Board
Members
Mr Lachlan Monfries Chair
BCom, MBA
Mr Greg Savage, Director
BCom, GradDipBusAdm
Greg has been a manufacturing plant manager in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane over a 15 year period. The Sydney plant is one of the largest glass plants in the world with four furnaces, ten machine lines and 460 employees.
Managing more than 450 employees across two sites at the Spotswood Glass Plant and Box Hill Engineering facility, Greg led a major restructuring and business turn around in safety, quality, production efficiency and industrial relations relationships.
Ms Jenna Dikih Director
LLB (Hons), BCom, GDipLegalPrac, GradDipCA
Jenna is a legal practitioner and business professional with experience in private practice and not for profit sectors. Jenna currently works at AnglicareSA as one of their Legal Counsel, assisting in identifying risks to the organisation and helping achieve strategic and operational goals. She also brings significant experience from her previous role, specialising in business advisory, taxation and structuring issues.
Jenna holds a Bachelor of Laws (Honours) and is a Legal Practitioner admitted to the Supreme Court of South Australia. She is also a Chartered Accountant, and holds a Bachelor of Commerce.
Jenna is passionate about assisting the community. She joined the board in 2020 and is excited about working with Cure4CF towards the delivery of its vision.
Dr Matthew Chong
Director
PhD, BBiotech (Hons), GradCertAppFin
Matt has worked in the life sciences industry for over 20 years, with experience in business development, consulting and strategic planning roles across industry, government and academia. He is currently a Client Engagement Facilitator at the Australian National Fabrication Facility, an organization that supports advancing innovative manufacturing for high value products, with cutting edge equipment and world-class expertise. Matt has previously held senior management roles in the biotechnology sector, state government and several Australian universities. He has extensive experience in all aspects of the research funding lifecycle.
Matt holds a Bachelor of Biotechnology with first class honours, a PhD in Medicine and a Graduate Certificate in Applied Finance. He joined the Board in November 2021 and is a member of the Research and Commercialisation subcommittee. He is passionate about the “bench to bedside” translation of research and supporting genuine collaboration between industry and research organisations.
Dr Phil Kearney
Director
PhD MBA
Phil holds a Ph.D. from Monash University, which was followed by post-doctoral training at the Murdoch Institute in Melbourne and University College London. He also holds a MBA from the University of Sydney. Dr Kearney began his career as an academic as Head of the Research Laboratory in one of Australia’s leading Haematology Departments, at St Vincent’s Hospital Sydney for over 10 years. The theme of the laboratory was antisense and ribozyme mediated ablation of bcr-abl expression in Chronic Myeloid Leukaemia. After 12 years at SVH he moved to Europe to lead preclinical oncology at ActiveBiotech Sweden, and then as Head of Biology at Santaris Pharma. In the latter, the highlight was the first publication of regulation of a microRNA in NHP , in the prestigious Nature journal.
He joined Merck Sharp & Dohme Australia in 2007 as the key scout for innovative research and development in Australia, New Zealand, India and some parts of South East Asia. In his time with MSD, he has led or been part of the team who have transacted deals worth more than $2B, covering acquisition, licenses, and R&D collaborations with biotechs and academic institutions.
Phil joined Axelia Oncology in Feb 2021.
Mr Greg Oke
Founder and Patron
BAppSc (Met), MBA, MCIPS
Greg has considerable experience in the promotion of cystic fibrois and raising funds to support research into a cure. Greg was also on the board of The Cystic Fibrosis Association of South Australia Inc.
Greg is currently managing his own business and has significant senior management experience in the mining, automotive and manufacturing industries.
Mr David Coluccio OAM
Patron
BA, MBA, MA(IntStud), GAICD
David Coluccio is Founder and Principal of Senexus, which offers independent advice and manages the placement process for families seeking an aged care home for their loved one in Adelaide.
Prior to starting Senexus, David spent more than ten years in a variety of management roles including as General Manager of the Women’s & Children’s Hospital Foundation where he raised funds for and project managed the redevelopment of the Playdeck as well as being instrumental in the fundraising and construction of the Starlight Room. During this time he also completed an MA (International Relations) and an MBA at the University of Adelaide and is a Graduate Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Passionate about ensuring access to quality aged care for those in need, David founded Senexus to help families through the stressful and emotional process of placing a loved one into residential aged care. David coordinates all aspects of admitting a loved one into residential aged care, including undertaking the search for a suitable aged care home and advising on the costs of care.
From 2009 to 2018, David was a director, and then Chairman, of the Cure4CF Foundation and in 2022 he joined the Cure4 CF as a patron.
