Frank Gannon has had a twin career as a molecular biologist and as manager of research organisations. Following a primary degree from the University of Galway, he obtained a PhD at the University of Leicester in 1973 and then started his life’s work studying the role of the estrogen receptor in cancer at the University of Wisconsin .
He moved to Strasbourg in 1975 and was one of the pioneers in the use of recombinant DNA technology to isolate complex genes. On his return to Galway in1981 he established a postgraduate degree in Biotechnology and became the founding director of the National Diagnostics Centre.
The next phase of his career involved a move to Heidelberg Germany in 1994 as the Executive Director of the European Molecular Biology Organisation (EMBO) where he expanded its activities by increased focus on early career researchers, the new member states in Eastern Europe and global interactions.
He was the founding editor of EMBO journals and maintained his research activities at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) with special emphasis on the role of epigenetic modifications in gene expression. At EMBL he also initiated programs in the translation of research and its commercialization. In 1997 he returned to Ireland to be the Director General of the Irish research funding agency (Science Foundation Ireland). In 2011 he moved to Brisbane where he was the Director and CEO of QIMR Berghofer medical research Institute until 2020.
Over the years Frank Gannon has been on the scientific advisory boards of institutes and companies in multiple countries, was advisor to the two EU Commissioners of Research and was awarded Honorary Doctorates from Hungary, Ireland Northern Ireland and Australia (UQ).In addition to over 120 publications and a similar number of editorials and opinion articles, his research has resulted in multiple patents and the establishment of three companies.
Since his retirement from QIMR he has been an advisor on translation to a number of small companies, Health Translation Queensland and The Springfield city group before becoming the Chair of LSQ in 2026
Kym is a University of Queensland, Australia 1st class Chemical Engineering Honours graduate in Biotechnology with a PhD from the Australian National University (ANU) & CSIRO (Commonwealth Scientific Industrial Research Organisation).
Kym has more than 30 years' experience gained both in Australia and the UK working in the biomanufacturing field with industry partners such as GE (now Cytiva), Celltech (now UCB), GSK and British Biotech with UCL London and University of Kent, UK, with the last 25 years in management positions in the contract manufacturing industry including Lonza Biologics UK and Patheon Biologics, Thermo Fisher Scientific (since 2015) working across Development, Quality, MS&T and Operations in senior leadership positions.
Kym returned to Australia in 2015 as General Manager of the Brisbane Biologics site. She is responsible for managing Patheon’s advanced biologics manufacturing operations and driving the future growth of this ISPE award winning and TGA (Australian regulator), FDA, EMA, Anvisa, Korean MFDS and Saudi Arabian FDA approved facility. Kym is passionate about ensuring Australia and APAC remains strategically competitive in biotechnology throughout the 4th Industrial revolution through developing and mentoring and coaching the young scientists and engineers of today to lead this exciting future tomorrow. Kym supports several University boards as industry advisor to ensure curriculum remains current for industry requirements. She is experienced working across cultures and supports a site with strong diversity to meet the needs of her global clientele.
Kym has experience across research, early development, process development and both clinical and commercial manufacturing stages of Biotherapeutic production, taking several biologics products through development to commercialisation at both Lonza, UK and now also at Thermo Fisher Scientific. The facility is based on a major Brisbane hospital campus, which reminds the team every day of why the site exists: to serve the patients of our clients at the receiving end of the life saving medicines that we manufacture, something that the Brisbane Biologics team prides itself on.
Dr Denise Hodge is the Founder and CEO of JourneyTech, a specialist firm enabling technology translation across Australia’s research and deep‑tech sectors. She is a highly experienced innovation leader with more than two decades across research, intellectual property, commercialisation and organisational strategy, and has held senior roles in universities, government and industry in both the UK and Australia, leading major innovation portfolios and complex stakeholder partnerships.
A registered patent attorney with deep expertise in IP and research translation, Denise has guided numerous organisations in developing commercial pathways, strengthening innovation capability and bringing technologies to market. Through JourneyTech, she leads national commercialisation, IP and technology translation services supporting universities, industry partners and emerging companies.
Denise also contributes to Australia’s innovation ecosystem through multiple board and advisory roles across life sciences, agriculture, entrepreneurship and quantum technologies.
Sagadevan Mundree is Professor and Head of the School of Agriculture and Food Sustainability at The University of Queensland (UQ). He brings extensive experience spanning academia, government and innovation leadership, including serving as Director of the Centre for Agriculture and the Bioeconomy at Queensland University of Technology and in a senior executive role with the Queensland Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries, where he led investment strategy across primary industries. An internationally recognised scientist, he leads research developing crops with enhanced resilience to drought and salinity while improving nutritional value. Earlier in his career, he was an academic at the University of Cape Town and CEO of South Africa’s National Innovation Centre for Agricultural Biotechnology. Sagadevan holds a PhD in Molecular and Cell Biology from Auburn University (as a Fulbright Scholar), an MBA from the University of Cape Town, and is a Senior Executive Fellow of the Harvard Kennedy School.
Samuel Jesuadian is a health and biomedical innovation executive with deep expertise in commercialisation, advanced biomanufacturing, and AI-enabled clinical technologies. As Chief Commercial Officer of ARM Hub and as a non-executive director of Life Sciences Queensland, he leads the development of next-generation manufacturing and translational infrastructure to strengthen Australia’s life sciences capability.
Samuel has secured over $250 million in commercial contracts across industry, academia, and government, designing and delivering health-focused initiatives spanning biomedical AI acceleration, national AI adoption programs, and federated synthetic clinical data platforms to enable secure and scalable machine learning in healthcare. His work has supported more than 170 businesses in technology adoption, clinical translation, and advanced manufacturing uplift.
He is currently spearheading a CDMO platform dedicated to Defence and Medtech, in partnership with the Gold Coast Council, to establish sovereign capability in cell therapies, advanced diagnostics, and regulated biomanufacturing. His leadership integrates commercial strategy, international collaboration, and translational research to position Australia as a competitive global player in clinical technology, precision medicine, and advanced health manufacturing.
With over 25 years of experience across leading innovation districts in Australia, the USA, and the UK, Professor Trent Munro is the General Manager of the Boggo Road Innovation Junction. His career bridges industry and academia, featuring executive roles at multinational biopharmaceutical company Amgen and key leadership positions at Microba (ASX:MAP), alongside his appointment as an Industry Professor at The University of Queensland. Professor Munro is a prominent voice in the sector, serving as a non-executive director of Life Sciences Queensland and shaping national biotechnology policy.
