Scientific Advisory Board
Professor Simon Cutting
Biography
Professor Cutting is an authority on the use of Bacillus spores for oral vaccination as well as the use of these bacteria as probiotics. His work is currently focused on Clostridium difficile, Influenza and H. pylori. He has published numerous papers in internationally peer reviewed journals relating to the use of Bacillusspores as heat-stable, vaccine vehicles and as mucosal adjuvants and is co-inventor of several patents in this area. After obtaining his D.Phil. at Oxford University in 1983 he spent six years at Harvard University working with Prof. Richard Losick on the developmental genetics of Bacillus. Following four years at the University of Pennsylvania as an Assistant Professor, he returned to the UK in 1996 and set up his own group at RHUL. He leads a group of 14 researchers. His work includes clinical studies of vaccines to C. difficile (phase 1) and COVID (phase 1/2a). He works with a number of large companies in the vaccine sector He has a long-standing relationship with a number of academic groups in Vietnam built up over 30 years. He is CEO of a London-based biotech company, Sporegen Ltd, that he founded in 2012.
Dr. Alfred Chin Yen Tay
Biography
Dr. Alfred Chin Yen Tay obtained his PhD from UNSW in 2010 and subsequently assumed roles as a research associate and laboratory manager at the Helicobacter Research Laboratory within the UWA Marshall Centre for Infectious Diseases Research and Training. Dr. Tay’s primary research interests encompass antibiotic resistance and the genetic characteristics of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori). Collaborating closely with Nobel Laureate Prof. Barry Marshall, he has conducted surveillance on antibiotic resistance trends across diverse ethnic populations and sequenced the genomes of antibiotic-resistant strains.
Furthermore, Dr. Tay leads a team dedicated to identifying alternative genomic markers for characterizing Helicobacter species, with the objective of comprehending its evolution into a human pathogen. He currently serves as the webmaster of www.helico.com, overseeing the website’s maintenance and actively participating in forum discussions to disseminate information regarding H. pylori.
Dr. Tay’s contributions to clinical research, particularly in H. pylori, genomics, and next-generation sequencing technology, have led to the development of innovative diagnostic tools and personalized treatment strategies. His work on antibiotic susceptibility testing has resulted in a cure rate exceeding 90% for cases of multi-drug resistance.
In his efforts to address challenges related to antibiotic resistance and gastric cancer in China, Dr. Tay has established collaborations with Zhengzhou University, Guizhou Medical University, Sichuan University, and Shenzhen University, resulting in advancements in H. pylori research and treatment. Moreover, he founded the Australia-China Helicobacter Fellowship Training Program, supported by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trading (DFAT), to facilitate knowledge exchange and foster research partnerships with Chinese scholars.
Dr. Alfred Chin Yen Tay remains steadfast in his dedication to H. pylori research. His commitment has significantly enhanced the understanding of and treatment strategies for H. pylori infection, particularly in regions with elevated incidences of gastric cancer.
Professor Ichizo Kobayashi
Biography
Ichizo Kobayashi conducts research in Microbial Genomics/Epigenomics emphasising restriction-modification systems and methylomes. He has worked in the molecular biology of DNA homologous recombination.
Current Positions: Visiting Professor, Research Center for Micro-Nano Technology, Hosei University;
Research Fellow, National Institute for Basic Biology
Professor Emeritus, University of Tokyo, Department of Computational Biology and Medical Sciences
Career Summary
Nationality: Japan
1950: July 17th. Born in Japan.
1974: Bachelor of Science, Department of Biophysics and Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, University of Tokyo, Japan
1979: Ph.D. from University of Tokyo
1979: Research Associate, Institute of Molecular Biology, University of Oregon, USA
1984: Assistant Professor, Medical School, University of Tokyo
1988: Associate Professor, Institute of Medical Science, University of Tokyo
2004-2016: Professor, Department of Medical Genome Sciences, Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, University of Tokyo
Research Achievements Summary
Started scientific career in molecular biology of homologous recombination. Used cell-free virus assembly to detect genetic recombination in vivo and demonstrated that RecA is a recombinase. Revealed roles of DNA double-strand breaks in homologous recombination through genetic analysis of bacteriophage genome maturation site. Proposed and demonstrated the double-strand break repair model for genetic recombination.
