QEDDI - Key Persons
Professor of Pharmaceutical Chemistry at the University of Sussex, Brian Cox is focussed on drug discovery underpinned with automated synthesis. He is co-founder and director of Photodiversity Ltd, which specialises in novel screening libraries generated using innovative photochemical and automation methods. Previously he was Head of Chemistry at Novartis UK (Horsham), a site specialising in respiratory and GI research, and a Novartis expertise hub for automated synthesis. Professor Cox worked for GSK in different disease areas-particularly CNS and respiratory-developing a keen interest in modulation of ion channels as a target class, in which he is now a recognised expert.
He is associated with several marketed compounds and late-stage clinical candidates including potential new asthma drug Fevipiprant. He studied at the University of Manchester, followed by an industrial Post Doc at Schering-Plough, New Jersey. He serves on several scientific advisory boards and is an elected member of the Royal Society of Chemistry's Chemistry Biology interface division Board.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Advisory Committee
- Professor Emeritus
Professor Hoyer moved to Melbourne in 2012 to become Head and Chair of the Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics after 31 years with Novartis in Basel, Switzerland. Hoyer studied Biochemistry and Physiology in Lyon, Dijon and Strasbourg, and obtained his PhD (1981) and a DSc in Pharmacology (1986), both from University of Strasbourg, France. His PhD, performed at Sandoz (Basel), described the discovery of two of the most used adrenoceptor radioligands. After a post-doctoral stay at the Medical School, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia (Prof. PB Molinoff), Hoyer Joined Sandoz in 1983 in Basel, first in Cardiovascular Research, then in Neuropsychiatry. Hoyer has characterized a large number of monoamine, e.g. 5-HT, NA and DA, and neuropeptide receptors, as well as ligand-gated channels, He has extensive experience in drug discovery and development in both academia and industry, with senior positions at Novartis and/or Academic Institutions (Scripps Research Institute; University of Pennsylvania; University of Melbourne). Hoyer has received NHMRC and international funding and previously had European Union Funding, while in Basel. In 2015/2016, Hoyer and Prof. Bill Charman (Dean of Pharmacy at Monash University) established BioCurate Pty Ltd, a drug development joint venture between University of Melbourne and Monash, with 80 Mio AUD support from both Universities and the Government of Victoria.
Professor Dennis Liotta helped transform HIV/AIDS from a death sentence to chronic infection in which patients could live active, near-normal lives. It is estimated more than 90 percent of all HIV-infected people in the US take (or have taken) one of the drugs he invented. In his current role as Executive Director of the Emory Institute for Drug Development, Professor Liotta oversaw discovery and development of another novel nucleoside analogue, EIDD-2023, for treating hepatitis C infections. His research group also recently discovered the first potent, dual tropic (CCR5/CXCR4) HIV entry inhibitors.
Over the past 25 years, Dr Liotta's research focused on discovery and development of novel antiviral, anticancer and anti-inflammatory therapeutic agents. He is a leader of the Emory team that discovered the antiviral drug, Emtriva (emtricitabine), approved for treating HIV in 2003. Emtriva is a component of the ground-breaking Atripla - now universally accepted as the drug combination of choice for HIV-infected patients. Professor Liotta is inventor of record for clinically important antivirals, including: Lamivudine, Reverset, Racivir and Elvucitabine and lead inventor of Q-122, a clinical agent for controlling hot flashes in post-menopausal women.
Job Titles:
- Senior Drug Discovery Scientist
Job Titles:
- Head of QEDDI Strategic Partnerships
- Head, Strategic Partnerships
Andrew is responsible for strategic QEDDI partnerships, within UQ and nationwide, and provides therapeutics expertise into the Targeted Translational Research Accelerator and Biomedical Translation Bridge programs, partnered with MTPConnect. Prior to joining UniQuest, Andrew was the Vice President of Drug Discovery at Bionomics Limited (Adelaide, Australia), a publicly-listed discovery and development company working across oncology, neuroscience and inflammation. In this role, he was responsible for leading chemistry and IP in programs ranging from hit identification to phase II clinical development, including two programs partnered with Merck & Co. While at Bionomics, Andrew was an industry partner in the Cancer Therapeutics Cooperative Research Centre. Previously, Dr Harvey was an NHMRC Industry Fellow at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute (Melbourne, Australia). Andrew serves as a National Steering Committee member for the National Drug Discovery Centre (Melbourne, Australia).
