Meet our team
Dr Rohan Hockings
Executive Director & Chief Executive Officer
Rohan Hockings holds double degrees in medicine and law. He has worked across both disciplines following an internship at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital and admission to practice in the Supreme Court of Victoria respectively.
He spent four years with McKinsey & Company and a further two years in the Private Equity industry before joining PYC Therapeutics. Rohan brings a deep affinity for conceptual thinking to PYC Therapeutics along with an understanding of the company’s technology and its commercialisation path.
Alan Tribe
Chairman
Mr Tribe has a background in the accounting profession both in the UK and Australia. Moving into industry he became the Managing Director of a group of companies with interests in natural resources in Australia and overseas. The group also included a technology company, which grew through both successful product development and acquisitions.
He was closely involved in establishing subsidiary operations in the USA, UK and Singapore to access markets worldwide. Most recently he was the catalyst for the development of large retail operations in Western and South Australia.
Mr Tribe will contribute his broad experience in successfully commercialising technology internationally. He represents a large shareholding in PYC Therapeutics.
Jason Haddock
Non-Executive Director
Jason Haddock has more than 20 years of financial and operational experience in the biopharmaceutical industry and currently serves as a Board Director of Codiak Biosciences, a biotech company developing precision exosome therapeutics. He served as CFO at Array BioPharma, Inc., where he was instrumental in the execution of an oncology-focused research, development and commercialisation strategy that culminated in the successful launch of two new drugs and the company ultimately being acquired by Pfizer.
Prior, he worked at Bristol-Myers Squibb in a variety of finance, strategic, commercial and business development capacities, including CFO and COO roles for business units in Asia Pacific, Europe and the United States. Mr Haddock has also served as CFO for ArcherDX as the company was acquired by Invitae to create a global leader in comprehensive cancer genetics and precision oncology. He holds a BS in accounting from Illinois State University and an EMBA from Washington University in St. Louis.
Dr Michael Rosenblatt
Non-Executive Director
Dr Michael Rosenblatt is currently a Senior Partner at Flagship Pioneering.
Dr Rosenblatt joined Flagship from Merck, where he served as Executive Vice President and Chief Medical Officer from 2009 to 2016. During an earlier period at Merck, he led drug discovery efforts in ophthalmology, molecular biology, bone biology, virology, cancer research, gastroenterology, lipid metabolism and cardiovascular research.
He has held appointments as Dean of Tufts University School of Medicine; Robert H. Ebert Professor of Molecular Medicine and George R. Minot Professor of Medicine, both at Harvard Medical School; President, Harvard Faculty Dean and Senior Vice President for Academic Programs of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center; and Director of the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology.
Dr Rosenblatt has served as a founding scientist, scientific advisory board member or director of more than 12 biopharmaceutical companies. He received his BA summa cum laude from Columbia University and his MD magna cum laude from Harvard Medical School, and completed internship, residency and endocrinology training at the Massachusetts General Hospital.
Dr Rohan Hockings
Executive Director & Chief Executive Officer
Rohan Hockings holds double degrees in medicine and law. He has worked across both disciplines following an internship at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital and admission to practice in the Supreme Court of Victoria respectively.
He spent four years with McKinsey & Company and a further two years in the Private Equity industry before joining PYC Therapeutics. Rohan brings a deep affinity for conceptual thinking to PYC Therapeutics along with an understanding of the company’s technology and its commercialisation path.
Dr Sri Mudumba
Chief Research & Development Officer
Sri Mudumba is a seasoned Research & Development leader and has more than 20 years’ experience in the pharma and biotech industry. Sri previously worked for small and large companies, such as Alza (a Johnson & Johnson (J&J) owned company), Cygnus Therapeutics (J&J), PowderJect Technologies (Chiron-Novartis), Corium, MacuSight (Santen), and Genentech (Roche).
Recently, Sri was Vice President of Therapeutic Modality Innovation at Santen Pharmaceuticals, where he initiated and developed programs utilising biologics, small molecules, drug delivery systems, and gene and cell therapy to address various ophthalmic diseases. Prior to this, Sri held different leadership roles at Santen during his 11+ years tenure in Pre-Clinical and Pharmaceutical (Chemistry, Manufacturing, and Controls or CMC management) development and Retina Franchise areas.
