The Laborastory

Dr. Hossein Mokhtarzadeh received his PhD from the University of Melbourne in Mechanical Engineering specialising in Biomechanics in 2014. He studied ACL injury and its mechanism during high-risk movements using in vitro and in vivo modelling approaches and received several prizes for his research. He explains the difference between being a research manager and being a research leader.

Sarah Nagorcka is a pharmacist, writer and musician. She is passionate about translating science, particularly medical science into live performance. She tells the story of 1988 recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, Gertrude Elion.

Chris Ward is a Melbourne-based web developer, open source advocate. ex indie musician, activist and uber geek. He tells the story of John Harrison.

Dr Melanie Thomson worked at a Great Ormond St Hospital & Cancer Research in UK before her Masters and PhD training at the University of York. She tells the story of her science hero David Unaipon.

Jen Morris studied both Arts and Science at Monash University before venturing into the outback with the Shell Questacon Science Circus. She tells the story of 19th century American dentist William Morton.

Evan Howard is an Australian who was born and raised in Canada. He thoroughly enjoys the remote wildernesses of the world. From places such as Alaska to New Zealand he finds inspiration in the stories of exploration and scientific discovery of yesteryear.

Alexander Cullen is a Human Geography PhD student at Melbourne University. He likes long walks on the beach, romantic David Schwimmer movies and uncomfortable silences. You can follow him on Twitter @alexeicullen. He tells the story of the American inventor and television pioneer Philo Farnsworth.

Assoc/Prof Ros Gleadow is co-ordinator of the core undergraduate science program at Monash University and leads the Plant Ecophysiology Group. She researches the effect of climate change on the nutritional value of plants - with a special interest in plants that make cyanide. You can follow her on Twitter @RosGleadow. She tells the story of her science hero Michael E. Mann.

Dr Nick Beaton is a research fellow in mathematics at the University of Melbourne. Unlike most mathematicians, his research really does just involve adding numbers to count things. You can follow him on Twitter @nrbeaton. He tells the story of the Hungarian mathematician Paul Erdős.

Dr Alan Duffy is a research fellow at Swinburne University of Technology, creating baby universes with supercomputers and watching galaxies from inside them. His website is http://www.alanrduffy.com and you can follow him on Twitter @astroduff. He tells the story of the 18th century French astronomer Guillaume Le Gentil.