Job Titles:
- Medicinal Chemistry Team Leader
Brian leads the chemistry and biology groups at QEDDI working on small molecule preclinical drug discovery. Previously, Brian worked in discovery research and development in large pharmaceutical companies, biotech and academia. He was Associate Professor in Medicinal Chemistry at the National University of Singapore and previously Head of Chemistry for S*BIO Pte Ltd in Singapore, where his team was responsible for the discovery of Pacritinib, Pracinostat, TG02, VS-5584 and two other clinical candidates. Pacritinib was approved by the FDA in 2022 for myelofibrosis patients with low platelets. Brian led the chemistry team at Vernalis which discovered Luminespib in collaboration with the Institute of Cancer Research. Brian has also been a Department Manager at Evotec and a Team Leader at Roche UK. He earned his PhD in organic chemistry from the University of Glasgow. Brian has served as an Editorial Advisory Board Member for the Journal of Medicinal Chemistry since 2020.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Advisory Committee
During 42 years in the pharmaceutical industry, Dr Richardson's senior leadership positions included: Global Head of Musculoskeletal Disease Therapeutic Area at Novartis Institutes for Biomedical Research; Deputy Head of Drug Safety, Head of Pathology and Experimental Toxicology, Head of Immunology, Inflammation and Respiratory Research as well as Senior Project Manager for the worldwide development of new therapies for metabolic, cardiovascular and respiratory diseases for Sandoz Pharma.
He was Head of Preclinical Research in Switzerland and UK and played a key role in the merger of the Sandoz and Ciba Research organisations that resulted in the Novartis Institutes for Biomedical Research. Dr Richardson's laboratories led the discovery, development and introduction of new therapies including Navoban, Simulect, Ilaris, Certican, Gilenya and Cosentyx. He has published more than 60 original peer-reviewed papers and contributed many book chapters in the fields of pathophysiology, endocrinology and receptor pharmacology.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Advisory Committee
Dr Ogilvie joined the advisory committee in February 2019, bringing a lifetime of industry and academic experience and leadership in cancer drug discovery and development to QEDDI. He has served as a scientific consultant providing expert advice on drug discovery to universities, the pharmaceutical industry and to venture capitalists. During his more than 20-year career with international pharmaceutical company, AstraZeneca, Dr Ogilvie led the discovery of 10 novel cancer drug candidate-several of which progressed to Phase II and Phase III clinical trials. One of the compounds has received regulatory approval in the Unites States and Europe.
Dr Ogilvie obtained a Masters of Biochemistry at the University of Oxford in 1980 before commencing his career at the John Radcliffe Hospital for eight years, exploring the role of proteases in breast cancer. He completed his PhD in connective tissue disorders before entering the field of cancer drug discovery and early clinical development, joining ICI (which subsequently became Zeneca and then Astra Zeneca) in 1988. Dr Ogilvie subsequently established the Drug Discovery Unit at the Cancer Research UK (CRUK) Manchester Institute at The University of Manchester, overseeing the successful licencing of three separate projects to industry partners.
Job Titles:
- Drug Discovery Team Leader
Job Titles:
- Member of the Advisory Committee
Dr Jeanette Wood is an international drug-discovery leader with extensive experience in all aspects of drug discovery and development in disease areas including: cancer, cardiovascular, and inflammatory diseases. Most recently Dr Wood was Chief Scientific Officer of Genkyotex, a Swiss-based biotech company developing new treatments for fibrotic diseases. Her previous positions include: Vice President and Head of iScience Oncology at AstraZeneca with responsibility for early discovery oncology, and Head of Biology at S*BIO, Singapore's first biotech drug discovery company.
