Contributing to the organizational mission of fostering engagement and growth in research, innovation, commercialisation, and manufacturing through local and international networks in biotechnology, medical technology, and health innovation.

While business-focused and pragmatic, I am deeply values-led. My position with the Toyota Community Foundation enables me to use my aptitude for the strategy to strengthen the foundation’s national impact. It’s a meaningful addition to my growing portfolio of board roles.The Toyota Community Foundation partners with stakeholders and communities to support and fund programs that contribute to a better, brighter tomorrow. The programs we work with get children interested in STEM, igniting their passion while opening doors to future innovations. Our contribution to STEM education enhances the community’s capabilities by investing in the next generation of great thinkers.

As the Professorial Fellow, Paediatrics, at the University of Melbourne, I lecture biomedical science and science students on the blood clotting system and supervise post-graduate and PhD students. I also oversee the design, running, and management of a laboratory practical for over 200 students. Additionally, I leverage my expertise and experience as contributing member of the Honorary and Promotions Committee and have previously been a long-term member of the Department of Paediatrics Human Ethics Advisory Group, reviewing ethics applications.

Based at the Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne, the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute is the leading child health research institute in Australia and one of the top three worldwide. Our goal is to rapidly transform research into practical and effective treatments that improve health outcomes for children.Here, I lead 16 team members. Overseeing the day-to-day functioning of the group, I drive project design and translational research, contributing to data processing and analysis, manuscript publication, budgeting and commercialization, product development, relationship building and influencing, and the presentation of critical findings to national and international audiences.A global, holistic thinker, I dig to find the broader applications of our findings and the biomarkers that can be used in clinical practice.Some of our recent achievements include:►Improving existing medications, expanding knowledge, and investigating biomarkers and preventions for COVID-19 with collaborators that include the Doherty Institute and pediatricians and immunologists►Chief investigator developing blood-based markers to improve prognosis of children post-stroke and post-concussion►Developing a first-of-its-kind point-of-care instrument that aims to predict clotting and bleeding events – the product is not yet available, and we are investigating the various ways we can utilise the innovation with several companies nationally and abroad►Developing a rapid, non-invasive, and biocompatible bedside sensing method for jaundice embedded in a nappy – we are working on the product with the top nappy liner company to develop solutions for both developed and developing nations.

I led the hematology team at the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, growing the capability and our industry networks. My role spanned the management of day-to-day operations, data processing, presentations, and project design. We were the first to describe differences in fibrin clot structure in children compared to adults and the first to determine the age-specific and inter-individual variation in concentration of hemostatic factors.Our studies have been published around the globe, attracting significant interest and having direct implications to clinical settings.

I don’t want to be an insular academic, and as a part of my contribution to the future of STEM, I have been mentoring women at WiSPP since 2017, and from 2019 have been a member of the Executive Committee – playing a key role in winning $365k in funding (2021). A natural collaborator, I help raise awareness of the various career options, how to decide which funding to pursue, how to present, and how to join and contribute to the community locally and globally. I help women in STEM see the bigger picture and thrive.

Investing in medical research boosts economies, and that’s what I emphasized through my promotional, marketing, and events efforts with the Australian Society for Medical Research. I believe in the importance of the work I do. By interfacing with communities and stakeholders, coordinating national events, assisting with career development, hosting external-facing webinars, and creating and delivering quizzes, I worked to inspire younger generations and showcase the human and commercial benefits of research.