Australia & New Zealand's Preeminent Biologics Conference

Silvio Tiziani is a pivotal figure in the establishment of CCRM Australia, having successfully secured funding from prestigious entities such as Monash University, MTP Connect, CSIRO, Cell Therapies Pty Ltd, and The Victorian Government. His role is integral to the organisation's success, particularly in leading the strategic alliance with the Centre of Commercialisation of Regenerative Medicine (CCRM) and serving as the Director of the Australian Regenerative Medicine Institute's external engagement, strategic planning and communications.

Silvio brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to CCRM Australia, leveraging his extensive networks within industry, international organizations, and the state and federal government. His background encompasses a diverse range of private and public organisations, with a strong emphasis on laboratory-based institutions in the academic, health, and healthcare sectors.

Ahsan, a prominent figure in the pharmaceutical industry, holds esteemed positions as the Director of Quality and CMC Regulatory at QBiotics, Director CMC and Quality at Neurala Biosciences and the Managing Director of Aphex Pharma Solutions. Renowned for his expertise in driving product development and ensuring quality with commercial viability, Ahsan has left an indelible mark on the industry. His leadership roles are complemented by a versatile skill set encompassing CMC development, regulatory and GxP compliance, quality improvement, risk management, and process validation. Ahsan's impactful contributions extend beyond his professional roles. He has presented in seminars across prominent cities such as Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Auckland, and Singapore, showcasing his thought leadership and expertise to diverse audiences. Ahsan's career trajectory includes significant positions at Leo Pharma, Hospira Australia Ltd., QBiotics and various other esteemed organisations, where he consistently contributed to product development and quality management. Ahsan's unwavering dedication to excellence and his ability to drive positive change have solidified his reputation as a trusted leader in the pharmaceutical sector.

Dr Airey is Chief Medical Officer at Cynata and a senior biopharmaceutical executive with extensive global experience in drug development and commercialization. A physician by training, she has played key roles in advancing novel biologics and other pharmaceutical products from early research through to global market approval. Her expertise spans clinical trial design and execution across multiple phases, therapeutic areas, and geographies. Before joining Cynata in 2021, Dr Airey was Director of Translational Development at CSL Limited. Her earlier career includes a range of medical leadership roles in biotech, pharmaceutical, and clinical research organizations, contributing to the successful approval of multiple pharmaceutical and biologic products.

Julie Monk is a clinical development professional at RAGE Biotech, working on the translation of RNA-based therapeutics into early-phase clinical trials. Her current focus is on advancing antisense oligonucleotide (ASO) programs into first-in-human studies, with a particular interest in the challenges of demonstrating target engagement and pharmacological relevance. Julie collaborates closely with cross-functional teams on trial design, biomarker strategies, and regulatory planning, and brings a practical perspective on the opportunities and hurdles in developing next-generation RNA therapies across Australia and New Zealand.

Dr Lauren Giorgio is currently the Chief Operating Officer at GPN Vaccines, a biotech company developing vaccines for the world’s most important bacterial pathogens. She has spent her career working alongside world-leading academics and clinicians to commercialise medical research, including at the Centre for Eye Research Australia and the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute. Lauren has a PhD in molecular biology from the University of Adelaide and is a Graduate from the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Ms Chong has over 27 years of oncology experience in Phase I – III of clinical program development, including leadership role involvement in four marketed oncology products.  She was previously at Genentech, Inc., in San Francisco before joining Imugene in 2015 in Sydney, Australia to develop immunotherapies in solid tumours and cellular therapy in hematology oncology.

Tim Oldham PhD is CEO and Managing Director of AdAlta Ltd, whose “East to West” cellular immunotherapy strategy is seeking to make innovation in China CAR-T cell therapy available to western patients via Australia. He has more than 20 years experience in biopharmaceutical development, manufacturing and commercialisation, including more than 10 years cell and gene therapy experience gained in business development, strategic marketing and regional leadership roles at Mayne Pharma’s Europe, Middle East and Africa unit, as President APAC for Hospira and CEO of Cell Therapies Pty Ltd prior to his role at AdAlta Ltd.

Dr Michael Baker is the CEO & Managing Director of Arovella Therapeutics (ASX: ALA), a pre-clinical stage company developing personalised therapies for oncology, including cell therapies. He has a deep background in scientific research, drug development and venture investing in the life sciences sector.

At Arovella, Michael manages teams in Australia, America and research collaborations in the UK. Michael has led the strategy development at Arovella, including licensing technologies from world-class universities and research institutes, initiating and managing pre-clinical studies, capital raising and business development.

Previously, Michael had a distinguished career as a research scientist, where his research led to numerous high-impact research publications. He previously led early-stage biotechnology research programs, guiding them toward clinical trials. He also leveraged his skills in scientific research and drug development to uncover emerging and commercially viable technologies for investment.

