grant review and peer review. These activities support research quality, emerging research directions and the development of computational biology, stem-cell and systems biology communities.