In 2021, David was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for services to the cystic fibrosis community.
Ms Stephanie Morris Deputy Chair
GAICD, MBA, BBus, DipBioMedSci
Stephanie is a life-sciences professional with enthusiasm for invention, technology transfer and commercialisation. She currently heads the translational activities for academic discovery and innovation for the Faculty of Medicine at Imperial College London. She has depth of expertise having worked within start-up companies, SMEs and large multinational pharmaceutical organisations at operational and governance levels. She has a unique breadth of experience across the full care continuum, including academia, R&D, clinical development, commercialisation, as well as working with patients in both acute and chronic settings in the community.
Stephanie brings a dynamic and global perspective to research commercialisation. She holds tertiary qualifications in both biomedical science and in business, has a Master’s in Business Administration (MBA) and is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD).
Mr Clinton Jury Director
GAICD, AdvDip Bus Mgt, Dip Mktg
Chair Risk, Governance & HR Committee
Clinton joined the Board in August 2018 and we welcomed his considerable not-for-profit and fundraising experience. Clinton is currently the CEO of the Local Government Association of SA and has extensive experience in leading organisations across adult education, strategic project management, marketing and commercial operations as well as major fundraising programs and member and volunteer management. Holding senior Director and Management roles in the Government and NFP sector for more than 25 years Clinton has worked across many organisations including the Australian Institute of Company Directors, Women’s and Children’s Hospital Foundation, Australian Red Cross, Royal Flying Doctor Service & CanTeen. A Vinnies CEO sleepout ambassador Clinton is currently a Director on the Local Government Finance Authority, LGASA Mutual, LG Procurement and a member of the management committee of the Austrian Association of SA and Centres Advisory Committee for St Vincent dePaul SA.
Clinton is passionate about the creation of vibrant communities which bring people together and is excited to work alongside the CF community in search of a cure.
Dr Steven Zadow
Director
MBBS (hons) FRANZCR
Dr Steve Zadow has a child with Cystic Fibrosis and is passionate about improving the lives of those with CF and finding a cure.
Steve is a medical doctor. He graduated from medical school with honours, winning numerous awards, including the Frank S. Hone Memorial Prize for the highest mark in the subject of Medicine and the Sir Trent Champion de Crespigny Memorial Prize for the highest mark in the clinical section of the subject medicine.
In his early career he was involved in Respiratory Medicine research and management of patients with cystic fibrosis.
He is now a medical specialist radiologist. He completed his training in Adelaide followed by a fellowship in the United Kingdom working at the Kent & Sussex Weald NHS Trust/St Thomas’ Hospital London, including time spent at King’s College Hospital London and The Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre Oxford.
He works at Dr Jones & Partners Medical Imaging, where he has been a partner for many years, and also works at Flinders Medical Centre where he has held a senior consultant position for 20 years.
He has a strong interest in research in his field, having published and reviewed many research papers. He enjoys teaching and has been an invited speaker at multiple conferences.
Steve has many years of board experience at Dr Jones and Partners.
Steve joined the Cure4CF board in November 2021 and is on the Governance, Risk & HR subcommittee.
A/Professor
Nicolette Hodyl
Director
PhD, BSc (Hons), Grad Cert (Biostats), Dip Mgment
A/Professor Nicolette (Nicki) Hodyl is Director of NSW Regional Health Partners, a NHMRC Research Translation Centre that works to accelerate research evidence into everyday care to improve patient outcomes and experience. In this role, Nicki works closely with passionate and committed researchers, health professionals and consumers to collaboratively address priority health needs in regional NSW.
As a research specialist and strategist with over 20 years’ academic and consultancy experience, Nicki has worked with national health agencies and organisations, medical research institutes, universities and health services in research development, design, implementation and strategy. Nicki has held executive positions and advisory roles in the health and medical research sector, state government, professional science and clinical networks and in start-up companies.
Abbey Bell
Director
BJourn, GradCertBus
Abbey is a passionate strategic communications and marketing professional, with experience across both healthcare and technology industries. She spent over six years leading the Communications and Public Affairs division for The Hospital Research Foundation Group in South Australia, where she developed a passion for medical research and enjoyed distilling complex information into compelling stories in the fundraising sector. Abbey is currently the Head of Brand Communications for Atticus, an Australian-founded, global legal tech and corporate governance software company.
Abbey joined the Cure4CF Board in 2022 and is excited about the laser focus of the organisation’s fundraising efforts and the opportunity to work with such a united community across Australia.