Researchers

Associate Professor James Daveson is a clinician with a sub-specialty interest in Coeliac Disease, with a large patient cohort and strong mature links to Coeliac Support groups. Over the last 15 years, he has developed an expertise in studies widely recognized as fundamental to the current generation of immune therapies for Coeliac Disease. Expertise arises from overseeing a large patient cohort in specialised clinics across two sites both in metropolitan and regional Queensland.

Associate Professor Severine Navarro is a mucosal immunologist with extensive experience in gastrointestinal biology, immune tolerance, and microbiome analysis in the context of Coeliac Disease and other allergic and inflammatory diseases of the gut. She has been involved since in several clinical studies with the Royal Brisbane Women’s Hospital & the Queensland Children’s Hospital as well as cohort studies all aiming at better understanding the role of the microbiome and microbiome-derived metabolites in disease onset or susceptibility.

Dr Sehgal completed his PhD at the Roslin Institute, University of Edinburgh (UK) (2013-2017), where he developed a long-term research passion for investigating gut homeostasis and what happens during dysfunction and disease. In 2018, Dr Sehgal joined the Mater Research Institute as a Research Officer to research the role of macrophages in growth and development. In October 2022, Dr Sehgal joined WRI as Senior Research Officer where he is leading several translational projects to understand the underlying biological mechanisms that regulate immune responses and whether this data can be quickly translated into clinical practice. Dr Sehgal’s research combines exploratory discovery-based research and translational research to understand triggers, disease progression, and both intestinal and extraintestinal manifestations of gastrointestinal disorders such as Coeliac Disease and Inflammatory Bowel Disease. Using this approach, he aims to understand the interlinked networks that regulate immune responses during disease.

Jen has worked as a Clinical Research Practitioner across multiple clinical trials at Wesley Research Institute since 2018. She is a General Practitioner, with special clinical interests in gastroenterology and allergy, and has additional experience in organisational and clinical governance, medical education, and health practitioner wellbeing.