Our experts help you get the most from our state–of-the-art tools and techniques.

Dr Thomas Ashhurst, Senior Cytometry Scientist
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Thomas Ashhurst PhD is a Senior Cytometry Scientist with the Sydney Cytometry Core Research Facility. In this role he specialises in the use of cutting edge high-dimensional cytometry, single-cell, and spatial multiomics technologies for interrogating cellular systems. His work involves the development of new computational and experimental methods to better understand immune development and pathology across the human lifespan. He holds a long-standing interest in the pathogenesis of severe respiratory and neuroinvasive infectious diseases.

Jason Madore, Senior Cytometry Specialist (Spatial Biology)
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Jason Madore is a Spatial Biology Specialist at the Sydney Cytometry Core Research Facility, where he works on spatial and multiplexed imaging workflows for high-plex immunofluorescence and image-based spatialomics. He provides analytical support to researchers through the planning and implementation of spatial biology experiments and the computational analysis pipelines used to analyse complex spatial datasets.

Jason holds an MSc from the Université de Montréal and has a background in translational/pathobiology cancer research. He specialises in computational spatial analysis, including spatial image processing, neighbourhood and proximity modelling, cell–cell interaction analysis, and quantitative spatial statistics. He develops and applies custom Python and R pipelines for spatial proteomic and transcriptomics data, supporting analysis of tissue architecture, cellular organisation, and tumour microenvironment characterisation.

Dr Alex Rookyard, Senior Technical Officer
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Alex has over eight years' experience in proteomic, metabolomic, and lipidomic analysis. He started his journey with mass spectrometry at the University of Sydney where during his PhD he developed methods to quantify irreversible post-translational modification to cysteine residues by targeted mass spectrometry. After this Alex spent two years furthering his proteomic capabilities at Columbia University, New York, where he conducted large-scale analysis of cerebral spinal fluid in the context of Alzheimer’s disease. He is now the leading expert on the only Illumina Protein Prep Platform in the Southern hemisphere. 

Dr Jessica Pandohee, Senior Technical Officer 
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Jess supports our laser-capture microdissection workflows and holds a Bachelor of Forensic Science (Deakin University, 2012) and a PhD in Applied Chemistry (RMIT University, 2017). Her PhD research involved the development of multidimensional chromatographic techniques for targeted and untargeted study of metabolites and its application in the field of food, agriculture and forensic science. The work for which she received the RMIT Vice Chancellor Prize for Research Excellence, The Agilent Technologies Award for Separation Science and an Honourable Mention for the IUPAC-Solvay award in 2018. Prior to joining the Sydney Mass Spectrometry, Jess completed a post-doctoral fellowship at the Centre for Integrative Metabolomics and Computational Biology (Edith Cowan University) and the Centre for Crop and Disease Management (Curtin University). Jess’ interests in improving human health and tackling global challenges arising from a growing food, environmental and water insecurity have led her in collaborative projects across Australia and internationally. 

Dr Olivia Lee, Senior Technical Officer
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Olivia completed her PhD at the University of South Australia, where she investigated tissue-specific glycomic changes using mass spectrometry imaging. In 2023, she joined Uppsala University, Sweden, as a postdoctoral researcher, where she expanded her expertise in mass spectrometry imaging and LC-MS/MS-based proteomics through involvement in a wide range of core-facility projects.  With over 10 years of research experience, Olivia specialises in LC-MS-based proteomics and MALDI mass spectrometry imaging for lipids, glycans and peptides, with a focus on untargeted biomarker discovery. She is skilled in tissue processing, histological staining, data analysis and method development for multi-omics integration. Her research interests include sample optimisation for mass spectrometry imaging and discovery-driven proteomics. 

Dr Samiuela Lee, Senior Technical Officer
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With over 15 years of experience in mass spectrometry, Sam graduated with first-class honours in medical science and earned a PhD in analytical chemistry with a focus on LC-PDA-MS/MS method validation for complex herbal formulations from Wester Sydney University (WSU) in 2010. Post-PhD his career has encompassed roles such as a Laboratory Manager at a TGA certified laboratory at the herbal analysis lab at the National Institute for Complementary Medicine (NICM), WSU, Research Scientist for the Kids Cancer Alliance (KCA) within Westmead Children's Hospital, Project Scientist at the National Measurement Institute (NMI), and Research Associate at the School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering before joining Sydney Mass Spectrometry.

Sam's core expertise revolves around method development and validation of targeted metabolomic LC-MS/MS methods in diverse fields including phytochemical, pharmaceutical, pesticide, environmental, and clinical research. He has a proven track record in supporting users in discovery workflows utilising orbitrap and TOF MS instruments.

1. Consultation. After receiving your enquiry, our staff will put together a viable project design, taking into account factors such as experimental scope, instrument requirements, and budget.
2. Activation. We will assist you in registering your project, and will guide you through any necessary formalities prior to project commencement.
3. Research. Many of the activities are delivered via our contract research services.  Where applicable, we will also organise a bespoke training program specific to your needs, giving you autonomous access to our facilities to complete your project.