School Based Members
Arua Kalu
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Bobby Cheema
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Feng Li
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Gerald Muench
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Isabelle Leung
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Jerry Zhou
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Lei Si
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Michelle O'Shea
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Ritesh Raju
Dr Ritesh Raju is a Senior Lecturer in Pharmacology, at the School of Medicine, Western Sydney University. He completed his PhD in Organic Chemistry from the University of Queensland and has more than 15 years’ experience in the field of natural products chemistry. Dr Raju has expertise in natural products chemistry with experience in isolating and elucidating bioactive molecules from microbial and plant sources. His research interests include isolating and elucidating structures of complex molecules mainly by utilizing spectroscopic techniques, mainly NMR (600 MHz) and HRMS. He has published over 60 research articles and has a high level of expertise in the structural elucidation of organic molecules.
Rocco Cavaleri
Dr Rocco Cavaleri is a Senior Lecturer in the Physiotherapy department at Western Sydney University. Rocco was awarded his PhD in 2023 and also holds a B Health Science (Hons I)/ M Physiotherapy from Western Sydney.
Rocco currently leads the Brain Stimulation and Rehabilitation (BrainStAR) Lab in the School of Health Sciences. His research is dedicated towards understanding the neurophysiological processes underpinning musculoskeletal and neurological disorders. Rocco uses non-invasive brain stimulation techniques to assess brain changes in response to processes such as pain and motor learning, facilitating the development of novel diagnostic and treatment strategies.
Sarah Duffy
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Srivinas Nammi
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Valentina Naumovski
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Woojeong Kim
Dr Woojeong Kim is a Lecturer in Food Science at the School of Science and a School-based Member of the NICM Health Research Institute at Western Sydney University. Her research expertise spans food process engineering, encapsulation, particle technology, and physical chemistry for functional food development. She received her PhD from School of Chemical Engineering, UNSW and has worked across the food and biopharmaceutical sectors, including previous roles at Teva Pharmaceuticals (2024–2026), UNSW Sydney (2023–2024), and the Korea Food Research Institute (2019–2020). Her research aims to advance sustainable, accessible, and healthy food production.
Xiaoshu Zhu
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Yuting Sun
Dr Yu-Ting Sun is an Academic Program Lead and Lecturer in Chinese Medicine at Western Sydney University and a researcher at the NICM Health Research Institute. Her research focuses on the integration of traditional medicine into contemporary healthcare through translational, clinical, educational, and health services research. Her work encompasses traditional medicinal plants, acupuncture, gut health, and chronic disease, with an emphasis on strengthening the evidence base for integrative healthcare and translating research into clinical practice. She also conducts research on Chinese medicine education, professional identity, and workforce sustainability. As a registered Chinese medicine practitioner in Australia and New Zealand, Dr Sun is committed to advancing interdisciplinary collaboration and evidence-based integrative healthcare through research, education, and clinical innovation.