OUR SPEAKERS
KEYNOTE SPEAKER
DR JOHN RATCLIFFE
CIO, Altea Investments
John Ratcliffe is the Chief Investment Officer at Altea Investments, a firm focused on providing capital for critical life science infrastructure across the Asia-Pacific region. Altea partners with Life Science Incubator (LSI) to deliver co-working lab spaces for biomedical companies, with current operations in Singapore and planned expansion into Australia, including
a new Brisbane facility. John brings extensive experience from previous roles as Head of Asia Pacific Real Estate at Barings and Executive Director at Challenger. His investment strategy centres on specialised lab infrastructure, offering stable, predictable returns, and supporting innovation-driven growth in the biomedical sector across APAC.
PROF PALL THORDARSON
Director, RNA Institute
Prof Pall Thordarson (Palli) obtained his BSc from the University of Iceland in 1996 and a PhD in Organic Chemistry from The University of Sydney in 2001. Following a Marie Curie Fellowship in the Netherlands he returned to Australia in 2003 and was then appointed at UNSW Sydney in 2007 as a Senior Lecturer where he became a Full Professor in 2017. He is currently the Director of the UNSW RNA Institute and the President of the Royal Australian Chemical Institute (RACI). He is also a program leader for the NSW RNA Production and Research Network and leads the NSW RNA Bioscience Alliance on the behalf of the NSW Vice-Chancellor’s Committee.
Palli has published over 130 referred papers, including in prestigious journals such as Nature and Nature Nanotechnology. His research interest ranges from Nanomedicine and Light-harvesting Materials to Supramolecular and Systems Chemistry. He is focused on advancing our understanding of how molecules interact with one another and ‘self-assemble’, and how self-assembly can then be harnessed to create novel functional materials and systems. His key RNA research activities include nanoparticle delivery systems, RNA synthesis, RNA supramolecular chemistry and bioconjugate chemistry. He has received a number of awards including the 2012 Le Fèvre Memorial Prize from the Australian Academy of Science for outstanding basic research in Chemistry by a Scientist under the age of 40.
DR PETER BROWN
Special Council, Griffith Hack
Peter specialises in the patenting of inventions in the field of biotechnology, including inventions relating to molecular biology, medical diagnostics, immunology, microbiology, cellular biology, protein chemistry and biochemistry. Peter’s expertise includes patent strategy advice, drafting and prosecuting of patent applications, patentability advice, freedom to operate searching and advice, and patent oppositions.
Peter has extensive research experience including post-doctoral research at Washington University in St Louis, USA and the Centre for Immunology, St Vincent’s Hospital, Sydney. His extensive research experience in microbiology, molecular biology, immunology and cell biology provides him an in-depth understanding of his clients’ technology.
Peter’s clients include Australian universities, institutes and small to medium-sized companies. He also has a large international practice comprising multinational firms.
DR MALCOLM LYONS
Principal, Griffith Hack
Dr Malcolm Lyons is a patent attorney based in Melbourne. Malcolm trained in chemistry and biochemistry, and now specialises in biotechnology. Before entering the IP profession, Malcolm gained post-doctoral research experience in various aspects of human health and disease during which he was awarded several prestigious fellowships and published his research regularly. Malcolm also has research experience in a start-up biotechnology company. In addition to expertise gained in biological sciences and biotechnology while still at the bench, Malcolm has developed significant expertise in these technologies working with an extensive range of clients.
As an Australian and New Zealand patent attorney, Malcolm has worked closely with universities, teaching hospitals, research institutes, start-up companies and large corporations, both local and international, and is a trusted advisor to his clients providing practical, commercial, strategic advice. His work extends across the IP lifecycle from analysis of invention disclosures and drafting through prosecution to post-grant enforcement strategy.
Malcolm has significant expertise in patent term extensions for pharmaceutical patents, including biologics, and discretionary extensions of time, and is currently particularly focused on technologies in regenerative medicine.
BRENT MCPHERSON
National Business Development Manager, Aus and NZ, World Courier
Brent McPherson has spent over 29 years in the supply chain sector, managing clients and teams in both local and regional roles (APAC), covering many industries and sectors. Over the past 16 years, his main focus has been on the
healthcare sector. From a commercial perspective, he has worked in start-up organizations concentrating on the marketing and sales strategies. Having studied in several fields, such as business management, international trade, supply
chain and sales, he brings a unique perspective to his role. Brent is Director for Business Development in Australia & New Zealand, for World Courier, an Cencora company.
DR ROBERT LIN
CEO, GreenLight Clinical
Dr Lin is the CEO of GreenLight Clinical. He is a highly qualified healthcare executive with over 20 years of clinical and managerial experience. As a healthcare professional who is passionate about advancing medical facilities, treatments and patient-centric care, Dr Lin has extensive experience in managing private, public and international hospitals and other facilities. His expertise in this area spans strategic planning, improving operational efficiency, team building and project management. With a commitment to share his knowledge and skills to enhance healthcare in the community, Dr Lin has been Chairman of the NSW Radiation Therapist Research Group and Clinical Specialist Director of the Australian Medical Radiation Sciences Accreditation Council. He also served as a member of the expert panel of the Trans-Tasman Radiation Oncology Group and the lung cancer reference group for Cancer Australia.
Dr Lin’s professional insights are widely published, and he is a reviewer and invited author of the Journal of Medical Radiation Sciences. As someone who drives positive development in the healthcare industry, Dr Lin believes that optimal outcomes and improved patient experiences are best achieved through understanding difficult concepts, turning ideas into logical strategies and implementing appropriate systems.
