International speakers
Dr Michael Cox
Founder and Principal, Martian Clinical Consulting
Speaker Bio
Michael Cox, Pharm.D., M.H.Sc., BCOP
Martian Clinical Consulting, Founder and Principal
Dr. Michael Craig Cox is the founder and Principal of Martian Clinical Consulting, an independent consultancy specializing in oncology drug development strategy with a particular focus on pediatric cancer.
With more than 20 years of experience across large pharma, mid-size, and startup biotechnology companies, Dr. Cox is one of a small number of industry leaders with deep, hands-on expertise in both pediatric and adult precision oncology — having shepherded multiple molecularly targeted therapies through clinical development and global regulatory approval for children and adults alike.
Dr. Cox has played an instrumental role in the clinical development and regulatory approvals of multiple landmark oncology agents, including tovorafenib (Ojemda™), selpercatinib (Retevmo®), larotrectinib (VITRAKVI®), radium-223 (Xofigo®), regorafenib (Stivarga®), sorafenib (Nexavar®), cetuximab (ERBITUX®), denosumab (XGEVA®), and darbepoetin alfa (Aranesp®). His work has spanned pediatric and adult populations, with particular expertise in molecularly targeted, tissue-agnostic, and small molecule kinase inhibitor programs.
Prior to founding Martian Clinical Consulting, Dr. Cox served as Senior Vice President, Head of Early Development at Circle Pharma, where he built a 20-person development organization and led the first clinical-stage program from development candidate selection. Before joining Circle, he served as Vice President of Clinical Development at Day One Biopharmaceuticals, where he led the pediatric development program for tovorafenib.
Earlier in his career, he held global and regional clinical development and medical affairs positions of increasing responsibility at Loxo Oncology (acquired by Eli Lilly & Co.), Bayer Consumer Care AG (Basel, Switzerland), Merck KGaA (Darmstadt, Germany), and Amgen, Inc.
Dr. Cox has published abstracts and manuscripts in journals including The New England Journal of Medicine, Lancet Oncology, the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Cancer, and Clinical Cancer Research. He is a member of numerous cancer research organizations including the American Association of Cancer Research, the American Society of Clinical Oncology, and the European Society of Medical Oncology.
Dr. Cox earned his Pharm.D. from Ohio Northern University’s Raabe College of Pharmacy and an MHSc in Clinical Research from Duke University’s School of Medicine. He completed pharmacy practice residencies at Mission Hospitals (Asheville, NC) and the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute (Pittsburgh, PA), followed by a clinical drug development fellowship in the Clinical Pharmacology Section of the Center for Cancer Research at the National Cancer Institute (Bethesda, MD). He is a Board-Certified Oncology Pharmacist (BCOP).
Dr Michael Harhay
Deputy Director of the Division of Epidemiology and Director of the Center for Clinical Trials Innovation, University of Pennslyvannia
Speaker Bio
Dr. Michael Harhay is an Associate Professor of Epidemiology, Medicine, and Statistics and Data Science at the University of Pennsylvania, where he serves as Deputy Director of the Division of Epidemiology and Director of the Center for Clinical Trials Innovation (CCTI).
His PCORI- and NIH-funded research focuses on improving the design, conduct, and reporting of clinical trials, bridging methodological innovation with practical application to help researchers adopt rigorous, modern approaches.
He is Deputy Editor of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine and the recipient of the 2025 Jo Rae Wright Award for Outstanding Science from the American Thoracic Society.
Dr Marylyn Ritchie
Chief AI Officer, and Director AI Center for Health Innovation and Informatics, Medical University of South Carolina
Speaker Bio
Dr. Marylyn D. Ritchie is the Chief Artificial Intelligence Officer for the MUSC Enterprise, Director of the MUSC AI Center for Health Innovation and Informatics, as well as Associate Dean for Artificial Intelligence and Director of the Division of Computational Health Sciences and Al in the College of Medicine at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC). Dr. Ritchie is also the SmartState Endowed Chair in Translational Biomedical Informatics. Dr. Ritchie is an expert in translational bioinformatics, with a focus on developing, applying, and disseminating algorithms, methods, and tools integrating electronic health records (EHR) with genomics. Dr. Ritchie has over 20 years of experience in translational bioinformatics and has authored over 500 publications. Dr. Ritchie was appointed as a Fellow of the American College of Medical Informatics (ACMI) in 2020. Dr. Ritchie was elected as a member of the National Academy of Medicine in 2021. Dr. Ritchie was a member of the ELAM class of 2022.
