S.P.S.N Buddhika Sampath Kumara obtained his BSc Engineering degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Moratuwa, Sri Lanka, in 2017, and is now pursuing a PhD in nanostructured surface developments for biomedical applications. His doctoral studies take place in the Department of Mechanical, Medical, and Process Engineering at QUT, fuelling his ambition to revolutionize the biomedical landscape. He worked as the lead research and development engineer for the Sri Lanka Institute of Nanotechnology for 3.5 years and designed and fabricated the 1st Graphene manufacturing facility in Sri Lanka. His expertise extends extensively within the realms of Design and Manufacturing. Subsequently, he ventured into the academic sphere, dedicating 2.5 years to serving as a faculty member at the Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka. Also, he secured a research grant, empowering him to delve into the innovative development of concrete and tile composites. He is an associate member of the Institute of Engineers Sri Lanka. His research topics mainly include composites; design and manufacturing; and bactericidal nanostructured surfaces.

S. W. M. A. Ishantha Senevirathne is an expert in design and manufacturing engineering working at the Queensland University of Technology (QUT), Australia. His current research interests are in nanotechnology and microfluidics. He obtained his Ph.D. from QUT, and from University of Moratuwa (Sri Lanka) he obtained his MEng in manufacturing engineering and BSc Hons in mechanical engineering. He served as a lecturer in design and manufacturing at the same university from 2008 to 2022, where he was involved in providing services to industry in addition to teaching and research. His research during his tenure at UoM was cutting fluid applications in metal cutting. He joined QUT in 2022 as a post-doctoral fellow, and his current work is on developing bactericidal nanostructured surfaces.

Asha Mathew is an Advance Queensland Industry Research Fellow (AQIRF) with expertise in the field of biomaterials, especially in the area of bio-fabrication (solution, melt electrospinning, 3D printing), drug delivery, biomaterial processing, developing antibacterial surfaces and tissue engineering. She was awarded her Ph.D. from the National University of Ireland, Galway, in November 2013. She has been actively working on developing bactericidal nano-textured surfaces on titanium implants and antibiotics coating on polymeric scaffolds. She has hands-on experience in surface modification and has wide experience in material physical, chemical, and biological characterization including design, implementation, and analysis of the project, and bacterial studies to establish the bactericidal effect of nano-textured metal surfaces as well as on polymeric surfaces.

Laura Bray is currently an Associate Professor and ARC Future Fellow at QUT, and Deputy Director of the ARC Training Centre for Cell and Tissue Engineering Technologies. She received her Ph.D. degree in tissue engineering at the Queensland Eye Institute and QUT in 2012. At the end of 2012, she was awarded the inaugural Prime Minister’s Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Postdoctoral Award (awarded to only one woman in Australia), which she accepted and joined the Leibniz Institute for Polymer Research in Dresden, Germany. After 3 years working in Dresden, she received a National Breast Cancer Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship and moved her research to QUT in 2016. Through the use of state-of-the-art matrix engineering techniques, her work has led to several significant advances in knowledge in the area of 3D tissue engineering and culture techniques. Her work has helped to clarify the potential role of the matrix environment in 3D cell cultivation and has provided new insights into mimicking the natural tissue environment in vitro. In 2021, she was awarded an ARC Future Fellowship to improve our understanding of the biological mechanisms that drive blood vessel formation and function using bioengineered models. Her main areas of research include the development of 3D cancer models, the role of angiogenesis in tumor development, and the cross-talk of cancer cells with their microenvironment.

Mohammad Mirkhalaf studied at McGill University (Ph.D.), Nanyang Technological University (Master’s), and Isfahan University of Technology (Bachelor’s). After obtaining his Ph.D. in 2015, he has worked at the National Research Council of Canada, the University of Sydney, and the Queensland University of Technology. Over the past decade, he and colleagues have established several initiatives to develop advanced mechanical metamaterials and understand their physical, chemical, and biological behavior, including their interactions with tissues.

Prasad K. D. V. Yarlagadda is currently the Dean of Engineering at the University of Southern Queensland. Prior to this role, he was a Professor in smart systems and the Project Director of Airports of the Future Research at the Queensland University of Technology, Australia. He has held a number of distinguished appointments in various universities in India, China, and Australia. He is a Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and also a fellow of many professional organizations, such as Engineers Australia, the Institution of Engineers, India, the World Academy of Manufacturing and Materials Engineering, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, and the Society of Manufacturing Engineers. In 2012, he received a Prestigious Great Honour Award for his outstanding and lifetime contribution to the discipline of manufacturing from the Materials Division of the Polish Academy of Sciences. In 2016, he was awarded the Order of Australia Medal and was included in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list in recognition of his outstanding service to the Engineering Profession and the Indian Community in Queensland, Australia.