Postdoctoral researchers
Dr Demetra Chatzileontiadou
Manager
Dr Demetra Chatzileontiadou is an NHMRC Emerging Leadership Fellow working at La Trobe University, Victoria, Australia. She was awarded her PhD with Distinction in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from the University of Thessaly in Greece and was immediately awarded a highly competitive international IKY Fellowship for excellence in her postgraduate studies. In late 2017, Demetra moved to Australia, as a postdoctoral research fellow first at Monash and then at La Trobe University. Since her PhD, she has driven multiple successful projects resulting in a deeper understanding of host-pathogens recognition.
Demetra has been awarded many highly competitive research grants and awards including the Australian Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Eppendorf Edman Award (2025). Her research focuses on identifying and characterising immune cell responses towards different pathogens, with a particular emphasis on HIV and SARS-CoV-2 viruses. Demetra’s work has resulted in publications in top-tier journals in their respective field, including the high impact publications in the journals Nature (2023), Immunity (2021), Cell Reports (2024). Her publications have drawn wide international attention, with the recent one in the high impact journal Nature being top 1% most cited article by media in history and top 1% of Nature papers published.
Dr Vivian Tran
Superstar
Dr Vivian Tran is a Heart Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow and Manager of the NHMRC Centre of Research Excellence PAVING, dedicated to advancing cardiovascular and metabolic health through clinically relevant research. She completed her PhD in 2024, where she developed and comprehensively characterised the first clinically relevant rodent model of diet‑induced metabolic syndrome, recapitulating key cardiometabolic features observed in humans and in both sexes. The model has since been adopted beyond its original field, including applications to test commercially available supplements and to study epigenetic changes across generations, demonstrating its versatility as a translational research platform. Using this model, Vivian has also identified sex‑specific responses to sustainable lifestyle interventions such as intermittent fasting, providing critical insights to inform personalised strategies for improving metabolic and cardiovascular outcomes.
Beyond the laboratory, Vivian is passionate about bridging the gap between science and the community. She started Victoria’s first cardiovascular outreach program, Heart Camp and has led initiatives including World Heart Day public panels, and laboratory walk‑throughs to strengthen cardiovascular health literacy and foster meaningful dialogue between researchers and consumers. Shaped by lived experience growing up in communities with high cardiovascular disease burden and limited STEM representation, Vivian is committed to inclusive education, community‑partnered research, and empowering young people from diverse backgrounds to pursue science with confidence. In 2025, she was named an ATSE Emerging Leader in the Education Forum, recognising her leadership in engagement, outreach, and driving systemic change through research that matters.
Dr Anurag Adhikari
Manager
Dr Anurag Adhikari is an infectious disease immunologist with expertise in human adaptive immune responses and translational immunology. His recent work has focused on Long COVID, investigating immune dysregulation through cytokine bead array profiling and autoantibody responses to better understand biomarkers and mechanisms associated with persistent post-viral symptoms, including in conjunction with chronic viral illness such as HIV. Dr Adhikari’s broader research interests include antibody-mediated effector functions, T-cell immunity, and immune memory following infection and vaccination. He completed his undergraduate studies in Biotechnology at Purbanchal University, Nepal, and his PhD in Pathology at the University of New South Wales, Australia. Currently, he has based at La Trobe University in Victoria, Australia.