Governance Board

The CBNS Governance Board Members are all experts and leaders in research and governance in scientific, research-based organisations. The Board monitors progress towards delivery of Key Performance Indicators and approves research, operational and financial plans. The Governance Board met twice in 2019: on 18 April and on 15 August.

Professor Peter C. Doherty AC

A graduate of the University of Queensland School of Veterinary Science, Professor Doherty shared the Nobel Prize in medicine 1996 for his immunology research and was the Australian of the Year in 1997. Since then, he has gone in to bat for evidence-based reality, relating to areas as diverse as childhood vaccination, global hunger and anthropogenic climate change. So far, he has published 5 “lay” books on science with the latest, “The Knowledge Wars”, suggesting how those who don’t know much (or anything) about science can “interrogate” both the scientific evidence and those who claim to be scientists for themselves.

Professor Calum J. Drummond

Professor Drummond is currently Deputy ViceChancellor Research and Innovation and Vice President at RMIT University, playing a leadership role in the development of discovery and practicebased research and in building and enhancing capability in research and innovation across the University. He is also an active research professor and has published over 200 papers and patents in the area of advanced materials, including biomedical and energy storage applications. Professor Drummond joined RMIT University in 2014 from CSIRO where he was Group Executive for Manufacturing, Materials and Minerals comprising 1300 researchers and research support staff. Earlier he was seconded from CSIRO to be the inaugural Vice President Research at CAP-XX, an Intel portfolio company that developed supercapacitors for consumer electronic products.

Ms Maureen O’Keefe

Ms O’Keefe was appointed as Chief Executive Officer of the Australian College of Optometry in March 2013, an organisation providing public health eye care, tertiary clinical teaching and education, and research to preserve sight and prevent blindness. She spent the previous seven years as Chief Operating Officer at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research and prior to that, held several senior executive roles at the University of Melbourne. Ms O’Keefe is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, the Williamson Community Leadership Program and an Executive Education Program at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge. Ms O’Keefe has spent her career in higher education, research and health organisations and has more than fifteen years’ experience in senior executive roles. She is a Board member of Vision2020 Australia, the BioMelbourne Network and the ARC Centre of Excellence in Convergent Bio-Nano Science and Technology Governance Board. Previously, Ms O’Keefe was a member of the Council of the Victorian Cancer Agency for 6 years, a Ministerial appointment, including two years as a member of the VCA Clinical Trials Working Group and more recently a Ministerial appointment on the Victorian Department of Health’s Clinical Trial Research Consultative Council.

Ms Filippa Shub

Ms Shub has more than 25 years’ experience in the biotech and pharmaceutical industry working in senior roles in General Management, Commercialisation, Intellectual Property and Research Operations. Ms Shub is currently Director of IP and a member of the executive management team of ASX listed Starpharma. Previously, she has worked with both legal firms and biotechnology companies in Australia and USA, including Davies, Collison Cave, Allens Arthur Robinson, Norwood Abbey and CSL. In addition, Ms Shub co-founded a clinical research company in the US. She is a member of the AusBiotech IP expert panel and was previously Vice President of a school board.

Dr Warwick Tong

Dr Tong is currently Chair of the CTxONE Pty Ltd, a spin-off company from the Cancer Therapeutics Cooperative Research Centre headquartered in Melbourne. He is also Chair of the Board of ASXlisted Amplia Therapeutics, a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the Maurice Wilkins Centre in Auckland NZ, the Advisory Board of Cortex Health, Melbourne, the Industry Advisory Board, School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Melbourne and a member of the CSIRO Manufacturing, Business Advisory Committee. He has spent more than 27 years in executive management in drug development and commercial roles in both the major pharmaceutical and biotech industry. After graduating as Senior Scholar in Medicine from Auckland University and working in General Practice Dr Tong joined Glaxo in NZ as Medical Director and subsequently worked in Singapore and London, in regional and global business development and commercial roles for Glaxo. Prior to coming to Melbourne, Warwick spent five years in Boston as SVP, Development, for Surface Logix Inc.

Professor Gordon Wallace (AO)

Professor Wallace is currently the Executive Research Director of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Electromaterials Science and the Director of the Australian National Fabrication Facility, Materials Node. Professor Wallace is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science, the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering (ATSE), the Institute of Physics, the Royal Australian Chemical Institute (RACI) and the Royal Society of NSW. He is a corresponding member of the Academy of Science in Bologna. On 26 January 2017, he was appointed as an Officer of the Order of Australia. Furthermore, he received Wollongong’s award for Innovation in 2017, served as Wollongong’s Australia Day Ambassador and was named NSW Scientist of the Year 2017. He received the Eureka Prize for Leadership in Science and Innovation in 2016. In 2015, he was appointed to the Prime Ministers Knowledge Nation. Professor Wallace is involved in the design and discovery of new materials for use in Energy and Health. In the Health area, this involves using new materials to develop biocommunications from the molecular to skeletal domains in order to improve human performance. In the Energy area, this involves the use of new materials to transform and to store energy, including novel wearable and implantable energy systems for the use in medical technologies. In order to facilitate the creation of functional devices from fundamental discoveries he has pioneered the development of 3D additive fabrication (including 3D printing) using advanced materials. He is committed to fundamental research and the translation of fundamental discoveries into practical applications. He is a passionate communicator, dedicated to explaining scientific advances to all in the community from the layperson to the specialist.