BIOSTATISTICS IN CLINICAL TRIALS
Kate Francis, Biostatistician (Snr Research Officer)
Murdoch Children’s Research Institute &
Honorary Research Fellow,
Department of Paediatrics, University of Melbourne &
Affiliate Biostatistician,
The Royal Children’s Hospital,
Melbourne, Australia
RESEARCHER PROFILE
Filmed in Melbourne, Australia | July 2025
Kate Francis is a biostatistician with the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (MCRI), an Honorary (Senior Fellow) within Department of Paediatrics, the University of Melbourne and Affiliate biostatistician with Royal Children’s Hospital in Narrm (Melbourne), Australia.
As a biostatistician working in research and clinical settings, she plays a vital role in ensuring all projects adhere to best practice guidelines and are transparently reported. She has served as the lead statistician for the analysis of clinical trials across a broad range of subject areas, including neonatal resuscitation, BCG for allergy and infection, convulsive status epilepticus and her work has been published in the top journals such as The New England Journal of Medicine, JAMA, and The Lancet. Most recently she was awarded the 2025 Excellence in Trial Statistics Award for her work on the PLUSS trial.
Kate is also an expert in the measurement of adolescent health behaviours, determinants, and outcomes and this was recognised with her invitation to be a commissioner for the second Lancet Commission on Adolescent Health and Wellbeing which was recently released at the 2025 World Health Assembly meeting.
Kate believes in the importance of gender equity, diversity, and inclusion and was key team member in helping MCRI achieve bronze accreditation in the Science in Australia Gender Equity (SAGE) program.
Source: Supplied
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Lymphoma, Myeloma and Genomics
Professor Dipti Talaulikar is a clinical and laboratory haematologist with expertise in genomics, working at Canberra Health Services, and Professor at ANU. She has a clinical and research interest in lymphoma, myeloma and genomics, and has authored close to 100 peer reviewed papers, including several clinical guidelines that have had a significant impact on clinical practice.
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Dr Lisa Melton
RESEARCH IN SANFILIPPO
@ SANFILIPPO CHILDREN’S FOUNDATION
SYDNEY, NEW SOUTH WALES, AUSTRALIA -
Development of novel analytical and diagnostic tools using nanotechnology and microfluidics
Dr Alain Wuethrich is an NHMRC Emerging Leader fellow and ARC DECRA awardee at the Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology.
Hailing from Switzerland, research focuses on the development of novel analytical and diagnostic tools that harness nanotechnology and microfluidics; two rapidly growing fields with high potential to provide diagnostic solutions needed for precision medicine.
