About our staff
Chair and CEO: Dr John Flack
Dr Flack has been involved in the CRC scheme for the past decade in several different guises including as a representative industry partner working with a CRC and as CEO of a CRC. He is a strong advocate for the concept of establishing a critical mass of scientists with a common research interest from different institutions and aims, all enabled by very significant level of federal government funding. Prior roles in the pharmaceutical industry in the UK and Australia have been predominantly in Drug Discovery, from endocrinologist to Head of R&D where he has discovered, registered and in-licensed drugs, experienced the changes involved in major company mergers, established project management systems, developed research and safety and toxicology capabilities and identified and implemented strategic approaches to new areas of business based on regulatory and market needs.
COO: Ms Robyn McLachlan
Commencing with the CRC at its inception, Robyn works with the CEO and Board to develop and implement strategies to ensure the effective and efficient functioning of the CRC, so facilitating the achievement of research, training and commercial outcomes. The COO has overall responsibility for the successful management of the CRC’s governance and operations, thus interacts routinely with representatives of all the nodes to ensure the needs of all its members and their host Departments are met. She also ensures that the CRC’s activities are monitored and coordinated; that interactions with commercial partners and collaborating institutions are effective and that the CRC meets all its statutory reporting requirements. Robyn has tertiary science, management and corporate governance qualifications. She spent her early years in academic research then 20 years at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Institute, mostly as Head of the Protein Chemistry Laboratory. Following a short commercial scientific product development role, Robyn, over almost six years at CSL Limited R&D, held a variety of roles including Project Leader (taking a recombinant protein vaccine through a Phase 1 clinical trial), management of the global project management system, strategic planning and risk management, and financial and operational management.
Finance and Administration Officer: Mr Graham Burns
Graham conducts the financial operations of the CRC, including financial cash and in kind accounting and reporting to the COO, Board and Australian Tax Office and the annual audit procedure and DEST. He also assists as purchaser of all CRC requirements, and maintains the Asset register. Graham maintains our lists of staff and student members and associated program/project allocations. He works with all the Central staff and node heads, assisting them with the management of their budgets. Graham has many years of experience in a variety of finance roles including in the public sector in the health industry and in small business.
Education Officer: Dr Susan Cumming
Susan implements our Education and Training program, including developing and organising educational workshops and training sessions. In her role, Susan also oversees the CRC’s students, including monitoring student progress and reporting on student activities. She will also continue to explore opportunities for public education programs. Susan has a PhD in Chemistry from the University of Otago and a Dip Ed. She worked for more than 10 years as a research chemist, and then spent a decade working in science education at both secondary and tertiary levels. Susan was the Executive Officer of the Howard Florey Institute, subsequent to her position as Executive Director of The Royal Australian Chemical Institute.
Office Manager: Melissa Coyle
Melissa provides part time administrative support for the CRC management team. She has a Bachelor of Science from Melbourne University and is currently studying a Bachelor of Podiatry. Melissa's role includes, day to day administration, scheduling the CRC Diary, compiling the CRC-CID Annual Report and publishing the newsletter, Macropages. Melissa also oversees the organisation of meetings, Science Reviews and Annual Scientific Meetings. |
