Melissa Little

Melissa Little is an Honorary Professor at the Institute for Molecular Bioscience (IMB), University of Queensland. Her research focuses on kidney development, organoid engineering, and regenerative medicine. She leads projects like the KidGen national kidney genomics study and has pioneered kidney organoid models for disease modeling and drug screening. Her work bridges developmental biology with translational medicine, aiming to address kidney dysfunction and regeneration.

Key collaborations include partnerships with institutions like the GUDMAP database and projects involving stem cell differentiation, nephron progenitors, and vascularization. Her lab explores kidney organoid maturation, viral infection mechanisms, and synthetic kidney design. She has co-authored over 230 journal articles, book chapters, and reviews, with a focus on kidney pathology, stem cell applications, and bioengineering solutions for renal replacement therapy.

Her research integrates experimental and computational methods, including single-cell analysis and biophysical modeling, to understand kidney development and disease. She advocates for rigorous organoid standards and ethical applications of stem cell technologies. Melissa Little has been instrumental in establishing Australia's genitourinary research networks and mentoring early-career investigators in the field.