PEOPLE

Dr Sean Hird, Chief Executive Officer
Prior to co-founding NemGenix with Professor Mike Jones, Sean spent 7 years as Chief Operating Officer of the UK biotechnology company Inpharmatica Ltd. During this time, Sean was directly involved in raising over AU$120m of investment funds. Before this, Sean was General Counsel to the (NHS) government research institute at Porton Down, UK, having previously worked for the technology transfer arm of the UK charity 'Cancer Research UK'. Sean is a qualified solicitor and specialised in commercial and intellectual property law when in private practice. He also has a science background having studied Genetics as a first degree and completing a Ph.D in plant molecular biology at Cambridge University (working on wheat).

Professor Michael Jones, Chief Scientific Officer
Mike is the Director of the Western Australian State Agricultural Biotechnology Centre. He is also Professor of Agricultural Biotechnology at Murdoch University and leads the Plant Biotechnology Research Group. Following a first degree and Ph.D in plant biochemistry at Cambridge University, Mike has gone on to produce 185 peer-reviewed publications and 2 books. Mike is an internationally recognised expert in the field of plant-nematode interactions and amongst his many achievements he was awarded Murdoch University's Research Excellence Medal in 2006 for 'Distinguished and Sustained Research Achievement'. Mike is also one of the 11 experts on the Australian Biotechnology Advisory Council, an independent advisory body to the Australian Federal Government on national biotechnology policy. Before taking up his current position at Murdoch University, Mike managed the cereal transformation programme at Rothamsted Research, UK, for 8 years.