Alten

David completed his PhD in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology in 2008 at the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), the largest research organization in Spain. After one year as Postdoctoral Scientist at Translational Cancer Drugs Pharma, a biotechnology company focused in oncology; he joined Professor Ormandy’s lab at the Garvan Institute of Medical Research in 2009 to work in mouse models of mammary gland development and breast cancer.  David has held a National Breast Cancer and Cure Cancer Australia Foundation Fellowship (2012 - 2015) and he currently holds a Cancer Institute New South Wales Career Development Fellowship (2017-2019). 

Andrew is a PhD student at Garvan Institute of Medical Research in the Tumour Development Group. He completed his Bachelor of Science with First-Class Honours in 2014 at University of Sydney and joined Professor Ormandy’s lab at Garvan Institute in 2015. Under the guidance of Dr. David Gallego-Ortega, Andrew’s PhD project aims to investigate the key mechanisms responsible for therapy resistance in cancer and develop improved personalised treatments to improve patient outcome. During his spare time, Andrew is a passionate event organiser and advocate for public scientific events such as High School Science Careers and Dinner with a Scientist. 

Laura is a full-time PhD student at Garvan Institute of Medical Research and the Children’s Cancer Institute. She completed her Bachelor of Science in nursing with High Distinction in 2017 at University of Santiago de Compostela in Spain, where she also completed her Master of Science in Biomedical research under the supervision of Dr Jose Antonio Costoya Puente. In 2018, Laura was studied the role of the platelets in cancer progression and metastasis at the Trinity Biomedical Sciences Institute. Laura’s research passion lies in understanding the molecular mechanisms of cancer disease and looking the best therapy to combat it.

Dr Mana Liao is the Innovation Manager at the Garvan Institute of Medical Research. She manages the IP portfolio and supports industry engagement and collaboration by connecting the innovation capability in the Garvan Institute to the needs of commercial stakeholders. Mana has worked on multiple sides of research, business development and commercialisation, including venture capital at Brandon Capital Partners, biotech consulting at Bio-Link, and technology transfer office at the University of Sydney and UTS. She has completed a Master in Intellectual Property. Prior to this Mana has over 8-year experience in preclinical research and drug discovery at the G