QBI Advisory Board
The Advisory Board provides strategic advice to the Director and senior executive, with respect to the sustainability of the Institute, the commercialisation of research, and engagement with the community.
In particular, the role of the Board is to:
- Provide strategic advice in terms of fundraising ideas and sustainability of the Institute
- Increase community awareness of the world-class research taking place at QBI
- Provide guidance, advice and linkages for the researchers whose research shows clinical and translational opportunities
- Provide introductions to key people in business, industry and government
Board members are unpaid volunteers with a wealth of knowledge, skills and expertise that they are willing to share to advance the success of the Institute. The Board meets, on average, four times each year.
Mr Jeff Maclean AM (Chair)
Jeff Maclean AM began his working career selling pool supplies, and in 1977 became the Queensland Distributor for Kreepy Krauly, the automatic pool cleaning device company.
In 1995, Jeff joined his father, Ross, at The Index Group managing a variety of business interests in the mining, water treatment and industrial property sectors. Ross passed away from motor neurone disease in early 2005, and Jeff took over the position of CEO/Director of The Index Group.
Jeff has been associated with QBI since 2004 when Professor Perry Bartlett established the Ross Maclean Fellowship. The Maclean Family have been dedicated supporters of QBI since this time.
Jeff has served as a Committee Member of the Salvation Army Red Shield Appeal since 2007 and is a Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (MAICD). Jeff joined the QBI Development Board in 2006 and became Chair of the Advisory Board in 2018.
Dr Sallyanne Atkinson AO
Dr Sallyanne Atkinson AO was the former ― and still only ― female Lord Mayor of Brisbane and has blazed a trail as a journalist, political and business leader, and working mother.
She is a long standing member and former Chair of QBI’s Advisory Board, President of The University of Queensland’s Women’s College and former Queensland Chair of the Crawford Fund for Agricultural Research.
She places a high value on education and is committed to the exploration of the science that underpins learning.
Professor Aidan Byrne
Professor Aidan Byrne commenced as the Provost and Senior Vice-President of The University of Queensland in October 2016.
Prior to this appointment Professor Byrne was the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Australian Research Council (2012-2016), a position in which he delivered increased knowledge and innovation through managing funding schemes, measuring research excellence and providing policy advice to Government.
Before that, he was Dean of Science and Director of the Australian National University (ANU) College of Physical and Mathematical Sciences (2008-2012). He was also Head of the ANU Department of Physics (2003-2007).
Professor Byrne completed a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Science (First Class Hons) in physics at the University of Auckland in New Zealand, and has a PhD in nuclear physics from ANU. He was a National Research Fellow at the University of Melbourne (1985-1986) and a von Humboldt fellow at the University of Bonn, Germany (1986-1989). In 1991 Professor Byrne returned to ANU as a Research Fellow.
His research interests involve the use of gamma-rays as probes to determine the structure of heavy nuclei, and the examination of the atomic level structure of materials (especially semiconductors). He has published more than 200 papers.
In 2012 Professor Byrne was awarded the ANU Peter Baume Award for eminent achievement and merit of the highest order.
Professor Byrne is a member of the MBIE Science Board (New Zealand) and the National Research Foundational Scientific Advisory Board (Singapore). He is also a fellow of the Australian Institute of Physics.
He was previously a member of the National Science, Technology and Research Committee, Prime Minister's Science, Engineering and Innovation Council (PMSEIC), Defence Intelligence Organisation Scientific Advisory Group (2007-2008), the ARCom Expert Advisory Group and a member of the Australian Academy of Science Committee for Physics (2005).
Jane Edwards AM Chevalier (Fr) ONM (Fr) FAICD FAIM
Jane (Brumfield) Edwards is recognised as one of Australia’s leading Communications Specialist with a distinguished professional career spanning more than 35 years. She has twenty-five years’ experience in board directorships and corporate governance and is appointed to a number of business and government boards. Jane founded and owns the national BBS Communications Group and is an Adjunct Professor at the University of Queensland’s School of Journalism and Communications.
A former Canberra journalist, Jane is a specialist in issues and reputation management. She advises senior executives and community leaders on personal profiling and business-critical issues which require speed, nimble thinking and discretion.
Since 2000, Jane has served as the Honorary Consul for France in Queensland. She was awarded the Chevalier de l’Ordre National du Mérite (National Order of Merit) for her services to the French Community and recently received France’s highest honour, La légion d’honneur from the President of France, M.Macron.
She is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD), the Australian Institute of Management (AIM) and the Public Relations Institute of Australia (PRIA).
Jane was the founding Chairman of the annual Premier’s Literary Awards, which flourished under her stewardship for twelve years, and was the first woman in 103 years to Chair the Board of Trustees of the Queensland Art Gallery. She has served as a director of the Queensland State Museum, is Deputy Chairman of Opera Queensland and is a director of the City of Brisbane Investment Corporation and the Lord Mayor's Business Advisory Board among others.
Jane attended school in Geelong, Victoria at Morongo PGC and graduated from Canberra University in journalism and government.
