New staff appointments

These appointments signal the very important next stage for BioCurate. The Company has now established its operations and will soon be taking on its first projects. BioCurate will provide the management, commercial focus, international expertise and funding necessary to boost their successful translation and commercialisation.

Chief Operating Officer and Company Secretary

Linda Peterson has extensive experience across the academic, not for profit and corporate life sciences sector and has held positions in medical research, R&D, business management and executive leadership. Linda has been the Interim Chief Operating Officer and Company Secretary for BioCurate since July 2016. Working closely with the Board and University partners, Linda has been responsible for leading and managing all aspects of the set-up and independent operations of the company, including establishing the office facilities and back-office support arrangements, governance processes, operational systems and policies, communications and the recruitment of key staff. Immediately prior to joining BioCurate, Linda was the Executive Manager for the Bionics Institute and CEO of Bionic Enterprises Pty Ltd. Linda’s qualifications include a Bachelor of Science and post graduate qualifications in business administration.
Linda commenced in her new position of Chief Operating Officer and Company Secretary on 1 October, 2017.

Senior Project Leaders

Two outstanding and highly experienced professionals, Dr Catherine Drinkwater and Dr Eric Hayes have been appointed to the positions of Senior Project Leader. Their combined breadth of scientific expertise and project management experience bring valuable skills to the company as it prepares to take on its first projects. Drs Drinkwater and Hayes will lead and manage the development of the BioCurate project portfolio from initial academic interaction through oversight and delivery of specific project milestones. The Senior Project Leaders will work closely with the inventors, support the Universities to help build their capability in translational research and liaise closely with other key players required for the successful commercial development of projects.

Dr Catherine Drinkwater has extensive experience in both academic research and industry drug development. Following completion of her PhD at the Howard Florey Institute, Cathy went on to postdoctoral fellowships at Stanford University School of Medicine (California) and the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research. Since then she has worked in the commercial sector, as Principal Scientist at AMRAD Corporation (later Zenyth Therapeutics) and Project Manager at CSL, and at the research/industry/education “interface” with the Cancer Therapeutics CRC. During that time, she was responsible for leading and managing several early discovery and development projects, working with research teams to enhance their collaborative efforts and facilitate the timely delivery of their outcomes. Cathy has experience in a range of therapeutic areas including endocrinology, neurobiology, oncology, immunology and inflammation. Dr Drinkwater will commence in her new role on 13 November, 2017.

Dr Eric Hayes has academic, commercial drug development and pharmaceutical R&D support services experience, spanning over 25 years, in Europe, North America, Asia and Australia. Eric completed undergraduate and post-graduate studies in medical pharmacology at the University of British Columbia and the National University of Singapore. As a scientist, Eric has deep experience in preclinical drug development and supportive assay/model development. He has a breadth of therapeutic area experience including CNS, respiratory, metabolic, infectious diseases, cardiovascular and genitourinary diseases. As an entrepreneur, he has assisted academic and commercial individuals and institutions with discovery, development and commercialization of a variety of life-sciences technologies with a strong focus on human therapeutics development.  Dr Hayes will commence in his new role in early January, 2018.

Return to News