MOBIUS was thrilled to welcome over 80 chief and partner investigators and researchers to our Inaugural Conference at La Trobe University on 13-14 August 2025.  

Researchers and collaborators from six universities and 20+ industry partners, along with our Advisory Board, Early Career Researchers and Higher Degree by Research candidates, got together for a packed agenda of keynote and project talks, networking, and strategic discussions. 

We were delighted to host keynotes from Dr Kaye Ballantyne (Victoria Police); Associate Professor Nousin Nasiri (Macquarie University) and Dr Bronwyn Darlington (Agscent) on effective industry-academia partnerships; and our Advisory Board Chair, Dean Whiting (Pathology Technology Australia), who discussed developing and commercialising point-of-care sensors in the Australian and global context. 

We also welcomed current and past Directors of Research Hubs/Training Centres for an engaging and thought-provoking panel on what does success look like for an ARC Industrial Transformation Research Hub and Training Centre. Thank you to Directors: Professor Stella Valenzuela, Distinguished Professor Christopher Berndt, Professor Sujeeva Setunge, and Professor Tony Bacic for an engaging and thought provoking discussion.  

Thank you to our MOBIUS Theme Leaders, Professor Madhu Bhaskaran, Professor Nico Voelcker, and Professor Brian Abbey, for facilitating the project pre-discussions. It was exciting to hear presentations on each MOBIUS project, including how critical knowledge-sharing helps identify synergies and foster effective collaboration. 

With thanks to our Director, Professor Conor Hogan (La Trobe University), and Deputy Director, Professor Chamindie Punyadeera (Griffith University), for their leadership in steering the conference to success. 

And we are very grateful to Dr Laena D’Alton, Vesna Stefanovski and our wonderful team for bringing us all together. 

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