Industry, Philanthropy and Commercialisation Committee 2024–2027

Bronwyn has over 20 years executive experience in health technology commercialisation, investment and industry advocacy. She is the CEO and Founder of ANDHealth, an organisation that supports digital and connected health companies in Australia by providing guidance, resources, non-dilutive funding and mentorship to help them navigate the complexities of commercialisation in the healthcare industry and successfully takes innovative technologies to the Australian and global markets. Bronwyn has a Masters of Commercial Law (UniMelb) and a Bachelor of Commerce (UWA) and is passionate about driving innovation in health and care through technology. Under her leadership, ANDHealth has played a significant role in fostering the growth of digital health and connected health technologies and promoting innovation in the Australian healthcare landscape.

Dr Noel Chambers has a PhD in pharmacology/medicinal chemistry from the University of Sydney. His work experience includes positions in research, research translation, commercialisation, start-up companies, biotechnology and philanthropy. In the early 90’s his patented discoveries in type II diabetes led to a commercial partnership where he led a team of researchers at the University of Sydney and for which he was presented the Royal Australian Chemical Institute’s Biota Award for Medicinal Chemistry. Dr Chambers then moved into industry where he held senior management positions in research and business development before becoming the CEO of a number of listed (ASX) and unlisted biotechnology/health related companies. In 2009, Dr Chamber’s attention turned to philanthropy where he led the establishment of Research Australia’s successful philanthropy program as the Director of Philanthropy. He was a member of the Federal Government’s Advisory Council for Intellectual Property (ACIP) from 2009 to 2014, advising the Federal Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research and was Chair of the ACIP review into collaborations between Publicly Funded Research Organisations and Industry.

Liz de Somer was appointed CEO of Medicines Australia in 2018 and has steered the association through 4 changes in Government and a dynamic policy landscape. Liz is one of Australia’s leading health policy experts on public health and the pharmaceutical industry. She is widely regarded for her contributions to national policy development spanning 2 decades and has led successive Strategic Agreement negotiations with Industry and the Commonwealth.

Liz began her career as an Intensive Care nurse before undertaking post-graduate studies in Medical Science, leading her to work across drug development, clinical trials, regulatory affairs and market access in the pharmaceutical industry. Her commitment to improving the lives of patients has remained a consistent focus throughout Liz’s career.

Liz contributes her industry expertise to various advisory boards and expert committees providing advice to Government. She was appointed by the Minister for Health and Aged Care to the HTA Review Reference Committee from 2023 to 2024 and sits on the Climate & Health Expert Advisory Group, the Ministerial Roundtable on Procurement, and the National Reconstruction Fund’s Enabling Capabilities Industry Working Group.

Professor Matt Dun is a NHMRC Emerging Leadership Fellow (2020–2024) and a Defeat DIPG Chadtough New Investigator (2020–2021). Matt is a medical biochemist and Professor of Paediatric Haematology and Oncology Research the University of Newcastle, Australia, and a Deputy Director of the Hunter Medical Research Institute (HMRI) Precision Medicine Research Program. His position and research has been supported by state and/or national funding bodies continuously since 2012, as well as supplemented by philanthropic and industry contributors throughout.

Member-in-Common with Indigenous Advisory Group

Associate Professor Tuguy Esgin is the Dean of Indigenous Engagement at the Faculty of Business and Law at Curtin University. A Noongar/Yamatji scholar, he specialises in Indigenous governance, economic development, and decolonising business practices. His research focuses on embedding Indigenous principles into corporate and policy frameworks, fostering social impact, and enhancing commercialisation pathways that align with Indigenous knowledge systems. Associate Professor Esgin has led major interdisciplinary projects, including securing $1.5 million in NHMRC funding to explore radar-based arterial defibrillation measurement. His role on the NHMRC Industry, Philanthropy, and Commercialisation Committee aligns with his commitment to driving sustainable, socially responsible innovation and enhancing Indigenous participation in health and business sectors.