Dr Zdanska is a senior clinical leader with extensive experience in clinical trials, including drug development of novel treatments with different modes of delivery, cancer genomics, first-in-human trials, genetically modified organisms, health services management, and laboratory operations. She has in depth experience with intratumoral therapies and application of oncolytic immunotherapies in clinical settings. She trained in the Czech Republic, USA and Cambodia graduating from the First Faculty of Medicine at Charles University, Prague. Dr Zdanska spent several years in a clinical research leadership role working with advanced cancer patients at the Kinghorn Cancer Centre in Sydney, Australia and has been awarded Global Talent visa for her work in cancer clinical trials. Dr Zdanska is a PhD candidate with her qualitative research focused on “Patient experiences of prolonged living with cancer during early phase trial treatment.

Felicia Pradera is the Director of Moderna’s Regional Research Centre and Strategic Alliances in Melbourne, where she leads their research-and-development collaboration strategy across the life-science ecosystem in Australia and the Indo-Pacific and represents Moderna on national innovation platforms.

With more than 20 years’ experience in cutting-edge research, collaboration, policy and product development, she has advised national and international governments in medical countermeasure (MCM) development, health security and pandemic response, most significantly briefing the United States National Security Council on emerging bio-threats in 2018. At the Defence Science and Technology Group she led MCM product development and served for five years as Australia’s National Lead; and Science and Technology Lead to the Quadrilateral Medical Countermeasures Consortium, chairing it from 2023 to 2024. Concurrently, she was the Head of Health Security Systems Australia at DMTC Limited, a division that evolved from the national MCM program she established in 2015 whilst on secondment from DSTG. During the COVID-19 response she was a member of the Prime Minister’s Science and Industry Technical Advisory Group, the whole-of-government Interdepartmental Committee, and the Science and Technology Representative to the Defence Committee.

Felicia holds a doctorate in Biotechnology from the Technical University of Berlin, a Master of Intellectual Property Law from Monash University and a Bachelor of Science (Honours) from Murdoch University and the University of Melbourne respectively. She is a non-executive director of M:MBio Pty Ltd and ThirtyFiveBio Pty Ltd, sits on national advisory bodies for health security, and has received awards for research collaboration and outstanding service to Defence science.

Dr Gisela Mautner has more than 20 years of extensive leadership experience in global pharmaceutical organisations, including operational, medical and scientific advisory roles across multiple therapeutic areas. During her career she held senior positions at global pharmaceutical companies like MSD (Merck), Bayer and Amgen in Germany as well as Australia.

She holds a Doctor of Medicine degree and a PhD from Germany, a Master of Public Health (MPH) from Harvard University, and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Northwestern University of Chicago.

She is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (GAICD), a Health Industry Hub STEM Champion Award winner, as well as the first-ever recipient of the Brooker Prize Impact Award.

Gisela was appointed Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Noxopharm in 2022.

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Following completion of her PhD in Immunology at the University of Melbourne, Lisa entered the pharmaceutical industry holding a range of senior medical, research and commercial positions covering various geographies. In 2010, as Vice President of the Adult Vaccine Portfolio, she led GSK’s Vaccines H1N1 pandemic response and negotiated the first industry agreement signed with the WHO under the Pandemic Influenza Preparedness Framework.  

Lisa also holds an MBA from the Melbourne Business School and an MSc in Health Policy, Programming and Financing from the London School of Economics and Political Science, and in 2021 joined CEPI to contribute expertise in tackling COVID-19 with a focus on Africa.  This was a natural progression from her experience gained as a Vice President in the Global Health team at GSK, where she led the access medicines commercial development and the award winning cross-sector GSK-Save the Children Partnership.

Through working with South Africa’s Aspen Pharmacare developing their biopharmaceuticals portfolio, in January 2024, Lisa was elected to the Board of the African Vaccine Manufacturing Initiative where she has been the architect of the initiative’s industry policy papers, the basis of negotiations with GAVI – The Global Alliance, the African Union and its instruments and members, and other key multilateral and international stakeholders.  Earlier this year Lisa joined the Cummings Centre for Pandemic Interventions as their inaugural Director – Business Development.  

Nick Bliesner (Head of Operations at Magellan Stem Cells) Nick has held senior leadership roles across the pharmaceutical and medical device sectors, bringing extensive experience in global operations, quality, and supply chain management. At Medical Developments International, Nick led production and international supply chain operations, servicing customers across North America, Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America. More recently, as Head of Operations at Universal Biosensors, Nick oversaw Operations, Supply Chain, Quality, Regulatory Affairs, Engineering, and Clinical functions across Australia and key global markets.

His experience scaling complex and highly regulated manufacturing environments, combined with a Bachelor of Business (Global Logistics & Transport) and a Master of Business (Supply Chain Management), forms a solid foundation for driving success in the cell and gene therapy sector.

Combining strong technical expertise with commercial acumen, Nick is well-positioned to support the translation of advanced therapies from development through to clinical and commercial manufacturing.