SVI - Key Persons
Professor Bruce Kemp AO, Pehr Edman Fellow, is recognised internationally as one of the major figures to contribute to our understanding of protein kinases at the molecular level and their roles in cellular signalling.
Starting with the cAMP-dependent protein kinase in the mid-70's he delineated the substrate specificity of many different protein kinases and developed the novel simplifying concept that it depended on linear epitopes - one of which now bears his name as Kemptide. He also showed that an important common mechanism of kinase regulation was inhibition by a pseudosubstrate region of the kinase itself (intrasteric inhibition) that had to be modified to achieve activation of the kinase.
Job Titles:
- Head of Research Strategy
Anne is responsible for identification and execution of strategic opportunities for SVI with the aim of enhancing research impact and ensuring the Institute's ongoing sustainability. She leads SVI's Philanthropy, Communications, Business Development and Grants teams. She is passionate about delivering the Institute's vision of medical discoveries that transform lives.
Anne holds a PhD in Medical Biology from the University of Melbourne and has worked in France and Italy as a scientist and a communications expert.
Dr Tierney is a taxation Partner at PwC in Melbourne. He currently manages and advises a broad cross-section of listed and private companies within the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, infrastructure, manufacturing and ICT industries in respect of R&D taxation and government grants and incentives. Further, he also works closely with small and medium sized enterprises from a broad range of industries to identify Angel, VC and other funding opportunities. Dr Tierney was previously a member of the board of the O'Brien Institute.
With more than twenty years of experience in the pharmaceutical and medical research industry, Nathalie is a results-driven leader who excels at driving operational excellence and influencing change across organisations. She has a strong track record of building and developing high-performing teams while delivering on organisational strategies.
Prior to her role at SVI she was the Head of Scientific Operations at the Florey and a Research Leader in the pharmaceutical industry where she has consistently delivered results and implemented strategic initiatives.
Nathalie is a Graduate of The Australian Institute of Management, holds a PhD in Organic Chemistry from the University of Aachen (Germany) and a Master of Physical Chemistry from the University of Bordeaux (France).
A highly experienced senior executive leading and transforming health services (national and state) in a regulated health industry, Philippa is the Director of NRL.
Prior to her role at SVI, Philippa held senior executive roles at The Australian Red Cross Blood Services, National Blood Authority and Ernst & Young.
A graduate of Harvard Business School, Philippa also has a Masters in Health Administration from Flinders University and a Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery from University of Adelaide.
Professor Helen Thomas is an Associate Director of SVI, Head of the Institute's Immunology and Diabetes Unit, and Honorary Professorial Fellow at The University of Melbourne.
Helen's research is focused on prevention of type 1 diabetes. She aims to protect insulin-producing cells in the pancreas from being destroyed by the immune system. Her research is being applied to humans through the transplantation of human islets from organ donors to reverse difficult-to-treat type 1 diabetes and in a clinical trial of the JAK inhibitor baricitinib in participants with the disease.
She collaborates with industry to test immune modulatory drugs in pre-clinical models for potential use in future clinical trials for type 1 diabetes.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Professor
Professor Ian Smith is a research academic who served as Vice-Provost (Research and Research Infrastructure) at Monash University, where he had responsibility for research infrastructure, strategy and research alliances. Professor Smith is an accomplished medical researcher and a recognised leader in his field - applying proteomics technologies to study proteases involved in brain and cardiovascular function. He co-founded a proteomics-based, publicly-listed, biotechnology company and he continues to collaborate and consult widely with the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries.
Professor Smith is an experienced board member and sits on a number of national and international government and non-government advisory and governing boards and committees, many with a strong industry focus. His unique background in business and research drives his passion to get researchers and industry collaborating and applying academic and institutional based research and research infrastructure to innovate. Professor Smith strongly believes that by Improving the translation of medical research into commercial outcomes will help drive innovation in Australia, grow successful Australian businesses and lead to better health outcomes for the nation.
John Ralph was born in Broken Hill on 5 October 1932 and educated there by the Sisters of Mercy and the Marist Brothers.
He commenced employment with the CRA Group in February 1949 and completed his accountancy course with distinction.
After two years on secondment as Executive Director of RTZ Consultants in London, he was appointed CRA Finance Director in 1971, Managing Director of CRA in 1983 and Chief Executive in 1987. He retired as Chief Executive in June 1994. He was Chairman of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, 1999-2004 (Deputy Chairman, 1985-1999), Deputy Chairman of Telstra, 1996-2005, Director of BHP and BHP Billiton, 1997-2002, Chairman of Fosters Group, 1995-1999.
