Podcasts

Meet Advance Awards Life Sciences Category Finalist, Dr Sandro Demaio.

A public health advocate and sustainable food architect, Dr Alessandro (Sandro) Demaio founded his career using nutrition as a platform for social change. As a recognised global expert and now CEO of VicHealth, Sandro speaks to the three biggest threats for Australians: climate change, obesity and chronic disease. Amplifying the science of his medical background with an art for public presence, Sandro has become a popular figure across broadcast TV, online editorial, news commentary forums and even a cookbook publication. Whether working alongside the Victorian Government at VicHealth, advising the World Health Organisation, co-authoring global reports with UNICEF, co-founding the social movement NCDFREE to engage young leaders from across the world, or founding the biennial festival21, a free event celebrating food and ideas, Sandro is as passionate as he is pragmatic.

A former World Health Organization medical officer who trained and worked at Melbourne’s Alfred Hospital, Dr Sandro Demaio’s international perspective has been informed by a decade working across the globe. During his time as CEO of Oslo-based EAT Foundation, he oversaw the launch of the EAT-Lancet Commission; a scientific commission that led to a global conversation around healthy and sustainable diets, including launch events at the United Nations Headquarters in New York and more than 40 other global locations. This report became one of the most discussed pieces of science globally in 2019. Sandro led the Lancet Series on Nutrition and was a central architect in the formation of the United Nations Decade of Action on Nutrition. During the COVID-19 crisis, Sandro has been seconded to assist the COVID-19 Department Incident Management Team as the (part-time) Deputy Public Health Commander.

Not only has Dr Rossa Chiu won numerous international awards including the Advance Asia Impact Award 2020, she also has over 485 patents to her name. A specialist in molecular signatures as a chemical pathologist, Rossa moved to Hong Kong immediately after graduating from the University of Queensland to work in her dream job - researching non-invasive prenatal testing procedures, detecting any abnormalities in unborn babies.

Today, Dr Rossa Chiu is a professor in the department of chemical pathology and Associate Dean for Development at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Rossa is determined to detect early cancer, saying "Very often people only learn about their cancer when they start to become unwell". Rossa and her team have translated their learnings from prenatal detection to bring forward the diagnostic timeline for cancer detection in order to save lives via a simple blood test. At any one time, among every one thousand individuals, there are two persons with known cancer, and only fifty percent of cancer patients survive beyond ten years.

How does Australia's leading cancer researcher keep an eye on IP opportunities while changing diagnostic practices? And why does she consider raising her kids to be the most difficult research project yet?

Yong In Cho is a fintech expert, specialising in the payments industry, with deep knowledge of the financial technology market across Asia. Currently the Head of eCommerce for the world’s largest payment service company, @Fiserv, Yong In most recently initiated and managed development of a solution allowing Korean tourists and Korean students to enjoy fee-free credit card transactions in Australia. Yong In is a strong promoter of the ‘Australia’ brand, Yong In credits his post-school education at Sydney TAFE, where he gained a diploma in drafting / CAD design, with preparing him for the fast-paced and ever-changing financial technology industry. He also gives a nod to the Australian #sports culture which allowed him to learn about teamwork and make friendships throughout a broader community.

Discussing the social implications for a #cashless economy, Yong In is a generous source of intelligence around fintech policy and regulations, and is passionate about the role trust plays in payment solutions.

A Korean-born Australian, Yong In Cho has built his financial technology expertise over the last 16 years. Yong In is an active contributor to AustCham Korea, as a Board Member and Mentor for the past seven years. His practical approach to challenges has enabled him to succeed in new product development and implement solutions in new markets.

Where can a career in big data take you and how do you hold on to the stories that big data can hide? Professor Jenni Evans has leveraged her learnings to tackle some of the world's biggest problems, merging fields of research to find new solutions at the point where disaster threatens to hit. Just as Cyclone Tracey hit Darwin, a love of tropical cyclones hit Professor Jenni Evans when she realised she could bring her skill in mathematics, and a sense of social justice together.

Professor Evans says the way we communicate science can remove people from the consequences rather than drive action. The way we communicate catastrophe so often disempowers action. Professor speaks eloquently about bringing people and communities into the science of decisions affecting their lives and homes. And strives to find creative ways to make science approachable for kids, parents, teachers and policy-makers. We hope you enjoy Professor Jenni Evans, a meteorologist and a storm-chaser who brings the science to story, and the story to science.

Professor Bryan Gaensler has stars in his eyes. Literally. Internationally recognised for his groundbreaking work on dying stars, interstellar magnets and cosmic explosions, it's hard not to rediscover the wonderment of the galactic sky listening to Bryan. Living in Toronto with a wife who forgives his midnight scribblings and constant curiosity for the magnetism of the universe, Bryan reflects on success, hard work and serendipity.

Bryan realised at five that there were questions even his parents didn't know the answers to, and decided to become an Astronomer. He worked hard to back up his choice, but he now recognises that others work just as hard and are not afforded such choice. Bryan believes diversity of minds is critical to understanding the universe, and he is rethinking the way we select, support and skill up underrepresented scientists. Are you intentional in 'becoming the network' for those who need you? Find out more about this lively Australian committed to asking the big questions of the world around us.

Dr Susan Graham is intent on tackling the biggest challenges of our day. Learn how her young team of audacious problem-solvers maintain an attitude of persistent positivity while staring down our planet's dramatic loss of biodiversity, and two billion hectares of degraded land. Dr Graham sees this mass degradation as an enormous opportunity. She is intent on solving for the mismatch of scale when it comes to rate of degradation to rate of restoration.

An entrepreneur from a young age, Susan has learnt to balance urgent action with deep thinking. Studying both medicine and engineering, she says "I wanted to scale beyond my hands." Where engineering has enabled scalable impact – Dendra became not only the first company to ever plant trees with drones, but as well, to dare to undertake species level analytics of complex biodiverse ecosystems – Australian directness means the team get to the nub of the matter really quickly. There is a compelling tenacity to Susan's confidence to ask 'What's next? How can we change carbon markets?' for example.

Dr Abigail Allwood is not only the first Australian but the first female to lead a Mars mission! As the principal investigator of the most complex mission NASA has ever sent to the Red Planet, Perseverance is specifically tasked with answering the question of whether life ever existed on a planet other than Earth.

As an Advance Award winner, Abigail is driven by a passion for science. From her home in California, she wonders how 'thinking like a scientist' can open our minds and reduce our biased worldview right now? Abigail also ponders what we can do to get more girls to imagine having a global (or interplanetary) career in STEM?

PODCASTS

Finalist in the Life Sciences category of the Global Australian Awards in 2020 - Dr Sandro Demaio

Winner in the Asia Impact category of the Global Australian Awards in 2020 - Dr Rossa Chiu

Winner in the Life Sciences category of the Global Australian Awards in 2020 - Prof Jill Banfield

Professor of Population Biology and Redmond Barry Distinguished & Professor at University of Melbourne - Karen Day

Finalist in the Emerging Leader category of the Global Australian Awards in 2020 - Yong In Cho

Finalist in the Sustainability category of the Global Australian Awards in 2020 - Prof Jenni Evans

Finalist in the Science & Technology category of the Global Australian Awards in 2020 - Prof Bryan Gaensler

Winner in the Emerging Leader category of the Global Australian Awards in 2020 - Dr Susan Graham

Winner in the Technology & Science category of the Global Australian Awards in 2020 and Global Australian of the Year 2020 - Dr Abigail Allwood