2024 Invited Presenters

Darren is a Eureka Prize winning scientist, with over 20 years’ academic and industrial experience in cancer biology and neuroscience in Australia and North America. He is the NSW Deputy Chief Scientist & Engineer and Adjunct Associate Professor in Medical Sciences at the University of Sydney. He has held senior roles in peak professional bodies, leading policy and regulatory reforms in science and technology. Darren is a public advocate for gender equality. He has worked with former Australian Sex Discrimination Commissioner Elizabeth Broderick and Co as a senior advisor and data expert on numerous workplace cultural reviews, examining the nature and prevalence of sexual harm, bullying, racism and other forms of systemic discrimination in a range of organisations in the mining, aviation, education, arts and law enforcement sectors. Darren is a regular commentator on television and radio. When not doing science, Darren is a committed thalassophile.

Dr Jean-Frédéric Levesque is the Deputy Secretary, Clinical Innovation and Research and the Chief Executive of the NSW Agency for Clinical Innovation. He is an Adjunct Professor at the Centre for Primary Health Care and Equity at the University of New South Wales. He has authored more than 150 peer reviewed publications and his seminal research on healthcare access and inequity has been cited more than 2,000 times.
Jean-Frédéric Levesque has a Medical Degree, a Masters in Community Health and a Doctorate in Public Health from the Université de Montréal, Canada. He brings extensive leadership in healthcare systems analysis and improvement, combining experience in clinical practice in refugee health and tropical medicine, in clinical governance and in academic research.

Marlien Varnfield obtained a PhD in Epidemiology & Preventive Medicine which focused on large scale implementation of health-care interventions utilising digital technologies. In 2020 she completed a Safety, Quality, Informatics and Leadership Program through Harvard Medical School. Marlien is currently Group Leader, Health Services at the Australian eHealth Research Centre, CSIRO. Her research focuses on exploring innovative ways in management, and best health outcomes for the elderly, people living with disability, for the chronically ill, and trauma affected patients. The impact of her work includes numerous presentations and publications, but also tangible outcomes such as commercialisation of a cardiac rehabilitation platform, implementation of a digital solution for gestational diabetes as usual care in a number of QLD and NSW hospitals and the licencing of a ‘Smarter Safer Homes’ solution to keep older people living independently in their homes for longer. Marlien is a Fellow of the European Society of Cardiology and was a core faculty member of the European Congress on eCardiology and eHealth in Berlin (2016-2017) and Moscow (2018). In June 2018, she was awarded the prestigious CSIRO Julius Career Award and her group’s work has been recognised through numerous Innovation Awards.

Larisa is an experienced life science executive with a passion for the development and commercialisation of Australian technologies. She has more than 20 years working in industry in companies spanning ASX listed, not-for profit, academic and start up ecosystems, including University start ups.
With a broad commercial skill set, Larisa has significant experience aligning research, clinical, manufacturing and commercial strategies, largely centred around oncology and vaccines. She is also a dedicated supporter of women in life sciences and of the education sector. She established the US Life Science Springboard Program for Women in Australia, where she continues to mentor, and is a member of the RMIT Biomedical Science Industry Advisory Committee and the Central Pharmacy Logistics advisory board. Larisa has a Bachelor of Science (Honours) and MBA from La Trobe University and is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. https://www.linkedin.com/in/larisa-chisholm-gaicd/