Dr. Christopher Burns

Chris is an experienced drug discovery leader having worked in various roles in pharma, biotech and academia for 25 years. He has a Ph.D. from the University of Melbourne and undertook postdoctoral studies in the USA before moving to Pfizer UK, as a senior scientist. After 5 years he returned to Australia as a Research Fellow at the University of Sydney and then moved to the biotechnology company Ambri as Head of Chemistry. Chris joined the Melbourne-based biotech Cytopia as Head of Medicinal Chemistry and later as Research Director. He led teams in the discovery of two anti-cancer agents that entered clinical trial, including the drug momelotinib (Ojjaara) now approved for the treatment of myelofibrosis. Chris then held a Laboratory Head position at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research (WEHI) before taking on executive and leadership roles with a number of privately-held biotechnology companies in Australia. Dr Burns is the inventor on over 30 patents and a co-author on over 60 scientific publications. He was co-recipient of the 2024 Prime Minister’s Prize for Innovation and is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences, the Royal Society of Chemistry (UK) and the Royal Australian Chemical Institute. Dr Burns was originally appointed as a Non-Executive Director on 4 May 2018 and was subsequently appointed as Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director on 5 December 2022.