Master of Pharmaceutical Industry Practice Advisory Board Acknowledgement

Catrina Codd is the Director Project Management at IQVIA BioTech. She is a Registered Nurse, and holds a Bachelor of Science degree and a Master of Public Health.

Catrina has over 30 years’ experience in healthcare and research, working in pharmaceutical, hospital, government and academic environments and has worked on local and global drug and device trials in a wide range of therapeutic areas.

Charles Rossis the Head of Clinical Operations and Supply at Vaxxas, and has over 20 years’ experience in the manufacture of sterile pharmaceutical products.

He has worked as a project manager at CSL both in Melbourne and Switzerland where he managed the development of a novel aseptic manufacturing process. Following his work at CSL, Charles worked as a GMP consultant specialising in sterile facility design, commissioning and validation before taking on the role as General Manager of a Contract Manufacturing Organisation.

Dr Jan Lewis is an associate medical director at AbbVie Australia & New Zealand. Graduating from the UCL School of Pharmacy in the UK, Jan began his healthcare career as a hospital pharmacist, later specialising in oncology and haematology. After relocating to Australia in 2001, Jan made the move into the pharmaceutical industry a couple of years later. His commercial career commenced with a local affiliate role at AstraZeneca Australia as Oncology Development Associate in 2003 and progressed to 2014 with his appointment to a global Research and Development Medical Affairs leadership role, responsible for building and leading medical evidence plans in the delivery of non-interventional, phase 3b and 4 studies for a newly developed oncology product, Lynparza. Jan returned to Australia in 2017 to complete a PhD thesis titled 'Personalised Medicine: Disruption and Transformation' at Sydney University, which highlighted the disruptive nature of personalized medicine and the impact of this movement on existing drug development and approval paradigms.

Jan has been an active member of Medicines Australia, having led a Real-World Evidence Working Group as part of an oncology industry taskforce. Jan currently sits as an executive member of the Australian Pharmaceutical Medical and Scientific Professionals Association, APPA. As an advocate for the role of pharmacists in the industry and medical affairs in particular, Jan provides experience and perspectives on the opportunities that exist for pharmacy graduates interested in a rewarding and personally fulfilling pharmaceutical industry career.

Jarrod Belcher, Director, REDI Initiative, MTPConnect

Jarrod Belcher is MTPConnect’s Director of the REDI program. He has nearly 20 years’ experience working with companies to help solve their human resource needs. Jarrod has a history of assisting companies and industries achieve their potential through skilling workforces across Australia, the Pacific, Asia and Middle East, to government, NGO and corporate clients utilising innovative practices to embed and apply newly developed skills and behaviours. Jarrod also led the first vocational Bachelor of Biotechnology course delivered in a TAFE. He previously was a co-founder of a life science company. 
 

Adjunct Professor John Skerritt joined the Department of Health in mid-2012 as a Deputy Secretary. Apart from being part of the Executive team of Australia’s national Health Department, responsible for the Federal government’s $100 billion investment in health, aged care and sport he also has line responsibility for the Therapeutic Goods Administration and the Office of Drug Control. 

He was formerly a Deputy Secretary in the Victorian Government, Deputy CEO of a Commonwealth Statutory Authority in the Foreign Affairs portfolio, senior research manager in CSIRO and in industry joint venture partnerships. From 2009-2012 he was Chair of the Board of a global technical organisation.  He has extensive experience in medical, agricultural and environmental policy, as well as regulation, research management, technology application and commercialisation.

John is an Adjunct Full Professor in medicine, pharmacy and agriculture at three Universities including the University of Queensland (since 2009). He has a BSc (Hons 1) PhD and a University Medal from the University of Sydney, and is a graduate of the Senior Executive Programs of London Business School and of the International Institute for Management Development in Switzerland. He is a Fellow of the Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering and a Fellow of the Institute of Public Administration of Australia (Vic). In 2012 he was the world-wide winner of the Rotary International “Global Alumni Service to Humanity Award”.

John chairs the Advisory Board of the Centre for Innovation in Regulatory Sciences, is Vice Chair of the International Coalition of Medicines Regulatory Authorities and is a member of the Advisory Board of the Melbourne Institute for Applied Economic and Social Research.

