My name is David James and I love science. To make a difference is all that matters and research provides that opportunity. The possibilities are boundless. Technology and science has moved at a pace never seen before and we can begin to envisage that what we have done and will do, will transform the future medical care system throughout the world. Individuals will one day enjoy detailed insights about their future health risks very early in life and most importantly what they can do to extend their own healthy life.
There is almost nothing that I can think of that could surpass this kind of future. This is my dream! To get there I run a lab of around 20 people at Sydney University. They can within reason work on whatever they like provided that it contributes to our big picture goal in some way. We work on cells from all kinds of animals, mice of all sorts of colours and humans. We are desperately trying to learn how to integrate with other foreign tribes such as mathematicians and engineers but we must first learn their language and their cultures and try to respect them as equals. I feel like I am setting off to climb Mount Everest and I am quietly confident we will reach the summit. But this will require a team effort and everyone will play a role. We have trained so many young people who have gone on to climb their own mountains and conquer their own personal battles. Some say times are tough now with funding getting down to the bare bones. But we have to be like Galileo and Newton and try to see what is on the other side of the moon and ask questions that others are afraid to ask.

I would like to welcome young students and postdocs to join us on this journey so that we might see beyond the beam of white light and seek its individual components in an effort to understand how complex systems really work so that we can in turn learn how to intervene in productive ways for the future.

Contact: david.james(at)sydney.edu.au

Dr James Burchfield completed his Bachelor of Science with Honours at the University of Sydney at the end of 2000. He then moved to the Garvan Institute to work as a research assistant for Dr Carsten Schmitzpeiffer. Here he worked on the molecular mechanisms of lipid induced insulin signalling defects in skeletal muscle developing skills in molecular biology, protein biology and cell biology. He completed his PhD in 2008 at the University of NSW under the guidance of Professor Trevor Biden. Here he worked on lipid induced signalling defects and PKCs. Further developing skills in molecular and cell biology. He also developed skills in live cell confocal and wide-field fluorescence imaging. Following this he moved to the lab of Dr Will Hughes where he further refined his skills in imaging (particularly TIRF imaging of GLUT4 translocation) and began work on image analysis (developing a novel software package for the analysis of TIRF data). In 2012 he moved to the lab of Professor David James and where he has solidified his cell biology credentials. Here he developed a novel reagent for imaging GLUT4 trafficking a long with a comprehensive analytical workflow. Dr Burchfield moved to the University of Sydney in 2014 as a Research Scholar.

Contact: james.burchfield(at)sydney.edu.au

I completed my PhD in my hometown Basel, Switzerland. I was originally trained as a cell biologist with a specific interest in protein trafficking which is why I was interested in coming to Australia to work on GLUT4 trafficking a long time ago. Since that time, I have acquired a rich set of skills in signal transduction, metabolism and mouse genetics.

My current research interests include two research areas. One focuses on how insulin regulates lipolysis in fat cells. This is one of the lost children of insulin action because despite being one of the most important targets of insulin action we know almost nothing about this critical physiological process. The other research interest involves the genetics of metabolic disease as well as health. The latter project capitalises on our Diversity Outbred mice from Oz that comprise huge genetic diversity similar to the human population.

Outside the lab I love to ski, kayak, bike ride, go to the beach and be outside in the beautiful Australian outdoors OR in the Swiss Alps. If only I could move the Matterhorn and some of my Swiss friends Downunder.

Contact: jacqueline.stoeckli@sydney.edu.au

My name is Alexis Díaz and I am making science to understand the nature and to shape the modern world around us. I want to make scientific advances that benefit mankind.
Since I was a child, science has been my passion. This passion gives me so many things every day e.g. creativity, honesty, happiness, and scientific rigor. 

As an investigator, I am interested in Insulin Resistance and Diabetes. Despite these conditions affecting millions of people worldwide, the molecular mechanism involved in their pathophysiology are not fully understood. I believe that every day is an opportunity to make key discoveries that will improve the quality of life in people that suffer these diseases. My current interest is to discover the role of mitochondrial metabolism on insulin resistance condition in adipocyte and skeletal muscle. 
To break the paradigms trying to create no obvious connection, science requires creativity and intellectual experimentation, try to fly and think in unexpected ways to connect scientific points. As a scientist, I help myself to develop my creativity through art, sport, and nature.
I started working in the James lab in 2019 to be part of an energetic and successful team. I communicate my ideas openly and honestly and as a team member, I try to use solution-focused thinking when faced with challenges. I try to do my best every day.

