BIOMARKERS FOR EARLY SEPSIS DETECTION
With
Dr Gabrielle Briggs
Postdoctoral Researcher and Lab Manager,
School of Medicine and Public Health
The University of Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia
RESEARCHER PROFILE
Filmed in Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia | October 2025
Dr Gabrielle Briggs is a biomedical scientist dedicated to finding smarter, faster ways to diagnose and treat life threatening complications in critically ill patients. Dr Briggs established a research laboratory embedded within the John Hunter Hospital – one of the busiest major trauma centres in NSW. Dr Briggs works alongside surgeons, intensivists, and pathologists to turn complex clinical problems into practical research solutions. Her work spans two major programs: developing a rapid diagnostic test to detect bacterial infections in blood before sepsis takes hold, and exploring mitochondrial transplantation as a novel therapy to rescue injured tissues after trauma and ischaemia.
Dr Briggs has a strong focus on innovation and translation, building close partnerships between the university and the health service to accelerate the movement of new technologies into clinical practice. Gabrielle played a key role in founding the Hunter Medical Research Institute’s Injury and Trauma Research Program and currently serves as its Deputy Director. Gabrielle is also an enthusiastic educator, teaching the next generation of clinicians in the University of Newcastle’s Joint Medical Program.
Source: Supplied
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9117-4772
-
Investigating new approaches to target plaque inflammation in atherosclerosis
Associate Professor Peter Psaltis is an Academic Interventional Cardiologist who holds Level 2 NHMRC Career Development and National Heart Foundation Future Leader Fellowships. He has Faculty positions within the University of Adelaide, Central Adelaide Local Health Network (CALHN) and South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI). Within SAHMRI, he is the Co-Theme Leader of the Lifelong Health, Program Leader of Heart and Vascular Health and Co-director of the Vascular Research Centre in the Lifelong Health Theme.
-
Personalised approaches to lung therapy
Dr. Adams’ research focus is on lung cancer, which is the deadliest of all cancers worldwide. He is working towards developing personalised approaches to pinpoint a therapy that is going to be most effective for the person with that disease. Dr. Adams’ research is focusing on chemotherapy and targeted therapy, and he is trying to identify upfront which of those tumours are likely to be resistant to the therapy. He then identifies strategies that will resensitize or increase the sensitivity of the tumour to the standard of care that is targeted therapy or chemotherapy.
-
In his father’s footsteps as a kidney transplant specialist
Since he was a young child, Dr Collins, has been interested in kidney failure and kidney transplants in particular. His father was also a kidney specialist, and he used to sit by the phone when his father, was on call and ringing people who were being offered a kidney transplant. The joy in their voices through this interaction created a lasting and profound impact on Dr Collins. This carried through his career and today he continues to seek better outcomes for Kidney patients.