PROF JAMES CHONG
Professor, Centre Director, Westmead Hospital
James is an internationally recognised leader in regenerative cardiology. His group pioneers the use of pluripotent stem cell–derived cardiomyocytes to repair the injured heart, coupling fundamental developmental biology with large-animal translational studies and first-in-human trial planning. Beyond cell therapy, his team creates advanced human cardiac disease models that accelerate therapeutic discovery and precision-medicine approaches for heart failure. James’ work has secured competitive funding from Australia’s major biomedical agencies—including the NHMRC, Medical Research Future Fund, and National Heart Foundation—most recently a ~A$5 million MRFF grant to deliver a Phase I clinical trial of stem-cell cardiomyocyte therapy. Findings from his laboratory appear in Nature, Nature Cardiovascular Research, Cell Stem Cell, Science Translational Medicine, and Nature Communications, and have been recognised with the NSW CVRN Rising Star Award, Heart Foundation Paul Korner Innovation Award, Metcalf Prize for Stem Cell Research, and the 2024 Jian Zhou Medal from the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences.
Trained in cardiology at Westmead Hospital, James completed his PhD with Prof Richard Harvey (Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute) identifying a novel cardiac progenitor population, then pursued Fulbright- and NHMRC-supported post-doctoral studies with Prof Charles Murry at the University of Washington, advancing stem-cell cardiac repair in both small and large animal models.
SCIENTIA PROFESSOR ANTHONY KELLEHER
Clinical Immunologist St. Vincent’s Hospital, Director Kirby Institute,
UNSW Sydney
Professor Anthony (Tony) Kelleher is a clinician scientist who graduated from Medicine at UNSW in 1986. He trained in internal medicine and pathology at St Vincent’s Hospital, Sydney at the height of the HIV epidemic, qualifying as a Clinical Immunologist and Immunopathologist in 1995.
He completed his PhD in 1997, describing modulation of the HIV-infected immune system by experimental clinical interventions including therapeutic vaccines and IL-2, and made the first observations of reconstitution of antigen-specific CD4+ T cell responses in patients receiving potent anti-retroviral therapy during an early phase trial of Ritonavir.
Professor Kelleher undertook a post-doctoral fellowship in Oxford at the Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine and Nuffield Department of Medicine, studying the coevolution of HIV and the viral immune response. He was the first to describe the requirement of compensatory mutations in delayed immune escape from CD8+ T cell responses and developed a methodology for the production of Class II MHC tetramers. He returned to Sydney in 2001 to join an Australian consortium developing a prophylactic HIV vaccine based on a prime boost strategy that successfully completed clinical trials in Australia and Thailand. He has played a role in multiple phase 1 to phase 4 clinical trials and cohort studies in HIV treatment and prevention, particularly correlative laboratory-based studies. He has established novel assays to measure CD4+ T cell responses, several patented and developed commercially, pioneered fine needle lymph node biopsies to study immune responses and the HIV reservoir, and is exploring novel gene therapy.
PROF MICHELLE FARRAR
Sydney Children's Hospital
Dr Michelle Farrar is Professor of Paediatric Neurology and Neuroscience at UNSW Medicine and Sydney Children’s Hospital Network (SCHN). Her work focuses on neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative diseasess in children. She is an Australian National Health and Medical Research Council Investigator (Emerging Leader), on the topic of “Improving health outcomes for children with rare neurological diseases with genomic technologies”. She directs the multidisciplinary neuromuscular clinic and clinical research program at SCH. Her work includes clinical care, training of residents and fellows, clinical research and collaborating with scientists in translational research. Dr. Farrar is a principal investigator in spinal muscular atrophy clinical trials. She is medical director for Muscular Dystrophy NSW and a member of the International Rare Diseases Consortium Therapies Scientific Committee
DR YAGIZ ALP AKSOY
Co-founder/Director, EOSGene Therapeutics
Dr Yagiz Alp Aksoy, MD PhD is a clinician–scientist and co-founder of EosGene Therapeutics, an Australian biotech developing non-viral, remotely activated gene delivery technologies. He is a medical doctor with a PhD in genome engineering, and has published in leading journals on light- and X-ray–activated nanoparticle systems for gene and drug delivery. Alongside his startup role, Yagiz works clinically and holds research appointments as a Senior Lecturer in biomedical AI and translational medicine at University of Sydney and University of NSW. His work sits at the intersection of medicine, advanced therapeutics, and commercialisation, with a focus on ophthalmology, dermatology and rare diseases. At the Masterclass, he will share lessons from balancing clinical practice with company-building, assembling the right advisory and industry support, navigating early translational challenges, and what could better support clinician-entrepreneurs in Australia.
SILVIO TIZIANI
CEO, CCRM Australia
Silvio Tiziani, MBA, GAICD, is the CEO of CCRM Australia, leading efforts to bridge the gap between research and industry in regenerative medicine. With extensive experience across academia, health, and industry, he has successfully developed strategic partnerships, secured funding, and driven commercialisation initiatives. Previously, he held senior leadership roles at Monash University’s Australian Regenerative Medicine Institute and the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine, where he managed major operational, policy, and strategic developments. Silvio holds a Master of Business Administration from Monash University and a Bachelor of Science from Swinburne University and is a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (GAICD).
WITH THANKS TO
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