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Board and Management
Learn more about Race Oncology’s board of directors and the management team.
Dr Peter Smith
Executive Chair
Dr Peter Smith has over 30 years of experience in the pharmaceutical and biotech industry, with a strong focus on therapeutics, especially oncology. He has been involved in projects at all stages from concept to phase III clinical studies.
He was previously the CEO of private biotechnology company Myrio Therapeutics, and publicly listed Australian companies Alchemia and AMRAD.
Prior to moving to Australia, Peter co-founded and was CFO of Onyvax Ltd, a cancer immunotherapy company based in London. At the start of his career, he was a top-rated Pharmaceuticals Analyst with UBS and HSBC, being involved in numerous transactions including LSE/NASDAQ IPOs, fundraisings, and M&A.
His undergraduate degree and PhD are from the University of Cambridge, the latter in the field of cell-signalling. In addition to serving as a Director of Race Oncology, he is also currently a Director of MycRx Inc., and Amala Therapeutics.
To view Dr Smith’s LinkedIn profile, please click here.
Dr Serge Scrofani
Non-Executive Director
Dr Serge Scrofani has more than 28 years’ experience in the healthcare sector, working in global roles across research and strategy, and corporate and business development. He served as Vice President of Strategy & Corporate Development at CSL for 13 years where he played a pivotal role in multiple strategic initiatives including the company’s global COVID-19 response and its $US11.7 billion acquisition of Vifor Pharma AG. Prior to this, he led Business Development for subsidiary CSL Behring, based in the US.
Serge is currently Principal for Poplar Advisory, a boutique strategic advisory firm focused on the healthcare sector. He is also a Board member of the Burnet Institute and The Centre for Eye Research, and founding Director of private equity firm FinCap Pty Ltd.
After obtaining his PhD in Structural Biology from La Trobe University, Serge undertook postdoctoral research studies at The University of Melbourne and completed a Fulbright postdoctoral fellowship at The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla California. He also holds an MBA from the Melbourne Business School.
To view Dr Serge Scrofani’s LinkedIn profile, please click here.
Dr Daniel Tillett
Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer
Dr Daniel Tillett is the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Race Oncology. He is a veteran executive in the biotech industry with more than 25 years of management experience and leadership in all aspects of commercial operations including strategy, IP management, sales and marketing, project management, licensing and fundraising.
Dr Tillett is also the founder and CEO of Nucleics, a private Australian biotechnology company producing and selling world-leading DNA sequencing software to the genomics industry. Nucleics SAAS (software as a service) genomics tools are used in more than 30 countries and at over 250 companies and research institutions.
Previously, he was a Senior Lecturer within the School of Pharmacy at La Trobe University where he taught and researched in the areas of pharmacy, phage therapy, virology, microbiology, bioinformatics and cancer.
Dr Tillett has a BSc (Hons 1) and PhD from the University of New South Wales in Molecular Genetics and Biochemistry. He has more than 40 scientific publications and granted patents in molecular biology, virology, microbiology, genetics and biochemistry.
To view Dr Daniel Tillett’s LinkedIn profile, please click here.
Dr Daniel Tillett
Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer
Dr Daniel Tillett is the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Race Oncology. He is a veteran executive in the biotech industry with more than 25 years of management experience and leadership in all aspects of commercial operations including strategy, IP management, sales and marketing, project management, licensing and fundraising.
Dr Tillett is also the founder and CEO of Nucleics, a private Australian biotechnology company producing and selling world-leading DNA sequencing software to the genomics industry. Nucleics SAAS (software as a service) genomics tools are used in more than 30 countries and at over 250 companies and research institutions.
Previously, he was a Senior Lecturer within the School of Pharmacy at La Trobe University where he taught and researched in the areas of pharmacy, phage therapy, virology, microbiology, bioinformatics and cancer.
Dr Tillett has a BSc (Hons 1) and PhD from the University of New South Wales in Molecular Genetics and Biochemistry. He has more than 40 scientific publications and granted patents in molecular biology, virology, microbiology, genetics and biochemistry.
To view Dr Daniel Tillett’s LinkedIn profile, please click here.
Dr Michelle Rashford
Chief Medical Officer
Dr Michelle Rashford serves as Race Oncology’s Chief Medical Officer (CMO), and is an internationally experienced biopharmaceutical executive and former physician, with expertise in the successful development and commercialisation of pharmaceuticals across oncology, virology, and immunology.
