Discover how AI is transforming your health

Associate Professor Hesselson is an internationally trained research leader in regenerative medicine, focusing on cells and organs affected by heart disease, diabetes, and Parkinson’s disease. His work uses insights from the study of basic regenerative processes to identify novel therapeutic targets for these devastating diseases.

The Centenary Institute’s Centre for Biomedical AI is focussed on the application of AI technology to advance both basic and clinical medical research. This includes developing techniques for designing novel proteins; producing therapeutics for untreatable cardiovascular diseases; and predicting the functional impacts of human genetic variation.

One key project of the Centre is developing new ways to stimulate the regrowth of heart muscle to improve the prognosis of patients who survive their first heart attack.

Dr Yagiz Alp Aksoy is a clinician-researcher and AI innovator focused on the ethical integration of AI in clinical practice and biomedical sciences. He holds an MD from the University of Sydney and a PhD from Macquarie University, where he specialized in advanced biomedical research. He is also the founder of EosGene Therapeutics, a biotechnology company advancing gene therapy solutions. Over the past six years, Dr Aksoy has worked with the NSW Ministry of Health, focusing on research ethics, governance, and clinical trials. More recently, he has been involved in human research ethics for AI and AI research, contributing to the responsible development of AI technologies in healthcare. He has led projects that set new benchmarks in predictive medicine and clinical decision-making, including AI-powered tools for cancer diagnosis, treatment response, and post-operative complications.

Currently working as a clinician at Royal North Shore Hospital, Dr Aksoy bridges AI research with clinical applications. His collaboration with Dharmais Cancer Hospital, Indonesia’s largest national cancer centre, aims to link vast cancer datasets for digital biobanking and predictive analytics, with the potential to transform cancer care and improve health equity for the local population. He is committed to ensuring that AI-driven healthcare innovations are ethical, scalable, and impactful.

Sam is an accomplished leader with extensive experience in leadership positions across Europe and Australia in government, not-for-profit and corporate organisations.

Sam is driven by creating positive workplace cultures, delivering high quality services, and producing positive outcomes. She has a track record of creating strategic directions and transforming services that enable organisations to excel. She has excellent commercial, financial and digital acumen and ensures that organisations have a robust future. Sam is passionate about enabling people to thrive professionally through empowerment, learning environments and professional development.