Mr Ralph has been honoured with numerous awards, including the john Storey Medal, the Key to the City of Melbourne, the Grand Cordon of the Sacred Treasure of Japan and the Gold Palm of Jerusalem. He is an Honorary Fellow of the Melbourne Business School.
"It was a great pleasure for me to accept the invitation to become a Patron of the Foundation. I have been aware for several years of SVI's world-leading work in medical research into important common conditions including, cancer, diabetes, heart disease and neurological disease."
Professor Mike McGuckin is the Deputy Dean in the Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences at The University of Melbourne, where he oversees the strategic direction of research and the International, Engagement and People & Culture portfolios.
Professor McGuckin is the author of more than 170 scientific publications, with his research currently focused on mucosal infection, chronic inflammation and cancer in the gastrointestinal tract, and diabetes. Professor McGuckin has held four patents and his intellectual property is being developed in the start-up company, Jetra Therapeutics. Professor McGuckin is heavily involved in national and international peer review, has served on the Editorial Boards of multiple international journals, and is the immediate Past-President for the international Society for Mucosal Immunology. Professor McGuckin has served previously on multiple Boards, including for the Cancer Council Queensland, and is currently a Director on the Boards of St Vincent's Institute for Medical Research and the Melbourne Genomics Health Alliance.
Jeremy was educated at Xavier College and the University of Melbourne. He has been a practising lawyer for more than 40 years, 39 years at the Victorian Bar and 23 years as a QC, now KC.
He enjoyed a diverse practice, specialising in property related matters, particularly town planning. He was a member of The Bar's Ethics Committee for 5 years and Chairman of the committee that managed Foley's List, Barristers, and a director, for 9 years.
He is a Fellow of the Victorian Planning and Environmental Law Association. He is a director of International Specialised Skills Institute, a not-for-profit organisation promoting skills by awarding overseas study fellowships.
He left the Bar recently to pursue other activities and is now consulting to three large family businesses in relation to their property and business strategies. He has a particular interest in health and wellness. He is a keen golfer, part-time farmer, Italophile and doting grandfather.
Job Titles:
- Finance Executive and Company Director
Michael Burn is an experienced finance executive and company director. He has enjoyed a long career in Investment Banking and is Deputy Chairman of Flagstaff Partners, a boutique corporate finance firm. Mr Burn is also a Director of PFD Food Services Group and a member of the Board of Trustees of the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre Trust. Previously, Mr Burn was an Executive Director with the Macquarie Group, Chairman of the Victoria Racing Club, a member of Council at Loreto Mandeville Hall and a Director of Prince Henry's Institute of Medical Research. Mr Burn joined the SVI Board in 2019.
Michael Wachtel was appointed to the Future Fund Board by Scott Morrison and Mathias Cormann in 2016, to the SEEK Board in 2018 and to the PACT Board in 2020. He was a Senior Adviser to Credit Suisse (2016-2018) until he moved into the Credit Suisse NED Suite in April 2018. He was the Chairman (Asia Pacific & Oceania) of Ernst & Young (EY)(2010-2015); a member of the EY Global Governance Council (2007-2015); Global Risk Committee (2013-2016) and Global Leader for Tax Quality and Risk (2013-2016). He was an adviser to Australia's leading multinationals and high net worth families for more than 30 years and co-authored the BCA White Paper ‘Removing Tax Barriers to International Growth' (2001). Mr Wachtel is a past Board member of ACMI; past President of the International Fiscal Association (Australia); and past Member of the Tax Advisory Board and Senior Fellow in The University of Melbourne Law Faculty.
Job Titles:
- Chief Executive Officer of Starward Distillery
Simon Marton is Chief Executive Officer of Starward Distillery, Australia's largest premium whisky producer located in Port Melbourne, Victoria. Prior to Starward, Mr Marton spent over 20 years with Treasury Wine Estates and the Fosters Group, most recently as Global Chief Marketing Officer for Treasury Wine Estates, the largest publicly listed wine company in the world. Mr Marton has more than 25 years' experience in strategy, marketing, communications, PR, export and the beverage industry and was rated in Australia's Top 50 CMO's in 2015, 2016 and 2017 by CMO Magazine. Mr Marton has an MBA from Monash University and joined the SVI Board in November 2019.