Sri has a degree in Pharmacy, and a Masters and PhD in Pharmaceutical Sciences, specialising in Pharmacology. Sri has developed several products in different therapeutic areas, protecting the intellectual property via 28 issued patents to date and with a few pending.
Sri is well versed with regulatory guidelines at different stages of development and had successful outcomes interacting with various global regulatory agencies, such as the United States of America’s Food and Drug Administration (FDA), European Medicines Agency (EMA), Health Canada, Health Sciences Authority (HSA) Singapore, and Central Drug Standards Control Organisation (CDSCO) India. Sri joins PYC Therapeutics with a deep passion to develop products for patients with inherited diseases.
Dr Paula Cunningham
Chief Pre-Clinical Research Officer
Paula holds a PhD in Microbiology, a Bachelor of Science in Molecular Genetics with Honours in Microbiology and a Masters in Environmental Science. She is an experienced scientist with excellent analytical, project management and team-building skills. Paula has a strong background in molecular genetics, cell biology and immunology, with specific expertise in allergy and cancer research.
Her research interests focus on the development of highly efficient delivery methods for gene therapies of disease with specific emphasis on inherited retinal diseases. Prior to working at PYC Therapeutics, Paula was Group Leader of Bioassay Development for Phylogica Limited and a Senior Research Officer for Telethon Kids Institute in Perth, Western Australia.
Andrew Taylor
Chief Financial Officer & Company Secretary
Andrew has over 15 years’ experience as a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants Australia and the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Andrew commenced his career at an international accounting firm and has significant experience managing the finance function of ASX listed companies.
He has completed numerous M&A, equity and debt market transactions in Australian and international markets.
Dr Aron Chakera
Dr Aron Chakera, MRCP, is a renal physician at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, with in interest in immune function as it relates to transplantation, autoimmune diseases, and peritoneal mesothelial cells. Prior to returning to Western Australia in 2012, he was Clinical Lecturer in renal medicine at the University of Oxford, where he worked with Professor Richard Cornall studying lymphocyte subsets and responses to recall antigens in patients receiving immunosuppression.
Dr Fred Chen
Associate Professor Fred Chen is a vitreoretinal surgeon and inherited retinal diseases specialist at the Lions Eye Institute, Royal Perth Hospital and Perth Children’s Hospital. He is also a visiting ocular genetics specialist at Royal Children’s Hospital and Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital in Melbourne. He leads the Ocular Tissue Engineering Laboratory at Lions Eye Institute and holds an academic position at the University of Western Australian and University of Melbourne.
Prof Ian Constable AO
Professor Ian Constable AO, was the Foundation Professor of Ophthalmology at the University of Western Australia and retinal surgeon at Royal Perth and Sir Charles Gairdner hospitals. He founded The Lions Eye Institute, was Managing Director for the first 25 years and continues to consult there. An internationally renowned Ophthalmologist, Professor Constable was the co-developer of adeno-associated viral vector gene therapy for wet macular degeneration and the first to conduct human clinical trials of retinal gene therapy in adults. He has extensive experience of retinal research, its translation to human trials and subsequent commercialisation.
Dr Neera K Dahl
Dr Neera K Dahl, MD, PhD, is a board-certified internist and nephrologist with expertise in the diagnosis and management of cystic kidney disease, including Autosomal Dominant Polycystic Kidney Disease (ADPKD). Dr Dahl’s clinical practice focuses on the diagnosis and treatment of cystic kidney disease, particularly ADPKD. She is the Director of the PKD Foundation Center of Excellence at Mayo Clinic Rochester. She is a member of the Steering Committee for the Mayo Clinic Robert M and Billie Kelley Pirnie Translational PKD Center and is active in clinical trials in ADPKD.
Prof Peter C Harris
Professor Peter C Harris, PhD, has been studying genetic diseases of the kidney, including polycystic kidney disease (PKD) and autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD). Polycystic kidney disease includes a range of inherited disorders that often results in renal failure and even death. Prof Harris’ studies focus on screening for genes and specific variants that can cause PKD.