Found attack by restriction-modification systems on host bacterial cells (autoimmune phenomenon) and started their study as selfish epigenetic elements. Demonstrated their mobility, involvement in genome rearrangements, multiplication, virus-like life cycle, mutual competition for recognition sequences, mutual incompatibility, and regulation by a small RNA. Found base excision restriction enzymes to extend the concept of restriction-modification systems.
From comparison of H. pylori genomes and methylomes, revealed novel mechanisms of genome evolution, “DNA duplication associated with inversion” and “Movement of sequences between two target recognition domain sites within a gene (Domain Movement)”. Demonstrated that frequent changes in sequence-specificity in restriction-modification systems by these and other processes remodel methylome and hence transcriptome and host-adaptive phenotype. Proposed that epigenomes, rather than genome sequences, are the units of adaptive evolution (epigenetics-driven adaptive evolution model).
Combining experiments and ecological modeling/simulation, demonstrated that “defense against infection through altruistic suicide” can evolve in the presence of spatial structure. Through evolutionary game analysis, found conditions for evolution of the toxin-antitoxin (post-segregational killing, genetic addiction) genes and for persistence of selfish genes.
Kihara Medal from Genetics Society of Japan, 2022
Academic Prize (Basic Research) from Japanese Society for Helicobacter Research, 2017
Assoc. Professor Ngo Thi Hoa
Biography
Assoc. Prof. Hoa, PhD completed her PhD training, iN molecular microbiology, at Royal Holloway, University of London, UK in 2001 under the supervision of Prof. Cutting. Hoa‘s posdoc at the school of Epidemiology and Public Health, Yale University, USA was funded by the Wellcome Trust, the Travelling Fellowship, which continued to fund Hoa returning to Vietnam and join the Oxford University Clinical Research Unit (OUCRU), HCMC, Vietnam in 2005.
At OUCRU, Hoa leads the zoonoses and microbiology group at OUCRU to investigate the prevalence, virulence and antimicrobial resistance of microbial pathogens, including E. coli, Non-typhoid Salmonella, S. suis, S. pneumonia, B. pertusisand H. pylori.
She also leads the Parasitology and Microbiology Unit, Center for Biomedical Research, Pham Ngoc Thach University of Medicine, HCMC, Vietnam. There, her project aims to identify the association of the environment factors to human’s infection, the feasibility to implement a point-of-test for detection of Talaromyces marneffeiinfection in Vietnam.
Professor Victoria Korolik
Biography
Prof Korolik is a senior molecular microbiologist at the Institute for Glycomics at Griffith University, Australia, and a leader a multidisciplinary group with internationally recognised expertise in campylobacter (and related organisms) biology, pathogenicity, molecular biology, bacterial genetics, prokaryotic signal transduction, two-component regulatory systems and host-bacterial interactions.
Prof Korolik’s 30-year research carrier began when she was awarded a PhD in Molecular Microbiology from Monash University in 1990 and began her first campylobacter project as a Research Fellow at RMIT, Melbourne. After 3 years, she was appointed as a Research Fellow/Lecturer on a 50/50 basis for the following 5 years. In 1998 she joined the School of Griffith University as an academic and then in 2003 as a Research Leader at the Institute for Glycomics as a joint appointment.
Prof Korolik’s group is currently focused on studying the role of bacterial chemotaxis in pathogenicity and bacteria-host interactions, specifically, on deciphering ligand binding specificities of transmembrane chemosensory proteins of Campylobacter jejuni, Campylobacter fetus and Helicobacter pylori. Recent breakthroughs of the Korolik group are highlighted by the discovery of a novel class of bacterial chemosensors with broad ligand specificities that may be related to sensing of the host molecules, and thus, may play a role in host-bacterial interactions. Her globally recognised reputation in bacterial chemotaxis and chemosensors is evidenced by publications in PNAS, Nature Communications, mBio and Science Signaling. The group is currently developing two new research areas, one focused on biofilm formation and its role in disease transmission for campylobacters and the other involving glycan-binding proteins of Vibrio cholerae.
