Leadership Team

Sean founded Medlab in August 2012; he has over 20 years' experience in nutraceutical sales and development, as well as early drug discovery in Australia, Asia and the US. Sean has led and inspired his teams to author multiple patents, write peer-reviewed articles and deliver lectures at scientific conferences. His passion is leading his researchers into novel areas and strong commercialisation opportunities.

Prior Sean was a founder of FIT-BioCeuticals. Under his management and guidance, BioCeuticals became the most innovative, research-driven, practitioner brand in Australia. For his sale of FIT-BioCeuticals to Blackmores in 2012, Sean was nominated as a finalist in the inaugural Australian Exit CEO of the Year Award. Sean is a Medical Doctor with an MBA in clinical pharmaceutical management and focuses on the research to pioneer innovation and commercialisation. Sean is an active member of Medicines Australia, the European Medical Association, the American Federation for Medical Researcher, The World Medical Association, A4M and Special Operations Medical Association.

Luis is Director of Medical Research at Medlab Clinical and Adjunct Professor at the University of Sydney, Sydney Medical School. Luis has an extensive depth of knowledge of the science behind effective probiotics and biologic medicines. His focus on clinical research and its relevance to commercialisation informs Medlab's product portfolio.

After many years of educating clinicians, pharmacists, undergraduate and postgraduate students, Luis is in a strong position to advance Medlab's clinical research activities and drug innovation projects to the clinical practitioner community.

David has 35 years of experience in research, product development, manufacturing, and technical marketing support in the pharmaceutical and nutritional industry. He earned his PhD in organic chemistry at the University of California at Irvine and a JD from Western State University, College of Law. In addition, he holds a Certificate of Completion in FDA Law from the University of Southern California.

David is a major contributor to the American functional food and high-profile bottled juice market segments, and he continues to develop healthcare products specifically designed for the international marketplace. Through a number of private development associations, he consults and formulates nutritional products for Asia, Europe South America and Australia.

David was Cofounder of Micelle Laboratories, Inc., where he served for over 20 years as Executive Vice-President and as a Board Member. The firm provides pharmaceutical and nutritional product development and manufacturing in an FDA drug-licensed facility. As a formulator, he developed unique functional foods, nutritional supplements, skincare formulations, veterinary formulas, and OTC products for domestic and foreign companies. At Micelle, he pioneered the development of micellization, a specialised and patented delivery system to enhance the absorption of fat-soluble substances, widely utilised by organisations in the production of nutritional and skincare preparations.

David manages and is a shareholder of lnMed Technologies, Medlab's 60% owned US company.

Tony is a Pharmaceutical Executive with almost 30 years' Sales and Marketing experience in small, medium and large companies in both New Zealand and Australia. He holds an Honours Degree in Pharmacology as well as a Post-Graduate qualification in Business and has experience across the full sales and marketing spectrum from field sales representative, through product management, sales and marketing management to commercial director.

Tony has been responsible for leading several successful sales and marketing teams which have resulted in significant growth of multiple products, including launching new products, in both general practice and specialist arenas.

After early years working in chartered accountants' offices, Michael joined Grace Brothers in their development phase and rose to be Head Office Controller. After eight years at Grace Brothers, Michael left to have a short stint with Norman Ross (Harvey Norman) and then on to a private merchant bank. Michael became ill with cancer and his experience with that disease introduced him to the area of nutrition.

Michael has a long history in the management and building of successful nutritional companies. He sold Bioglan Limited to AusPharm Limited (1980s), built HealthComm USA with Dr Jeffrey Bland, relaunched VitaPlex Pty Ltd then sold to Health Minders Limited, built PharmaFoods Pty Ltd and sold it to FIT-BioCeuticals Limited.

Together with Dr. Sean Hall, Michael sold FIT-BioCeuticals Limited to Blackmores Limited in 2012.

Drew is a senior partner in the chartered accounting firm Hall Chadwick and has been a partner in this firm for over 25 years. He is an experienced chartered accountant and corporate advisor to numerous SMEs.

Drew's industry and service specialisations include audits, prospectus preparation, expert reports, due diligence for takeovers and acquisitions and AFSL audits. In undertaking these roles Drew has developed extensive knowledge of ASIC and ASX requirements and regulations.

Drew's professional qualifications include a Bachelor of Commerce (Accounting & Finance), Registered Auditor, Member of the Governance Institute, Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, Tax agent, Member of the Institute of Internal Auditors and Member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants.

