Brisbane Uncovered: Your local guide with data at the core
Want to know the hidden gems of Brisbane according to locals who are research data specialists? Look no further than Brisbane Uncovered!
Professional bio
Steffen is a Senior Research Fellow at The University of Queensland and the AI Lead for Medical Imaging at the Queensland Digital Health Centre.
Holding a PhD in Neuroscience from ETH Zurich, Steffen’s research focuses on making neuroimaging software accessible and reproducible. This work culminated in the development of the widely-used open-source platform Neurodesk.
1. Tell us about your professional role:
I am a Senior Research Fellow at The University of Queensland (UQ) and the AI Lead for Medical Imaging at the Queensland Digital Health Centre (QDHeC). My role focuses on developing advanced image processing techniques and AI-driven solutions for medical imaging.
I collaborate closely with industry partners like Siemens Healthineers, Stryker or AWS to translate cutting-edge research into clinical applications, ensuring that AI-powered imaging technologies can be seamlessly integrated into healthcare environments. I lead the development of Neurodesk, an open-source neuroimaging platform that provides researchers worldwide with accessible and scalable image processing tools.
2. What is your connection to IDW or ARDC?
Our Neurodesk.org project was enabled through an Australian Research Data Commons (ARDC) platform grant in 2021. Since then, we have been closely collaborating with the ARDC to make Neurodesk accessible to a wider range of researchers. This includes integrating Neurodesk into ARDC’s cloud offering through the virtual desktop service.
3. What is your favourite tourism activity to recommend to guests from out of town?
I always recommend visitors hop on a bike and explore the city on two wheels, following the scenic river paths and stopping at various ice cream shops, cafés, and breweries along the way. For an extra adventure, you can even incorporate the city cat ferries into your route.
Some must-visit spots include Kürtősh in West End, a fantastic Hungarian bakery and café—be sure to try their signature dish, freshly prepared just for you. Right next door, Anita serves up incredible ice cream. Nearby breweries worth checking out are Brisbane Brewing Co. and Saccharomyces Beer Café.
For a longer ride, cycle from West End to Bulimba along the river, then cross over by ferry. Along the way, make a stop at Christian Jacques Bakery, a top-tier French bakery with what many call the best croissants in Australia. Once in Bulimba, explore Le Caprice Patisserie for classic French treats or grab a scoop at Nom Nom Natural Gelato. End your day with beer and pizza at Revel Brewing Co Bulimba for the perfect finish before you head back and enjoy the sunset on the ferry and a beautiful skyline view of the CBD and the Storybridge.
Café: Kürtősh
Restaurant: La Lupa in Westend
We initially came to Brisbane for a 6-month work contract and 10 years later, we are still here – the simple reason: It’s a great city to live and work in with great public spaces and there is always something new to discover.
Professional bio
My academic background in environmental science gave me a passion for good evidence based on good data. From my experience as a synthesis centre director in supporting multinational research teams tackle multi- and trans-disciplinary problems, I have participated in creating tools for researchers to better engage in Open Science.
1. Tell us about your professional role:
I am currently an ecosystem research analyst for the Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network, a data observatory and CoreTrustSeal repository.
2. What is your connection to IDW or ARDC?
I have worked on open data for many years as a creator, educator, facilitator, and publisher across multidisciplinary, multilingual and multinational space. The ARDC has been an important player in this space this since its debut as ANDS and has provided many insights along the way. I have been involved with the RDA for nearly 10 years. IDW is a great opportunity for gathering minds together across the global data science community and it is to be held in Australia in 2025.
3. What is your favourite tourism activity to recommend to guests from out of town?
A ride on the City Cat up and down river, especially at night, with stop-offs along the way.
4. What is your favourite restaurant or cafe in Brisbane?
There are too many to name! St Lucy’s at UQ is pretty good. Can catch the City Cat to get there! Ditto little stops at craft breweries.
5. What’s your favourite thing about Brisbane?
The river and the hills.
6. What are you most looking forward to about IDW 2025?
Learning from, sharing with, and connecting to amazing people.
Professional bio
Jeff is Co-Director of Australian BioCommons and ensures bioinformatics infrastructure is established at a national level to support Australian life researchers.