Mr Médy Hassan OAM FRSN FAIB
Médy Hassan OAM FRSN FAIB is the founder and Managing Director of investment and property group Haus Holdings, co-founder and Director of private equity group Vitae Capital and the Executive Chairman and Director of Rural and Regional Health and Medical Group MedCIRC
Médy is an Adjunct Professor at RMIT University and the University of Canberra as well as an Industry Fellow of the University of Queensland & QBI
With more than 25 years’ industry experience covering over $3.5B of investments and projects, Médy specialises in capital raising for properties, investments and ventures, ‘whole of life’ business strategies, innovative acquisition and delivery models, and the development of major residential, commercial and special purpose projects in both Australia and overseas. He has worked with all three tiers of Australian government, major national institutions and private sector investors.
Médy has built a reputation as an industry leader able to deliver real-world outcomes with global reach. Committed to giving back to industry and the community, Médy contributes to national industry bodies at an executive level, sits on private sector and academic/industry research boards including the Queensland Brain Institute (UQ), the John Curtin Medical Research Foundation (ANU) and the Centre for Integrated Project Solutions (RMIT). Through this contribution, Médy guides emerging talent to support and lead the industry’s evolution.
Mr Bruce Humphrys
Bruce Humphrys leads legal and advisory practice, HopgoodGanim Lawyers as Managing Partner and has held this role since 2001. In his years in this role, Bruce has led the firm through a successful period of growth and change, including the firm’s recent diversification into non-legal advisory services.
Prior to his appointment as Managing Partner, Bruce was a partner of HopgoodGanim’s commercial property practice and was involved in several of south-east Queensland’s more significant development projects including the original development of Couran Cove Resort and the landmark Teneriffe Wharves development on the Brisbane CBD fringe.
Bruce champions the firm’s community and philanthropic partnerships and HopgoodGanim has proudly supported the Queensland Brain Institute and its fundraising initiatives for many years.
Dr David Merson
Dr David Merson is a graduate in Electrical Engineering and in Economics from the University of Queensland. Since 1966 he has worked in the Information Technology industry in Australia and Europe. David is the founder and former Chief Executive Officer of Australia’s largest software developer and exporter, Mincom Limited – a Brisbane-based company dedicated to providing business software to the mining, utilities, transportation, defence and government industries. Since his retirement, David has become Director of a number of software companies, research institutes and charitable institutions. He is also Chairman of the Board of the Brisbane-based advanced technology company Euclideon Unlimited, a software company best known for its 3D graphics engine.
David is currently a member of the Queensland Brain Institute’s (QBI) Advisory Board and past Chairman of QBI’s inaugural Development Board. David’s philanthropic support underpins QBI’s Merson Lecture, a public lecture which has become a highlight on the Institute’s annual calendar of events.
Mr Simon Rogers
Mr Simon Rogers is an Investment Adviser with Crestone Wealth Management. He provides bespoke portfolio management services to high-net worth clients, family offices, NFP organisations and financial institutions.
He has completed a BSc (Hons) degree in Genetics and a Master’s Degree in Applied Finance.
He holds the following professional designations:
- Certified Financial Planner (CFP®) in both Australia and the UK.
- Fellow of FINSIA (F Fin)
- Chartered Wealth Manager™ awarded by the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment in London.
His clients include charitable foundations, wealthy families, not-for-profit organisations, medical specialists and successful business owners.
Professor Pankaj Sah
Professor Pankaj Sah is Director of the Queensland Brain Institute (QBI) at The University of Queensland (UQ). He is renowned for his work in understanding the neural circuitry of the amygdala, an area of the brain that plays a central role in learning and memory formation.
He trained in medicine at The University of New South Wales and, after completing his internship, gained a PhD from the Australian National University. Following postdoctoral work at the University of California, San Francisco, and UQ, he established his own laboratory at the University of Newcastle in 1994. He then joined the John Curtin School of Medical Research at the Australian National University as a group leader in 1997.
He was recruited to QBI as a founding member in 2003, and has been Director since July 2015. Pankaj has published more than 110 papers in international peer-reviewed journals. He is also the Editor-in-Chief of the Nature Partner Journal npj Science of Learning, the first journal to bring together the findings of neuroscientists, psychologists, and education researchers to understand how the brain learns.
Mrs Beverley Trivett AM
Beverley's early career was in fashion, design, development, distribution and retail. She remained in private enterprise in the retail and service industries and has worked in the UK, India, Europe and Australia.
In 1997 her first husband, John Trivett, died from an aggressive brain tumour, GBM. This experience led to the establishment, in 1998, of The John Trivett Foundation for research into the causes of primary brain tumours. Beverley remained chair of the John Trivett Foundation from its establishment until 2014, when it merged with Cure Brain Cancer Foundation.
She previously served as a board member of Flying Arts Australia 2008 to 2011, and The Australiana fund 2008 to 2017; Mrs Trivett represented Queensland as an Australia Day Ambassador 2008 to 2010 and is currently Director of Cure Brain Cancer Foundation.