He also uses genotype and phenotype studies to determine the extent to which variability in disease presentation and progression is explained by genic and allelic factors. Prof Harris is principal investigator of the Polycystic Kidney Disease Discovery Laboratory. The lab uses several genetic and cell biological approaches to understand the aetiology and pathogenesis of these kidney disorders. His lab also investigates monogenic kidney stone diseases through genotype and phenotype studies.
Dr K Thiran Jayasundera
Dr Jayasundera is a vitreoretinal surgeon and inherited retinal diseases (IRD) specialist. He oversees the care of patients experiencing low vision due to various retinal diseases. His research focuses on quantifying the difficulties, limitations and distress experienced in the heterogeneous expressions of these conditions, and intervening with unique therapeutics such as precision low vision rehabilitation and psychotherapy.
Dr Jayasundera’s research team developed IRD-specific and psychometrically validated patient-reported outcomes measures that capture and quantify disabilities of patients, specifically in categories of physiologically distinct forms of functional vision, and the distress that is experienced in variable phenotypic expressions of inherited retinal diseases.
He is currently funded by a NIH R01 for further characterizing the impairment and emotional distress caused by vision loss, and evaluating whether emotion regulation therapy, a psychosocial treatment, offers relief from distress so that patients are more apt to benefit from low vision rehabilitation.
Dr Alex Kolevzon
Alex Kolevzon, MD, is a Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist and Professor of Psychiatry and Pediatrics at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. He serves as the Director of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry for the Mount Sinai Health System and the Clinical Director of the Seaver Autism Center for Research and Treatment at Mount Sinai. His research interests pertain to understanding the neurobiology of autism and related neurodevelopmental disorders, biomarker discovery, and developing novel therapeutics.
Dr Mark Pennesi
Doctor Mark Pennesi is the Director of Inherited Retinal Degeneration Clinic at the Retina Foundation of the Southwest as well as a Professorship in Ophthalmology and Molecular and Medical Genetics at Oregon Health & Science University’s Casey Eye Institute. Dr Pennesi attended the University of Pennsylvania where he graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in biomedical engineering and was awarded the Herman P. Schwann award in bioengineering for exemplary scholarship.
Dr Pennesi pursued combined at MD/PhD at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas. He received numerous awards while in graduate school including the John J. Trentin Award for earning the highest GPA in his class and the BRASS scholarship for playing an active role in community service. This was followed by a residency in Ophthalmology at University of California – San Francisco, where he was awarded the Hogan-Garcia Award for having the best resident research project. In 2011 Dr Pennesi received the ARVO/Alcon Early Career Clinician-Scientist Research Award. He is also the recipient of an FFB career development award, an RPB career development award, and an FFB enhanced career development award. He was awarded the Alcon Young Investigator Award in 2014 and a Residency Teaching award in 2015. He has also been elected to both the Macula Society and Retina Society.
Dr Pennesi is a clinician scientist with a passion for developing novel therapeutic regimens for inherited retinal diseases. He has published over 170 peer reviewed publications in the field on inherited retinal degenerations. He has been the PI or Co-PI on numerous first in human clinical trials including: gene augmentation therapy for RPE65-related retinopathy, ABCA4-related retinopathy, GUCY2D-related retinopathy, Type IB Usher syndrome, CNGA3 and CNGB3-related achromatopsia, X-linked retinoschisis, X-linked retinitis pigmentosa, and choroideremia. He was a principal investigator on the Editas Brilliance trial where the first patient in the world was treated with gene editing from CEP290-related retinopathy.
Dr Patrick Yu-Wai-Man
Professor Yu-Wai-Man is an academic neuro-ophthalmologist with a major research interest in mitochondrial genetics and inherited eye diseases. He holds a tenured Faculty position as Professor of Ophthalmology at the University of Cambridge, affiliated with the Cambridge Centre for Brain Repair and the MRC Mitochondrial Biology Unit. In addition to his academic roles, he has joint clinical appointments at Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge and Moorfields Eye Hospital in London as an Honorary Consultant Neuro-Ophthalmologist.