Jiawen Li is a highly adaptable inventor and an Associate Professor at the School of Electrical and Mechanical Engineering at the University of Adelaide. She is also a Fellow of National Heart Foundation and NHMRC, and serves as the Deputy Director of Institute for Photonics and Advanced Sensing. She received her bachelor's degree in Optical Engineering from Zhejiang University in 2010, and her PhD degree in Biomedical Engineering from University of California Irvine in 2015. She has secured more than $7 million competitive research funding as the lead chief investigator. She has also won numerous prestigious awards and honours, including MIT Technology Review Global Innovator (35 under 35), Sony Women in Technology Award with Nature, Young Tall Poppy Science Award, Superstar of STEM, etc. Her research focuses on biomedical imaging, fibre-optic sensing, and 3D-printed devices.

Professor Fabienne Mackay is the 8th Director and Chief Executive Officer of QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute in Queensland.

A molecular biology and immunology expert, in 2015, she became the inaugural Head of the School of Biomedical Sciences and Head of the Department of Pathology in the Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences, at the University of Melbourne, Australia.

Professor Mackay's laboratory discovered the role of a very important factor, named BAFF, in health but also in autoimmune diseases, findings described in very highly cited articles and providing the knowledge foundation for the development of a novel therapy called belimumab (BenlystaTM), and now approved for the treatment of patients with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) and the first new treatment for SLE in over 50 years.

She received the Thomson Reuters Australia Citation and Innovation award and a trophy from the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Paris for outstanding contribution in education and research as an expatriate. She also received the Martin Lackmann award for translational research and the William A. Paul Distinguished Innovator award from the Lupus Research Alliance (USA). She is elected fellow of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences, and a member of Council for the Academy.

Dr Dharmica Mistry is currently the Senior Medtech Commercialisation Specialist at MTPConnect where she is the in-house medtech expert working across the company and its programs to evaluate and guide SME’s bringing their technologies to market. In her previous role at MTPConnect, as Director of Diagnostics Industry Engagement at MTPConnect, she led the development of a national action plan for the federal government on sovereign capability and resilience for diagnostic technologies.

Dharmica is an impact driven scientist and entrepreneur. She is co-founder and ex-Chief Scientist of BCAL Diagnostics and was previously Head of Medtech and Biotech at Cicada Innovations, a deep tech incubator in Sydney. At BCAL Diagnostics, Dharmica spent over a decade taking research discovery through to commercialisation, developing a safe, cost-effective blood test for breast cancer detection and building national and international collaborations. She then went on to join Cicada Innovations where she supported the medical innovation ecosystem through a number of startup and scaleup programs, providing mentorship and coaching for researchers, entrepreneurs and founding teams looking to commercialise their impactful technologies.

Dharmica holds a Bachelor of Science (Honours) from University of Sydney, a PhD in Medicine from Macquarie University and is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors Course.

She is the recipient of a number of awards including the NSW Young Women of the Year Award 2016, Australian Technologies Competition - Peoples Choice 2017; Australian Financial Review BOSS Young Executive of the Year 2016 and Macquarie University Alumni Award for Health and Medicine 2019.

Dean Moss has over 40 years experience in science, academia, business, management and commercialisation in Australia, USA and the UK.

He has been managing director or senior business development executive of several health and biotech companies worldwide and established his own successful surgical start-up business in the UK. Dean is a board member of several Australian biotechnology companies and has contributed to raising over $225 million in venture capital investment. UniQuest is the commercialisation company of The University of Queensland where Dean has been General Manager and then CEO for 20 years.

Dr Chris Nave is the Founding Partner and Managing Director of Brandon Capital.

Chris was previously the Director of Commercialisation at the Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute, Melbourne, Australia. Prior to this, Chris was the Manager of the Biotechnology Team at Melbourne Ventures, the commercialisation company of the University of Melbourne. Concurrently he was an Investment Manager for, and on the investment committee of, Uniseed Pty Ltd. Chris has international experience working for the business development group of Leiras Pharmaceuticals in Finland, a wholly owned subsidiary of Schering AG.

Chris is currently a director of Azura Ophthalmics, Certa Therapeutics, EBR Systems, PKG Health (Global Kinetics), OccuRx, Osprey Medical, PolyActiva and Que Oncology. He is also an advisory board member for The WILD Program. Chris was the former Chairperson of Fibrotech Therapeutics (acquired by Shire in 2014) and a former director of Spinifex Pharmaceuticals (acquired by Novartis in 2015).