Job Titles:
- Chairman
- Director
- Senior Executive
Tony Reeves is an experienced senior executive and director. He served as Chief Financial Officer of several Australian public companies, most recently Treasury Wine Estates Limited, and prior to that Foster's Group Limited, another global premium beverage company. Prior to Foster's, he was CFO of OneSteel Limited, a fully integrated global manufacturer and distributor of steel and finished steel products, which was demerged from BHP Billiton. Earlier in his career, he was CFO of Orica Explosives after holding several senior executive roles in strategy, finance, marketing and IT with the ICI Group in the UK, USA, and Australia.
Mr Reeves is a past President of the Group of 100, an organisation of CFOs from Australia's largest businesses. He is a graduate of the Harvard Business School's Program for Management Development. Mr Reeves is a Fellow of CPA Australia, a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and the Financial Executives Institute. He is Chair of Hewitt Cattle Australia Pty Ltd and Arcadian Organic and Natural Meat Company Pty Ltd and is a Director of Private Banking Services Ltd. He joined the SVI Board in March 2017.
Since studying art, Caroline Daniell has worked in catering, event planning and as a personal assistant. She is the current past President of the National Gallery Victoria Women's Association and the current Honorary Treasurer of The Alexandra Club.
Job Titles:
- Co - Vice Chair, SVI Foundation
Christine Tarascio is the matriarch of the Tarascio family, proud owners of Salta Properties and Salta Capital. Salta's breadth of property development projects and investments across multiple sectors has helped it become one of Australia's largest privately owned property companies.
Ms Tarascio has been an active fundraiser over many years for various causes, including the Lady Mayoress's Fund, Queen Elizabeth Centre, PMB (Private Men's Business, raising funds for prostate cancer research), Pampering Patients, Women at the Alfred, and St Vincent's Institute. Ms Tarascio is a long-term member of the SVI Foundation Board and was responsible for the set-up and development of the SVI Discovery Fund. She is the founder and chair of the Tarascio Family Foundation.
Job Titles:
- Chairman, SVI Support Group / a St Vincent 's Hospital Trainee, Claire O'Callaghan Returned to Part - Time Nursing Once Her Five Children Were in Full - Time Education
She has chaired a number of fundraising and educational organisations, including the original Noah's Ark Toy Library for Handicapped Children and is Chair of the SVI Support Group.
Job Titles:
- Director of BD Concepts Pty Ltd
Bernadette Dennis is the Director of BD Concepts Pty Ltd, a consultancy company, focusing on providing customer service skills, sales training and marketing concepts for the hospitality, tourism and travel industries. Prior to its establishment in March 2007, Ms Dennis was Vice President, Asia Pacific for Marriott International‘s Global Sales Organisation based at the Marriott Asia Pacific Regional Office in Hong Kong. Ms Dennis worked for Marriott International for 22 years and spent 10 years working in hospitality in the US.
In addition to the SVI Foundation Board, she currently sits on boards with the Marriott Vacation Club Asia Pacific Advisory, St Joseph's Outreach Services and The Friends of The Johnston Collection. She is also involved with other not-for-profits and industry associations, plus she participates as a mentor in TIME, a mentoring
Job Titles:
- Former CEO
- Non - Executive Director
- Non - Executive Chair of Macquarie Investment Services Limited
Ms Rowland is an experienced Non-Executive Director and former CEO, in public, private, government and for-purpose sectors, with significant experience in leading established and disruptor businesses through transformational and regulatory change. Ms Rowland has extensive experience in financial services, asset management and infrastructure across wide-ranging customer segments in public, private, government, listed and disruptor environments. Over her 23-year executive career, Ms Rowland held senior executive management, CEO and Managing Director roles at the Bennelong Group, National Australia Bank, UBS AG, UBS Wealth Management, and Australia and New Zealand Banking Group.
Ms Rowland is currently the Non-Executive Chair of Macquarie Investment Services Limited and Non-Executive Director of Macquarie Life Limited, Melbourne Water Corporation, Infrastructure Specialist Asset Management Limited (part of the UK Foresight Group Holdings Limited FSG:LSE), where she also Chairs the Audit, Compliance, Risk Management Committee. Ms Rowland is also an Independent Member of the Audit & Risk Committee of Unisuper Limited and an Advisory Board member of Kearney Australia part of the global management consulting group. Ms Rowland holds a Bachelor of Arts, a Bachelor of Laws (Honours) and is admitted as a legal practitioner in Victoria. She is also a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
For more than 20 year's, Kallie has applied her experience and enthusiasm to the social sector through her work with international and Australian not-for-profit organisations. Her previous work includes roles at: VerySpecial Kids (Australia), The United Nations Development Programme/ UNAIDS (India) and Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (Australia). In 2015, Kallie commenced as Director of MGA (Monash Gallery of Art) which is the Australian home of photography. In 2017, she became Chair of MGA Foundation. Kallie is also a board member of Melbourne Fashion Festival and National Gallery of Victoria Women's Association.