Dr. Qijing Zhang
Biography
Dr. Qijing Zhang is currently Clarence Hartley Covault Distinguished Professor and Dr. Roger and Marilyn Mahr Chair in One Health at Iowa State University. His research focuses on transmission, evolution, pathogenesis, and antimicrobial resistance of Campylobacter jejuni as a zoonotic pathogen. Over the years, his team has discovered emergence and evolution of highly pathogenic C. jejuni variants and revealed novel pathogenic and antibiotic resistance mechanisms. His work has also generated important information for developing interventions to mitigate Campylobacter transmission and infection. Dr. Zhang has served on a number of editorial boards, grant review panels, and various committees for professional organizations. Dr. Zhang was a holder of Frank Ramsey Endowed Chair in Veterinary Medicine for 4 terms and a recipient of AAVMC Excellence in Research Award. He is an elected fellow of the National Academy of Sciences, American Academy of Microbiology, and American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Dr. Beile Gao
Biography
Beile Gaois a principal investigator at South China Sea institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Science. After her undergraduate training in Biological Science from Shandong University in China, she pursued PhD degree in Biochemistry and Biomedical Science from McMaster University, Canada. Then she completed postdoctoral training in Dr. Jorge Galan’s laboratory at Yale University. She joined South China Sea institute of Oceanology in 2014 as a leader of the functional genomics research group. Dr. Gao’s research interests focus on Campylobacter jejuni pathogenesis, flagellar motility, signal transduction and genome evolution. Her group has identified novel regulators ChePQ that specifically regulate chemotaxis gene expression and also a chemotaxis protein CheO that respond to environmental oxygen level in C. jejuni (MM, 2019; PLOS Pathogens, 2022). Recently, she extended her research to the phylum Campylobacterota that include important pathogens/commensals, free-living generalists and deep-sea hydrothermal vent specialists. Based on the “eco-evo” framework of the phylum, her group studied how C. jejuniand related species evolved into important human pathogens from a free-living common ancestor (mBio, 2022, PLOS Genetics, 2022), and how the complex motors evolved in this phylum (PNAS, 2025). Dr. Gao serves as an Editor of the ASM Journal mBio (2025-2028) and Microbiology Spectrum (2021-2027) and FEMS journal Pathogens and Disease (2024-2027).
Professor Richard Ferrero
Biography
Prof. Richard Ferrero is Deputy Centre Head and Research Group Leader at the Hudson Institute of Medical Research and holds adjunct positions at Monash University. After completing his PhD in 1990, at the University of NSW, he took up a Postdoctoral Fellowship at the Institut Pasteur, Paris. In 1994, he was appointed to a tenured researcher position at the institute. In 2004, he returned to Australia to take up a research/teaching academic position in the Department of Microbiology, Monash University, and then, in 2009, was recruited to his current position. His main research interests span the fields of Helicobacter pylori, bacterial extracellular vesicles, NOD-like receptor proteins and innate immunology. His research has translated to important fundamental and applied outcomes in the areas of bacterial pathogenesis, H. pylori vaccine development and innate immunology. This research has been published in leading journals i.e. Cell Host Microb., Gastroenterol., Immunity, Nat Commun., Nat Rev Immunol., Nat Immunol. and PNAS. He is a member of the Editorial Board of Helicobacter and the International Scientific Committee of “The International Workshop on Pathogenesis in Helicobacterinfections”, and reviews abstracts to the major international conferences in the fields of gastroenterology and H. pyloriresearch.