Member-in-Common with Consumer Advisory Group

Dr Jeanette Pritchard is the CEO of The Garnett Passe and Rodney Williams Memorial Foundation; a charitable trust that supports excellence in Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery (the Ear, Nose and Throat medical specialty). This is primarily achieved through provision of grants, scholarships and fellowships to scientists and clinical practitioners in Australia, Aotearoa New Zealand and overseas.

Jeanette’s background is in health and medical research, development and translation. She has made a significant contribution in the medical diagnostic and devices landscape in Australia and overseas, through leadership positions within biotech and medtech companies, academic institutions and philanthropic organisations. Jeanette has a particular interest in bringing together multi-sector and cross disciplinary partners to achieve high impact outcomes in healthcare.

Dr Pritchard's current advisory roles include membership of the Arthritis Australia Consumer Advisory Panel, and mentor for skilled migrants through AMES Australia (Adult Multicultural Education Services). She was an Advisory Board Member for the ARC Centre of Excellence for Integrative Brain Function (2017–2022), a commercial assessor for the NH&MRC Development Grant scheme (2015–2021) and a member of the Victorian State Government’s Skills and Public Support Working Group towards the implementation of its five-year Biotechnology Strategic Development Plan (2009–2010).

Professor Karen Reynolds is Director of the Medical Device Research Institute at Flinders University. As one of Australia’s leading researchers in biomedical engineering, Karen is passionate about bridging the divide between research and industry. In 2008, she founded the Medical Device Partnering Program (MDPP) Ideas Incubator, a program designed to facilitate early-stage innovation and collaborations across the medtech sector. Sixteen years later, this award-winning program continues to support early-stage innovation in the medtech sector. Karen has held a number of external roles including membership of the Therapeutic Goods Administration’s Advisory Committee on Medical Devices, the Australian Medical Research Advisory Board, and the National Imaging Facility Board. She is a Fellow of the Australian Academies of Technology and Engineering and of Health & Medical Sciences and an Honorary Fellow of Engineers Australia. Her contributions have been recognised through awards including South Australian Scientist of the Year 2012 and Australian Professional Engineer of the Year in 2010. Karen is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. 

Kylie Sproston is an experienced leader whose career has been spent in the global Pharmaceutical and Biotech industries. A Chartered Engineer, Kylie has expertise across the full pharmaceutical product lifecycle, and has held key positions in both technical, management and executive functions. She has expertise in manufacturing, and manufacturing technologies. She is CEO of the not-for-profit organisation Bellberry, which is the largest provider of Human Research Ethics Committee services in Australia, with oversight of greater than 40% of CTN-registered clinical trials nationally.

Kylie is a Director of Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering (ATSE), and was Chair of the Cooperative Research Centres Advisory Committee (CRCAC) from 2018 to 2024 and a member of CRCAC from 2016 to 2018.

Kylie is a Fellow of the Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering; a Foundation Fellow of ARCS Australia and a Graduate of the AICD Company Directors Course.

Mark Sullivan is a clinical and regulatory scientist with extensive experience in developing medicines for infectious diseases. He is the Founder and CEO/Managing Director of Medicines Development for Global Health (MDGH), the first non-profit pharmaceutical company to achieve US FDA approval of a novel medicine (moxidectin). With 30+ years in product development and 20 years in executive leadership, Mark has worked at GSK R&D (London) and Gilead Sciences (California). He has led global cross-functional teams, regulatory engagements, and over 100 clinical trials. He played a pivotal role in moxidectin’s FDA approval and contributed to three global drug registrations (3TC for HIV, lamivudine and adefovir dipivoxil for hepatitis B). Previously, he was Chief Operating Officer of Australia’s NIH-funded HIV vaccine and microbicide programs. His disease area expertise spans HIV, hepatitis B, onchocerciasis, TB, and neglected tropical diseases.

Member-in-Common with Research Committee

Andrew Wilks is a molecular biologist and cancer cell biologist. Working at the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research (Melbourne) from 1988 to 1998, he led the Growth Regulation Laboratory. He and his laboratory made transformative discoveries in the signal transduction field as well as in neurogenesis and angiogenesis. Wilks has completed a rare 'trifecta' – discovering and patenting a number of important drug discovery targets (viz. JAK1 and JAK2) and defining their role in cytokine signalling; founding one of Australia’s most successful biotech companies, Cytopia; and co‐inventing and leading the team that delivered the therapeutic JAK inhibitor, momelotinib.