Keynote SPEAKERS

Dr Elizabeth Nunamaker

Executive Director of Global Animal Welfare at Charles River Laboratories

Dr. Elizabeth Nunamaker received the PhD degree in Biomedical Engineering in 2006 from University of Michigan, and the DVM degree from Purdue University in 2010. From 2010-2013 she was a Post-Doctoral Fellow in the Biologic Resources Laboratory at the University of Illinois at Chicago and Abbvie, Inc. During this time, she developed as a laboratory animal veterinarian and focused her research on analgesia, anesthesia, and humane endpoints for a variety of animal models. She became a Diplomate in the American College of Laboratory Animal Medicine in 2015 and a Diplomate in the American College of Animal Welfare in 2020. She has spent the past 15+ years of her career focused on the welfare of laboratory animal species and has numerous publications on the study of pain and its alleviation, refined handling, and humane endpoints in a wide variety of laboratory species. Dr. Nunamaker is the Executive Director of Global Animal Welfare at Charles River Laboratories. She recently served as the President of the 3Rs Collaborative where she focused on spreading rodent tunnel handling practices and developing a 3Rs certification program for those working in animal research. When not focused on improving the lives of research animals, Dr. Nunamaker loves to spend time in her garden or with her family at the beach.

Dr Matt Kirkcaldie 

Neuroscientist, researcher, writer, educator

Dr Matt Kirkcaldie is a neuroscientist and senior lecturer at the Wicking Dementia Centre of the University of Tasmania, whose greatest interest is the relationship between the physical brain and the mind. His research focuses on the structure of the cerebral cortex, particularly the relationship between the brains of humans and other nonhuman mammals and its implications for laboratory models of dementia. He is an author of several reference works including rodent brain atlases and an introductory text on the nervous system, used for the Australasian Brain Bee Challenge, for which he is a national coordinator.

Professor Kaylene Young 

Professor Menzies Institute for Medical Research

Professor Kaylene Young received her Bachelor of Science (hons) degree from Monash University and PhD from the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute. In 2003, Kaylene assisted with the successful establishment of the Queensland Brain Institute, before relocating to undertake postdoctoral research at University College London. In 2012, Kaylene was recruited to the Menzies Institute for Medical Research and leads their Brain Health research Theme.  Kaylene is currently the academic lead for the NHMRC Centre of Excellence in Multiple Sclerosis Research Translation, supporting a program of basic neuroscience, as well as preclinical and clinical multiple sclerosis research.

Professor Jayson Semmens 

Professor Sustainable Marine Research Collaboration

Professor Jayson Semmens works in the Fisheries and Aquaculture Centre at the Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies (IMAS), University of Tasmania, where the focus is on sustainable fisheries biology/ecology and conservation aquaculture. For over 30 years, beginning in 1993 with his honours and PhD at James Cook University examining the biology of squid, through to his Postdoc at IMAS on octopus biology and ecology and more recent research on sharks and skate, he has incorporated captive animals into his research programs, which are focused on filling critical knowledge gaps to help ensure the sustainability of vulnerable marine species. He currently leads the IMAS research program on the endangered Maugean skate, including managing the captive population. He is also a strong advocate for appropriate and transparent animal ethics processes and served on the UTAS AEC for 12 years, including six as the Chair.  

Dr Alex Kreiss 

Office of the DVC - Research

Dr Alex Kreiss did his PhD with Tasmanian devils and the immune response against the devil facial tumour disease (DFTD and worked as a post-doc in the same group for many years afterwards. Alex currently works part-time as a Research Veterinarian with the Wild Immunology Group at University of Tasmania (UTAS) and part-time as one of the UTAS University Vets. Alex started working with Tasmanian devils in 2005, when research on DFTD had just started. Currently, he is helping to develop a vaccine against DFTD, which hopefully will be able to be delivered in oral baits.  

---