Drew is an experienced director of both private and public companies and is currently chairperson of ASX listed Quantum Energy Ltd, a medical and energy technology company.

Ian joined Medlab in July 2019, a strategic executive with C level success in IT governance and Business Intelligence solutions, with 26 years' of experience in Management.

Prior to Medlab, Ian served over 9 years as an Executive Team member of FIT-BioCeuticals, the parent company of brands: BioCeuticals, IsoWhey, Wheyless, PharmaFoods, Hall Drug Technologies, Fusion Health and Oriental Botanicals;  a division of Blackmores Ltd (BKL:ASX) which operates in the Vitamin and Supplement industry. Ian was responsible for all Digital and Technology decisions within these businesses including strategic planning, business Integration, risk assessment, security, disaster recovery and change management.

Ian has also implemented projects for large enterprises including GSM/Vodafone, Chartered Accounts, OfficeWorks, Clemenger and Colonial. In addition, Ian has provided outsourcing alternatives and consultation to small and medium businesses as well as acting as a consultant for the music industry, television and production companies. Ian also served on the IT and Marketing committee of the International Probiotic Association (IPA).

Ian is a graduate member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and holds an Associate Diploma in Electrical Technology.

Prior to joining Medlab, Patrick worked as a pre-market evaluation officer for the Therapeutic Goods Administration in Canberra. Patrick has also worked as a researcher in Microbiology and Virology at the University of Sydney and UTS. Patrick has a PhD in Microbiology from the Eberhard-Karls-University Tuebingen, Germany where he graduated magna cum laude.

His responsibilities include the liaison with internal and external stakeholders to ensure that all operations are aligned with the federal and state regulatory frameworks. This involves product registrations, licensing, pharmacovigilance and product quality assurance.

Maria joined Medlab in 2017 as Senior Regulatory Affairs Associate with a strong emphasis on ensuring compliance to the regulatory framework, building relations with regulatory bodies (TGA, FDA, EMA, State Health Departments, NATA) and providing substantial support for medicine listing and pharmaceutical drug registration in Australia (Cat 1 applications) and overseas. Maria is also a Qualified person responsible for pharmacovigilance in Australia (QPPVA).

Maria holds a PhD in Molecular Biology/Microbiology. After working as a senior research scientist in the academic field, Maria gained several years’ expertise in research and product design in a globally operating biotechnological company with a NATA-accredited GMP facility in Sydney.

Jeremy has 18 years’ experience in cancer research. He is the Principal Investigator of the Cancer Cell Immortality research group, UNSW Medicine, where his research involves the development of cancer treatments and diagnostics that target telomere maintenance mechanisms (telomerase and ALT). Jeremy discovered and patented the C-Circle biomarker and assay for the alternative-lengthening-of-telomeres (ALT) cancer mechanism (Nature Biotechnology, 2009) and is currently developing the C-Circle Assay as a cancer diagnostic and using it to perform a high-throughput screen for ALT inhibitors, which could be used as ALT-targeted cancer therapies. 

Jeremy is also Chief Career Medical officer at Lakeview Private Hospital, where he is a member of the Medical Advisory and Root Cause Analysis Committees, and a clinical tutor at Prince of Wales Clinical School, UNSW Faculty of Medicine. At Medlab, Jeremy's responsibilities include overseeing pharmacovigilance, research, clinical trials and new product development.

Jiezhong obtained a PhD in molecular medicine from the University of Sydney and a Master's degree in Management Studies from the University of New South Wales. He has worked within various universities in Australia and the USA, studying the mechanisms of various diseases including cancer, obesity, diabetes, cholestasis and osteoarthritis. His research has emphasised translational approaches for the prevention and treatment of these diseases. His outstanding research outcomes are evidenced by more than 100 scientific publications, many of them are in prestigious journals such as Lancet, Nature Reviews Gastroenterology & Hepatology, Science Signaling, Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Annals of Oncology.

Currently at Medlab, he is working on the roles of gut microbiota in the pathogenesis of some common diseases such as obesity, diabetes, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, cancer and depression, and the implications of selected probiotic bacteria as well as gut microbiota metabolites such as short chain fatty acids for ameliorating gut dysbiosis-associated diseases.