In her new role, Dr. Ritchie is developing the AI strategy across MUSC. She is leading enterprise-wide strategies to harness AI in support of the institution’s tripartite mission of education, research, and patient care. She is focused on building collaborative AI initiatives that connect clinicians, faculty, industry partners, staff, students, and trainees to drive innovation at MUSC.
Dr Kim Sutherland
Executive Director, Office for Health and Medical Research, NSW Health
Speaker Bio
Dr Kim Sutherland leads the Office for Health and Medical Research. Prior to her appointment to OHMR, she held Director roles at the Agency for Clinical Innovation and the Bureau of Health Information. Kim is a health services researcher with experience in performance measurement and reporting, evaluation and assessment of quality, and change management in healthcare organisations. She played a central role in the development of performance measurement frameworks in NSW and the UK and co-authored a series of reports on the English NHS quality agenda. Kim holds a Master of Science from London Hospital Medical College, a Master of Business Administration from Imperial College London and a PhD from the University of Cambridge. In 2022, Kim received the Public Service Medal for outstanding public service to NSW Health.
Professor Robyn Jamieson
Director, Eye Genetics Research Unit, Children's Medical Research Institute
Speaker Bio
Prof Jamieson leads the Eye Genetics Research Unit at Children's Medical Research Insititute , and heads the Eye Genetics Clinic at The Children’s Hospital at Westmead. She is also Head of the Western Sydney Genetics Program, The Children’s Hospital at Westmead, and Head, Speciality of Genomic Medicine, University of Sydney.
She has established a research program dedicated to understanding molecular mechanisms contributing to developmental eye disorders and genetic retinal diseases. Her research has successfully translated to the availability of clinical genomic diagnostics and clinical trials and therapy in these conditions.
The aim of Professor Jamieson’s current research is to develop detailed understanding of the role of retinal disease genes causing blindness, and to use genome engineering, cellular and vector technologies for novel treatments for these conditions.
Speakers
A/Prof Greg Arndt
Head of Drug Discovery, Drug Discovery Centre, THerapeutic INnovations for Kids (THINK), Conjoint Associate Professor, School of Clinical Medicine, UNSW Medicine
Ms Tiffany Boughtwood
Managing Director, Australian Genomics
Prof Jennifer Byrne
Director of Biobanking, NSW Health
A/Prof Mark Cowley
Deputy Director, Enabling Platforms & Collaboration and Group Leader, Children’s Cancer Institute
A/Prof Paul Ekert
Deputy Director, Research Themes and Group Leader, Children’s Cancer Institute
A/Prof Wendy Gold
Head, Molecular Neurobiology Research Group, Kids Neuroscience Centre, Sydney Children’s Hospitals Network, Adjunct Research Scientist, Children’s Medical Research Institute, Faculty of Medicine and Health, School of Medical Sciences The University of Sydney
A/Prof Anai Gonzalez-Cordero
Group Leader Stem Cell Medicine and Head of the Stem Cell & Organoid Facility, Children’s Medical Research Institute
A/Prof Kate Hetherington
Post-doctoral Research Fellow/Clinical Psychologist School of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Health, UNSW, Sydney, Australia. Team Leader Ethics and Genetics, Behavioural Sciences Unit, Kids Cancer Centre, Sydney Children's Hospital Randwick
Prof Adam Jaffe
Paediatric Respiratory Consultant Sydney Children’s Hospital and the John Beveridge Professor and Head of Paediatrics and Child Health UNSW Sydney.
Dr Warren Kaplan
The National Computational Infrastructure (NCI)
A/Prof Leszek Lisowski
Unit Head, Translational Vectorology Unit, Children’s Medical Research Institute
Prof Raghu Lingam
Professor in Paediatric Population and Health Services Research UNSW Sydney, Honorary Professor of Population Child Health at Kings College London and the Black Dog Institute (NSW), Consultant Community Paediatrician Sydney Children’s Hospital Network.
