| Our Staff |
Chief Executive Officer
Dr Peter Isdale AM
Dr Isdale was appointed Chief Executive Officer of IMBcom Pty Ltd in 2003, following the retirement of the inaugural CEO, Professor Peter Andrews, who is now Queensland's Chief Scientist. He is managing director of IMBcom Pty Ltd, a member of the board of the Institute for Molecular Bioscience, a director of ElaCor Pty Ltd, Nephrogenix Pty Ltd, Kalthera Pty Ltd, and a Senior Fellow of the Chaiyong Limthongkul Foundation (Thailand). He is Chairman of the Wetlands and Grasslands Foundation and an Adjunct Professor at Texas A&M University. Dr Isdale spent 15 years as a marine scientist before being appointed Business Director and senior executive at the Australian Institute of Marine Science. He has had 20 years of directorship on Boards of private, public and ASX-listed companies in Australia, Asia and the Pacific Rim. Dr Isdale was awarded as a Member in the General division of the Order of Australia in 2006 for service to marine science through research and as a contributor to the development and commercialisation of biotechnology. He holds a B.A. with First Class Honours and a PhD in Marine Geomorphology, (1982) from James Cook University of North Queensland.
Relationship Managers
Dr Amanda Smith
Manager, Intellectual Property & Development
Amanda manages the commercialisation group with responsibility for IMBcom’s diverse intellectual property portfolio and business development. She identifies, develops and advances business opportunities and technologies arising from IMB research and fosters close relations between IMB researchers, business and legal professionals, venture capitalists, pharmaceutical and biotech companies to develop appropriate development avenues and attract funds for IP commercialisation. Amanda is a registered Australian patent and trade marks attorney and spent four years working for an intellectual property law firm in Brisbane. Amanda also has experience working in research and development for a large pharmaceutical company (Zeneca Pharmaceuticals) in the United States. A former post-doctoral scientist at the University of Queensland, Amanda has a DPhil in neurophysiology from Oxford University, a BSc (Hons) in pharmacology from Manchester University and a Master of Intellectual Property Law (University of Technology, Sydney). She also is a Graduate of the Australian Institute for Company Directors and a Director of CCA Therapeutics Pty Ltd.
Dr Charlotte Widberg
Commercialisation Officer
Charlotte works in the Intellectual Property team of IMBcom assisting with commercialisation and project development. This involves working closely with scientists to identify new discoveries and taking them through to commercialisation, as well as managing commercial intelligence, due diligence and market research and analysis for projects at all stages of the developmental pipeline. Charlotte has a BSc degree from the Karolinska Institute (Sweden) with Hons at Washington University School of Medicine (USA) and a PhD from the IMB at the University of Queensland. She has further worked as a postdoctoral researcher for a commercial spin-off company and at the University of Queensland’s Diamantina Institute for five years and thus has extensive experience in the field of medical research.
Dr Rachel de las Heras
Commercialisation Officer
Rachel commenced her appointment at IMBcom in September 2011. As a commercialisation officer at IMBcom it is Rachel’s role to help manage the development of innovative research and to support its successful commercialisation. Rachel completed her BSc (Hons) and PhD in Molecular Biology at Griffith University under the supervision of Prof. G.R. Bushell and Prof. A. Mackay-Sim. She worked as an NHMRC Postdoctoral Research Officer at UQ for several years and was subsequently employed as a Senior Scientist in the Advanced Technologies Division at Panbio Ltd. Rachel was recently employed at Cellestis Ltd as the New Product Development Team Leader. In this role Rachel was responsible for the co-ordination of activities relating to the design and development of new products from proof-of-principle studies to prototype manufacture, management of clinical trials and delivery of commercial ready product.
Consultant - Business Development
Dr Tracey Mynott:
Consultant
Tracey has over 20 years experience in drug development and technology transfer in both academia and industry. She has held senior management positions in public and private UK biotechnology companies, where she successfully discovered and patented several technologies, and devised and directed research, development and business strategies that lead to the market place of one innovative product and the progression into clinical trials of others. She has an excellent understanding and experience of strategic and operational matters, risk management, legal, due diligence and compliance issues, capital raising and the management of intellectual property having founded and being on the Board of three biotechnology companies. She is also the former Head of Business Development at the Queensland Institute of Medical Research (QIMR), responsible for commercialising QIMR’s intellectual property. Tracey has a PhD in microbiology and physiology from La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia and has held honorary academic positions at The Centre for Vaccine Development at University of Maryland, Columbia University New York and at the Department of Biological Sciences at Imperial College in London.
Office Personnel
Lyn Rosen
Executive Assistant
Lyn is responsible for coordination and organisation of the activities of the Executive, including administrative and secretarial support to the Chief Executive Officer. With many years experience in office management and administration as a personal assistant, Lyn has worked in the corporate offices of various national and international organisations throughout Australia. Most recently Lyn acted as PA to the CEO of a large international company in the steel industry.
Paul Ellender
Marketing & Events Coordinator
Paul joined IMBcom in March 2008 as Marketing & Events Coordinator. Paul functions as the coordinator for all conferences and events held by IMBcom, however his primary role is to develop and direct the marketing strategies undertaken by the organisation. This role includes the development of the marketing plan, production of the IMBcom Annual Report, maintenance of the IMBcom website, management of education events, and coordination of event sponsorship. Paul also works closely with the IMB marketing and communications team and assists with the execution of the IMB's marketing strategy. Paul has over 5 years events and marketing experience.
Karen Soxsmith
System Administrator
Karen Soxsmith joined the team in the role of System Administrator, bringing with her extensive experience in systems, installations, web and database applications. Karen is currently studying Microsoft Certified System Administrator (MCSA); Microsoft Certified Database Administration (MCDBA) and Microsoft Certified System Engineer (MCSE), further developing her skills in system administration.
Deborah Ferguson
Company Accountant
Deborah has joined the IMBcom team in the role of Company Accountant. Holding over 15 years of experience in accounting and finance management, Deborah has obtained her high level skills in financial analysis, planning and forecasting based on strategic goals and public funds management through previous roles as diverse as Director of Finance and Administration with the National Retail Association. Deborah is in the final stages of completing a Bachelor of Accounting with Open Universities Australia in conjunction with the University of South Australia.
Eunice Brooke
IP Operations & Support
Eunice joined the IMBcom team in July 2011 as the Intellectual Property & Operations Assistant. Working closely with the Intellectual Property Manager and the commercialisation group, Eunice is responsible for assisting with the management of IMBcom’s diverse IP portfolio made up of patents, trademarks, new disclosures and technologies. Eunice has 13 years’ experience working in law firms and patent attorney firms.