Kevin is an Australian-trained physician who has spent nearly 30 years dedicated to novel drug development in cancer.  Commencing his industry R&D career in the UK, he has subsequently worked in Europe, US, Australia and Asia-Pacific, including long periods with Novartis and Celgene where he held roles supervising clinical development and medical affairs programs across multiple geographies. After a fascinating but unsuccessful pursuit of matrix metalloproteinase inhibitors, Kevin has been fortunate to be closely involved with the development and launch of multiple transformational cancer medicines including imatinib, nilotinib, letrozole, zoledronic acid, everolimus, lenalidomide, pomalidomide, azacitidine, enasidenib and luspatercept.  He commenced consulting with Antengene in 2019, moving into his current position as CMO in 2021. 

Dr Kym Baker, General Manager, Patheon Biologics, by Thermo Fisher Scientific

Kym is a UQ Honours graduate with a PhD from ANU with >30 years experience in the biomanufacturing field working with both industry partners and for the last 20 years in contract manufacturing management positions in Lonza and Patheon. Kym now leads Patheon’s advanced award winning biologics manufacturing operations facility. Kym is passionate about ensuring Australia and APAC as a whole remains strategically competitive in biotechnology and developing young scientists and engineers of today to lead this exciting future tomorrow.

Loren Wilkinson, Medical Capabilities and Operations Manager, Janssen Inc.

Loren is an experienced leader with a demonstrated history of success in the Pharmaceutical Industry over 25 years. Skilled in medical affairs, commercial sales and management, business strategy and operations, people leadership, project management, and capability training and development. Strong professional acumen with qualifications in Science (Nursing).

Loren is currently the Manager for Medical Capabilities, Digital and Operations, and is also part of the Medical Excellence Leadership Team at Janssen. 

Loren has worked in Medical Affairs for the last 13 years as an MSL, MSL Leader, Medical Excellence Coach, and Medical Excellence Lead for ANZ, and with close collaboration with the Asia Pacific Team at Janssen.
 

Maree Smith AC is Emeritus Professor and Director of the Centre for Integrated Preclinical Drug Development (CIPDD) in the School of Biomedical Sciences at The University of Queensland.

Internationally, Professor Smith is a leading researcher in biomedical discovery/translation with particular expertise in the novel pain therapeutics field. She is inventor on a patented novel analgesic technology that was licensed to the UQ spin-out company, Spinifex Pharmaceuticals, for commercialization.

In 2015, Spinifex was acquired by Novartis. In the period, 2005-2017, she guided the establishment, growth and industry engagement of the CIPDD and its commercial interface, TetraQ, through skilful strategic and scientific leadership of a high-performing team that collectively completed more than 700 contract-funded R&D studies in collaboration with >200 industry and academic clients in the biotech sector.

Although her focus is on IP-sensitive research, she has maintained an excellent publication output, with 166 publications to date. She has also advised/co-advised 30 PhD students and 50 Research Masters/Honours students to completion, as well as mentored numerous researchers over the past several decades.

Melissa is the Director of the Queensland Department of Health’s Queensland Clinical Trials Coordination Unit (QCTCU).

Melissa started her career with GSK after completing her undergraduate Science (Pharmacology) degree from The University of Queensland. She used her clinical trial management experience to then manage the Quintiles Educational Services Australia and New Zealand team, before leading ARCS to develop their professional services curriculum and business expansion.

Melissa currently Co-Chairs the national Clinical Trials Collaborative Forum, as a platform for industry and governments to share and not to duplicate efforts, and QCTCU has established the Queensland Clinical Trials Consortium to progress national and international business development opportunities.

Melissa actively engages in improving research efficiencies and a highlight is implementing and building on the National Mutual Acceptance (NMA) of Ethics reviews scheme, (creating the world’s largest ethics committee network with 365 meetings per year). Her team is pivotal in streamlining national clinical trial contracts and implementing teletrials on a national scale.

Professor Victoria Elegant joined Amgen in October 2016 and is Vice-President, JAPAC(Asia Pacific) Regional Medical Head, and Global Lead, Access to Medicines.