He has a PhD in Biochemistry from The University of Queensland, and has held many roles around the UK and Australia, all focused on developing data infrastructure to support health and life science research at scale.
1. Tell us about your professional role:
I’m Co-Director of Australian BioCommons. Our vision is that Australia’s life science research and research translation across human health, agriculture and biodiversity is enhanced through world class collaborative distributed bioinformatics infrastructure. My job is to work with the amazing team of people at BioCommons to oversee the provision of that infrastructure, through working with many national and international partners.
2. What is your connection to IDW or ARDC?
I’m a co-chair of the Research Data Alliance (RDA)’s Life Science Data Infrastructures Interest Group and we will be looking forward to hosting an in-person session at IDW. We also collaborate closely with both European and US-based colleagues, so I’ll be enjoying the opportunity to connect with those colleagues here in Brisbane during IDW2025 (and not virtually over zoom at odd hours of the night!).
In the city, I’d recommend the Gallery of Modern Art (GoMA) for a culture fix; Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary to get up close and personal with our native fauna; a walk around the city centre making the most of our many pedestrian footbridges to criss-cross the river through Southbank, the City Botanic Gardens, Kangaroo Point and New Farm to soak up the subtropical atmosphere (TIP: bring your togs (swimming costume) and have a dip at the free sandy ‘beach’ in Southbank). If you have more time, consider a day trip to Point Lookout on North Stradbroke Island (‘Straddie’) for some whale watching (make sure to do the Gorge Walk, you might see a turtle down in the water), or Lamington National Park for rainforest, or even more time, a trip to Lady Elliot Island (the best of the most easily accessed Barrier Reef Islands) for spectacular snorkelling.
For me it’s GRECA at Howard Smith Wharves. Excellent Greek food (the Lamb Shoulder and the Saganaki are favourites) and a great spot under the massive Story Bridge.
The laid-back lifestyle and subtropical atmosphere. You can tell the month here by what tree is flowering. In October you can look forward to the sight of the many Jacaranda trees flowering en masse around the city – you can’t miss them – their mauve flowers create an almost otherworldly sight.
Connecting with colleagues from around the country and overseas in person.
Professional bio
Sara has 20 year’s experience in health research, working in the higher education, private and charity sectors in both England and Australia. She has significant experience in ethics, governance and research integrity, research centre management including the facilitation of research across a number of research themes, and managing investigator-led clinical trials.
Tell us about your professional role:
As Research Governance Manager at Health Translation Queensland, Sara supports strategic and operational objectives through the development and streamlining of research governance processes across partner organisations. She also leads key thematic collaborative stakeholder groups across Queensland that support and facilitate collaborative research translation initiatives.
2. What is your connection to IDW or ARDC?
Sara’s connection to ARDC is within the ARDC’s HeSANDA program. Sara is involved in the Queensland node, which is a collaboration between CSIRO Australian e-Health Research Centre (AEHRC), Queensland Cyber Infrastructure Foundation (QCIF) and Health Translation Queensland (HTQ). The partnership’s objective is to catalogue and make available comprehensive metadata related to clinical trials for Queensland. The dataset information is accessible through Health Data Australia, which serves as a centralised catalogue facilitating the discovery, searchability and requestability of clinical trial data for researchers.
It’s a little bit further out of the city but I always recommend Australia Zoo to family and friends. It’s well worth the trip. For something closer to the heart of Brisbane, South Bank is an absolute must visit.
The only café I frequent on a Thursday morning after a run with Watts Athletics is Bessa Coffee in Milton (Little Crib Street, Milton). It’s my go to spot for a post run pick me up!
My favorite thing about Brisbane has to be its glorious winter weather—an average of 21 degrees, warm and perfect! It means I can enjoy running year-round without retreating indoors during colder months. It’s one of the main reasons we traded England for this sunshine-filled lifestyle!
I’m really looking forward to the opportunity to meet people face-to-face and engage in meaningful networking. There’s something truly special about in-person interactions that go beyond what virtual meetings can offer. Conversations tend to flow more naturally, and the connections feel more authentic when you’re sharing a space with others. It’s not just about exchanging ideas or contacts; it’s about building relationships, learning from others, and discovering common goals and interests in a dynamic and collaborative environment.
