Science Colloquium 2023 - Towards a Better Future

Our annual Science Colloquium this year be held on Tuesday 5 September at the LTC Function Room (Caulfield Campus). This year’s theme is “Towards a better future”.

Innovations in AI and biomedical research have seeded both doubt and hope for our children’s future. Artificial intelligence took most of us by surprise and fear. Its potential is breathtaking and possible negative impacts frightening. We will aim to shed some light on how we navigate this remarkable technology both, what jobs will be lost and what will be created. Most importantly, however, we aim to educate ourselves on how best to support the next generation entering the workforce.

Melbourne is one of the leading centres for biomedical research that often goes unheralded. In many of our research institutions ground breaking research is taking place to tackle cancer and many other diseases. Novel ways of detecting and dealing with cancer are always being developed but lately a breakthrough is being trialled with an unlikely main player, the Corona virus. How you ask? Join us as we explore the research that made this possible and the impact it promises to have on the health of thousands of Australians.

To this end we have invited two wonderful guest speakers who will speak on two very topical issues, breast cancer and the rise of AI.

Dr Slaney will be speaking on the amazing research into breast cancer undertaken at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre which may revolutionise the treatment of breast cancer and Professor Toby Walsh is a leader in the field of AI and provides a refreshing positive outlook into the future with AI.

Our Colloquium will take the form of a dinner catered in the LTC Function Room starting at 6.30 pm. We invite students and their family members to attend this informative and highly relevant event. 

Adults are $75 per person and the Science faculty are providing 50 free places for the first 50 Caulfield Grammar School students who book.

Dr Clare Slaney will be speaking on the amazing research into breast cancer undertaken at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre which may revolutionise the treatment of breast cancer.

Dr Clare Slaney is a Senior Research Fellow at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre. Her current research interests are in understanding the interaction between the immune system and cancer, and in the use of immunotherapy to treat cancer. These interests include the use of genetically modified T cells (CAR T cells) to treat solid cancers. Clare has published over 40 papers in high-impact journals including first and last authorships in Nature Medicine, PNAS, Cancer Research, Clinical Cancer Research and Cancer Discovery. Her accomplishments have been acknowledged with a number of awards including the Seymour and Vivian Milstein Young Investigator Award for notable contributions to basic and clinical research in Switzerland, a Joseph Sambrook Award in Research Excellence, and the respected Mavis Robertson Award that is given each year to a female principal investigator considered to exhibit the greatest promise as a leader in breast cancer research in Australia. In 2021, a spinout company Currus Biologics was formed based on Clare’s research that has attracted an AUD$10 million serial A investment.

Professor Toby Walsh is a leader in the field of AI and provides a refreshing positive outlook into the future with AI.

Professor Toby Walsh is the Chief Scientist at UNSW.ai and a Laureate Fellow and Scientia Professor of Artificial Intelligence at UNSW Sydney. He is also affiliated with CSIRO Data61. With a distinguished career, he has received numerous accolades including being named a fellow of the Australian Academy of Science, ACM, AAAI, and the European Association for Artificial Intelligence. He has won awards such as the Humboldt Prize, NSW Premier's Prize for Excellence in Engineering and ICT, and the ACP Research Excellence award. Toby Walsh has been actively involved in advocating against lethal autonomous weapons and has been banned from Russia due to his efforts. He frequently appears in the media, discussing the societal impact of AI and robotics, and has contributed to various publications. He has given talks at notable events and has been featured by prominent media outlets such as the New York Times. His belief that AI can have appositive impact is refreshing and provides hope for future generations who will work with this technology.

The Science faculty has made available funding to support the attendance of 50 students free of charge if they attend with a paying parent, guardian or caregiver. Canapes, dinner and drinks will be provided.