I obtained my Ph.D. in Biomedical Science working with Dr. Enrique Jaimovich in the Muscle Physiology Lab, Faculty of Medicine, University of Chile, Chile. During this time I learnt about the adult skeletal muscle physiology and its metabolic alteration in diet-induced insulin resistance.
In 2018 I won a research fellow to work in mitochondrial metabolism in neonatal cardiomyocyte with Dr. Sergio Lavandero, in the Advanced Center of Chronic Diseases, University of Chile, Chile. In the same year, I was the national head of the human physiology undergraduate course to Medical Doctor, School of Medicine, University Andrés Bello, Chile.

According to Iyengar, "... choosing to help us create our lives, we can make choices and turn them in. Science can assist us in becoming more skilful choosers, but at its core, choice remains an art."

I choose to make science.

Contact: alexis.diaz(at)sydney.edu.au

I completed my PhD in 2018 at the University of Copenhagen with Sara Vienberg and Jonas Treebak at CBMR Integrative Physiology. During my PhD research I studied adipose tissue biology in relation to metabolic stress, such as high-fat diet and exercise. More specifically we were interested in how miRNA matures during times of low or high energy states, as it has become apparent that miRNAs are dysregulated in metabolic disease.

I moved to the James’ lab at the end of 2018 just after graduating my PhD. My current project investigates how genes and environment affect the progression of insulin resistance. My main focus is on adipose tissue and I’m trying to identify genetic drives that impair glucose uptake into fat.

Contact: soren.madsen(at)sydney.edu.au

I am originally from New Zealand; I completed my PhD in the Department of Nutrition at the University of Auckland’s under supervision of Troy Merry and Peter Shepherd. During my PhD I investigated the structural protein β-catenin as a potential regulator of actin remodelling during GLUT4 translocation. Prior to my PhD I completed a master’s degree in the School of Biological Sciences, also at the University of Auckland, where I investigated mitochondrial thermogenesis in insect flight muscle.
I moved to the James’ lab at the beginning of 2021 to investigate the role of genetics in metabolic disease and healthy aging. My interests are in the aetiology of insulin resistance, and the mechanics of intracellular trafficking, particularly how it relates to metabolism.

Contact: stewart.masson@sydney.edu.au

I completed my PhD in 2022 at the University of Sydney with Dr Mark Larance in the Charles Perkins Centre. During that time, I studied the molecular adaptation to fasting and intermittent fasting. My work largely focused on liver, adipose tissue and blood plasma where I applied mass-spectrometry based proteomics to examine these adaptations at the organ level. Alongside this, I worked on developed new techniques to improve the analytical potential of mass spectrometry for blood plasma.

I moved to the James’ lab at the end of 2022 shortly after obtaining my PhD. My current work focuses on understanding the process of healthy aging in both humans and mice and how this process is altered by genetic variance. I continue to use mass spectrometry as my central mode of analysis and I am continually working to improve analytical methods.

Contact: dylan.harney@sydney.edu.au

Oli earned his PhD in the Cellular and Molecular Metabolism Lab at the Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences under the guidance of Professor Mark Febbraio. His research focused on the protective impact of exercise against Alzheimer's Disease (AD) and Non-alcoholic Steatohepatitis (NASH), with a particular interest in the role of exercise-induced Extracellular Vesicles (EVs). Before this, Oli completed a Master's in Medical Physics at the University of Sydney. There, he researched deep-learning approaches to improve the detection precision of transient changes in neurotransmitter levels during dynamic PET scans. In August 2023, he joined the James lab and is actively involved in various projects. These include employing deep-learning techniques for enhanced phenotypic classification and exploring the influence of ketone metabolism on insulin resistance.

contact: oliver.fuller@sydney.edu.au

I completed a Bachelors of Animal and Veterinary Bioscience with first class honours at the University of Sydney in 2011, focusing on equine genetics. I moved into medical research in 2012, primarily working on skeletal muscle performance and muscular dystrophy with Prof. Kathryn North at the Institute for Neuroscience and Muscle Research at the Children’s Hospital at Westmead. I joined the David James Lab in 2014, located at the Charles Perkins Centre at the University of Sydney.  Here, I have assisted on many projects spanning across our interdisciplinary team. My research utilises cellular and animal models to elucidate the insulin signalling pathway.

Contact: kristen.thomas(at)sydney.edu.au

I completed a Bachelor of Science (Advanced) with first class Honours at the University of Sydney in 2019, majoring in biochemistry. I underwent my Honours research in the James lab under the supervision of Dr Guang Yang, where I studied the TFE3-mTORC1 metabolic pathway with the aim of more deeply understanding the regulation of specific genes involved in cell growth and survival.
I began working as a research assistant in the James lab in 2020 where I assist on multiple projects surrounding insulin signaling, including work with the Diversity Outbred mouse population, cell signaling models and genetic cloning.