Michael is a PhD scholar at the University of Sydney, Sydney Medical School in the Discipline of Pharmacology and is affiliated with Medlab Clinical. He has a Master’s degree in Applied Science and has been in clinical practice as a Naturopath and Herbalist for 30 years, specialising in cancer support utilising nutritional and herbal medicines and hyperthermia devices. Michael is currently researching chemoradiotherapy-induced mucositis, intestinal dysbiosis and the role of selected probiotic bacteria in preventing and or reducing chemotherapy/radiotherapy-induced diarrhoea in patients diagnosed with cancer.

Abha has over 17 years of experience in the field of synthetic and analytical chemistry. She has a PhD in Chemistry from the University of Mumbai, India. Abha has worked with a premier multi-disciplinary Nuclear Research Centre of India within R&D and has been associated with projects focussed on developing novel economically viable, greener synthetic protocols for compounds of interest in the field of supramolecular, medicinal and analytical chemistry. She has been involved with the design and development of novel receptors for selective sensing of metal ions throughout her professional tenure.

Her current research focus is on applying Medlab’s novel nanotechnology delivery platform NanoCelle™ to a wider array of compounds and establishing testing protocols for Medlab’s products. Abha is passionate about applying fundamental research to use technology and maintaining a high level of quality in R&D processes. She is passionate about dancing and has also enacted in stage shows highlighting the importance of Nuclear energy back in India.

Mr McAllister is currently CEO of McPherson’s Limited (ASX.MCP) a global consumer goods company in the Health, Wellness & Beauty sector with a market capitalisation of ~$316M. Under his leadership McPherson’s has delivered an impressive turnaround, growing annual sales revenue to $220M. He brings strong experience in consumer marketing and extensive commercial, M&A and business strategy experience.

Mr McAllister was previously Managing Director for Sanofi in Australia & New Zealand. Where he successfully turned around the company’s consumer healthcare business, while simultaneously serving on the Board of Medicines Australia for two years.

He has also spent more than 23 years in a variety of management positions for one the largest and most recognised retail brands, Coca Cola, operating across Australia, Asia, Europe and the Middle East. In addition, Mr McAllister was previously President at Trax Retail, an innovative retail digital imaging recognition solution provider offering in-store execution tools, market measurement services and data science solutions.

Dr. Michael R. Lyon, MD, Dip. ABOM is a Clinical Lecturer in the UBC Faculty of Medicine, Dept. of Family Practice. He served for several years as an Adjunct Professor with the UBC Food, Nutrition and Health Program. He is board-certified in the field of Obesity Medicine through the American Board of Obesity Medicine. He is currently the Medical Director for the Medical Weight Management Program at the Obesity Medicine and Diabetes Institute in Vancouver (MedWeight.ca). He works closely with the bariatric surgical program in Richmond. He serves on an Obesity Medicine Working Group for the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario assisting them in the establishment of acceptable standards of practice for obesity medicine. He is also a Canadian Mental Health Association CBT program facilitator and he makes extensive use of CBT, ACT and mindfulness-based stress reduction in his obesity medicine practice. He is currently a member of the Doctors of BC Council on Health Promotion and he serves as Chair of the Doctors of BC Nutrition Committee. He has an interest in Culinary Medicine and he is trained as a Clinician Chef Coach through Harvard School of Public Health. He has been involved in clinical research for several decades and he has a special interest in the scientific study of nutrition and natural health products. He served for four years on the Expert Advisory Committee for Health Canada’s Natural Health Products Directorate. 

Mrs Maley is currently a Managing Director of Oncology for global healthcare company Novartis (Australia and New Zealand). She joins the Medlab board with strong pharmaceutical experience including over 20 years in roles across Sales, Marketing, Business Development, Commercial Excellence, Patient Access and General Management.

Mrs Maley is a knowledgeable and multi-functional leader with a proven track record in accelerating and driving long-term strategic growth through innovation, partnering and steering organisational development and projects.

Mrs Maley has a Bachelor of Science Degree, a Diploma of Education, a Masters of Business Administration and is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. She has a passion for innovation and has completed formal innovation training with What-If Innovation (UK), Kellogg Institute (USA), Inventium (Australia) and RAW Innovation (Australia).

Mr Kaya joins Medlab with extensive pharmaceutical industry and financial experience gained at one of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies, Novartis.
 
Mr Kaya has spent nearly 15 years at Novartis Pharmaceuticals working across several divisions, notably spending five years as Global Finance Projects Manager of Novartis AG where he helped develop financial efficiencies across the business globally. Mr Kaya was most recently Head of Finance Planning and Analysis for the Australian and New Zealand operations.