Below are our esteemed speakers for the 2025 NRL Workshop. These experts bring a wealth of knowledge and experience in their respective fields, and we are excited for the insights and innovations they will share. Keep an eye on this page - we'll be updating speakers as they are locked in!

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Our Local Speakers 

Dr Ian Norton - Respond Global

Valerie Lawrence - Lifeblood 

Valerie Lawrence is a Fellow of the Institute of Biomedical Science (FIBMS UK) having studied at the University of Westminster. Val has worked in the blood transfusion field for her entire career in hospital settings initially in England before moving to Australia in the early 2000s. Val has worked in the Manufacturing and Logistics business unit of Australian Red Cross Lifeblood for almost 20 years. Based in Brisbane, in a national role, Val is the Scientific and Technical Director and has responsibility for scientific processes associated with blood product quality including screening for infectious diseases and blood grouping.

Ass/Prof Jess Howell - The Burnett

Associate Professor Jessica Howell MBBS(Hons) FRACP PhD MSc(Epi) PGDip(PH) FGESA is a gastroenterologist/ hepatologist, NHMRC Principal Research Fellow and Head of the Hepatitis B and Liver Cancer research group in the Department of Gastroenterology, St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne/ University of Melbourne and Burnet Institute. She is also Chair, Gastroenterology Society of Australia (GESA) Liver Faculty (2023-2027). She combines clinical, basic science and public health expertise in translational research projects in liver cancer and viral hepatitis, focused on marginalized populations. She currently leads several multi-centre studies in rapid point-of-care diagnostics in viral hepatitis, biomarker development in liver cancer, health systems research and international health programs for viral hepatitis in low resource settings. She is a technical advisor to the World Health Organisation. 

Fabian Busby - NRL

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