Contact: meg.potter@sydney.edu.au

I completed a Bachelor of Medical Science, followed by a Bachelor of Advanced Studies in 2022 (Honours Class I), majoring in Pharmacology at the University of Sydney. During my honours year at the Pain Management Research Institute at the Kolling Institute, my project explored the psychological comorbidities of chronic neuropathic pain in a preclinical model and observed the role of endocannabinoids in psychopharmacological testing. I continued in the same lab as a research assistant, where I was responsible for advancing research from my honours thesis submission and contributed to other projects exploring optogenetics in behavioural studies.

I joined the David James Lab at the Charles Perkins Centre as a research assistant in 2024, where I am assisting on projects across the team.

Contact: saima.sadia(at)sydney.edu.au

I earned my PhD in Developmental Biology from the University of Chicago studying the evolution and development of mesoderm in arthropods. The goal of that research was the development of Parhyale hawaiensis as a crustacean model system for comparative developmental biology. Since, I have worked as a teaching and research scientist in the USA, Europe and Australia. Before relocating to Australia, I worked at the Villum Centre for Biodiversity Genomics at the University of Copenhagen on the genus-phase of the Bird 10,000 genome project. Using avian samples gathered around the world from fresh field samples and museum collections, I developed semi-automated gDNA extraction protocols for blood and tissue samples and built STLFR genomic libraries. Alongside this, I implemented new protocols for fluorescence HCR in situ mRNA hybridization in ant embryos and larvae with the goal of validating AI based transcriptomic models of ant caste differentiation.

As research technical assistant in the James Lab, I am working with James Burchfield to automate cell imaging protocols for the development of high content screening assays. My general interests revolve around the development of resources that enable validation and interpretation of ‘omics data.

Contact: alivia.price(at)sydney.edu.au

Contact: thomas.geddes(at)sydney.edu.au

My name is Jonathan and I am a PhD Candidate in Cell Biology and Biochemistry at the University of Sydney based in the Charles Perkins Centre.

I began my work in the David James group as a Summer Research Scholar in 2018/19 interrogating differences in substrate specificity between the isoforms of Protein Kinase B (Akt). I then completed my honours year with the lab in 2019 studying the effect of a conserved disulfide bond on Akt activity, graduating from the Bachelor of Science (Advanced) with first class honours in Biochemistry.

In 2020 I began my PhD candidature with the lab initially studying the relationship between Oxidative Stress and Insulin resistance and later shifting focus to elucidating novel mechanisms of insulin signalling. The primary driver of my current research is to understand the phosphorylation events that occur upon insulin stimulus and describe the feedback loops and pathway crosstalk that underpin the array of cellular processes regulated by insulin.

I work closely with Dr James Burchfield to combine high content screening, phosphoproteomics and machine learning approaches to untangle the complexities of the insulin signalling network. It is my hope that this research will serve as a foundation of knowledge that will be utilised by translational researchers to refine therapeutic treatments and improve clinical outcomes.

Metabolic health results not just from genetic and environmental factors in isolation, but also from their interaction.

I graduated from the University of Sydney at the end of 2021 with a Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Biochemistry and am now beginning my PhD candidature. My primary research interests lie in explicating the mechanisms underlying primary metabolic defects, and in understanding how gene-environment interactions influence ultimate susceptibility to metabolic disease. Research outcomes will facilitate the development of insulin sensitising agents which are sorely needed in human clinical medicine.

Contact: hcut0546@uni.sydney.edu.au

Defects in the trafficking and translocation of Glut4 in insulin resistance have been extensively reported, which brings in a big question: is insulin resistance a general defect in protein trafficking to the plasma membrane? I am going to answer this question during the following Ph.D. research period.

I accomplished my Bachelor's Degree (2015-2019) and Master's Degree (2019-2022) at Zhejiang University (Hangzhou, China). I began my Ph.D. candidature here at the beginning of October 2022. My present research concentrates on defective plasma membrane protein trafficking in insulin resistance. I like Biology and Medical Science due to its fusion of a scientific core with a philanthropic heart. An increasing number of people around the world are tortured by various metabolic diseases nowadays. As a member of society, I feel obliged to use my knowledge and skills to help prevent and treat metabolic diseases and make the world a better place to live in. I hope my Ph.D. research could help deepen the understanding of mechanisms behind insulin resistance and plasma membrane protein trafficking and provide potential therapeutic targets for insulin resistance.

