Associate ProfessorAnai Gonzalez Cordero

Associate Professor Anai Gonzalez-Cordero is an Al & Val Rosenstrauss Fellow and a Group Leader at the Children’s Medical Research Institute (CMRI), with a conjoint appointment at The University of Sydney.

Dr Gonzalez-Cordero is a leader in the field of stem cells and their differentiation into organoids, with an emphasis on translational research to develop novel therapies for retinal genetic diseases.

She began her scientific career in the UK, obtaining a Wellcome Trust PhD in Stem Cell and Developmental Biology and continuing her work at the Institute of Ophthalmology, University College London. In 2019, Dr Gonzalez-Cordero relocated to Australia to advance her research program in stem cells and ophthalmology. Her work has led to numerous awards, including the Metcalf Prize for Stem Cell Research in 2022, and high-impact studies such as proof-of-concept research for stem cell-based therapy through transplantation of photoreceptor cells, the light-sensing cells of the retina, which, once integrated into the eye, can restore vision in blind animal models.

At CMRI, she also heads the Stem Cell and Organoid Facility, providing iPSC lines and human organoid models to researchers across Australia.