Assoc. Professor Li Zhang
Biography
Dr Li Zhang is an Associate Professor at the University of New South Wales (UNSW). Dr Zhang received her MBBS degree from Fudan University in China and PhD degree from the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom. Prior to pursuing her PhD, she worked as a clinician at China-Japan Friendship Hospital in Beijing.
Dr Zhang’s research has been focused on investigating bacterial species that are associated with gastrointestinal inflammatory diseases. Dr Zhang has conducted pioneering research on exploration of the role of Campylobacter species typically found in the human oral cavity in causing inflammation when they colonize the other parts of the human gastrointestinal tract. One such example is Campylobacter concisus, which has been linked to the development of human inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Her research has led to the discovery of novel bacterial plasmids and their roles in modulating the human mucosal immune system. The second area of focus in Dr Zhang’s research group is on Aeromonas species. Aeromonasspecies are emerging enteric bacterial pathogens, causing gastrointestinal infections with varied severity from mild self-limiting diseases to dysentery. Dr Zhang’s team recently made a significant discovery, revealing that Aeromonas species are the second most common enteric bacterial pathogens in Australia, with a unique three-peak infection pattern associated with patient age. Her team is currently investigating the sources of infection and examine the Aeromonas pathogenic mechanismsat the species level.
For more information about Dr Li Zhang, please visit https://research.unsw.edu.au/people/associate-professor-li-zhang
Dr. Liang Wang
Biography
Dr. Liang Wang is currently a full professor and distinguished medical researcher. He serves as chief scientist and assistant director at the Department of Laboratory Medicine, Guangdong Provincial People’s Hospital, affiliated with South China University of Technology and Southern Medical University, China. Prof. Wang holds adjunct research fellow positions at the University of Queensland and the University of Western Australia. Holding a PhD in microbiology and bioinformatics, his research centers on advancing the fight against clinically significant microbial pathogens, with a particular emphasis on Helicobacter pylori. Prof. Wang has edited seven books and published over 130 peer-reviewed articles in esteemed journals such as The Lancet Microbe, npj Digital Medicine, and ISME J. Prof. Wang frequently presents at prestigious conferences like EuroCarb (Poland, 2025), ICID (South Africa, 2024), and VAAM (Germany, 2023). He also serves as an editorial board member for multiple international journals, including Frontiers in Microbiology (Outstanding Associate Editor, 2022) and BMC Microbiology (Editor of Distinction Awards, 2025). He is the recipient of the American Chemical Society’s Rising Star Award in measurement science (2025).
Professor Thomas Borén
Biography
Prof. Thomas Borén is professor and PI at the Umeå University, Dept. Medical Biochemistry and Biophysics. Thomas started up his research interest and activities in parallel with his studies in dentistry and completed his DDS and PhD in 1985 and 1990, respectively, at the Göteborg University, Sweden. Thomas then spent two years as postdoc at the School of Dentistry in Göteborg, where he got interested in glycobiology, and then went to Washington University in St. Louis for another two-year postdoc period. At WashU, he discovered that H. pyloriattach to the stomach mucosa by binding to the ABO/Leb antigens. In 1994, Thomas returned to Sweden and started up as PI, his lab in Umeå at the Dept. Microbiology. There he identified the cognate H. pylori attachment protein, the BabA. and later also the SabA adhesin and its ligand the sialyl-Lewis x/a-antigens. In 2004, Thomas was recruited to his current professorship position at the Dept. Medical Biochemistry and Biophysics. Thomas research interest is focused on the Helicobacter attachment proteins, their role for successful establishment of chronic infection and inflammation, with the goal to apply them as vaccine candidates against H. pylori caused gastric disease and cancer.His research project has published a series of papers in Science, and Cell Host Microbe, in addition to the more specialist journals. He is a member of the Executive Committee of “The International Workshop on Pathogenesis in Helicobacterinfections”.
