Nusep

Scientific Advisory Committee

• Professor John Aitken _{PhD, ScD, FRSE}
  Chairman
  Professor John Aitken graduated from the University of London in 1969 with special honours in Physiology. Following a PhD in reproductive biology at the University of Cambridge under the supervision of RV Short and post-doctoral positions at the Institute of Animal Genetics, University of Edinburgh and the University of Bordeaux, he accepted an invitation to join the World Health Organization in Geneva, where he managed two WHO task forces within the Human Reproduction Unit. In 1977, he joined the Medical Research Council’s Reproductive Biology Unit, University of Edinburgh, to establish a research group in gamete biology with clinical outreach into male infertility. In 1992, John was awarded a Honorary Professorship within the Faculty of Medicine of Edinburgh University, and in 1995 was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. In 1998 he received a ScD degree from the University of Cambridge in recognition of his research contributions to gamete biology. In the same year he moved to the University of Newcastle, NSW, as Chair of Biological Sciences and Foundation Director of the Centre for Life Sciences. He was subsequently appointed as Head of the School of Biological and Chemical Sciences before becoming Director of the ARC Centre of Excellence in Biotechnology and Development in 2003. Since arriving in Newcastle he has established a research group with more than 50 members, generated more than $35 million in research income and been instrumental in developing an undergraduate degree program in Biotechnology. John has published over 450 research articles, given more than 300 invited lectures and filed 12 patents. His work has been cited >12,000 times (h-index of 59).

• Professor Ron Orlando _PhD
  Ron Orlando is a Professor at the Complex Carbohydrate Research Center with joint positions in the Departments of Chemistry and Biochemistry & Molecular Biology at the University of Georgia. He has over 20 years experience in analysis of biomolecules by mass spectrometry. His primary areas of expertise are in the fields of proteomics and glycomics, and he has extensive experience with the technical aspects of both, including the current software, and the needs of scientists performing proteomic and glycomic research. Ron received his Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of Delaware and performed his postdoctoral research at the University of Maryland under Dr. Catherine Fenselau. Prior to moving to UGA, Ron directed the mass spectrometry facility at the Suntory Institute for Biorganic Research in Osaka Japan. He has also been a consultant for the biotech company Ciphergen Biosystems, Inc. Dr. Orlando has authored over 90 peer reviewed publications in the proteomic and glycomic fields, co-invented numerous U.S. patents, and routinely serves on the National Institutes of Health review panels.

• Dr Colin Wrigley _{AM, FRACI, BSc (Hon), MSc, PhD}
  Dr Wrigley’s many years of research experience have earned him international recognition, in the form of several international and Australian research awards. His work is described in about 600 publications, including several patents, many edited books and a three-volume Encyclopaedia of Grain Science. His research interests have focused on food chemistry, especially the food grains, involving the development of novel methods for characterising proteins and starch, including electrophoretic and proteomic analyses. In 2009, Dr Wrigley was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia “for service to primary industry, particularly to grain science as a researcher, and to the development of methods for improving wheat quality.”
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  Dr John Andrews _{PhD, MRACI}
  Vice-President Science and Technology, NuSep
  Dr Andrews has in excess of 20 years skilled practice in chemistry/biochemistry R&D, particularly separations science and protein chemistry, across the biomedical, agricultural and biotechnology industries. He has a BA (Honours-I-Chemistry) from Macquarie University and a PhD from the University of Sydney. Working under a range of regulatory environments (GMP/GLP/ISO), he has significant experience in areas of production, product/process development and analytical/process validation. He has managed research, process development and production teams, of varying sizes, at institutions such as Bond University, CSIRO, Biotech Australia and Gropep.