Mario Pennisi – Chief Executive Officer
Mario has extensive experience managing laboratory medicine services. In the mid 1990s, in affiliation with US and German-based organisations, he established the first Queensland-based ‘central laboratory’ in order to service international trials in the Asia-Pacific region. He was also a founding member of Queensland’s first contract research organisation (CRO).
Later, as National Business Development Manager for an Australian multinational pharmaceutical/diagnostics company, he collaborated with numerous international sponsors and service providers to achieve significant clinical trials growth in Australia.
Mario believes that the comprehensive range of high quality services available, together with the relatively untapped potential of numerous investigators and patient populations, provide exciting opportunities for the development of clinical trials in Queensland.
Management Committee
Professor Tony Webber – President
Formally both the Dean of Health and Dean of Science at Queensland University of Technology (QUT), Professor Webber has significant experience in haemostasis and thrombosis research. He was instrumental in establishing and managing the early biotechnology spin-off companies MabCo (now Agenix Ltd) and GeneCo. whose core single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) technology is still an essential tool in accelerating drug discovery and development.
Professor Webber is an active member of the Australian clinical research industry via his role as Chief Executive Officer of Clinical Network Services, a Queensland-based clinical research organisation.
Professor Wayne Hooper – Vice-President
Wayne Hooper trained as a chemist (B.Sc., 1965; M.Sc., 1972) and moved into clinical pharmacology early in his career (Ph.D., 1975). He held various research appointments in the Department of Medicine of The University of Queensland from 1966 until 2002. During his academic career he published more than 120 papers. He was promoted to Professorial Research Fellow in 2000, and was from 1998 until 2002 Joint Director (with Professor Ronald Dickinson) of the Centre for Studies in Drug Disposition.
In 2002 he resigned from his university appointment to take up the position as Managing Director of the new Phase I/II clinical trials company, Q-Pharm Pty Ltd. Q-Pharm is a full service Phase I and II clinical trials provider which conducts trials on therapeutic, diagnostic and prophylactic agents for the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. In 2008, Wayne resigned as Managing Director and now holds a part-time Consultant role with the company assisting with special projects and Business and Corporate Development.
Winna Brown - Treasurer
Winna is an assurance partner in Ernst & Young’s Brisbane office and has over 15 years of experience in a variety of industries including life science, software technology, manufacturing and distribution, retail and venture capital.
She has significant experience in servicing entrepreneurial and fast growing companies, particularly in the life science and high technology sectors—from start-up through to successful public company status in Australia and the United States. This has included the preparation for and completion of initial public offerings on the Australian Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq.
Winna is Ernst & Young's Australian life science Industry Leader and she is the author of the Australian overview included in Beyond borders, Ernst & Young’s annual global biotechnology report.
Winna has been the Northern Region Director of the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Awards Program from 2005 to 2009 and she was the leader of the Brisbane office Women’s Leadership Group from 2003 to 2005.
Professor Maree Smith – Secretary
Professor Maree Smith is the Executive Director of TetraQ, the commercial arm of the Centre for Integrated Preclinical Drug Development at The University of Queensland. TetraQ was established in May 2005 to undertake contract preclinical research and development (R&D) studies across the four core preclinical disciplines, viz ADME/bioanalytical services, efficacy, pharmaceutics and toxicology. TetraQ provides contract R&D services to both on-shore and international biotechnology and Pharma companies. TetraQ has NATA R&D accreditation (ISO17025) and GLP recognition for our ADME and Toxicology laboratories.
Prior to taking up her current appointment as Executive Director of TetraQ, Professor Smith was a full-time academic in the School of Pharmacy for 15 years and she has extensive expertise and know-how in the pain research field as well as in pharmacokinetics and drug metabolism. During those years, she gained considerable experience in the undertaking of contract R&D studies for a range of biotechnology companies as well as commercialization of her own intellectual property.
In 2003, Prof Smith was awarded a “Trailblazer Challenge” award by Uniquest, and in 2008 she received the Women in Technology Biotech Outstanding Achievement Award and in 2009 she was conferred with Honorary Fellowship of the Faculty of Pain Medicine, Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists.
Professor John Prins - Department of Employment, Economic Development & Industry (DEEDI) Representative
Prof. Prins is currently the CEO and Institute Director of the Mater Medical Research Institute, and was previously Chair of the Centres of Health Research on the Princess Alexandra Hospital Campus. Prof. Prins' role involved coordinating the campus-wide research strategy, fostering research, facilitating the recruitment of researchers to the campus and integration of research and clinical activities wherever possible.
As director of the University of Queensland Centre for Diabetes and Endocrine Research, Prof. Prins has 5 research groups and 45 scientists working in the fields of obesity, Type 2 Diabetes, liver disease and osteoporosis. As an active clinicial-scientist, Prof. Prins is a Diabetes, Obesity and Endocrinology key opinion leader in Australia and sits on numerous scientific, clinical and educational committees and boards for NHMRC, NGOs and Industry.
As a Smart State initiative, the Queensland Government maintains an active role by providing a representative to work together with QCTN to attract clinical trial activity and investment. Visit the DTRDI website.