Garry Heaney – Chief Operating Officer Southern RNA

With a career spanning over twenty years in the biologics industry, Garry brings a wealth of expertise in the development and production of monoclonal antibodies (MABs) and recombinant proteins for clinical and commercial purposes within cGMP manufacturing settings. He has collaborated with companies including Merck, Thermofisher, and more recently Vaxxas.

During his tenure at Merck, Garry held the position of Senior Scientist across two UK sites, accumulating over 13 years of bioprocessing expertise. He spearheaded the development of the commercial Adenovirus Types 4 and 7 Live Oral Vaccine in partnership with the US government, overseeing its progression from early development through to PPQ. Moreover, Garry played a pivotal role in the process development of vaccines for Japanese encephalitis (JEV), Zika, Chikungunya, and Dengue, achieving successful commercialization of the JEV project with all Drug Substance and Drug Product manufactured on-site.  Transitioning to Thermofisher in the Netherlands, Garry assumed the role of Site Head for Manufacturing Systems. Under his leadership, the department navigated a stringent FDA audit with exceptional success, obtaining zero 483's for the site. This milestone underscores Garry's adeptness in maintaining regulatory compliance and upholding the highest standards of quality assurance in biologics manufacturing.

As one of the Co-Founders and Chief Operating Officer at SRNA, Garry oversees all divisions to ensure customer needs are met and high-quality products are delivered within specified budgets and timelines. With extensive experience in upstream and downstream biologics manufacturing, Garry and his team have established their Springfield PC1 lab for the production of pDNA & mRNA at mg-g scale. Current expansion plans are underway, with Southern RNA progressing towards establishing a GMP Manufacturing facility dedicated to mRNA Drug Substance with Drug Product Fill & Finish Capabilities.

Professor Fabienne Mackay – Director and CEO QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute

Professor Fabienne Mackay is the Director and CEO of QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute.  She joined QIMR Berghofer in May 2020.  

Professor Mackay studied Medicine and Biomedical Engineering before obtaining her PhD in Molecular Biology and Immunology from Louis Pasteur University in Strasbourg, France.  She started her research career in the biotech industry at Biogen Inc. in Boston. In 1999, she joined the Garvan Institute in Sydney and became Director of the Autoimmunity Research Unit in 2006. In 2009, she was recruited as Head of the Department of Immunology at Monash University. In 2015, she became the inaugural Head of the School of Biomedical Sciences and Head of the Department of Pathology in the Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences, at the University of Melbourne.  

Professor Mackay was elected as a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences (AAHMS) in 2016.  She served six years on the prestigious Medical Advisory Board of the Gairdner Foundation in Canada, is a Council member of AAHMS, Board member of AAMRI, Board member of JDRF, and a member of the NHMRC Research Committee.  

Her major research interest relates to autoimmune diseases such as lupus and leukemia.  

Professor Hari Nair – Co-Founder and Executive Chair Aegros

Professor Nair graduated with honours in Physiology and Medicine from the University of Aberdeen and has a PhD in Medicine and Clinical Science from the Australian National University with specialty in cardiovascular medicine and haematology.

Professor Nair has received a number of awards from international organisations including being specially recognised for his role in coagulation research by the Australian Capital Territory government. He has run biotechnology companies in Australia, the US and Singapore. Professor Nair has been heavily involved in mergers and acquisitions especially in the US and Europe and has US financial experience. Professor Nair’s corporate experience includes financial raisings, corporate public relations and organisational integration strategies, Human Resources, IP strategy and management, financial management and Research and Development. In 2022 Professor Nair was conferred with an Adjunct Professorship with the University of Queensland and its Australian Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (AIBN). Professor Nair is an international expert in Coagulation Science with a special emphasis on fibrinogen. Professor Nair is the author of over 100 research publications and has had over 50 patents on various aspects of electrophoretic plasma separation technologies, including the HaemaFrac® and their applications in both plasma protein separations, renal dialysis and cellular separations. He discovered the use of nano carbon particles in the radiographic imaging of blood clots.

Professor Nair is the principal inventor of the HaemaFrac® having developed and patented the plasma protein fractionation applications in the late 1990s to early 2000s. Professor Nair, together with Mr John Manusu, also ran the then world’s largest independent plasma collection organisation, based in the United States. This business collected both normal and specialty plasmas, including hyperimmunes, for the US Government bioterrorism program.

Professor Nair has served on the boards of a number of international biotechnology companies and US state Commercialisation Boards for Georgia, Florida and Alabama. At Aegros, Professor Nair and founding Managing Director Mr John Manusu have recently received cGMP certification for HaemaFrac®, the first new plasma fractionation technology anywhere in the world for the last 40 years of the industry

Jackie Taranto – Board Member ARM Hub

Jackie is a seasoned business executive and entrepreneur with over thirty years’ experience across a range of industries including technology, advanced manufacturing, international trade, medical, finance & investment, research, and infrastructure. She specialises in creating business collaboration opportunities and platforms to extract and build economic value out of timely deployment of technology and talent. Jackie has an extensive industry, research, education and government business network, expanding beyond Australia - to Germany, India, China, Israel and USA, where she has facilitated state-level delegations, visits and cooperative agreements.  She currently sits on the board of ARM Hub, an agile technology centre in robotics, AI and design-led manufacturing. She is a General Partner at Paradigm Shift Fund and an advisor to the board of Gilmour Space Technologies, Australia’s leading launch services company.