PARTNER PROGRAM SPONSOR
07:00 – 08:15
THURSDAY 16 JUNE
BREAKFAST SESSION 3
Envenoming: from basic science to clinical realities
Australia is home to 20 of the 25 most venomous snakes worldwide, as well as some of the most venomous spiders and marine creatures. Presented by Seqirus, join a panel of experts for an interactive discussion on the evolutionary biology of Australia’s venomous creatures to explain the severe and clinically challenging envenoming syndromes observed in victims. Bridging the spectrum from basic to clinical science, this exchange of ideas will navigate the complexities of envenoming management across Australia. Panel members will present memorable and complex case studies with a toxinologic evolutionary twist including a discussion on clinical testing best practices and management. Join the panel members as they share their fascinating insights which we hope will provide inspiration for treating physicians.
Chair: Prof George Braitberg
Discussion Panel: A/Prof Bill Nimorakiotakis, Dr Jessamine Soderstrom, Dr Timothy Jackson
Chair: George Braitberg
Speaker: A/Prof Bill Nimorakiotakis
Speaker: Dr Timothy Jackson
Dr Timothy Jackson is an evolutionary toxinologist and co-head of
the Australian Venom Research Unit who has been publishing in the field since
2003. He received his PhD from the University of Queensland in 2016 and holds
undergraduate degrees from the University of Sydney (BA with majors in Music
and Biology) and University of Queensland (BSc with first class honours in
evolutionary biology).
His work focuses on the evolution of reptile venom systems and
their constituent toxins and has resulted in the publication of over 30
peer-reviewed papers and contributions to 26 book chapters to-date. Having
grown up largely in Australia, working with Australian venomous snakes from a
young age, a particular focus of Dr Jackson’s work has been the evolution of
the venom of Australian elapid snakes and its connection with their ecological
and behavioural diversity.
He is passionate in his belief that a deep understanding of the
evolution of venoms and their constituent toxins can make an important
contribution to the treatment of snakebite. In addition, his work on the
molecular evolution of toxin genes focuses on treating them as a model system
for molecular evolutionary processes in general.
Dr Jackson’s areas of expertise include evolutionary biology
(evolutionary theory, molecular evolution and organismal biology), venomics
(proteomics and transcriptomics), bioinformatics and computational biology,
toxin structure-function and evolution, anatomy of reptilian venom systems,
philosophy of science and animal husbandry.
In 2017 Dr Jackson joined AVRU, where he will continue his
evolutionary research and head the Venoms and Antivenoms Reference Laboratory,
which will characterise the venoms of medically important venomous snakes and
evaluate antivenom efficacy.
