Welcome

We are delighted to welcome you to Brisbane for the Fifth Annual Conference of the Australasian RNA Biology and Biotechnology (A-RNA) Association, held this year in partnership with the 5th Queensland mRNA Symposium at voco Brisbane City Centre.

For many of you, this annual meeting is a familiar and much-valued fixture: a place to reconnect with colleagues from across Australia and New Zealand, share new findings and start the collaborations that move our field forward. This year, bringing A-RNA and the Queensland mRNA Symposium together under one roof gives us something special: a single meeting that spans RNA biology from discovery science through to manufacturing, therapeutics and the clinic.

Over the next three days, you will hear from six international keynote speakers, Prof Piero Carninci, Clay Alspach, Prof Xiaohua Shen, Dr Andrew Geall, Prof Prashant Mali and Dr Yuka Iwasaki, alongside leading researchers from Australia, New Zealand, Asia and beyond. Two parallel streams run each day. The A-RNA program in the Daintree Room covers non-coding RNAs, RNA processing and modification, structure and dynamics, RNA technology, AI and bioinformatics, neuroscience, immunity, disease and agriculture. The mRNA Symposium in the River View Room focuses on industry, manufacturing, cancer, vaccines, mRNA medicines and delivery.

We want A-RNA to be more than a series of talks. It is a space to strengthen and grow our community, from group leaders and industry partners to postdocs and students. Look out for the EMCR Round Table Lunch on Monday, the BioNTech workshops on Monday and Tuesday, the Sartorius Lunch Workshop on Tuesday, our two poster sessions, the Welcome Cocktail Reception on Monday evening, and the Conference Dinner at Customs House on Tuesday night.

We are grateful to all A-RNA members, our speakers and our generous sponsors. This event would not be possible without you. Thank you for joining us in Brisbane; we hope you leave with new ideas, new collaborators and lasting connections.

Enjoy the conference!

Jocelyn Widagdo & Anne Sawyer, A-RNA 2026 Co-Chairs, on behalf of the Organising Committee.