Job Titles:
- Chairman, SVI Foundation Board
- Dietitian
Karen Inge is one of Australia's most established and recognised leaders in the fields of sports nutrition and dietetics. She is a respected nutrition commentator for media and is actively involved in community service and philanthropy. She is the founding board member and Past President of Sports Dietitians Australia, founding Head of Nutrition at the Victorian Institute of Sport and Founder of the healthy food company Dineamic. Ms Inge is a Director of the Zig Inge Group, a Director of the Zig Inge Foundation and the Janko/Inge Foundation, and an Ambassador for Fareshare. In 2015, Ms Inge was awarded an Honorary Fellowship of Monash University for her work in sports nutrition and in 2018 was named Deakin University Alumna of the Year.
Karen Inge is an accredited practising dietitian with more than 30 years' experience, specialising in the areas of sports dietetics and nutrition communication. Ms Inge is the founding member and Past President of Sports Dietitians Australia and founding Head of Nutrition at the Victorian Institute of Sport. She has been a Director of the Institute of Health and Fitness, Melbourne since 1989. She is a respected nutrition commentator for media and is heavily involved in community service and philanthropy.
Margaret Lodge's professional background is as a lawyer, initially as a teacher at Monash University and The University of Melbourne and then, from 1997 to 2009, as a barrister practising mainly in white collar crime at the Victorian Bar. Since then, Ms Lodge has been extensively involved in the not-for-profit sector as a director of St Mary's House of Welcome for 10 years, a member of the Board of the Centre Against Sexual Assault (Footscray) for three years and a member of the Advisory Education Board for the Loretto and FCJ Schools and its successor, the FCJ School Board, for two further years. She has been a member of The University of Melbourne Behavioural and Social Science Ethics Committee since 2008 and the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons Ethics Committee since 2012.
Melanie Eagle's many years of governance experience span local government, community services, health, disability, and violence against women, as well as having worked professionally in women's policy, law reform, equal opportunity, city strategic planning and private legal practice.
For the past decade, Ms Eagle served as CEO of LiverWELL (previously Hepatitis Victoria) and on the Board of Hepatitis Australia. At LiverWELL Ms Eagle expanded the remit in relation to hepatitis B and then broader liver disease, and most critically built the participation of those with lived experience. Other governance roles currently held by Ms Eagle include the Inaugural Chair of the Disability Worker Registration Board, Director of Alfred Health and a Queen Victoria Women's Centre Trust member. Previous governance roles include Inaugural Chair of Respect Victoria, Star Health, Hanover Welfare Services, and Prahran Mission. She is also a former Mayor of the City of St Kilda. Ms Eagle has qualifications in Arts, Social Work, the Law, and International Development and is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
As CFO and Company Secretary, Nicky leads the Institute's financial strategy, performance and reporting, oversees governance, risk management, investment management, banking, procurement and payroll with the aim of ensuring the ongoing sustainability and growth of both individual labs and the overall organisation. Nicky has a keen focus on transformational process and system improvements.
Prior to joining the Institute in 2019, Nicky worked in the Commercial sector in both large ASX listed and SME Private Equity owned organisations. She holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Otago NZ, is CA qualified and a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Job Titles:
- Executive Director of Barro Group
Rhonda Barro is an Executive Director of Barro Group and has over 45 years' experience in the construction materials industry and executive management in line and functional areas. She has significant expertise and insights in customer and stakeholder relations. Rhonda is a non-executive director of Adbri Ltd and Independent Cement & Lime Pty Ltd and has held numerous leadership roles in community organisations. She is a Director of the Italian Australian Foundation and a Fellow of the Williamson Leadership Program.
Job Titles:
- Partner
- Member of the Melbourne Leadership Council of Social Ventures Australia
Yan Li Wang is a Partner of HWL Ebsworth Lawyers, a major Australian legal firm, practising primarily in tax and commercial law. For the past 10 years, she has been an advisory committee member and Australian representative of three private charitable foundations with a global reach in more than 40 countries, working with NGOs both in Australia and overseas on projects in medical research, education, Microfinance, social enterprises and post-disaster reconstruction.
Ms Wang has been a member of the Melbourne Leadership Council of Social Ventures Australia and is a current member of the assessment panel appointed by the City of Melbourne to evaluate applications for social enterprise and micro business grants.