Assoc. Prof. Duc Trong Quach MD, PhD
Biography
Dr. Duc Trong Quach is an associate professor of Gastroenterology and vice chair of the Department of Internal Medicine, University of Medicine and Pharmacy at Ho Chi Minh City (UMCH). He currently serves as a Vice-President of the Vietnam Association of Gastroenterology (VNAGE) and Secretary General of the Vietnam Federation for Digestive Endoscopy (VFDE). He was a research fellow of the Japanese Society of Gastroenterology in 2005 and then obtained the advanced fellowship of the Asia-Pacific Society for Digestive Endoscopy in 2009. He received the Ph.D. degree in Gastroenterology in 2011 at UMCH. He has published more than 150 reviews and original papers in local and international journals. His interests include GERD, functional gastrointestinal disorders, Helicobacter pylori, screening strategies for early gastrointestinal cancers and advance therapeutics endoscopy. He has received several awards including the Outstanding Presentation Award at the 14th Biannual Scientific Congress of Vietnamese Nation-wide Medical and Pharmaceutical Schools in 2008, the Medal of Creativeness from the Vietnamese Central Youth League in 2008, the Young Clinicians Program Award of the World Congress on Gastroenterology in 2009 and the Outstanding Teacher Award, Faculty of Medicine, UMCH in 2020.
Professor Jun Lin
Biography
Dr. Jun Lin is a Professor of Infectious Diseases in the Department of Animal Science at The University of Tennessee in the US. Dr. Lin received both B.S. (1991) and M.S. (1994) in Microbiology & Immunology at Fudan University in China and his PhD (1998) in Animal Science at The Ohio State University in the US. He received major postdoctoral training (2000-2003) in molecular microbiology in the Food Animal Health Research Program at The Ohio State University. His research is primarily focused on molecular pathogenesis and antimicrobial resistance of zoonotic bacterial pathogens, such as Campylobacter jejuni and Escherichia coli. Dr. Lin also has extensive experience in functional microbiome research and development of innovative alternatives to antibiotics for enhanced animal health and human health. His laboratory has a strong “One Health” emphasis on the interface of livestock, wildlife, environment, and human health. Dr. Lin is highly active in professional, institutional, and disciplinary services and has served in leadership roles in various organizations.
Professor Markus Gerhard
Biography
Professor Markus Gerhard studied medicine in Heidelberg and Hamburg and earned his MD in 1996. He completed his training in internal medicine at the Klinikum rechts der Isar, where he also obtained board certification. After leading a research group in Internal Medicine at the Technical University of Munich (TUM), he qualified as a postdoctoral lecturer (habilitation) in 2009. In 2010, he was appointed Associate Professor of Medical Microbiology and Immunology at TUM.
He also serves as academic director of the TUM Venture Lab Healthcare, TUM`s biotech incubator.
The research work of Professor Gerhard explores how pathogens interact with the host in gastrointestinal infections. Professor Gerhard’s research group investigates the mechanisms that suppress the immune response of the host to allow the establishment of chronic infection as well as inflammatory factors involved in the development of cancer, in order to leverage this know-how for the development of novel preventive and therapeutic strategies.
Alongside his academic contributions, Prof. Gerhard has co-founded several biotech companies, which have secured multi-million-euro investments and international partnerships to translate discoveries into therapies. As Academic Director of the TUM Venture Lab Healthcare, he has built one of Europe’s most dynamic life science innovation platforms, mentoring over 80 start-up teams across biopharma, medtech, and digital health.
Through his combined roles as scientist, entrepreneur, and innovation ecosystem builder, Prof. Gerhard exemplifies how cutting-edge research can be transformed into impactful solutions for global health challenges.
Prof. Gerhard has published > 120 papers, many in prestigious journals such as Nature Medicine, Nature Microbiology, Gastroenterology, GUT etc.
Daniel Falush
Biography
Daniel Falush is a statistical geneticist based at the Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica. He develops methods for analyzing bacterial and human diversity and has applied both to Helicobacter pylori, identifying modern and ancestral populations and recently the Hardy ecospecies. This work has shown that H. pylori spread around the world along with humans but also has its own history involving adaptation to diet and the immune system as well as likely occasional super-spreader events.