Senior Management
Mr. Peter Hammond – Chief Executive Officer
Peter Hammond has over 13 years’ experience in financial management, venture capital and corporate finance, Peter has worked with biotechnology, financial services, manufacturing, consumer services and technology companies in Australia and USA. Peter has assisted companies through a wide range of growth paths and transitions, including early stage financing, the bringing of new products to global markets to large-scale mergers. Peter sits on the Board of Directors for a number of high growth companies that he has been involved with since inception and is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants and has a BBus. from the University of Technology Sydney.
Dr Barry Marshall – Scientific Director
Dr Marshall is a world authority on Helicobacter pylori. He is the co-discoverer of the H. pylori organism, co-recipient of the 2005 Nobel Prize for Medicine and Physiology as well as numerous other prestigious awards (including the 1995 Lasker Award and election as Fellow of the Royal Society in 1999 and US National Academy of Sciences in 2008) and he is one of the most esteemed and pre-eminent biomedical scientists in the world today. His discovery has revolutionised the management of peptic ulcer disease and resulted in the cure for peptic ulcers. Related research into a diagnostic leading to patentable technology resulted in the formation of TriMed Distributors Pty Ltd, a successful private company. Prof. Marshall is the Chief Executive Officer of Ondek. He is also a Clinical Professor at the University of Western Australia and is also a practising specialist gastroenterologist.
Dr. Mohammed Benghezal – Chief Scientist
Dr Benghezal is a biochemist and a molecular biologist with extensive experience in the biotechnology industry. Most recently he was Head of Genetics and Biochemistry at Athelas Ltd, based in Geneva, Switzerland. He was involved in the technology transfer from the University of Geneva, the launch of the company and the subsequent trade sale of the company. His ongoing role involved the establishment of a host-pathogen interaction model for high-throughput identification of virulence bacterial genes and antibacterial molecules, and the development of relevant rodent infection models for the validation of the genes and antibacterial molecules. Dr. Benghezal is the Chief Scientist of Ondek and he also holds an Adjunct Associate Professor position at the University of Western Australia.
Dr Alma Fulurija – Chief Immunologist
Dr Fulurija is an Australian graduate from Perth, attracted back from Switzerland after a successful career in the field of novel vaccines and immunology. She has a wide variety ofexperience in vaccine development and imunotherapyincluding most recently with Cytos Biotechnology, voted Switzerland’s most exciting new biotechnology start-up float in 2005. She has also worked at the WHO Centre for Neonatal Immunology and Vaccinology in Geneva and has collaborated with Novartis and Pfizer on a number of projects. Dr Fulurija’s key expertise lies in in vivo preclinical models, as well as clinical and regulatory requirements for Phase I/II clinical trials. Dr. Fulurija is Ondek’s Senior Immunologist and also holds an Adjunct Senior Lecturer position at the University of Western Australia.
Dr. Yakhya Dieye – Senior Scientist Microbiology
Dr Yakhya Dieye obtained his PhD in Molecular Genetics from the Paris-Sud University, Orsay, France in 2002. Since then he has held postdoctoral positions at the Department of Microbiology, Ohio State University (2002-2005) and at the Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University (2005-2008). Dr Dieye’s main area of expertise is in Bacterial Genetics and Molecular Biology. He has worked on the use of bacteria as a delivery vehicle for biological molecules and on the pathogenesis of Salmonella. Dr Dieye joined Ondek Pty. Ltd. as a Senior Scientist in Molecular Biology in February 2009.
Dr. Hans-Olof Nilsson – Senior Scientist Microbiology
Hans-Olof Nilsson holds a Masters (1999) and PhD Degree (2004) in Medical Microbiology from the Department of Laboratory Medicine, Lund University, Sweden. Dr Nilsson has extensive expertise in medical microbiology, particularly with Helicobacter species. His research has focused on virulence factors of pathogenic group A and B streptococci and Helicobacter pylori and Helicobacter bacteriology and pathogenesis, including transmission and environmental survival. Dr Nilsson has also developed experimental H. pylori and natural Helicobacter species rodent models and has applied DNA-based technology and genotyping methods to characterise Helicobacter infections. Dr Nilsson joined Ondek Pty. Ltd. in March 2009.