Dr Wood has held senior scientific leadership roles in the pharma company Ciba-Geigy/Ciba/Novartis, including her last role at Novartis as a member of the Oncology Research Management Team and the Research Management Committee. She is currently performing board director and advisory roles for: Nuevolution in Denmark, Idorsia, Basilea and Telremo in Switzerland, Cumulus in the UK and Maurice Wilkins Institute in New Zealand. Dr Wood played a key role in the discovery and profiling of several marketed drugs including: Aliskiren (Tekturna), Valsartan (Diovan), Everolimus (Afinitor), Imatinib (Glivec), Fingolimid (Gilenya) and Osimertinib (Tagrisso). Born and educated in New Zealand (University of Otago, Dunedin), Dr Wood is author of more than 180 peer-reviewed journal publications, book chapters and reviews and an inventor on more than 20 patents.
Job Titles:
- Drug Discovery Team Leader
Job Titles:
- Principal Computational Chemist
Job Titles:
- Principal Medicinal Chemist
Job Titles:
- Senior Drug Discovery Scientist
Job Titles:
- Medicinal Chemistry Team Leader
Job Titles:
- Medicinal Chemistry Team Leader
Job Titles:
- Dr Professor
- Health Translation Queensland 's Executive Director, Professor
Dr Professor John Prins is an active clinician-scientist, a respected thought leader in diabetes and endocrinology in Australia and has wide experience on grant review and advisory committees for NHMRC, non-government organisations and industry.
As Health Translation Queensland's Executive Director, Professor Prins is passionate about supporting collaborative translational research in Queensland. He is responsible for the strategic direction and vision of Health Translation Queensland and for improving communication, collaboration, and efficiencies across the broader Queensland health and medical research sectors, from discovery science right through to patient care across the state.
Professor Prins undertook his clinical training in endocrinology in Brisbane and then completed a PhD in adipose tissue biology at The University of Queensland. He completed his postdoctoral training at the University of Cambridge and was awarded a Wellcome Senior Research Fellowship in Medical Sciences in 1998.
Professor Prins has significant corporate leadership experience across the academic, health and pharmaceutical sectors, including as Head of Melbourne Medical School, University of Melbourne; Director, Metro South Hospital and Health Service Board; CEO of the Mater Group and Director of the Mater Research Institute-UQ. He was instrumental in the formation of spin-out biotechnology companies Adipogen Pty Ltd (merged to form Verva Pharmaceuticals in 2015) and Jetra Therapeutics.
He has received more than $35 million in research and commercialisation funding, has published over 160 research publications with 14,700 citations, and holds 4 international patents.
In July 2023, he was appointed Chair of the Australian Health Research Alliance (AHRA) - the national voice of 14 Research Translation Centres, which are either fully accredited or recognised as emerging by the National Health and Medical Research Council.
Job Titles:
- Business Development Manager
- Member of the QEDDI Team
Laura is a life sciences commercialisation professional with experience in research translation alongside industry experience in pharmaceutical and biotechnology product development. She has expertise in small molecule and antibody drug discovery projects, gene therapy technologies, diagnostics and medical device development. Laura has a track record of cultivating partnerships through the identification of commercial opportunities, presentation of targeted pitches and development of strong partner relationships with international pharma and biotech.
Laura previously led the commercialisation strategy for Children's Medical Research Institute's gene therapy research labs and was responsible for attracting significant commercial research funding and commercial milestones. Laura also worked with the £53M University College London Technology Fund to develop route-to-market strategies for UCL technologies and delivered molecular diagnostics and medical device spinouts to investment readiness. Laura has industry experience having worked with UCB Pharma (London, United Kingdom) and Abcam (Cambridge, United Kingdom).
Job Titles:
- Member of the QEDDI Team
- Research Assistant
Job Titles:
- Lab Manager
- Research Assistant