Her 25+ years of drug development experience spans large pharmaceuticals to smaller biotech companies and includes pre-clinical and clinical development, medical and regulatory affairs, and drug commercialisation.
Prior to joining Race, Dr Rashford worked for japanese Pharmaceutical company Kyowa Kirin, where she has been the Head of Global Clinical Sciences. Prior to her role at Kyowa Kirin, Dr Rashford was the Senior Vice President of Clinical Science at Adlai Nortye Biopharma, where she successfully grew the US Clinical Development team and prepared for the company’s Phase III trial.
She has also held senior roles within global pharmaceutical companies, including five years at Bristol-Myers Squibb and close to 20 years at Roche in a variety of national and global clinical development roles.
To view Dr Michelle Rashford’s LinkedIn profile, please click here.
Mr Brendan Brown
Chief Financial Officer
Mr Brendan Brown is a Partner and Director of Prime Accounting & Business Advisory Pty Ltd, part of the Prime Financial Group. He is a Chartered Accountant and Registered Tax Agent, and has worked with numerous life science companies over the last 20 years.
Mr Brown holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Accounting) from La Trobe University.
To view Mr Brendan Brown’s profile, please click here.
Prof Michael Kelso
Vice President of Research
Professor Michael Kelso is an internationally experienced researcher, with more than 25 years of R&D experience across a wide range of areas in medicinal chemistry, including oncology, antimicrobial drug development and drug formulation.
Prior to joining Race Oncology, he was a Professor of Medicinal Chemistry at the University of Wollongong and earlier in his career a NH&MRC CJ Martin Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Department of Chemistry, The Scripps Research Institute, CA, USA.
Prof Kelso has published 69 scientific research papers and 7 patents and has attracted 18 grants from the National Health and Medical Research Council (NH&MRC), Australian Research Council (ARC), and the US National Institutes of Health (NIH), as well as industry and charity foundations.
Prof Kelso holds a Bachelor of Medicinal Chemistry (First Class Honours) from the University of Wollongong and a PhD from University of Queensland. He is a member of the Royal Australian Chemical Institute and the American Chemical Society.
To view Professor Michael Kelso’s profile, please click here.
Dr Marinella Messina
Vice President of Clinical Development
Dr Marinella Messina is highly experienced oncology clinical trials specialist, having managed a wide range of clinical trials over the past 10 years, across all development phases (I, II, III and IV).
Dr Messina has worked with bio pharmaceutical companies and academic research investigators during this time, including Noxopharm where she was Clinical Operations Manager and Clinical Program Manager for their lead anti-cancer drug candidate Veyonda®.
Prior to this, Dr Messina was a Senior Clinical Project Manager at Datapharm, an Australian Clinical Research Organisation (CRO), where she oversaw the start-up, recruitment and management of numerous clinical trials.
Dr Messina holds a Doctor of Philosophy from the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Sydney, and a Bachelor of Science (Honours) from the Department of Microbiology at the University of Sydney. She is also a Certified Medical Publication Professional and has been published extensively in a broad range of peer-reviewed publications.
To view Dr Marinella Messina’s profile, please click here.
Dr Sophia Moscovis
Vice President of Operations & Strategy
Dr Sophia Moscovis has over 20 years’ experience in healthcare in academia, clinical trials and the pharmaceutical industry with a recent focus on Medical Affairs, Business Transformation, Strategy, Leadership, Operational Excellence, and Patient Experience.
Prior to joining Race, Dr Moscovis was a consultant to Global Fortune 500 pharmaceutical companies and digital health organisations and served in senior strategic and people leadership roles at Novartis, including as a Business Transformation Lead and Head of Field Medical forming part of the Medical Affairs Leadership team.
She has worked and collaborated with universities, research institutes, pharmaceutical companies, digital health companies, advocacy groups, healthcare policy makers, guideline authors, medical experts and patients in many disease areas giving her unique insight into the Australian and ex-AU healthcare systems and commercialisation of innovation.
Dr Moscovis holds a Bachelor of Biomedical Science (First Class Honours) and a PhD in Immunology & Genetics from the University of Newcastle. She completed the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD) Company Directors Course in 2023 and is a Graduate Member of the AICD.