Professor Natalie Sims is Deputy Director of SVI, Head of the Institute's Bone Biology and Disease Unit, and Honorary Professorial Fellow at The University of Melbourne.
Since starting her PhD at The University of Adelaide in 1990, she has worked to discover new treatments for common skeletal conditions such as osteoporosis and arthritis, as well as rarer disorders, like osteogenesis imperfecta, that affect the way the skeleton is formed.
After her PhD, she worked at The Garvan Institute, and then trained at Yale University's School of Medicine, USA before returning to Australia in 2001.
She is internationally recognised as a leader of bone research. Her team currently investigates the way that cells within the skeleton communicate with each other to produce bone of optimal shape and strength.
Job Titles:
- Director of the Institute 's O'Brien Department
Associate Professor Ramin Shayan is Director of the Institute's O'Brien Department and a reconstructive plastic surgeon. He undertook undergraduate studies at the University of Melbourne, then a PhD investigating the role of lymphatic vessels in cancer at the Ludwig Institute in Melbourne.
Ramin jointly runs groups studying adipose-derived stem cells for treatment of diseases afflicting cancer survivors, namely radiation-induced tissue injury, and lymphoedema. He has clinical and basic science interests in both these areas, having performed over 360 microsurgical procedures for lymphoedema, and established the St Vincent's lymphoedema clinic.
Ramin has performed over 6000 operations for cancer, and over 1000 operations for diseases of cancer survivorship. He is passionate about enhancing health through building medical technology platforms, drug discovery and translating ideas into commercial products and outcomes for patients, in areas of unmet clinical need.
Sir Gus Nossal was Director of the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research from 1965 to 1996 and Professor of Medical Biology at The University of Melbourne. He has been honoured with many awards, including the ANZAAS Medal, the Burnet Medal, the James Cook Medal, and he was named Australian of the Year in 2000. He is distinguished for his contributions to the fields of antibody formation and immunological tolerance.
Job Titles:
- Chairman of the Susan Alberti Medical Research Foundation
Co-founder and Managing Director of DANSU Group and associated companies, Ms Alberti has a strong commitment to fundraising and promotion of medical research, in particular, juvenile diabetes.
Ms Alberti is the Chair of the Susan Alberti Medical Research Foundation, on the Board of the National Australia Day Council, Chairman of the Victoria University Foundation and a member of the ACNC Advisory Board. She was the Chair of SVI Foundation from 2004 to 2016.
The Honourable Chris Pearce has been a Member of the Ministry in the Federal Government of Australia responsible for financial services, business law and consumer affairs and later, in Opposition, as Shadow Minister. Throughout his career, Mr Pearce has been an energetic non-executive director on boards, including having been Chairman & Board Director at Anglicare Victoria, the State's largest child and welfare organisation, Chairman of the Board for Global Voices, Board Director of the Victorian Funds Management Corporation (VFMC) and a Board Director for Renewtek Pty Ltd.
Mr Pearce is presently a Board Director of the McKinnon Institute and the External Representative on the Learning and Engagement Board Committee of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. Mr Pearce has been a former Associate Fellow of The CEO Institute, former Member of The Economist CEO Forum and a former Member of the Australian National Academy of Music. He is presently a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, Fellow of the Australian Marketing Institute, Member of the Royal Victorian Association of Honorary Justices, and a Member of the Royal School of Church Music.
The Honourable Kathy Williams was a Justice of the Supreme Court of Victoria from 2002 to 2015 and a Judge of the Victorian County Court from 1999. She initially practised as a solicitor and taught in the Law Schools at The University of Melbourne and Monash University. She then joined the Victorian Bar, specialising in commercial law. She was a director of Barristers' Chambers Limited and Over 50s Building Society. At the Supreme Court, Ms Williams was Principal Judge of the Common Law Division and President of the Victorian Forensic Leave Panel. Ms Williams is currently also a director of Launch Housing and President of Court Network.
Professor Kay is Director of SVI. He holds a Professorial appointment within the Department of Medicine, St Vincent's Hospital and The University of Melbourne. He also holds the position of Honorary Endocrinologist at St Vincent's Hospital. Professor Kay's research interests are in the area of autoimmunity, particularly of type 1 (juvenile) diabetes.
His research is focused on the pathogenesis and immunotherapy of type 1 diabetes including clinical islet transplantation, and mechanism-based treatments early in the course of the disease.
He is the principal investigator of the BANDIT trial, a phase 2 clinical trial of baricitinib to preserve beta cell function in new onset type 1 diabetes, and Chair of the Australian Type 1 Diabetes Immunotherapy Collaborative.