A/Prof Grant Logan
Children’s Medical Research Institute, Sydney Medical School Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney
Dr Michelle Lorentzos
Paediatric Neurologist, Clinical Trials Medical Lead, Head of Neurogenetics Service
Mrs Emma Maly
Parent Advocate
Dr Emily Mould
Children’s Cancer Institute
Prof Natasha Nassar
Chair in Translational Childhood Medicine, Financial Markets Foundation for Children, The University of Sydney
Anne O’Neill
Director, Enterprise, International Partnerships and Clinical Trials, NSW Health
Dr Katarina Ostojic
Research Fellow, The University of Sydney & Adjunct Associate Lecturer, UNSW Sydney
Dr (Elizabeth) Emma Palmer
Clinical Geneticist, Sydney Children's Hospitals Network Randwick, Clinical Senior Lecturer, School of Clinical Medicine, UNSW Medicine & Health Randwick Clinical Campus Discipline of Paediatrics
Ms Kris Pierce
Director Child Unlimited
Prof Tom Snelling
Director of the Health and Clinical Analytics, School of Public Health, University of Sydney, Children’s Hospital at Westmead
Prof Ian Street
Director, THerapeutic INnovations for Kids (THINK), Children’s Cancer Institute
Josh Studdert
Children’s Medical Research Institute
Dr Gabor Tax
Research Officer in the Translational Drug Testing and Pharmacogenomics Children's Cancer Institute, Conjoint Lecturer in the School of Medicine, UNSW.
Prof Claire Wakefield
Behavioural Sciences Unit, Kids Cancer Centre, Sydney Children’s Hospital Randwick
Dr Shafagh Waters
Scientia Senior Lecturer at UNSW Sydney, Honorary Senior Scientist Sydney Children’s Hospital Randwick
Prof Sue Woolfenden
Director of Community Paediatrics, Sydney Local Health District, Professor of Community Paediatrics, Central Clinical School, Sydney Medical School, the Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, Co-chair Sydney Institute Women, Children and their Families
A/Prof Antoine de Weck
Group Leader Computational Drug Discovery Biology Group, Children’s Cancer Institute
Prof Karen Zwi
Community Child Health and Clinical Program Director for Priority Populations at Sydney Children’s Hospital, Randwick and Professor with the School of Women's & Children's Health at UNSW Sydney, Consultant Community Paediatrician, Conjoint Associate Professor School of Women's & Children's Health, UNSW Sydney
Panellists
Prof Ian Alexander
Director Laboratory Research and Senior Staff Specialist, The Children’s Hospital at Westmead, Professor in Paediatrics and Molecular Medicine, University of Sydney, Head of the Gene Therapy Research Unit Children’s Medical Research Institute and The Children’s Hospital at Westmead
Dr Teresa Anderson AM
Chief Executive, SDPR Implementation Authority
Brett Anslow
Rett Research Australia
Dr May Aung-Htut
Murdoch University, Rare diseases specialist
Mr Jack Calderan
Young Adult Research Advisor
Dr Paul Fennessy
Paul Fennessy Advisory
Vanessa Fitzgerald
NSW Ministry of Health
A/Prof Sarah Garnett
Paediatrics & Child Health, Children's Hospital, Westmead
Dr Helen Goodwin
NSW Health
Miss Lauren Jensen
Parent Advocate
Dr Andrea Perez-Iturralde
Children’s Medical Research Institute
Dr Sophy Shih
Kirby Institute
Dr Clarissa Schilstra
UNSW Sydney
A/Prof Ness Tyrrell
Program Leader, Zero Childhood Cancer, Co-Head of Theme, Personalised Medicine, Children’s Cancer Institute
Ms Seaneen Wallace
Priority Populations Care Navigator, PEACH Project Co-ordinator, Diversity Health Sydney Children’s Hospitals Network Randwick
Dr Jess Smith
Investment Manager, Brandon Capital Partners
Dr Julia Warning
A/Director, Advanced Therapeutics Office for Health and Medical Research, NSW Ministry of Health
Alunya Wilkinson
Parent Research Advisor
Emeritus Professor Les White
AM, Director, Children’s Cancer Institute
Prof David Ziegler
Sydney Children’s Hospitals Network
Facilitators
Lani Attwood
Associate Director Research Operations, Kids Research, Sydney Children’s Hospitals Network
Adj A/Prof Paula Bray
Director of Research, Sydney Children's Hospitals Network
Adj A/Prof Cathryn Cox PSM
Chief Executive Sydney Children’s Hospitals Network
Ms Kathryn Greiner AO
Chair Luminesce Alliance
Prof Michelle Haber AM
Executive Director, Board Member , Co-Head of Theme , Group Leader, Children’s Cancer Institute
Prof Roger Reddel AO
Sir Lorimer Dods Professor, Faculty of Medicine and Health, Director, Children's Medical Research Institute, Head, Cancer Research Unit, Children’s Medical Research Institute