Prof Elegant is a physician who joined the pharmaceutical industry after postgraduate training in obstetrics and gynaecology in the United Kingdom. She has held positions in global drug development, medical affairs, regulatory affairs and drug safety in Japan, Australia, Europe and Asia. Prior to Amgen, Prof Elegant was the Vice-President, Regulatory and Medical Affairs, APAC, based in Shanghai for 10 years for Baxter, and Vice President, Medical Affairs, Asia for Shire. She has extensive experience in pharmaceuticals, biologics, and devices.

Prof Elegant is a Fellow of the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Medicine and a member of the FPM Global Committee. She is on the Board of Studies for the Masters in Pharmaceutical Medicine, UNSW, and Adjunct Professor, Faculty of Medicine, University of New South Wales, Sydney. She is also on the advisory committee for the Pharmaceutical Industry Practice, UQ, and the Advisory Board for the Masters in Pharmaceutical Medicine, University of Sydney.

She is a founding member of the China Medical Affairs Network, and President of the Asia Pacific chapter of the Medical Affairs Professional Society(MAPS). She is also on the Hong Kong stock exchange biotech advisory panel.

She has published extensively on regulatory affairs, medical affairs and clinical development in the Asia Pacific region, and has been invited speaker, panelist and chair at numerous forums.

Born in Hong Kong, Prof Elegant holds her medical degree from the University of London. Her passion is improving standards of care and outcomes for patients in Asia Pacific. She has 3 children and 3 dogs, sails and lives in Hong Kong.

Dr Iris Depaz is the Country Medical Lead and Head of Medical, Vaccines, at Sanofi Australia & New Zealand. 

Iris obtained her PhD in Biomedical Sciences at the University of Queensland, Australia. Following this she conducted post-doctoral research in the area of neuronal drug metabolism and alcohol dependency. She received her eMBA with Honors from the IMD Business School in Lausanne Switzerland in December 2020.

Iris joined Sanofi in 2015 as the Global Head of the MSL Center for Excellence based in Lyon France. During this time Iris also served as the Chair of the Sanofi Global Cross-GBU MSL Task Force. In 2018, Iris launched the Medical Effectiveness Department where she led the establishment of the Medical Capabilities, Insights, Content Development and Medical Education platforms. 

Her current role leverages her long experience in vaccines as well as her country experience in Australia/New Zealand, to enhance and strengthen local external scientific interactions with stakeholders.  
 

Associate Director, Clinical Trials, Gallipoli Medical Research Foundation

Dr Suzanne Elliott joined the Gallipoli Medical Research Foundation as Associate Director of Clinical Trials at the Greenslopes Private Hospital in 2016. 

Commencing her career in Medical Laboratory Science in pathology laboratories she transitioned to a QUT academic career in molecular oncology research where her work and staff training was used to establish the Mater Hospital molecular laboratory. Under the CRC –Vaccine Technology, she developed animal vaccine models for vaccine development platforms at the Queensland Institute of Medical Research, culminating in a proof-of-concept T-cell based EBV vaccine trial and adoptive immunotherapy. 

As the Clinical and Regulatory Affairs Manager of Vaccine Solutions, she managed the CRC-Vaccine Solutions vaccine platform project management. Suzanne was the first QIMR Berghofer Regulatory Affairs Manager, overseeing the administration of the Institutes ethics committees and the QIMR investigator initiated clinical trials of unique oncology cell-based and infectious disease clinical trials, including malaria challenge vaccine trials. 

As Chief Scientific Officer and Operations Manager, Suzanne oversaw complex Phase I clinical trials and introduced vaccine trials at Q-Pharm, a spin off University of Queensland Company. A total of 29 vaccine trials during her 13 year period saw the introduction of GMO trials, vaccine-vaccine interaction trials and a total of 26 malaria challenge trials of novel malaria drugs under development by the Medicine for Malaria Venture organisation. Suzanne represented Queensland Biotech as part of the Life Science Queensland entourage at several overseas Bio’s, where Q-Pharm was recognised as a premier Early Phase company by Big Pharma, CRO’s and both local and international biotech companies. 

Suzanne now leads an Australian recognised leading patient base clinical trial unit and is passionate about STEM student career pathways in the biotech and clinical trial areas.

Senior Director, Clinical Monitoring, Medpace

Vice President Clinical Operations, Pro Pharma

IQVIA