Cartherics is pleased to announce that it has made several strategic new appointments to enhance its scientific and manufacturing teams, aligning with the company’s commitment to advancing its growing pipeline of innovative therapies. These new additions are expected to bring in diverse expertise, reinforcing the company’s capabilities in both research and development as well as production. 

The scientific team will benefit from the influx of professionals with extensive experience in cutting-edge research, particularly in cell therapies and immuno-oncology. On the manufacturing side, Cartherics has bolstered its capacity with experienced professionals who have a deep understanding of scaling up manufacturing processes. With an expanding portfolio of product candidates, these new appointments will be instrumental in ensuring the smooth transition of therapies from research to clinical manufacturing, adhering to stringent quality and regulatory standards. 

Below is a brief introduction to each of the new appointments:  

Ms Katherine Bastias Varas, Cell Production Operator 

Katherine is a pharmacist from Chile with an Honours in molecular pharmacology research. She has 3 years of experience as a Production Technician at Slade Health, a GMP and TGA regulated facility in Melbourne, manufacturing sterile oncology medicines for hospitals and pharmacies across Australia. Katherine has a strong understanding of GMP compliance in pharmaceutical manufacturing. As a Cell Production Operator at Cartherics, she seeks to apply her expertise to support the team’s future success. 

Dr Keefe Chan, Principal Scientist / Senior Molecular Biologist 

With over 20 years of experience in biomedical research, Keefe is a molecular and cell biologist. He completed his PhD and postdoctoral training in the U.S., focusing on integrin-mediated adhesions, the actin cytoskeleton, and cancer cell motility, with expertise in biochemistry, microscopy, cell signalling, and animal models. In 2014, Keefe joined the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, where he expanded his knowledge in cancer cell biology, studying cellular senescence and ribosome targeting for cancer therapy. As a senior postdoc, Keefe led teams to discover new strategies for treating drug-resistant cancers. Now, as a Principal Scientist/Senior Molecular Biologist at Cartherics, he looks forward to working with the team to advance engineered immune cell therapies for cancer and other diseases. 

Dr Brittany Doran, Research Scientist 

Brittany is a cancer biologist with a background in ovarian cancer immuno-biology and brings technical experience in conducting a diverse range of in vitro and in vivo pre-clinical cancer research in academic and commercial settings. She recently completed her PhD last year in the Department of Molecular and Translational Sciences at the Hudson Institute of Medical Research and Monash University. Her research characterised how a chemoresistant subset of cancer cells termed “leader cells” co-opt the immune system to promote metastasis and disease progression in ovarian cancer. Brittany joins Cartherics as a Research Scientist, leading the Extracellular Vesicle research program and supporting in vivo capabilities. 

Dr Nirmani Wickramasinghe, Senior Research Scientist 

Nirmani recently joined Cartherics’ development team as a Senior Research Scientist Prior to joining Cartherics, Nirmani worked as a manufacturing scientist in CSIRO’s regulated manufacturing facility. She did her postdoc in microbial bioprocess optimisation in CSIRO, manufacturing. Nirmani completed her PhD in microbiology and graduated from the School of Public Health of Curtin University of WA in 2020.  Prior to coming to Australia she worked as a research assistant, studying bacterial biofilms in Nanyang Technological University of Singapore. She did her Bachelor of Honours in Agricultural Technology in University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka.” 

Dr Jing Yang Tee, Senior Research Scientist 

Jing’s research journey began at Monash University with an Honours project on amniotic stem cells for cell therapy, followed by a PhD at Griffith University, where he studied olfactory stem cells from schizophrenia patients to understand neural migration defects. In 2021, he joined Shenzhen Bay Laboratory in China as a translational scientist, focusing on small molecule inhibitors for cancer. He later worked at a biotech start-up, developing immunotherapies and setting up an immune cell biology platform. Returning to Shenzhen Bay in 2022, Jing led teams to discover potent cancer treatments, advancing a novel compound to preclinical stages. In December 2024, he joined Cartherics as a Senior Research Scientist, where he will focus on diversifying immune cell therapies for non-oncology conditions including brain and gynaecological disorders. 

These additions reflect Cartherics’ ongoing commitment to expanding its leadership and operational capacity to support its pipeline, positioning the company for continued success in the rapidly evolving biotechnology sector. 

Cartherics’ CEO, Prof. Alan Trounson said: “These are all important appointments that strengthen our R&D capability and enable us to begin manufacture of clinical trial products from our cell therapy programs. We welcome their diversity of expertise and commitment to the success of Cartherics in developing medical therapies for patients with cancer, endometriosis and neural pathologies.”