Contact: yzha0040@uni.sydney.edu.au

I completed the combined degree of Bachelor of Advanced Computing and Bachelor of Science (Medical Science) at the University of Sydney in 2023. During the journey, I completed my Honours study with a First Class Honours in Information Systems at the Faculty of Engineering. Having pursued degrees in diverse fields, I’m passionate about acquiring knowledge that can help seamlessly blend technology and healthcare to create meaningful contributions to people’s lives.

In late 2023, I joined the James lab as a Dalyell Scholar and a CPC Summer Research Scholar, where I fell in love with biological research in metabolic health, and so recently, I decided to pursue a PhD here. I’m interested in understanding the underlying mechanism of metabolically healthy obesity. In particular, I wish to learn and apply Systems Biology approaches to identify key and novel regulators of adipose tissue glucose metabolism.

Understanding the mechanistic link between genetic variation and complex traits is one of the most important topics in biology.

I graduated from the University of Sydney in 2022 with a Bachelor of Science (Honours) in genetics and statistics and am currently undertaking my PhD candidature. During my Honours year I sought to clarify the link between the genome and disease mechanisms by pinpointing genetic determinents of adipose tissue composition traits and proteins. Presently, I work on characterising structures in adipose tissue and weaving together metabolic and multi-omics datasets to define the biological contexts in which metabolic diseases arise.

Contact: alam7036@uni.sydney.edu.au

Originally from Malaysia, I moved to the UK to pursue a Bachelor's of Science degree in Biomedical Science at King’s College London where I graduated with First Class Honours in 2022. For my undergraduate research project, I investigated the effects of sulforaphane on glucose tolerance and glycaemic variability in gestational diabetic mice. After graduating, I began working as a research assistant in the Ohkura Lab at the Wellcome Centre for Cell Biology, University of Edinburgh that focuses on studying the molecular mechanisms of spindle assembly in oocytes using drosophila flies as a model system. 

In early 2024 I joined the Mayr Lab at the National Health and Lung Institute, Imperial College London where I briefly assisted on different projects before making the move down under to Sydney to join the David James Lab at Charles Perkin Centre as a PhD student in November 2024. 

I obtained my Master’s degree in Human Physiology from the University of Copenhagen in 2021 and have since worked as a research assistant before progressing to my current role as a final-year PhD student at the University of Copenhagen. My research primarily investigates the impact of exercise and dietary interventions on mitochondrial adaptations and oxidative stress, with a particular focus on their implications for metabolic disease and aging.

I am currently a part of the David James Lab at the Charles Perkins Centre as a visiting researcher, looking to develop my lab skills and gain a deeper understanding of the molecular landscape of metabolic disease with a particular focus on cellular signaling pathways and mitochondrial dynamics.

My name is Marco; I find it mind-blowing that from a chaotic, probabilistic soup of lifeless molecules emerges an ordered, living being aware of this fact. We take this for granted on a day-to-day basis, but it is remarkably profound. It makes us question the very essence of life itself — how big and complex does this 'soup' need to be before it crosses the boundary from dead to alive? Does there need to be a boundary in the first place? These are questions I have grappled with since the very start of my scientific pursuit, and it is this curiosity that drives my passion for biochemistry. Throughout my career, I hope to better understand the molecular interactions that make us who we are, exploring more generally how these lifeless molecules can coordinate to form miraculous and clever circuits.

I am currently an undergraduate student finalising my Bachelor of Science / Bachelor of Advanced Studies degree, majoring in biochemistry and genetics. In 2023, I was fortunate enough to join the James lab for an undergraduate research project, before later continuing as a research assistant. I am now in my honours year, where I am researching the role of MINDY1 — an uncharacterised protein recently implicated to play a role in insulin-stimulated GLUT4 translocation. I aim to solidify this link by identifying candidate substrates of MINDY1, which could ultimately improve our understanding of GLUT4 translocation — and, by extension, the development of insulin resistance, a risk factor for a range of metabolic diseases.

Contact: made0371(at)uni.sydney.edu.au

I am an undergraduate student majoring in biochemistry and am excited to be doing honours this year in the James lab. My honours project will build on research by the James lab investigating insulin regulation of lipolysis. Specifically, I will study how the proteins PDE3B and ABHD15 are involved in insulin’s suppression of lipolysis.

Email: inoa8980(@)uni.sydney.edu.au

Contact: cfam5115(at)uni.sydney.edu.au

Contact: jong8745(at)uni.sydney.edu.au

Contact: biology.ea@sydney.edu.au